Search

Plant root architecture can adapt to different nutrient conditions in the soil. Here Giri et al. show that the rice auxin influx carrier AUX1 mobilizes auxin from the root apex to the differentiation zone and promotes root hair elongation when roots encounter low external phosphate.

Yücel et al. examine how skin and hair characteristics impact functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signal quality and provide recommendations for inclusive use of fNIRS.

Symbiotic fungi control network-level structure and flows to meet trade demands.

Measurements of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine in the caudate of conscious humans reveal a neurochemical boundary between patients with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease based on serotonin release evoked by monetary offers.

The dorsal peduncular area of the mouse brain functions as a network hub that integrates diverse cortical and thalamic inputs to regulate neuroendocrine and autonomic responses.

A decadal-scale field trial revealed 1.01 Mg of rhizodeposit and necromass C was stored in soil microaggregate and mineral fractions per Mg biochar-C applied. Microspectroscopic analyses visualize mechanisms for this elevated soil C storage ceiling.

Phylogenomic analysis of 7,923 angiosperm species using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes produced an angiosperm tree of life dated with 200 fossil calibrations, providing key insights into evolutionary relationships and diversification.

The long-term efficacy of biochar as a means of increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) remains underexplored. Research now shows that 8.5 years after biochar was added to a subtropical soil the formation of microaggregates stabilized and increased SOC.

In this study, the authors assess the global response to the toxic aldehyde glyoxal (GO) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, suggesting that GO controls quorum sensing during infection through a mechanism involving a novel protein, ArqI.

A study reports the development of a method to trace intercellular transfer of mitochondria, and demonstrates that cancer cells that receive mitochondria from neurons have enhanced metastatic capabilities.

This study identifies transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) as a key regulator of hepatic metabolic zonation, and demonstrates that disruption to the transcriptional activity of TCF7L2 exacerbates the development of dietary-induced hepatic fibrosis.

Multimode interference devices could allow the implementation of multiport circuits for quantum technologies. Here, quantum interference is demonstrated in 2×2 and 4×4 multimode interference devices, and a technique is reported to characterize such devices.

Natural physical and biological systems change in regions of temperature increase. Such changes have occurred on all continents and in most oceans since at least 1970. This paper presents statistical evidence that these changes cannot be explained by natural climate variations alone, and concludes that anthropogenic climate change is affecting physical and biological systems globally and on some continents.

Unlike Amazonian forests, African forests have maintained their carbon sink until recently but by 2030 the African carbon sink will have shrunk by 14 per cent and the Amazonian sink will reach almost zero.

Eukaryotic Arf family proteins involved in endomembrane organelle dynamics arose from the Asgard archaeal ArfR GTPases, indicating this capability likely originated in the archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes.

This study uncovers that certain κ-opioid receptor inverse agonists form receptor–G protein complexes, even in inactive states, challenging the classic GPCR activation model.

Chung et al. show that total-body dynamic positron emission tomography can allow non-invasive quantitative imaging of the molecular permeability of the human blood-brain barrier using various molecular radiotracers.

Many of the theropod dinosaurs, the group including Tyrannosaurus rex, had bony ornamentation on their skulls. Here, Gates et al. show that such ornaments are associated with greater body size and accelerated body size evolution in theropods; however, these relationships are absent in the maniraptoriform dinosaurs, which had evolved pennaceous feathers.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasmas. The study reports evidence of the weak-to-strong transition when Alfvénic turbulence cascades from large to small scales revealed from the Cluster observation of space plasma.

Foxp3 is required for the generation and function of regulatory T cells. Kuchroo and colleagues find that interleukin 4 blocks the generation of these cells but promotes T helper cells that produce interleukins 9 and 10.

Seeber et al. studied brain recordings from implanted electrodes in freely moving humans. Neural dynamics encoded actual and imagined routes similarly, demonstrating parallels between navigational, imaginative and mnemonic abilities in the human brain.

Phylogenies reconstructed using 12 hepatitis B virus genomes, which were recovered from ancient human genome data, reveal a complex history of hepatitis B evolution that is not evident when using only modern samples.

Most neuronal reconstruction software can automatically trace single neuronal morphologies but tracing multiple, densely interwoven neurons is much more challenging. Here the authors develop G-Cut, a computational approach for accurate segmentation of densely interconnected neuron clusters.

The aboveground carbon stock of a montane African forest network is comparable to that of a lowland African forest network and two-thirds higher than default values for these montane forests.

‘Archaeogenetic analysis of black rat remains reveals that this species was introduced into temperate Europe twice, in the Roman and medieval periods. This population turnover was likely associated with multiple historical and environmental factors.’

In this Perspective, the authors argue that radical, rather than conventional, interventions are necessary to address climate change. They discuss the definitions and interpretations of the term ‘radical’, and present a typology of radical intervention that addresses the root drivers of climate change.

Vibrational polaritons steer chemical reactions and control quantum states for information processing. Here the authors predict their formation during electronic photo-excitation, enabling a down-conversion of visible to infrared photons.

We gathered genetic data for 1,763 individuals from 147 populations across 14 African countries, and 12 Late Iron Age individuals, to trace the expansion of Bantu-speaking peoples over the past 6,000 years.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies new risk loci for CAC. Functional evidence implicates candidate causal genes as regulators of smooth muscle cell-mediated calcification.

The domestication of cattle took place during the early Holocene, independently in the Near East and in southern Asia. Here, Zhang et al.provide evidence for management of taurine cattle in northern China, an area not previously considered as an independent domestication centre.

Camelina sativa is an oilseed crop with important industrial applications. Here, the authors sequence the C. sativagenome to investigate the genome organization and evolution of this species, and to provide a valuable tool for genetic engineering and potential crop improvement.

Alison Dunning, Stacey Edwards and colleagues analyze 3,872 common variants across the ESR1 locus in 118,816 women. They find five independent variants within regulatory regions that associate with different breast cancer–related phenotypes and regulate the expression of ESR1, RMND1 and CCDC170.

A 16-year dataset of abundance patterns of a diverse assemblage of bees in New Mexico, USA predicts declines for many bee species and indicates that drought-tolerant taxa will prevail in a warming and drying climate.

A large-scale meta-analysis across eight biobank datasets identifies common genetic variants associated with mosaic loss of the X chromosome in female participants.

The improper timing of transforming growth factor-β production is a hallmark of severe COVID-19 that may impede natural killer cell function and early control of infection.