Articles in 2016

Here, the authors demonstrate how ultra-short bunches of relativistic electrons produce coherent transition radiation at the tip of a thin wire. The radiation then propagates as a powerful surface plasmon polariton along the wire, illustrating the potential of this technique for terahertz plasmonics.

Looped trajectories of photons in a three-slit interference experiment could modify the resulting intensity pattern, but they are experimentally hard to observe. Here the authors exploit surface plasmon excitations to increase their probability, measuring their contribution and confirming Born’s rule.

The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model describes a system that supports topological excitations. Here the authors simulate this model using⁸⁷Rb atoms in a momentum-space lattice, observing the localized topological soliton state via quench dynamics, phase-sensitive injection and adiabatic preparation.

The stereoselective addition of Grignard reagents to ketimines is potentially a straightforward route to α-chiral amines. Here the authors report a catalytic, asymmetric Grignard addition to silyl ketimines, givingN-sulfonyl protected α-chiral silyl amines with tetrasubstituted stereocentres.

Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells consisting of distinct subsets originating from different lineages. Here, the authors identify the subsets of dendritic cells populating the tumour tissue in both mice and humans and find they have opposing functions in regulating the anti-tumour immune response.

p53 is an oncosuppressor regulating several genes at the transcriptional level. Here, the authors identify a negative feedback loop between PHLDB3 and p53; PHLDB3 is a transcriptional target of p53 which facilitates MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination and degradation, impacting on tumorigenesis.

Radiotherapy can enhance the antitumour immune response. Here, the authors show that resistance to radiation in breast cancer cells can be due to Axl expression that suppresses antigen presentation though MHCI, promotes NF-κB signalling, and enhances cytokine release promoting a suppressive myeloid microenvironment.

There are two common models of photosynthetic light harvesting by photosystem II cores. Here, the authors use structurally sensitive, time resolved infrared pleochroism of single crystals of photosystem II core complexes to probe the exciton equilibration that discriminates between the models.

Stacking faults in nanocrystals are generally considered unwelcome structural defects. Here, the authors find that stacking fault tetrahedra in Au exhibit quantized, particle-in-a-box electronic behaviour, revealing a potential synthetic route to decoupled nanoparticles in metal films.

Magnetic resonance imaging combined with molecular reporters can visualise cellular functions in intact organisms. Here Mukherjeeet al. present a cellular imaging approach based on intracellular changes in water diffusion using human aquaporin 1 gene as a genetically encoded reporter for MRI.

Fas drives apoptosis and mutations in this receptor can cause autoimmunity through failure of cell death. Here, the authors uselpr/lprmice with palmitoylation-defective mutant Fas to provide evidence that Fas might limit spontaneous autoimmunity through a non-apoptotic mechanism.

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a quality control pathway that recognizes and degrades transcripts harbouring nonsense mutations. Here the authors show that the ATPase activity of UPF1 mediates functional interactions between the NMD machinery and ribosomes required for efficient ribosome release at premature termination codons.

Recombinations govern losses in solar cells. Here, Richteret al. use transient spectroscopy to evaluate how re-absorption and re-emission of photons in perovskite absorbers affect intrinsic recombination coefficients, and to differentiate between external and internal photoluminescence quantum yields.

Field emitter arrays are key components for X-ray sources, microwave generators, RF communication and advanced light sources. Tsujinoet al., report double-gate field emitter arrays with competitive beam qualities to the state of the art UV photoexcited cathodes.

Shaping ceramics into complex forms is a formidable goal. Here, the authors present an approach to self-shaping ceramics, inspired by self-folding processes in plants, in which the ceramic microstructure is embedded with aligned platelets that control the orientation of heat-induced shrinkage.

JAK1 mediates intracellular signalling from multiple cytokine receptors. Here, Elettoet al. identify JAK1 mutations that disrupt multiple signalling pathways and are associated with primary immunodeficiency, atypical mycobacterial infection susceptibility and early-onset metastatic bladder carcinoma.

Energy storage by metal redox reactions sets strict limits on capacity in metal oxide cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries. Here authors study stabilization of redox reactions at oxygen sites and demonstrate a cathode with a high reversible capacity enabled by the process.

In addition to affecting individual species, climate change can modify species interactions. Coupling simulation models with networks between plants and animal pollinators and seed dispersers, Schleuninget al. show that animal persistence under climate change depends more strongly on plant persistence than vice versa.

Plant tendrils are able to undergo both bending and chiral twisting motions but unfortunately synthetic mimics are unable to do this. Here the authors show a dual-layer polysiloxane-based liquid crystal soft actuator capable of two different 3D reversible transformations via light stimuli.

Environmental variation has been hypothesized to favour the evolution of large brains capable of adjusting behaviour to changing circumstances. Here, Sayolet al. find that across more than 1200 bird species, species with relatively large brains are indeed associated with more variable habitats.