Articles in 2020

Nanoantennas have been developed to direct light, but most still rely on laboratory scale light sources. Here, the authors demonstrate electrically-driven directional emission in the optical frequency range using a nanogap in conjunction with a Yagi-Uda antenna nanostructure.

DNA strand displacement reactions can be difficult to scale up for computational tasks. Here the authors develop DNA switching circuits that achieve high-speed computing with fewer molecules.

Forest management may play an important role in climate change mitigation. Here, Tong et al. combine remote sensing and machine learning modelling to map forest cover dynamics in southern China during 2002–2017, showing effects on carbon sequestration that are extensive but of uncertain longevity and possible negative impact on soil water.

In the No-Go decay mRNA surveillance pathway, mRNAs containing stalled ribosomes are cleaved by an endoribonuclease. Here the authors show the endonucleolytic cleavage on the artificial No-Go decay target mRNAs, revealing downstream decay process by Trl1 kinase and the 5′ to 3′ exonuclease Dxo1.

The relationship between the coral animal and symbiotic algae is essential to coral health, and researchers are turning to Exaiptasia, a model cnidarian system, to study this relationship mechanistically. Here the authors find that endosymbiotic algae become limited by nitrogen at high population densities and provide the host with high levels of fixed carbon.

Boreal conifers regulate photosynthesis to maximize seasonal growth while limiting damage due to light and cold stress. Here Yang et al. show that two major conifer species achieve this via different means as Scots pine, but not Norway spruce, activates alternative electron sinks during spring.

Antimicrobial peptide LL37 can bind nucleic acids and potentiate their sensing by endosomal TLRs. Here the authors show that LL37 binds to RNA from neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which amplifies inflammation and production of more LL37 and NETs via TLR8/13, suggesting that LL37 contribution to psoriasis may be fueled by NET-associated RNA.

Magneto-optical effects in magnets are commonly attributed to the interplay between exchange splitting and spin-orbit coupling. Here, Feng et al. report a topological magneto-optical effect in non-coplanar antiferromagnets due to finite scalar spin chirality, without any reference to exchange splitting or spin-orbit coupling.

Although transcription factor (TF) cooperativity is widespread, a global mechanistic understanding of the role of TF cooperativity is still lacking. Here the authors introduce a statistical learning framework that provides structural insight into TF cooperativity and its functional consequences based on next generation sequencing data and provide mechanistic insights into TF cooperativity and its impact on protein-phenotype interactions.

Elevated expression of ULK1 is known to be inversely correlated with breast cancer metastasis. Here, the authors report Exo70 as a substrate of ULK1 that suppresses cancer metastasis, and show that ERK1/2 mediated phosphorylation of Exo70 leads to opposing effects on tumour cell invasion.

The authors show that resistance to the antifungal 5-fluorocytosine in Cryptococcus deuterogattii is acquired more frequently in isolates with elevated mutation rate, and is associated with alterations in capsule biosynthesis and nucleotide metabolism.

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) plays a central role in allergic responses, yet therapeutic targeting of IgE with antibodies such as omalizumab is met with various limitations. Here the authors characterize the molecular properties and crystal structure of a new anti-IgE antibody, ligelizumab, for mechanistic insights related to its enhanced suppression activity.

Mobile group II introns function as ribozymes to splice and reinsert themselves into DNA, thereby colonizing new genomic regions. Here the authors use single-molecule FRET and molecular dynamics simulations to reveal a structural link between metal ion induced kinetic heterogeneity and the sugar puckers at the exon-intron binding interface.

Numerous micro- and macro-scale factors influence soil microbial diversity. Here the authors create a model to demonstrate that fine scale soil moisture influences the carrying capacity of microbes, which then scales up to larger biogeographic patterns.

Acetylcholine regulates intestinal epithelial secretion via muscarinic Gq-coupled receptors but its role in cell differentiation is unclear. Here, the authors show that Prox1-positive endocrine cells are sensors for the cholinergic intestinal niche and can trigger increased differentiation of enteroendocrine DCLK1-positive tuft cells.

A plethora of solid-state nanodevices rely on engineering the quantization of electrons in quantum wells. Here, the authors leverage the thickness of exfoliated 2D crystals to control the quantum well dimensions in few-layer semiconductor InSe and investigate the resonance features in the tunnelling current, photoabsorption and light emission spectra.

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) has two subclasses, IgA1 and IgA2, but differential effects on inflammation are unclear. Here the authors show that IgA2, when compared with IgA1, has stronger pro-inflammatory functions associated with changed glycosylation and higher disease scores in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

There is interest in understanding the relaxation mechanisms of photoexcitation in atoms, molecules and other complex systems. Here the authors unravel the photoexcitation and ultrafast relaxation of superfluid helium nanodroplets using a pump-probe experiment with FEL pulses.

The authors here report on the influence of grain orientation on the charge distribution in polycrystalline materials for batteries. The quantitative characterization provides mechanistic insight into the way the grain orientation can be engineered to mitigate the charge heterogeneity.

Torsional stress is generated during DNA replication and transcription, however, the propagation of twist in condensed chromatin is poorly understood. Here the authors measure how force and torque impact chromatin fibers and find that the fibers fold into a left-handed superhelix that can be stabilized by positive torsion, suggesting that chromatin fibers stabilize nucleosomes under torsional stress.