Browse Articles

Multiple environmental drivers of food chain length (FCL) have been proposed, but empirical support has been contradictory. Here the authors argue that the magnitude of vertical energy flux in ecological communities underlies two commonly evaluated drivers of FCL and show that the effects of these two drivers are context-dependent.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling is regulated at multiple levels. Here the authors show that the importin RanBP6 acts as a tumor suppressor in Glioblastoma and  regulates EGFR signalling through promoting translocation of STAT3 to the nuclei and repressing EGFR transcription.

Traditionally marker-based approaches are used to define haematopoietic cell type or state. Here, the authors use single-cell RNA-seq to establish a cellular hierarchy of lineage development in zebrafish haematopoiesis, and propose a refined model of developmental progression of haematopoietic cells.

Mathematical approaches can be used to assess immune cell composition from the tumour's bulk expression data. Here the authors optimise the CYBERSORT-based deconvolution algorithm by including cell type-specific reference gene expression profiles generated from tumour-derived single-cell RNA sequencing data.

Live birth may be a precursor for parent-offspring associations and subsequent sociality, but the ubiquity of live birth in mammals and parental care in birds precludes testing the relationship in those clades. Here the authors show that live birth, but not egg attendance, is associated with the evolution of social grouping in squamate reptiles.

One-dimensional topological superconductors are predicted to host zero-energy Majorana fermions at their extremities. Here, the authors observe dispersive edge states in a monolayer of Pb/Si(111) coupled to a ferromagnetic domain.

There is a need to understand how mammary epithelial cells respond to changes at various developmental stages. Here, the authors use single-cell RNA sequencing of mammary epithelial cells at different adult developmental stages, identifying different cell types and charting their developmental trajectory.

Ballistic motion on nanometer scale of topological surface states has rarely been studied. Here, Maier et al. report pronounced geometric resistance resonances of high-mobility Dirac electrons in strained HgTe, suggesting a ballistic effect in three-dimensional topological insulators.

The description of a paramagnetic impurity on a superconductor remains elusive in the weak-coupling Kondo regime. Here, Hatter et al. correlate the energy of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov bound states with the intensity of the Kondo resonances in such a regime, revealing a behavior well described by classical spin models.

Parallel patterning of atoms over a large surface would represent a major advance over current serial methods of single atom manipulation. Here, the authors explore a periodic instability from liquid alloy droplets for high-throughput atom printing.

Modulating the adsorption behaviours of metal-organic frameworks using external stimuli is desirable, but challenging to achieve. Here, Zhou and colleagues design an indium-based MOF in which tetrathiafulvalene ligands undergo reversible redox reactions that alter the framework breathing behaviour.

Adding very small amounts of zinc to magnesium alloys containing rare earth elements dramatically improves their creep life. Here, the authors use first principles calculations and atomic-scale characterization to show that this is due to stiff covalent bonding of zinc and rare earth elements such as neodymium.

Viscosity increase in the mantle may cause slab stagnation and plume deflection, but the cause has been unclear. Here, the authors perform experiments showing that the viscosity of ferropericlase increases by 10–100 times from 750 to 1250 km depth indicating a single mechanism for these observations.

Chiral surfaces are emerging as important biomaterial components, as they can modulate cell behavior. Here, the authors modify plasmonic nanoparticle films with amino acid isomers, and find that the chirality of the film remarkably affects cell proliferation, adhesion, and directional differentiation.

Adaptive therapy aims to control tumours by exploiting competition between therapy-sensitive and resistant cells. Here, the authors show that tumour spatial structure is a critical parameter for adaptive therapy as competition for space increases fitness differentials, allowing suppression of resistance with low-dose treatments.

Therapeutics to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae are needed. Here the authors show immune evasion drives lipopolysaccharide O2 serotype expansion in multidrug-resistant isolates, and anti-O-antigen human monoclonal antibodies synergize with antibiotics to protect mice from infection.

Organizations can take different approaches to innovation: they can either follow a strategic process or a serendipitous perspective. Here Fink et al. develop a statistical model to analyse how components combine to obtain a product and thus explain the mechanism behind the two approaches.

A nucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 is a common genetic cause of neurodegenerative disorders. Here, the authors provide insight into the molecular mechanism by which this repeat undergoes Repeat-Associated Non-AUG (RAN) translation, implicating the integrated stress response and eIF2α phosphorylation.

The smart regulation of substance permeability is highly desirable for membrane separation technologies. Here, the authors design a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-grafted graphene oxide membrane with temperature tunable lamellar spaces, allowing for water gating and size-variable molecular separations.

Sensory input and neuronal activity are crucial for proper morphological development of neurons. Here, Frangeul and colleagues show that membrane excitability is a critical component of dendritic development in mouse somatosensory thalamocortical neurons.