Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
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.
AChBP is used as a structurally accessible prototype for studying ligand binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Stornaiuolo et al. report that a small molecule binds AChBP in an ordered p–p stack of three molecules per binding site, which may lead to new approaches in drug design.
Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis is a genetic condition in which the permeability of red blood cells to cations in increased. Albuisson and colleagues find that mutations in the mechanically-activated PIEZO1 ion channel are the major cause of the disease and result in more slowly inactivating currents.
Pulmonary emphysema obstruct airflow in the lung and often develop in smokers. Here Su et al. show that prothymosin α contributes to emphysema development through alterations in the acetylation of histones and the transcription factor NF-κB, and that exposure to cigarette smoke increases prothymosin α expression.
Recent studies suggest that there is an overlap between neuronal apoptosis and axon-specific degeneration. Cusack and colleagues show that the caspase-dependent pathways mediating axon degeneration during apoptosis are distinct from those mediating localized axon pruning.
Lung cancers have a high potential to become metastatic, which is a major cause of treatment failure. Here, the authors identify a microRNA that is upregulated in non-small-cell lung cancer and is associated with Hippo pathway modulation metastasis and poor clinical outcome.
Interleukin-17A homodimers preferentially interact with heterodimeric IL-17 receptors. By solving the crystal structure of an IL-17A homodimer in complex with a single IL-17RA receptor subunit, the authors reveal conformational changes in IL-17A that lead to exclusion of a second IL-17RA subunit.