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Host-parasite coevolution can lead to arms races favouring novel immunogenetic alleles or the maintenance of diversity in a balanced polymorphism. Here, Lighten et al. combine data on MHC diversity across three guppy species and simulations to show that polymorphisms of immunogenetic supertypes may persist even as alleles within supertypes are involved in an arms race.
Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) can map transcription factor binding to a given genome. Here, Steube and colleagues devise a ChIP-seq technique based on photochemical crosslinking by high-intensity ultraviolet laser irradiation, and describe its utility.
The nuclear cap-binding complex (CBC) binds to the 5′-cap structure of Pol II transcripts. Here, the authors give structural insights into CBC-mediated transcript processing and show that CBC forms mutual exclusive complexes with NELF and ARS2, which might act in earlier and later phases of transcription, respectively.
Whilst superconductivity usually appears when magnetic order is suppressed, the role of charge is less known. Here, Kawasaki et al. report a charge density wave (CDW) above the superconducting transition induced by an in-plane magnetic field in Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6, with the CDW onset temperature scaling with the pseudogap temperature.
RNA A-to-I editing introduces single nucleotide changes to RNA, but its role in cells remains unclear. Here, the authors analyse A-to-I editomes in human samples and find that A-to-I editing stabilizes RNA secondary structures and reduces the accessibility of AGO2-miRNA to target sites in mRNAs.
Selective autophagy describes the selective degradation of cellular components upon stress or nutrient deficiency, but whether it modulates innate immunity is unclear. Here the authors show that Drosophila Kenny may be an evolution-selected autophagy receptor for the down-regulation of innate NF-κB activation
A new type of cyclotron orbit combining surface Fermi arcs and bulk states in topological semimetals has recently been proposed as Weyl orbit. Here, Zhang et al. report the evolution of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanoplates along with a quantum Hall state possibly arising from such Weyl orbit.
Stressors such as sediment dredging can harm marine organisms, but this impact could be minimised if targeted within ‘ecological windows’. Here, Wu and colleagues develop a modelling framework to identify ecological windows that maximise seagrass resilience under varying dredging schedules.
Understanding foraminifera mineralisation pathways is essential to correctly decipher the geochemical climate signals recorded in their shells. Here, the authors identify a non-classical crystallization pathway via metastable phases for Orbulina universa and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei.
Complex networks represent systems such as neural networks and air traffic as interconnected nodes that organize themselves into subsets. Here Bertolero et al. propose a subset which they call the diverse club, which offers an alternative to the commonly used rich club.
It is hypothesised that exposure to bovine spongiform encephalopathy through contaminated food could have resulted in a large proportion of latent variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases in humans. Here the authors demonstrate that inoculation with blood from non-symptomatic, vCJD infected humans, results in a unique prion-like disorder in mice and macaques.
AMPK regulates cellular energy balance using its γ subunit as an energy sensor of cellular AMP and ADP to ATP ratios. Here, the authors show that γ2 AMPK activation lowers heart rate by reducing the activity of pacemaker cells, whereas loss of γ2 AMPK increases heart rate and prevents the adaptive bradycardia of endurance training in mice.
Several models have been proposed to explain the emergence of sex chromosomes. Here, through comparative genomics and mutant analysis, Harkess et al. show that linked but separate genes on the Y chromosome are responsible for sex determination in Asparagus, supporting a two-gene model for sex chromosome evolution.
Owing to their unique properties, hollow metal nanocrystals demonstrate greater catalytic promise than their solid counterparts. Here the authors produce hollow and inflated palladium nanocrystals with thin shells via a repeated Kirkendall cavitation process, and demonstrate their activity for formic acid oxidation.
During cell division animal cells generate intracellular pressure and round against their environment, but the genes responsible for this are largely unknown. Here the authors use a microcantilever- and RNAi-based assay to screen > 1000 genes and identify 49 genes involved in mitotic cell rounding; many are novel to this process.
Ubiquitin ligases play critical roles in neuronal connectivity in the brain. Here, Valnegri and colleagues show that ubiquitin ligase RNF8 and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBC13 regulate synapse number in cerebellar granule neurons and rodent cerebellar learning.
Blood clot contraction is a cellular (patho)physiological process essential for wound healing, hemostasis, and thrombosis. Here, the authors describe the physical structural mechanism by which platelet filopodia pull “hand-over-hand” on fibrin fibers to compact them into bundled agglomerates.
Regulation of telomeres and the insulin/PI3K pathway both have roles in aging and cancer development but have not been functionally linked. Here the authors demonstrate that PI3K, via downstream targets, regulates TRF1 via phosphorylation.
Monomer sequence is an emerging tool to precisely encode information (and thus structure and function) into polymer systems. Here the authors use sequence-control in complex coacervates to understand how monomer sequence translates to physical material properties.
The range of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling in the Drosophila imaginal disc is limited by Hh/receptor degradation at the anterior/posterior (A/P) compartment boundary. Here, the authors show that degradation is mediated by co-receptor proteins Ihog/Boi, whose cell adhesion functions also contribute to A/P cell segregation.
