Insight articles are related to original research papers in eLife and explain why the results reported in the paper are significant in a given field of research. Insight articles are commissioned by eLife staff.
Analysis of genetic information from soil samples provides insights into bacteria that help to protect crops from fungal diseases by producing chemicals called phenazines.
Recording the neural activity of cells in the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease challenges long-standing assumptions about how this disease manifests at the cellular level.
The speed at which a cell fate decision in nematode worms evolves is due to the number of genes that control the decision, rather than to a high mutation rate.
High levels of proteins called proteoglycans in the walls of umbilical arteries enable these arteries to close rapidly after birth and thus prevent blood loss in newborns.