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Quantum annealing is one strategy that may enable quantum computations that are robust to noise, despite the system’s interaction with the environment. Dickson et al. explore quantum annealing for a 16-qubit system and find that for a small energy-gap avoided crossing, it can be robust against thermal noise.
Nucleation and growth of ice in small droplets are strongly size dependent, but direct experimental evidence is rare. Li et al.demonstrate computationally that the nucleation is substantially suppressed in nanosized droplets, which is caused by increased pressure at the curved liquid–vapour interface.
Lenses are well-understood optical instruments to focus light. The flame lens realized here by Michaelis et al. offers light focusing with a damage threshold several orders of magnitude higher than that of most conventional lenses.
Geminin blocks the inappropriate assembly of pre-replication complexes on DNA, and this activity is inhibited in G1 by its proteasomal degradation. Tsunematsu et al.demonstrate that geminin is stabilized during mitosis due to its phosphorylation by the mitotic kinase Aurora-A.
New approaches to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis are required to improve TB therapy. Vilchèze et al. now demonstrate that vitamin C-derived reactive oxygen species lead to sterilization of drug-susceptible and drug-resistant M. tuberculosisoffering new possibilities for drug development.
Modern crocodylian diversity is in decline and sympatry is rare, with usually no more than two or three species occurring in the same geographic area. Here Scheyer et al. identify a diversity peak in sympatric occurrence of at least seven new and previously characterized crocodylian species during the Miocene in South America.
Removing oil from the top of water in an efficient way remains a technical challenge in various environmental settings. Abkarian et al. show an approach to cover oil droplets with natural sands driven by gravity, which leads to a spontaneous separation of oil from water.
Rates of molecular evolution vary significantly between species, but the reasons behind this variation remain unclear. Lanfear et al.show that height accounts for one-fifth of the rate variation measured in plant genomes, and suggest that is because taller plants copy their genomes less frequently.
Amyloid fibrils are implicated in a number of diseases but the origin of their length distributions is poorly understood. Here, evidence is presented to support a structural transition at a critical mass concentration, above which fragmentation of fibrils is suppressed.
The structure of the superconducting phase of iron-based superconductor KxFe2−ySe2 is difficult to determine because it coexists with an predominant insulating phase. Ding et al. identify the superconducting filaments that provide clues to the structure of the parent phase of superconductivity.
Monocytes are recruited to sites of damage or infection where they differentiate into inflammatory macrophages. Here the authors demonstrate that, contrary to the prevailing model, these differentiated cells are able to proliferate at sites of inflammation.
A correlation between species and genetic diversity has been suggested. Here Baselga et al.provide evidence of a concordant decrease in beetle community similarity at species and genetic levels with geographic distance, suggesting a macroecological pattern which may follow neutral evolutionary processes.
Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) controls the transition between metaphase and anaphase during mitosis. Kasahara et al.show that Plk1 activity is regulated by phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase signalling through phosphorylation at a previously uncharacterized site.
The cytidine deaminase APOBEC3A has potent antiviral activity, degrading foreign DNA, and inhibiting viral replication, retrotransposition and reverse transcription. Byeon et al. present the solution structure of APOBEC3A, and reveal insights into its substrate specificity.
Accelerated cellular ageing in patients with progeria can be caused by the accumulation of nuclear lamins, leading to DNA damage and histone methylation. Here Liu et al. show that the metyltransferase SUV39H1 regulates lamin A stability, and that SUV39H1 depletion extends lifespan in a progeria mouse model.
Hyperbranched polymers have desirable properties as novel materials, and may be synthesized from homopolymerization of multi-vinyl momomers, although this can form insoluble products at low conversions. Here, the authors produce hyperbranched polymers in high yield owing to a kinetic control mechanism.
Neural stem cells in the adult brain maintain their pool size while producing new neurons. Kawaguchi et al.show that, during neural stem cell mitosis in the adult mouse subventricular zone, the Notch ligand Dll1 is asymmetrically segregated to one daughter cell, which undergoes differentiation.
Voltage-gated potassium channels open and close in response to changes in transmembrane potential, but their opening mechanism is poorly understood. Here, free energy molecular dynamics simulations show that strain accumulates as the pore closes, which subsequently drives opening.
The South African archaeological record contains evidence of the early flourishing of the human mind. Ziegler et al. provide new paleoclimate reconstructions, which suggest that rapid fluctuations in global climate have played a key role in the evolution of these early human cultures.
The expression of specific genes can be controlled by the combination of DNA-binding proteins, which determines their binding site selectivity. Here, simplified synthetic basic region leucine zipper-based peptides are induced to dimerize either through their C- or N-terminus, and thus are targeted to different DNA sequences.