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Editor’s Picks – Highlights of 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, the PLOS ONE staff editors have put together a compilation of papers published this year that really stood out to us. We have seen so many insightful, groundbreaking, thought-provoking and intriguing papers published at PLOS ONE this year, so choosing our Editor’s Picks is never an easy task. The below list provides a snapshot of the breadth of research published by PLOS ONE. We wish to thank all our authors, reviewers and Academic Editors for a delightful 2023, and look forward to collaborating with researchers old and new in the coming year.


Physical Sciences and Engineering

A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans—Urgent solutions required

Eriksen M, Cowger W, Erdle LM, Coffin S, Villarrubia-Gómez P, Moore CJ, et al. (2023) A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans—Urgent solutions required. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0281596. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281596

A beach with plastic litter such as bottles.
“Plastic-Trash-Floating_River_Water-Pollution__IMG_8879” by Public Domain Photos is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Data from more than 11,000 ocean-monitoring stations show that between 82 and 358 trillion plastic particles, weighing between 1.1 and 4.9 million tonnes, exist in the ocean surface layer. This research underscores the urgent need to reduce global plastic production and consumption, and increase recycling.

Word differences in news media of lower and higher peace countries revealed by natural language processing and machine learning

Liebovitch LS, Powers W, Shi L, Chen-Carrel A, Loustaunau P, Coleman PT (2023) Word differences in news media of lower and higher peace countries revealed by natural language processing and machine learning. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0292604. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292604

A word cloud with keywords from the study.
pone.0292604

Based on over 700,000 news articles in English and five major independent indeces for peacefulness, this study shows that natural language processing and machine learning can be used to infer the relative peacefulness of a country from the frequency of words used in its news publications. This opens future avenues of investigation into whether and to what extent this observation holds true for news articles in other languages, as well as what social processes influence the words used in different countries’ media.

Contamination of the marine environment by Antarctic research stations: Monitoring marine pollution at Casey station from 1997 to 2015

Stark JS, Johnstone GJ, King C, Raymond T, Rutter A, Stark SC, et al. (2023) Contamination of the marine environment by Antarctic research stations: Monitoring marine pollution at Casey station from 1997 to 2015. PLoS ONE 18(8): e0288485. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288485

The very earliest research stations in Antarctica were established in the late 19th century. Since then, many new stations have been established, and they have collectively provided invaluable research that aids our understanding of Antarctica and life, climate and geophysical processes in some of the most inhospitable places on the planet. This study reports pollution and contamination patterns around Australia’s Casey Station, documented between 1997 to 2015. This study finds elevated levels of metals, hydrocarbons, and PCBs beyond guidance upper limits, and conclude that research stations in Antarctica may pose a moderate ecological risk to the surrounding marine environment.

Does the 11-year solar cycle affect lake and river ice phenology?

Schmidt DF, Grise KM, Pace ML (2023) Does the 11-year solar cycle affect lake and river ice phenology? PLoS ONE 18(12): e0294995. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294995

An image of the sun.
Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

We are currently very close to the maximum in the 11-year solar cycle. This recent project studied whether or not there is a relationship between the solar cycle and ice-on and ice-off dates for rivers and lakes in the northern hemisphere. These dates appear to be trending towards shorter ice seasons, and previous studies have indicated that there are links between ice phenology and several natural climate cycles, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. This study found little or no connection between the sunspot cycle and the ice-covered season, indicating that the solar cycle likely does not affect ice-on and ice-off dates.


Behavioral and Social Sciences

The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts

Anderson A, Chilczuk S, Nelson K, Ruther R, Wall-Scheffler C (2023) The Myth of Man the Hunter: Women’s contribution to the hunt across ethnographic contexts. PLoS ONE 18(6): e0287101. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287101

“A mosaic illustration of hunter gatherer” (CC BY 2.0) by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel

Ethnographic reports of 63 different foraging societies around the globe reveal that women had a key role in hunting. These conclusions upend the paradigm that women in foraging societies gathered whereas men hunted, and support a re-analysis of the division of labor in these cultures.

The efficacy of interventions in reducing belief in conspiracy theories: A systematic review

O’Mahony C, Brassil M, Murphy G, Linehan C (2023) The efficacy of interventions in reducing belief in conspiracy theories: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 18(4): e0280902. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280902

A person holding a coffee cup and phone over a computer keyboard.
Image by Firmbee from Pixabay

This systematic review of 13 papers shows that most interventions aimed at reducing conspiracy beliefs are inneffective. However, this analysis suggested that interventions that occurred before participants were exposed to conspiracy beliefs, or attempts to develop critical thinking skills in participants, could potentially help counter conspiracy beliefs.

Caries prevalence and other dental pathological conditions in Vikings from Varnhem, Sweden

Bertilsson C, Vretemark M, Lund H, Lingström P (2023) Caries prevalence and other dental pathological conditions in Vikings from Varnhem, Sweden. PLoS ONE 18(12): e0295282. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295282

A photograph and x-ray images of Viking teeth.
pone.0295282

Through the examination of dentitions from 171 individuals from Varnhem in Sweden, Bertilsson and colleagues reveal that it was common for Vikings to suffer from dental caries and other oral health conditions and that they used toothpicks and other tools as an early form of dentistry. These findings provide new insight into the health and behaviours of the Swedish Viking Age population.

Did people really drink bleach to prevent COVID-19? A guide for protecting survey data against problematic respondents

Litman L, Rosen Z, Hartman R, Rosenzweig C, Weinberger-Litman SL, Moss AJ, et al. (2023) Did people really drink bleach to prevent COVID-19? A guide for protecting survey data against problematic respondents. PLoS ONE 18(7): e0287837. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287837

A close-up of a person's hand as they're filling out a paper form.
Image by Andreas Breitling from Pixabay

Reports of ingestion of household cleaners found in surveys on health behaviors during COVID-19 are made by problematic respondents: participants who are inattentive, provide intentionally false responses, or systematically respond “yes” to any question. These results underline the need to use techniques in survey research to increase the accuracy of measurement and prevent such respondents from invalidating the results of public health and medical survey research.


Life Sciences

A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity

Hochkirch A, Bilz M, Ferreira CC, Danielczak A, Allen D, Nieto A, et al. (2023) A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0293083. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293083

Four orca surfacing in front of snow-capped mountains in the background.
Image by Chris Amos from Pixabay

An analysis of the 14,669 European terrestrial, freshwater and marine species on the IUCN Red List reveals major challenges to their survival. In particular, agriculture and aquaculture, biological resource use, pollution, residential and commercial development, and fire and fire suppression emerged as key threats to these species.

FlgV forms a flagellar motor ring that is required for optimal motility of Helicobacter pylori

Botting JM, Tachiyama S, Gibson KH, Liu J, Starai VJ, Hoover TR (2023) FlgV forms a flagellar motor ring that is required for optimal motility of Helicobacter pylori. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0287514. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287514

A figure with six panels, illustrating the in-situ structure of the H. pylori FlgV ring.
pone.0287514

Hoover and colleagues characterized the undiscovered role of the protein FlgV on promoting flagellum assembly and rotation in the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori. The study utilized a series of biotechniques, including genome sequencing, protein structure modeling and Cryo-electron tomography, to characterize the structure and function of FlgV. The results suggest that it forms a flagellar motor ring-like structure that is highly conserved and plays an important role through interactions with key components of the motor.

How the monarch got its spots: Long-distance migration selects for larger white spots on monarch butterfly wings

Davis AK, Herkenhoff B, Vu C, Barriga PA, Hassanalian M (2023) How the monarch got its spots: Long-distance migration selects for larger white spots on monarch butterfly wings. PLoS ONE 18(6): e0286921. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286921

Two panels with close-up pictures of monarch butterflies.
pone.0286921

Monarch butterflies fly more than 2,000 miles from Canada to central Mexico each year, but only 30% survive the trip. Researchers have found that those with larger white spots on their wings are more successful and suggest that large white spots might have evolved to make wings more aerodynamic.

Nuclear genetic diversity of head lice sheds light on human dispersal around the world

Ascunce MS, Toloza AC, González-Oliver A, Reed DL (2023) Nuclear genetic diversity of head lice sheds light on human dispersal around the world. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0293409. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293409

A world map showing historic distribution of head lice based on nuclear genetic diversity..
pone.0293409

The human louse is an obligate blood-sucking parasite that has co-evolved with humans for millions of years. Analyses of lice genetics can thus provide a glimpse into key events in human evolution. Here, Marina Ascunce and colleagues analyzed genetic variation in 274 human lice from different geographical locations, using nuclear microsatellite loci and female-inherited mitochondrial DNA sequences. Their analysis revealed the existence of two distinct nuclear louse genetic clusters with limited, recent admixture reflecting patterns of human migration to the Americas.


Public Health and Medicine

Associations between fetal or infancy pet exposure and food allergies: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Okabe H, Hashimoto K, Yamada M, Ono T, Yaginuma K, Kume Y, et al. (2023) Associations between fetal or infancy pet exposure and food allergies: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0282725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282725

A small tan dog looking up at the camera.
“Oliver the Havanese” by andreaarden is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

An analysis of the Japan Environment and Children’s Study has shown a link between pets and early childhood food allergies. Data from 66,215 children revealed that exposure to dogs and cats early in life correlated with lower reports of certain food allergies. This interesting study supports further research into a potential causal link between pet ownership and allergies.

Better sleep, better life? Testing the role of sleep on quality of life

Kudrnáčová M, Kudrnáč A (2023) Better sleep, better life? testing the role of sleep on quality of life. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0282085. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282085

A diagram showing five segments of subjective quality of life - life satisfaction, work satisfaction, subjective health, wellbeing, happiness.
pone.0282085

Using data from the Czech Household Panel study (2018 – 2020), this study showed that sleep quality is the most influential effector on five aspects of quality of life: wellbeing, life satisfaction, subjective health, work stress and happiness. While sleep duration and social jetlag are undoubtedly important, they are less impactful on our quality of life than obtaining a good night’s sleep.

Dose response of running on blood biomarkers of wellness in generally healthy individuals

Nogal B, Vinogradova S, Jorge M, Torkamani A, Fabian P, Blander G (2023) Dose response of running on blood biomarkers of wellness in generally healthy individuals. PLoS ONE 18(11): e0293631. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293631

Utilizing a large dataset from a cohort of generally healthy individuals, this investigation demonstrated a dose-effect relationship between running volume and expression of blood biomarkers of exercise and metabolic health. Although the running volume is self-reported, which is a key limitation of the study, clear associations in expression of muscle damage biomarkers supports the association identified. This could inform advice for public health guidance about increasing activity levels for health and wellbeing, as well as for training and performance guidance in athletes.

Co-Benefits of Largescale Organic farming On huMan health (BLOOM): Protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled evaluation of the Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming programme in India

Jaacks LM, Bliznashka L, Craig P, Eddleston M, Gathorne-Hardy A, Kumar R, et al. (2023) Co-Benefits of Largescale Organic farming On huMan health (BLOOM): Protocol for a cluster-randomised controlled evaluation of the Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming programme in India. PLoS ONE 18(3): e0281677. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281677

The farmer's hand, the woman holding the vegetable in her hand and the background of a rice field.
Image by jcomp on Freepik

Interventions in agriculture can have several downstream effects on people’s nutrition status and overall health. The Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming program has been implemented to eliminate synthetic chemical inputs in agriculture, improve soil health and increase crop diversity. In this Study Protocol, Jaacks and colleagues describe plans to evaluate the impacts of this government intervention in four districts of Andhra Pradesh state in south India. Primary outcome measures will include urinary pesticide metabolites and dietary diversity, and results are expected to provide evidence of nutritional, developmental and health co-benefits of agroecology. We look forward to seeing the results!

Featured image: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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