Articles in 2020

Promising results of cancer therapies in transplant tumor models often fail to predict efficacy in clinical trials. Here the authors show that, while transplant tumors are cured by radiotherapy and PD-1 blockade, autochthonous sarcomas are resistant to the identical treatment, recapitulating the immune landscape and resistance to checkpoint blockade observed in most sarcoma patients.

It is unclear whether body size affects community assembly mechanisms of soil biota. Here, the authors analyse soil microbial and nematode communities sampled along a 4000-km transect in China and global soil microbiome data to show that bacterial assembly is governed by high dispersal, whereas larger taxa are more influenced by deterministic processes.

Muscle cells express an adhesion molecule called metavinculin, which has been associated with cardiomyopathies. Here, the authors employed molecular tension sensors to reveal that metavinculin expression modulates cell adhesion mechanics and they develop a mouse model to demonstrate that the presence of metavinculin is not as critical for heart muscle function as previously thought.

The eukaryotic RNA Polymerase III transcribes tRNAs, some ribosomal and spliceosomal RNAs. Here, the authors resolve a cryo-EM structure of human RNA Polymerase III in its apo form and complemented it with crystal structures and SAXS analysis of RPC5, revealing insights into the molecular mechanisms of Pol III transcription.

Endocannabinoid levels are controlled by the fine balance between their synthesis and degradation. Here, the authors show that memory formation through fear conditioning selectively accelerates the degradation of endocannabinoids in the cerebellum via a lasting increase in GABA release.

Here, the authors generate a replication-competent VSV based vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and show protection in the hamster model with one dose. Analysis of the antibody response in mice shows induction of neutralizing antibodies and suggests a desirable Th1-biased response to the vaccine.

Blood eosinophil (EOS) counts may serve as risk factors for human coronary heart diseases. Here the authors show that increased circulating and myocardial EOS after myocardial infarction play a cardioprotective role by reducing cardiomyocyte death, cardiac fibroblast activation and fibrosis, and endothelium activation-mediated inflammatory cell accumulation.

Semiconductor spin-qubits with CMOS compatible architectures could benefit from the industrial capacity of the semiconductor industry. Here, the authors make the first steps in demonstrating this by showing single electron operations within a two-dimensional array of foundry-fabricated quantum dots.

SthK, a cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel from Spirochaeta thermophila activates slowly upon cAMP increase. Here, authors investigate cAMP-induced activation in purified SthK channels using stopped-flow assays and enzymatic catalysis and reveal that the cis/trans conformation of a conserved proline in the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain determines the activation kinetics of SthK.

Histones, proteins that bind DNA, are toxic for pathogens outside cells but can also cause multi-organ damage as seen in sepsis. Here the authors develop small negatively charged molecules that can be used as histone antidotes, and show that they improve the phenotype in mouse models with histone-related pathologies.

Genetic variants discovered through genome-wide association studies for asthma together account for a small portion of the heritability. Here, the authors identify a possible epistatic relationship between coding variants in FUT2 and ABO, especially pronounced in severe and early onset asthma.

Finding effective treatments for COVID-19 depends upon understanding genetic regulation of proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection and host response. Here, the authors identify genetic variants linked to expression of such proteins, data which could lead to the discovery of therapeutic targets.

The development of the all solid-state battery requires the formation of stable solid/solid interfaces between different battery components. Here the authors tailor the composition to form both electrolyte and anode from the same novel family of perovskites with shared crystal chemistry.

The potential contribution of Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level rise in the future is known to be substantial. Here, the authors undertake new modelling showing that the Greenland Ice Sheet sea level rise contribution is 7.9 cm more using the CMIP6 SSP585 scenario compared to CMIP5 using multiple RCP8.5 simulations.

Two-photon imaging in macaque V1 captured maps of tuning selectivity for four spatial parameters, all of which correlated with peak spatial frequency. These inter-map relationships reveal a common motif—they are described by uniform spatial pooling from a family of scale invariant Gabor receptive fields.

The authors present a public collection of 117 bacterial isolates from the pig gut, including the description of 38 novel taxa. Interesting functions discovered in these organisms include a new fucosyltransferease and sactipeptide-like molecules encoded by biosynthetic gene clusters.

Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions not only amplify the global climate crisis, but cause damage currently unaccounted for by food prices. Here the authors show the calculation of prices with internalized climate costs for food categories and production systems, revealing strong market distortions.

Gender inequality increases vulnerability to climate change impacts and reduces societies’ adaptive capacity. Here the authors show how gender inequality may evolve in the future in five scenarios of socioeconomic development and highlight the importance of incorporating gender inequality in climate change research and policy.

The skin of zebrafish is patterned by alternating blue stripes and yellow interstripes which arises from guanine crystal-containing cells called iridophores that reflect light. Here the authors track iridophores and see that they do not migrate between stripes and interstripes, but instead differentiate and proliferate in place based on their micro-environment.

Evergreen conifers rely on ‘sustained quenching’ to protect their photosynthetic machinery during long, cold winters. Here, Bag et al. show that direct energy transfer (spillover) from photosystem II to photosystem I triggered by loss of grana stacking in chloroplast is the major component of sustained quenching in Scots pine.