Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease) and Huntingdon’s disease, affect tens of millions of people globally, yet current treatments are unable to halt or reverse disease. The majority of research into neurodegeneration is confined to a single disease, cell type or mechanism, making it difficult to spot commonalities and trends across the full spectrum of disease. By taking a step back and viewing neurodegeneration within its wider physiological context, we may be able to make meaningful connections. This collection of articles looks beyond diseased neurons to explore neurodegeneration in relation to the rest of the nervous system and its surrounding environment, highlighting the research underpinning our current knowledge and looking towards the future of the field. Articles cover topics such as why neurodegeneration targets some cells and not others, the roles of immune cells, oligodendrocytes and the vasculature in neurodegenerative disease, and how to better model disease in the lab to improve mechanistic understanding and drug screening. The images show (top left) a reactive microglia after chronic myelin engagement, MBP (magenta), CD68 (cyan), and CCL4 (yellow), with Iba1 and nuclear labeling in white; (top right) Iba1-positive microglia (magenta) with nuclear labeling (blue) and PLIN2-positive lipid droplets (yellow); (bottom left) BCAS1-positive myelin swelling (magenta) associated with NF200-positive axons (yellow) and nuclear labeling (blue); (bottom right) a Methoxy-X04 positive (white) tau tangle associated with APOE (blue). Together, these images depict diverse pathological features found across neurodegenerative diseases.
Image Credit: Lena Spieth and Stefan Berghoff
Editorial
Rethinking neurodegeneration: Placing disease in its physiological context
PLOS Biology: published October 30, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004087
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Essays
Why are some neurons spared in neurodegeneration? Cellular subtype identity maintenance as a candidate threshold-setting mechanism
PLOS Biology: published October 5, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004014
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Oxidative signaling thresholds shape vulnerability in the central and peripheral nervous systems
PLOS Biology: published October 19, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004032
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Perspectives
What is biology research for?
PLOS Biology: published October 15, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004075
Does perturbed adaptive myelination contribute to cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease?
PLOS Biology: published October 12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004033
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Alzheimer’s disease research must connect vascular molecular phenotypes with physiology
PLOS Biology: published October 28, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004051
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Cellular diversity in neural organoids is critical for neurodegenerative disease modeling
PLOS Biology: published October 14, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004074
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Therapeutic delivery systems need to focus on cellular precision to target neurodegeneration
PLOS Biology: published October 26, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004049
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Primers
Better antibodies, better science
PLOS Biology: published October 7, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004001
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Dynamism under the hood: Coevolutionary maintenance of variation in hosts and parasites
PLOS Biology: published October 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004045
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How early microbial encounters shape adult behavior
PLOS Biology: published October 30, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004101
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Conserved spike epitopes persist in generalist bat sarbecoviruses
PLOS Biology: published October 27, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004071
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Research Articles
High-resolution paleobiome reconstructions highlight ecological and historical dynamics underpinning global terrestrial vertebrate diversity
PLOS Biology: published October 23, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004077
Bridging energy and proteome allocation models allows prediction of the resource cost of traits across environments
PLOS Biology: published October 13, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003995
Tolerance measured at one developmental stage mispredicts climate resilience in an animal with a complex life cycle
PLOS Biology: published October 26, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004079
Interindividual vocal tract diversity influences the phonetic diversification of spoken languages
PLOS Biology: published October 13, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003
Non-adaptive evolutionary forces predominantly shape nucleotide composition near human transcription start sites
PLOS Biology: published October 21, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004063
Recombination shapes the dynamics of selective constraint in global populations of human gut bacteria
PLOS Biology: published October 12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004052
Host–virus interactions dominate fitness and conceal additive genetic variation
PLOS Biology: published October 22, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003836
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Full-length genomes evolve in parallel in a long-term evolution experiment with phage φX174
PLOS Biology: published October 29, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004064
Moral and perceptual conflict processing are implemented by distinct brain activation and functional connectivity patterns
PLOS Biology: published October 5, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004025
A cortical semantic map integrates fractions and integers in the human brain
PLOS Biology: published October 22, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003820
Eye movements reflect capacity-dependent organization of working memory
PLOS Biology: published October 13, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004047
Distinct millisecond-scale click-train patterns evoke discriminable behavioral and neural responses in humans and rats
PLOS Biology: published October 8, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004046
Implicit sensorimotor adaptation comprises distinct mechanisms for action selection and execution
PLOS Biology: published October 9, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004057
Transient feedforward communication between somatosensory and premotor cortex supports goal-directed behavior
PLOS Biology: published October 29, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004095
Oxytocin receptor signaling in the dorsal lateral septum is essential for social transmission of food preference in mice
PLOS Biology: published October 14, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004044
The mechanosensitive channel TMEM63B contributes to noxious heat sensation in the dorsal root ganglia
PLOS Biology: published October 16, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004060
Uracil-driven ROS signaling and larval TrpA1-B neuron activation are required for priming the adult Drosophila gustatory response to bacteria
PLOS Biology: published October 5, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004042
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fruitless is essential for male Aedes aegypti mosquito attraction to female flight sounds
PLOS Biology: published October 27, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004041
Deficiency of placental GDF15 causes fetal growth restriction by inhibiting fetal hepatic STAT3-IGF2 axis
PLOS Biology: published October 14, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004061
Viral disease outcomes are indistinguishable between experimentally infected bats and rodents
PLOS Biology: published October 29, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004053
A macrophage-targeted TIMD4 Peptide-Nanoparticle attenuates colitis symptoms and monocyte recruitment in a mouse model
PLOS Biology: published October 21, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004056
Breadth of ACE2 receptor usage predicts host range and antigenic relatedness across bat sarbecoviruses
PLOS Biology: published October 1, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003944
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Targeting of conserved spike epitopes enables broad antibody neutralisation of diverse bat sarbecoviruses
PLOS Biology: published October 1, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003882
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The histone methyltransferase complex subunit RBBP5 serves as a central epigenetic regulator of proteostasis dynamics
PLOS Biology: published October 8, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004048
The Cryptococcus neoformans titanide is a pathogenic cell type that arises from typical yeast cells in response to host conditions
PLOS Biology: published October 12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004031
An inositol receptor Itr4 coordinates carbon catabolite regulation and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans
PLOS Biology: published October 13, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003709
Short Reports
Pollinator abundance shapes sexual selection in an angiosperm
PLOS Biology: published October 27, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003579
Methods and Resources
Integrated multi-omics analysis reveals the molecular landscape and therapeutic strategies in Chinese cervical cancer patients
PLOS Biology: published October 5, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004029
FuChi is a cell cycle biosensor for tracking cell cycle dynamics during avian development
PLOS Biology: published October 9, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004036
A systematic fluorescently tagged protein toolkit for dissecting apical extracellular matrix patterning in C. elegans
PLOS Biology: published October 14, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004059
Type III effectors of symbiotic Rhizobia include diverse predicted transcriptional and post-transcriptional modulators
PLOS Biology: published October 8, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004038
A broad-host-range Rhizobium rhizogenes strain enables transient expression across diverse crop species
PLOS Biology: published October 15, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004010
PrimeStack editors enable efficient and site-specific integration of large multigene cargos in plants
PLOS Biology: published October 13, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003778
A binding-activated CRISPR/dCas13X imaging system enables precise RNA tracking in plants
PLOS Biology: published October 6, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3004043
Meta-Research Articles
Inadequate antibody validation places substantial numbers of animal and human tissue samples at risk of waste
PLOS Biology: published October 6, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003984
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Actionable solutions to address antibody validation failures
PLOS Biology: published October 6, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003981
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Discovery Report
A histidine-mediated supramolecular mechanism links temperature and pH activation of the sperm channel CatSper
PLOS Biology: published October 9, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003776