Search

Switching target protein accumulation and activity by portable conditional degrons is potentially useful for both basic research and bioengineering. Here the authors present a versatile system to tune protein levels in live animals and plants using a temperature-sensitive N-end rule degradation signal.

Calcium serves as an important second messenger in signal transduction to the actin cytoskeleton. Here, we identify EFhD2/Swip-1 as a calcium-dependent actin cross-linker promoting rapid reorganization of actin networks in epithelial wound closure.

Explaining why interactions of metal particles with oxide supports can improve their catalytic performance has proved challenging. The origin and nature of metal–oxide interactions on industrially important platinum–ceria catalysts are now clarified, together with the dependence of the catalytic activity on the structure of the support.

Identifying biomarkers associated with risk of severe COVID-19 disease could inform clinical management. Here, the authors identify a long noncoding RNA associated with severe disease using data from three European countries, and validate their finding in data from Canada.

Early stellarator designs suffered from high particle losses, an issue that can be addressed by optimization of the coils. Here the authors measure the magnetic field lines in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, confirming that the complicated design of the superconducting coils has been realized successfully.

Laser spectroscopy measurements of the fermium isotopic chain show a smooth trend in the nuclear size of heavy actinide elements, and diminishing shell effects on the size evolution compared with lighter nuclei.

Although co-occurring species may differ widely in their response traits, coordinated functional trait shifts may emerge at the community level in response to environmental factors. Here, the authors use data from 150 grassland sites to identify a coordinated slow-fast strategy response to land-use intensification across above- and belowground taxa.

Protein serial crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) is a powerful technique for structure determination. Here, authors present a device for sample delivery designed to abate challenges to non-specialists allowing for compound screening.

A method for the sequential assessment of the physical phenotypes of suspended cells singularized from tissue biopsies by mechanical dissociation allows for rapid diagnoses.

Despite being implicated in several neurological diseases, the gut-brain axis remains poorly understood. Here the authors describe a mechanism of communication between the brain and the gut in a Parkinson’s disease mouse model mediated by CD11c⁺ macrophages.

How do birds find their way home? Magnetic compass information is known to have a key role in bird orientation, but how birds are able to sense the Earth's magnetic field remains unresolved, although two hypotheses have been proposed — the iron-mineral-based hypothesis and the light-dependent hypothesis. Here, reported data from European robins strongly suggest that a vision-mediated mechanism underlies the magnetic compass in this migratory songbird.

Interactions between SARS-CoV-2 viral RNAs and host cell proteins during infection are evaluated to improve our understanding of viral RNA functions and the host innate immune response.

Sunlight can change the composition of atmospheric aerosol particles, but the mechanisms through which this happens are not well known. Here, the authors show that fast radical reaction and slow diffusion near viscous organic particle surfaces can cause oxygen depletion, radical trapping and humidity dependent oxidation.

Swarm Learning is a decentralized machine learning approach that outperforms classifiers developed at individual sites for COVID-19 and other diseases while preserving confidentiality and privacy.

Sub-micrometre spin waves are excited in anisotropic spin textures and they can propagate as 2D plane waves over several micrometres and as 1D waves along curved domain walls.

Designing core/shell nanowires with desired optoelectronic properties of III-V semiconductor alloys remains a challenge. Here, the authors report an engineering strategy to surmount strain-induced difficulties in the growth achieving highly strained cores with a sizeable change in their band gap.

Aberrant activation of the TGF-β pathway leads to fibrotic disease. Distler and colleagues show that TGF-β-mediated fibrosis requires the decrease of Dickkopf-1, an antagonist of canonical Wnt signalling, suggesting that the two pathways interact for the manifestation of this disease.

Single-cell RNA-seq finds a pro-inflammatory M1 polarized immune response in macrophages infected with actively replicating Salmonella and an anti-inflammatory M2-like response in uninfected bystanders or cells with non-replicating bacteria.

A method to identify pairs of ligands that simultaneously bind to a target protein has been developed. The method uses two DNA-encoded chemical sub-libraries that self-assemble to form stable dual-display structures, and an encoding system that can be decoded by DNA sequencing and enables both ligands to be identified.

Implementation of a genomics-informed prebreeding strategy in a global winter wheat collection enhances the use of genebank accessions and uncovers the value of genetic resources for wheat improvement.

This Perspective discusses six regulatory options following the proposition of the European Commission to amend European Union’s legislation for plants obtained with new genomic techniques.

The mechanism by which adenosine monophosphate modulates dynein ATPase-mediated ciliary and flagellar beating remains obscure. Here the authors identify an axonemal module including cilia and flagella associated protein 45 that supports adenine nucleotide homeostasis and underlies a human ciliopathy

The molecular nature of large-cell neuroendocrine lung carcinomas (LCNEC) has remained unclear. Here, the authors show LCNECs represent a distinct transcriptional subgroup among lung cancers and comprise two molecular subgroups, type I (TP53 and STK11/KEAP1 alterations) and type II (TP53 and RB1 inactivation).

Visualising certain organelles and their dynamics is challenging in living cells. Here the authors co-opt selective degradation to label membrane-bound compartments in worm embryos and mammalian cells, revealing membrane topology during cell division.

Roman Thomas and colleagues report exome sequencing of 29 small-cell lung cancers (SCLCs), 2 SCLC genomes and transcriptomes of 15 SCLCs. They identify recurrent mutations in the CREBBP, EP300 and MLL genes encoding histone modifiers. They identify mutations in SLIT2 and EPHA7, which have a role in axon guidance and cell migration, and focal amplifications of FGFR1.

The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) inhibitor JQ1 synergizes with the histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA to suppress tumor growth in mouse models of pancreatic cancer.

Using dual RNA-seq technology to profile RNA expression simultaneously in the bacterial pathogen Salmonella and its host during infection reveals molecular phenotypes of small noncoding RNAs in the infection process.

Quantitative label-free snapshot proteomics can be used to obtain time-resolved profiles of human plasma corona formed on silica and polystyrene nanoparticles, and shows that rapid corona formation affects early nanoparticle pathophysiology.

Medulloblastoma is the most common brain tumour in children; using whole-genome sequencing of tumour samples the authors show that the clinically challenging Group 3 and 4 tumours can be tetraploid, and reveal the expression of the first medulloblastoma fusion genes identified.

Current approaches to conditionally deplete target proteins require site-specific genetic engineering or have poor temporal control. Here the authors overcome these limitations by combining the AID system with nanobodies to reversibly degrade GFP-tagged proteins in living cells and zebrafish.

Chemical pollution research should be better integrated with other drivers of biodiversity loss and the assessment of human impacts on ecosystems, to more effectively guide management strategies for biodiversity loss mitigation.