May 21, 2026

Virus hijacks the tick's JAK/STAT pathway to thrive

Tick–virus interactions are poorly understood despite their impact on disease transmission. Yan Xu, Wenbo Zeng, Jingwen Wang and colleagues show that a virus hijacks the tick's JAK/STAT signaling pathway to drive LRP-mediated lipophagy, supplying energy that enhances viral replication.

Image credit: Wenbo Zeng

PLOS Biologue

Community blog for PLOS Biology, PLOS Genetics and PLOS Computational Biology.

PLOS BIOLOGUE

05/21/2026

Research Article

Is BMP signaling "anti-neural"?

Bilaterian animals with centralized nervous systems have patterns of BMP signaling activity gradient that suggest an ‘anti-neural’ ancestral role, but the evidence for this remains unclear. A study of cnidarians, by Paul Knabl, Grigory Genikhovich and co-workers, shows that BMP signalling can in fact promote neurogenesis and that the ‘anti-neural’ function described in vertebrates and arthropods is a side effect of its global function in dorsoventral axis patterning.

Image credit: Paul Knabl

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Current Issue April 2026

05/20/2026

Research Article

Phenazine wars between co-infecting bacteria

Polymicrobial infections often involve co-colonizing pathogens, but how do they interact across host environments? Katlyn Todd, Olivia Schneider, Jay Vornhagen and co-authors show that phenazines from Pseudomonas aeruginosa drive strain- and oxygen-dependent inhibition of Klebsiella pneumoniae, revealing context-specific rules of competition.

Image credit: pbio.3003809

Phenazine wars between co-infecting bacteria

05/20/2026

Research Article

SARS-CoV-2 suppression of innate immunity

SARS-CoV-2 suppresses innate immunity through multiple proteins, but what are their relative roles during infection? Fuchun Zhou, Luis Martinez-Sobrido, Stuart Sealfon, Alexander Bukreyev and colleagues explore the role of a panel of 12 viral proteins, showing that they (and especially NSP1 and NSP15), act via distinct yet redundant mechanisms to inhibit interferon responses and immune cell activation.

Image credit: pbio.3003808

SARS-CoV-2 suppression of innate immunity

05/20/2026

Research Article

How hepatocellular carcinoma recruits NK cells

Natural killer (NK) cells have a key role in the tumor microenvironment, but what drives their activity in hepatocellular carcinoma? Hangyu Liao, Jun Yang, Lei Cai and co-workers show that mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) secreted by hepatocellular carcinoma cells activates NK cells via integrin β1–FAK–AKT signaling and reshapes an immune-activated microenvironment.

Image credit: pbio.3003793

05/20/2026

Update Article

How a bacterial ribonuclease cleaves eukaryotic host ribosomes

A prior PLOS Biology study showed that P. aeruginosa can cleave the decoding center of C. elegans ribosomes. Now, Alejandro Vasquez-Rifo, Andrei Korostelev, Victor Ambros and co-authors identify the agent as Ribocin, a nuclease that cleaves helix 69 in eukaryotic ribosomes to block translation, revealing a new mechanism of host translation inhibition.

Image credit: pbio.3003790

05/18/2026

Discovery Report

Symbiotic bacteria and fish carbonates

Marine fish play an underappreciated role in the oceanic carbon cycle via production of calcium carbonate precipitates. Anthony Bonacolta, Tristan Kravitz, Martin Grosell, Javier del Campo and colleagues find a high abundance of Vibrio bacteria in the toadfish gut with the metabolic potential for calcium carbonate precipitation, expanding the role of symbiosis in marine biomineralization.

Image credit: pbio.3003764

05/22/2026

Perspective

The human hippocampus and cognitive aging

Human adult neurogenesis has been controversial despite mounting evidence. This Perspective proposes moving beyond debating the existence of adult neurogenesis, and towards discovering strategies for resilience against cognitive aging.

Image credit: Razvan Marinescu

05/20/2026

Unsolved Mystery

Immune surveillance and microbial escape in the aging host

Host-associated microbiomes are stable across most of the lifespan, but deteriorate in later life. This article proposes interventions that restore immune surveillance capacity alongside microbiome management.

Image credit: pbio.3003815

05/14/2026

Perspective

Redefining successful aging

Modern medicine has transformed how long we live, with more people surviving to old age with chronic disease. This Perspective examines how aging, health and care should be redefined to reflect these increasingly complex later lives.

Image credit: pbio.3003784

05/11/2026

Essay

Sex and the aging immune system

Aging has effects that reshape the immune system in unique, sex-specific ways, but these differences are rarely taken into consideration. This Essay argues that accounting for both sex and age is essential to advance personalized medicine.

Image credit: pbio.3003763

Collections

The many facets of immunometabolism

This PLOS Biology collection aims to shine a light on the many facets of immunometabolism, highlighting how molecular and cellular mechanisms impact diverse tissue and organismal functions and the exciting potential for leveraging immunometabolism for therapeutic interventions.
Cancer crosstalk across spatial and temporal scales

Recent technological advancements in omics have unveiled the mechanisms governing tumor progression across spatial and temporal scales. This collection reveals the complexities of the crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.
The promises and challenges of neurotechnology

Neurotechnology offers unprecedented opportunities to treat neural disorders, restore brain function and enhance cognitive abilities. This collection explores the present and possible futures of neurotechnology to improve human health and cognition.
Decision making for conservation and biodiversity

Translating conservation and biodiversity research from the field into the real world is a complex problem. This collection discusses issues around economics, policy, and how to do research that answers questions that decision makers have.
Symbiosis across the tree of life

Symbiosis research has become a holistic and pervasive field with a mature theoretical basis. This collection showcases symbiotic relationships across the tree of life, exploring their evolutionary basis and underlying mechanisms.

Meet our staff at conferences

IHMC 2026

June 3 - 5

Meet Editor in Chief Nonia Pariente (npariente@plos.org)
BIOGEOMON 2026

June 8 - 11

Meet Magazine Senior Editor Joanna Clarke (jclarke@plos.org)
Keystone: Tumor metabolism

June 8 - 11

Meet Senior Editor Richard Hodge (rhodge@plos.org)
Keystone: Viral Pathogenesis and Immunity

June 15 - 18

Meet Editor in Chief Nonia Pariente (npariente@plos.org)
ICAR 2026

June 22 - 26

Meet Associate Editor Ankiit Ahluwalia (aahluwalia@plos.org).

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