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Despite being an important driver of a subset of medulloblastomas, efforts to therapeutically target Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling, such as with the use of Smoothened (SMO) inhibitors, have had limited success. Here, the authors find that SHH medulloblastomas are sensitive to netrin-1 inhibition and investigate netrin-1 as a mechanism of resistance to SMO inhibition.

Simulations of the levels of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide over thousands of years confirm the existence of a nitrogen glacier in Sputnik Planitia, Pluto’s deepest basin.

Recent observations of methane on Mars suggest that methane concentrations are locally enhanced and change with the seasons. However, methane has a photochemical lifetime of several centuries, and is therefore expected to have a spatially uniform distribution on the planet. Here, using a global climate model of Mars with coupled chemistry reveals that photochemistry as currently understood cannot explain these variations in Martian methane.

Hydrogen escape has contributed to Mars’s progressive aridity, but current hydrogen loss rates cannot explain inferred past water abundances. A three-dimensional model shows that during periods of increased axis tilt, hydrogen loss rates were up to ten times higher than present values.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can contribute to cancers that are driven by Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling. Here the authors report that lncRNA HHIP-AS1 stabilises the mRNA of dynein complex 1, thereby, promoting the pro-mitotic effects of SHH-driven tumors.

Pluto is covered by numerous deposits of methane. Here, the authors show that the formation of methane frost on mountain tops and crater rims in Pluto’s equatorial regions completely differ from those forming snow-capped mountains on Earth.

Fouragnan et al. used neuroimaging and ultrasound neuromodution in non-human primates to demonstrate the causal role of the anterior cingulate cortex in translating counterfactual values in future choices.

By calculating the rotational figure of Mars and its surface topography before the Tharsis volcanic region caused true polar wander, it is shown that Tharsis formed during the Noachian and Hesperian periods at about the same time as the valley networks; early Mars climate simulations suggest icy precipitation in a latitudinal band in the southern hemisphere.

Detection of membrane potential changes using voltage indicators typically requires fast imaging rates and highly sensitive imaging methods. Here, the authors introduce scanless two-photon imaging, an approach which enables high signal to noise ratio voltage recordings at kilohertz rates, from multiple neurons simultaneously, both in vitro and in vivo.

The isolation of HIV-1 was a fundamental step for understanding HIV and the disease it causes. Here, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Anna Laura Ross and Jean-François Delfraissy look back on three decades of research that have changed the lives of people infected with HIV and have inspired hope for a cure.

Dying tumor cells release ATP, which activates the NLRP3 inflammasome in dendritic cells, enabling the secretion of interleukin-1β and the subsequent priming of tumor-specific interferon-γ-producing T lymphocytes.

The low albedo region of the seasonal polar ice caps of Mars could result from absorption by the underlying surface. But the deep and broad CO₂ absorption bands that are expected in the near infrared from a thick transparent slab of CO₂ ice are not observed.

A global dataset of the satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and fishing fleets show that sharks—and, in particular, commercially important species—have limited spatial refuge from fishing effort.

Current holographic approaches for neuronal stimulation have limitations in their temporal resolution and the number of targeted neurons. Here, the authors demonstrate an approach for ultra-fast holographic light targeting which, combined with optogenetics, enables sub-millisecond control of sequential neuronal activation and high throughput simultaneous multicell illumination.

The magnetic field measured by the InSight lander on Mars varies daily and is ten times stronger than expected. The field is inferred to originate from components of basement rocks magnetized by an ancient dynamo of Earth-like strength.

The InSight lander has expanded our knowledge of the atmosphere of Mars by observing various phenomena, including airglow, bores, infrasound and Earth-like turbulence.

The Martian atmosphere hosts water-ice clouds, but it is thought that any snow precipitation settles slowly, rather than in storms. Martian meteorology simulations suggest that localized convective snowstorms can occur on Mars during the night.

Glucocorticoids delay muscle wasting in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by reducing inflammation; but also have harmful side effects. Here, the authors show that Resolvin-D2 is more effective than glucocorticoids in mitigating muscular dystrophy in mouse models, due to its ability to dampen inflammation and target myogenic cells to improve muscle regeneration.

High-resolution measurements of Martian atmospheric dust, water and semiheavy water, obtained by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter during a global dust storm on Mars, are reported.

This protocol describes a microfluidic platform for dynamic high-throughput analysis of the phenotypes of single cells. Cell-surface markers and secreted proteins are quantified and characterized by fluorescence detection using tailored immunoassays.

Two dominant gradients in tree composition and function across the Amazon reflect patterns of soil fertility and differences in the length of the dry season length. The dominance of legumes in the Guiana shield may be due to high seed mass and low rates of disturbance, rather than root adaptations to poor soils.

Analysis of changes in functional groups of species and potential drivers of environmental change for protected areas across the world’s major tropical regions reveals large variation between reserves that have been effective and those experiencing an erosion of biodiversity, and shows that environmental changes immediately outside reserves are nearly as important as those inside in determining their ecological fate.

This study introduces a standardized method to quantify maternal investment: the maternal investment metric for mammalian species, derived from the allometric scaling of litter mass at weaning age by adult mass and investment duration .

Highly sensitive measurements of the atmosphere of Mars with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter do not detect any methane over a range of latitudes in both hemispheres, in contrast to previous local or remote detections.

A three-dimensional global climate model shows that the loss of a planet’s oceans through complete vaporization or evaporative escape to space will occur at considerably higher insolation than previously thought, owing to stabilizing atmospheric effects.

High perchlorate/chloride ratios at the Phoenix landing site in the Martian northern polar region could have formed by specific relative humidity and temperature conditions coupled with dust transport, according to experiments and thermodynamic modeling.

Titration of the optimal ratios of multicomponent biochemical reactions can be a laborious task. This protocol describes how to explore ∼10,000 combinations of concentrations of one to three reaction components with a droplet-based microfluidics platform.