eLife Science Digests

Latest

1. 

   CRY me to sleep

   The light receptor CRYPTOCHROME promotes wakefulness during short winter-like days in fruit flies, revealing a seasonal sleep-regulatory mechanism that may provide insights into seasonal affective disorder.
2. 

   Staph’s fast track into cells

   The route Staphylococcus aureus takes into host cells determines how quickly it reaches the cell interior, multiplies and kills the cells, revealing a potential new target for tackling chronic infections.
3. 

   Pikas graze in a new light

   At moderate densities, pika can enhance livestock production by improving forage quality of yaks on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
4. 

   Don’t forget the babies

   Extinction risk can depend on traits and habitats at different stages of an animal’s life, suggesting that conservation assessments should look beyond adults to identify vulnerable species.
5. 

   The hidden burden of pain in PMOS

   Pain is a common but underrecognized feature of PMOS differences across racial groups.
6. 

   Helping lost eyes return

   A hidden developmental programme allows worker ants to repeatedly regain simple eyes that were lost during evolution, revealing how dormant genetic networks can fuel evolutionary innovation.
7. 

   Seeing myosin in action

   A new microscopy technique reveals how disease-associated mutations and drugs alter the balance between active and inhibited myosin states in muscle.
8. 

   One species’ trash…

   Body size is only one of many factors determining which species thrive in urban environments.