Research articles

Leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) is frequently downregulated in liver cancer. Here the authors show that loss of LIFR promotes liver tumorigenesis and confers resistance to drug-induced ferroptosis through NF-κB-mediated upregulation of iron-sequestering cytokine LCN2.

COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of supply chains, particularly for goods that are essential or may suddenly become essential, such as repurposed pharmaceuticals. Here the authors develop a methodology to provide routes to pharmaceutical targets that allow low-supply starting materials or intermediates to be avoided, with representative pathways validated experimentally.

Direct dark matter searches need to take into account whether the total observation time is lower than the characteristic coherence time of the DM field. Analysing this generally overlooked scenario, here the authors quantify the impact on DM limits of the stochastic nature of the virialised ultralight field.

Rpn13 is a substrate receptor of the 26S proteasome and an anti-cancer drug target. Here, the authors identify and characterize XL5, a lead compound that binds to the N-terminal Pru domain of human Rpn13 (hRpn13), solve the NMR structure of XL5-ligated hRpn13 Pru and develop XL5-PROTACs that preferentially target an identified hRpn13 Pru fragment present in multiple myeloma cells.

Transcription can pose a threat to genomic instability through the formation of R-loops, which are RNA–DNA hybrids with a displaced non-template DNA strand. Here the authors mapped the R-loop proximal proteome in human cells and identified a role of the tumor suppressor DDX41 in opposing R-loop and double strand DNA break accumulation in gene promoters.

Here the authors show that hyporheic flow, bed morphology, and bed stability are intimately related, and that this relationship is expressed as distinct locked and segregated states of bedform dynamics, which carries implications for river system behavior in general and the storage of carbon, nutrients, and contaminants in particular.

Here the authors generate a live-attenuated Zika vaccine based on a clinically proven dengue virus serotype-2 vaccine backbone and show that one dose protects mice and non-human primates from Zika virus infection.

Face-selective neurons are observed in the primate visual pathway and are considered as the basis of face detection in the brain. Here, using a hierarchical deep neural network model of the ventral visual stream, the authors suggest that face selectivity arises in the complete absence of training.

Fine particle air pollution causes premature death, but the role of different fine particle components in mortality is not well characterized. Here, the authors show the secondary organic aerosol component of fine particle mass is associated with significant cardiorespiratory mortality in the U.S.

Shark antibodies (Variable New Antigen Receptors, VNARs) are the smallest naturally occurring antibody fragments. Here, the authors screen a VNAR phage display library against the SARS-CoV2 receptor binding domain (RBD) and identify VNARs that neutralize the SARSCoV-2 virus and discuss their mechanisms of viral neutralization.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play roles in key cellular processes, but remain largely unexplored in fungal pathogens such as Candida. Here, Hovhannisyan and Gabaldón analyze thousands of sequencing datasets to infer and characterize the lncRNA repertoires of five Candida species, paving the way for their future functional characterization.

The T cell response to Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus is critical to controlling infection and immunopathology but has been poorly explored in immunocompetent patients. Here the authors characterise the T cell response to the Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus proteome in immunocompetent patients from rural Uganda.

Moving conferences from in-person to virtual and hybrid modes may have emissions reductions benefits. Here the authors find that the switch to virtual and hybrid conferencing reduces the carbon footprint by 94% when it comes to the switch to virtual conferencing, and 67% for hybrid conferences with carefully selected hubs.

Synthetic embryo models have arisen as an approach to probe early development in vitro, facilitating the study of difficult to access stages. Here the authors present a simple system for generating embryo-like structures that resemble peri-implantation mouse embryos.

Learning from one’s own experience, and/or social learning from older individuals, could influence decision-making in migrating birds. Here the authors analyse 16 years of tracking data on whooping cranes to show that whether social or experiential learning is the dominant process in migration timing depends on life stage.

By teaching machine learning models with earthquake fault numerical simulations laboratory fault slip is predictable. Training the model further with a snippet of laboratory data improves predictions suggesting an approach to probing faults in Earth.

Abdominal surgery can often lead to complications including the formation of peritoneal adhesions and the molecular mechanisms underlying this process are still unknown. Here, the authors suggest that bacterial contamination drives adhesion formation through mesothelial EGFR signalling.

Designing active materials for efficient photocatalysis are of great interests. Herein the authors report coordination polymer gel assembled by low molecular weight gelator as photocatalysts for visible light driven H₂ production and CO₂ reduction regulated by charge-transfer interactions.

Tetrasubstituted alkenes have found use due to their potential photophysical properties. Here the authors present a method to form tetrasubstituted vinyl sulfides via a rhodium carbenoid rearrangement.

High tumour heterogeneity hinders the identification of molecular subtypes in prostate cancer. Here, the authors integrate single-cell chromatin accessibility data with multiplex imaging and reveal distinct chromatin features and transcriptional factor binding signatures in high- and low-grade prostate tumours.