Research articles

Metal-organic frameworks have a porous structure that has useful applications in gas adsorption; here, small-angle X-ray scattering is used to visualize the process of adsorption as gas pressure increases, revealing that adsorbate molecules interact across pore walls in a way that allows extra adsorbate domains to be created in the framework and to form superlattices, before the adsorbate settles down into a more uniform distribution.

A high-throughput analysis of DNA binding in over 9,000 interacting transcription factor pairs reveals that the interactions are often actively mediated by the DNA itself and the composite DNA sites recognized are different from the individual motifs of each transcription factor.

The Hong–Ou–Mandel effect is a quantum phenomenon that involves the interference of bosonic particles and demonstrates their indistinguishability; this effect has been demonstrated previously for photons and neutral atoms, and is now demonstrated for phonons, using a system of trapped ions that are promising building blocks for quantum computers.

A study of ¹²CO outflow emission from the protostellar source CARMA-7 in the cluster Serpens South suggests that episodic ejections of mass by the protostar begin in the earliest phase of protostellar evolution, probably providing a mechanism for driving the turbulence that is necessary for star formation in clusters.

Age at maturity in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is governed to a substantial extent by a locus showing dominance reversal, providing a resolution for sexual conflict in this trait, for which selection favours different ages in the two sexes.

By quantifying the colouration of all approximately 6,000 species of passerine birds, certain life-history traits such as large body size and tropical distribution are found to increase ornamentation in both male and female birds, whereas cooperative breeding increases it in females only, and sexual selection diminishes it in females more than it increases it in males.

The interaction between antiprotons, produced by colliding high-energy gold ions, is shown to be attractive, and two important parameters of this interaction are measured, namely the scattering length and the effective range.

Spontaneous levitation and trampoline-like bouncing behaviour of water droplets on rigid superhydrophobic surfaces in a low-pressure environment are observed, and are due to a build-up of overpressure in the surface texture beneath the droplets.

The drug daclatasvir (DCV), which inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural protein 5A (NS5A), can successfully reduce viral load in patients; here, a combination of DCV and an NS5A analogue is shown to enhance DCV potency on multiple genotypes and overcome resistance in vitro and in a mouse model.

The X-ray crystal structures of FtmOx1, the first known α-ketoglutarate-dependent mononuclear non-haem iron enzyme that can catalyse an endoperoxide formation reaction, are presented, along with further biochemical analyses which reveal the catalytic versatility of mononuclear non-haem iron enzymes, and help to unravel the mechanisms of endoperoxide biosyntheses.

Spin-entangled states between two neutral atoms in different optical tweezers are prepared by combining them in the same optical tweezer and allowing for controlled interactions, after which the particles are dynamically separated in space and their entanglement is maintained.

Palladium(ii) complexes can be used in efficient and highly selective cysteine conjugation reactions that are rapid and robust, and the resulting aryl bioconjugates are stable towards acids, bases, oxidants and external thiol nucleophiles.

In DNA demethylation, human TET proteins are evolutionarily tuned to be less reactive towards 5hmC and facilitate its generation as a potentially stable mark for regulatory functions.

A fluorescence-based approach defines new features of Cas9 that control the specificity of RNA-guided DNA cleavage in CRISPR genome editing technology.

Neuronal precursor cells in the tunicate Ciona intestinalis are shown to delaminate and undergo directed cell migration along either side of the neural tube before differentiating into bipolar neurons, suggesting that vertebrate neural-crest-derived sensory neurons have much deeper evolutionary roots.

In response to cancer-associated stress, autophagy machinery mediates degradation of nuclear lamina components in mammals, suggesting that cells might degrade nuclear components to prevent tumorigenesis.

Whether or not an increase in meltwater will make ice sheets move more quickly has been contentious, because water lubricates the ice–rock interface and speeds up the ice, but also stimulates the development of efficient drainage; now, a long-term and large-area study of a land-terminating margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet finds that more meltwater does not equal higher velocity.

Crystal structures of the DNA glycosylase AlkD with DNA containing various modified bases show that neither substrate recognition nor catalysis use a base-flipping mechanism; instead, AlkD scans the phosphodeoxyribose backbone for increased cationic charge imparted by the alkylated base, and then uses the positive charge to facilitate cleavage of the glycosidic bond, thus explaining the specificity of AlkD for cationic lesions.

A neuronal model of bipolar disorder based on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology finds hyperactive action-potential firing and differential responsiveness to lithium in iPSC-derived neurons from patients with bipolar disorder.