Search

This study explores the magnitude, spatiotemporal variation and drivers of nitrous oxide emissions from Chinese livestock production over the past four decades. Scenario analysis is used to estimate emissions mitigation potential of different measures, their associated marginal abatement costs and the social benefits.

Using multiple remote-sensing datasets, the authors show that temporal and spatial scale influence the detection of tree-mortality events and explain why there has been a seemingly conflicting pattern of both overall greening but also extensive tree mortality in recent decades.

AK-42 was reported as a specific inhibitor of ClC-2 but its working mechanism is not clear. Here authors report cryo-EM structures of apo ClC-2 and in complex with AK-42, revealing how it inhibits ClC-2 specifically.

Climate change is inducing widespread shifts in the phenology of terrestrial organisms. This global analysis reveals a growing asymmetry between plant and animal responses, with more pronounced phenological shifts in plants.

Forest planting is considered a natural climate solution, but effects on soil carbon are unclear. This study, in northern China, finds that planting forests increases carbon in soils poor in it and vice versa.

A machine learning model for generating crop-specific and spatially explicit NH₃ emission factors globally shows that global NH₃ emissions in 2018 were lower than previous estimates that did not fully consider fertilizer management practices.

A high-quality draft genome assembly of Musa balbisiana (the banana B-genome) is reported. Comparative genomic and gene functional analyses provide insights into the subgenome evolution and functional divergence between the A- and B-subgenomes.

Cassava is a major source of food in tropical and subtropical regions. Here the authors sequence the genomes of wild and domesticated cassava varieties and identify genes that have been selected for and against during the evolution and domestication of this economically important crop.

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease with complex genetics and different degrees of prevalence across ethnic populations. Here Yin et al. conduct a large trans-ethnic genome-wide meta-analysis and identify novel loci that contribute to population-specific susceptibility.

GABRA3, a subunit of the GABA receptor, is often highly expressed in brain metastasis and breast cancers. Here, the authors demonstrated that GABRA3 activates AKT to promote breast cancer cell invasion and that the A-to-I edited form of GABRA3, specifically expressed in noninvasive breast cancers, can suppress the function of wild type GABRA3.

Crop pests and diseases (CPDs) can substantially reduce attainable crop yields worldwide, but the understanding of CPD dynamics remains limited because CPD occurrence is complex and interacts with climate and agronomic practices. Using a historical dataset of CPD occurrence in China, the national average rate of CPD occurrence was found to increase by a factor of four during 1970–2016, and climate change will lead to a greater increase in CPD occurrence by the end of the century.

Glycosylation is an abundant form of post-translational modification. Here the authors present a generalizable workflow for the selection of indole-modified aptamers that can recognize protein glycoforms with high specificity.

Wind speeds have reduced globally over land since the 1980s. In situ data show that this reversed around 2010, with natural ocean–atmosphere variability thought to drive the wind speed changes, as well as a 17% increase in potential wind energy for 2010–2017 and a boosted wind power capacity factor.

Xuejun Zhang, Jun Wang, Liangdan Sun, Lennart Hammarström and colleagues sequence the MHC region in 20,635 Han Chinese individuals. Their Han-MHC database allows identification of new susceptibility loci for psoriasis and could serve as a tool for investigating the role of the MHC region in other complex diseases.

The authors reveal complex drought recovery responses to phenology shifts, in that early spring can shorten or lengthen recovery, while delayed spring following drought events delays it. These effects suggest a need to incorporate phenology aspects into resilience models.

Recent warming has significantly advanced leaf onset in the northern hemisphere. Here, the authors show asymmetric effects of daytime and nighttime temperature change on the timing of leaf onset.

Vegetation productivity in the Northern Hemisphere has increased under climate change since the 1980s. However, the correlations between productivity and summer temperature are projected to decrease by the end of the century, with implications for the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink.

Deforestation causes elevation-dependent warming over tropical mountain regions, according to high-resolution climate simulations.

The future of terrestrial systems is influenced by their past, but this carryover effect is rarely quantified. Here, the authors provide the first quantitative evidence that a greener spring begets a greener summer and autumn, and that this carryover effect is even stronger than climate drivers.

A study of global tree ring data records over the last century reveals a temporal trade-off between resistance and resilience to drought for gymnosperms.

A screen for suppressors of breast to lung metastasis leads to the identification of KLF17 (Krüppel-like transcription factor 17), which is shown to be downregulated in breast cancer biopsies. KLF17 inhibits epithelial–mesenchymal transition and invasion by inhibiting the transcription of the metastasis factor Id1.

The world keeps urbanizing. This study finds that since 1985 global urban lands have expanded four times faster than previously recognized and faster than population is growing.

Xuejun Zhang, Jun Wang and colleagues report the application of exome sequencing to a large collection of psoriasis cases and controls. They identify seven common and low-frequency nonsynonymous variants within known psoriasis susceptibility genes that are associated with psoriasis risk.

A sponge-like double-layer porous (SLDLP) structure is reported to simulate synapse in our work. The results of the study provide the method, structure, and model of the device to clarify the mechanism of the synaptic behaviors.

Estimates of global dryland changes are often conflicting. This Review discusses and quantifies observed and projected aridity changes, revealing divergent responses between atmospheric and ecohydrological metrics that can be explained by plant physiological responses to elevated CO₂.