Articles in 2021

Sera from unvaccinated, vaccinated, and previously infected and vaccinated individuals show reduced neutralizing and spike protein-binding activity towards the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 compared to other variants.

A high-throughput yeast display platform is used to analyse the profiles of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) that enable escape from antibodies, and suggests that most anti-RBD antibodies can be escaped by the Omicron variant.

The B.1.1.529/Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is resistant to neutralization by serum not only from patients who recovered from COVID-19, but also from individuals vaccinated with one of the four widely used COVID-19 vaccines.

Using high-resolution NMR characterization, the kinetics and dynamics of the catalytic function of a DNAzyme are shown.

The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant suppresses innate immune responses more effectively than isolates of first-wave SARS-CoV-2, and this is a result of mutations outside of the spike coding region that lead to upregulation of viral innate immune antagonists.

Pseudovirus assays and surface plasmon resonance show that the Omicron receptor-binding domain binds to human ACE2 with increased affinity relative to the ancestral virus, and that most neutralizing antibodies are considerably less potent against Omicron.

More than one-third of wild deer tested in northeast Ohio showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection of human origin.

An isolate of the Omicron variant of SARS-COV-2 was completely or partially resistant to neutralization by all nine clinically approved monoclonal antibodies tested.

Plasma from individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 exhibits 22-fold less neutralization capacity against Omicron (B.1.1.529) than against an ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain but residual neutralization is maintained in those with high levels of neutralization of ancestral virus.

A distinct class of broadly neutralizing antibodies to the influenza virus target a membrane-proximal anchor epitope of the haemagglutinin stalk domain.

Disturbances in the radiocarbon record anchor a precisely dated archaeological stratigraphy of a medieval trading emporium in Denmark in time, revealing that the Viking expansion was associated with competition for trade routes rather than with raids.

MicroRNAs encode sorting sequences that determine whether they are secreted in exosomal vesicles to regulate gene expression in distant cells or retained in cells that produced them, with different sequences used by individual cell types.

Archaeological and ancient DNA analyses of 35 individuals entombed at Hazleton North long cairn approximately 5,700 years ago are used to reconstruct kinship practices in Early Neolithic Britain.

Mechanisms explaining the milder clinical syndrome that is observed in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

PROTAC degrader–induced SWI/SNF inactivation abolishes DNA accessibility at enhancer elements of oncogenes and also tempers supra-physiologic expression of driver transcription factors, resulting in potent inhibition of tumour growth in mouse models.

Decoupling spin-polarized edge states using substitutional N-atom dopants along the edges of a zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR) reveals giant spin splitting of a N-dopant edge state, and supports the predicted emergent magnetic order in ZGNRs.

Restriction of dietary valine reduces growth of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia through altered valine tRNA biogenesis and reduced translation of mRNAs that encode subunits of mitochondrial complex I.

A silicon nitride microresonator is used for coherent phase modulation of a transmission electron microscope beam, with future applications in combining high-resolution microscopy with spectroscopy, holography and metrology.

An electric-field-induced topological phase transition from a Mott insulator to a quantum anomalous Hall insulator in near-60-degree-twisted (or AB-stacked) MoTe₂/WSe₂ heterobilayers is reported.

‘Candidatus Methanoliparum’ overexpresses genes encoding alkyl-coenzyme M and methyl-coenzyme M reductases—markers of archaeal multicarbon alkane and methane metabolism—and thrives on a variety of long-chain alkanes and n-alkylcyclohexanes, and n-alkylbenzenes with long n-alkyl (C_≥13) moieties.