Articles in 2017

Direct interspecies electron transfer has been shown in methane-producing communities, but it is unknown how widespread this mechanism is. Here, Haet al. show that anoxygenic photosynthesis can be driven by direct electron transfer from a heterotrophic partner bacterium.

Identifying and quantifying dissimilarities among graphs is a problem of practical importance, but current approaches are either limited or computationally demanding. Here, the authors propose an efficiently computable measure for network comparison that can identify structural topological differences.

Satellite altimeters resolution poorly capture mesoscale signals in the upper ocean. Here, the authors analyse shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler measurements from the northwest Pacific, and show that balanced geostrophic flows and unbalanced internal waves comprise upper ocean velocities.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) maintains intestinal homeostasis by restricting its hyperproliferation but whether it directly regulates the stem cells is unknown. Here the authors show that BMP constrains the Lgr5⁺stem cell expansion under both homeostatic and injury conditions through Smad-mediated repression of stem cell signature genes.

Zintl-phase thermoelectrics are predominantly p-type. Here, Zhanget al. use tellurium to n-dope Mg₃Sb_1.5Bi_0.5and obtain thermoelectric figures of merit up to 1.6 at 700 K. Calculations show that these performances result from a conduction band with sixfold valley degeneracy.

Use of soluble boron compounds in prostate cancer therapy is hampered by their short half-life time and low effectiveness. Here, the authors show that boron nitride nanospheres with controlled boron release can reduce proliferation of prostate cancer cells and inhibit tumour growth in animal models.

Few-layered black phosphorus offers an infrared bandgap, complementing that of graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides. Here, the authors investigate the thickness- and strain-dependent electronic structure of black phosphorus using polarised infrared spectroscopy.

The cohesin complex maintains genome integrity by ensuring correct sister-chromatid segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Here, Chaoet al. present a pseudo-atomic model of the full-length Scc2–Scc4 cohesin loader complex and reveal key Scc2 surfaces crucial for cohesin loading.

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma often develop resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Here, the authors demonstrate that inhibition of cell cycle regulators CDK4/6 or MAPK blockade enhances the efficacy of EGFR inhibitors for these tumours in mice.

Brain machine interfaces (BMI) enable sensorimotor control of movement yet the parameters that may affect these pathways are not known. Here the authors show systematically that increasing the rate of control from brain as well as feedback rates to the subject results in better performance on a BMI task in monkeys.

Knowledge of the spin structure in parent compounds of unconventional superconductors is crucial for an understanding of the complex physics in these materials. Here, the authors report canted spin structure on the surface as well as on the thin film form of Fe_1+yTe, different from the bulk.

Cellular uptake of transition metal ions is mediated by members of the SLC11/NRAMP family. Here the authors determine the structural and functional properties of EcoDMT, a bacterial SLC11 transporter, gathering molecular insight into its transport mechanism and proton coupling process.

The protein tyrosine kinase c-Src is a renowned proto-oncogene with pleiotropic effects. Here, the authors show that c-Src induces the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells by phosphorylating hexokinases HK1 and HK2, which in turns lead to increased HK catalytic activity and consequent enhancement of glycolysis.

Both genetics and environment affect the number and phenotype of immune cells. Here the authors characterize the degree of influence of genetics versus environment on various immune cell parameters by analysing a large cohort of female twins.

Photosynthesis uses only a limited range of solar radiation. Here, Graysonet al. genetically incorporated the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) chromophore into a bacterial photosystem, and show that energy harvested by reaction centre–YFP complexes can augment photosynthesis in vivo.

One can easily identify if multiple sounds are originating from a single source yet the neural mechanisms underlying this process are unknown. Here the authors show that temporally coherent sounds elicit changes in receptive field dynamics of auditory cortical neurons in ferrets only when paying attention.

Light-matter interaction in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides is dominated by excitonic effects and hot-carrier relaxation/extraction mechanisms. Here, the authors report that the C exciton in two-dimensional MoS₂exhibits a slower hot-carrier cooling than band-edge excitons.

The effect of working memory on activity in primary visual cortex (V1) is not well understood. Here the authors report a clear influence of both working memory and attention on spiking activity in the superficial and deep layers of V1 with a weaker influence on input layer 4.

Lithium-based batteries employing silicon anodes and sulfur cathodes are promising for combining low cost and high capacity, but have been limited in terms of cycling stability. Here authors present cycling and characterization data supporting beneficial synergies between a selenium disulfide cathode and a silicon anode.

Vanishing Chern numbers usually mean that a system is topologically trivial, but this rule may be violated for periodically driven systems. Here, Maczewskyet al.report topologically protected edge modes in a periodically driven photonic lattice with all bands of zero Chern number.