Search

A tetramethylrhodamine-labeled dimer of the cell-penetrating peptide TAT, named dfTAT, efficiently delivers proteins into live cells by facilitating endosomal escape.

Through CRISPR–Cas9 screen, Dev et al. identified that SHLD1/2 inhibition contributes to PARP-inhibitor resistance. Mechanistically, SHLDs promote non-homologous end-joining and antagonize homologous recombination.

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) can play a key role in cancer initiation and progression. Here, the authors conducted a comprehensive pan-cancer APA TWAS analysis and discovered a distinct class of APA-mediated cancer susceptibility genes across 22 cancer types.

Photoexcitation of the electron-donor-acceptor (EDA) complexes are an effective approach to achieve radicals by triggering electron transfer but the catalytic version of EDA complex photoactivation remains underdeveloped. Here, the authors introduce 4-nitrophthalonitrile as an electron acceptor to facilitate π-stacking with electron-rich aromatics to form EDA complexes.

A type I secretion effector, TesG, suppresses host immune response to promote chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

Temsavir, a compound that inhibits HIV entry by binding envelope (Env), is currently in clinical development. Here, Lai et al. identify a more than 10-fold improved compound and, using lattice engineering, obtain crystal structures that give insights into improved inhibition between small molecules and Env.

Zhang et al. show that ALK phosphorylates SMAD4 at Tyr 95 to block its binding to DNA, representing a mutation-independent mechanism for blocking the tumour suppressor function of TGF-β in ALK-positive cancers.

Stretchable and self-healing light-emitting capacitors operating at low frequency and low voltage have been realized using a transparent elastomeric dielectric with high permittivity.

Stress-induced accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) results in ER stress. Here, the researchers identify a SPL gene that directly controls the transcription of IRE1, the ER stress sensor, thus regulating cell death in rice panicles.

Designing materials with large thermal expansion is highly desirable to fabricate microscale devices. The authors report unusually large anisotropic negative and positive thermal expansion in a simple crystalline material, through temperature-driven orientation of imidazole cations acting as molecular wheels.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is caused by mutations in MeCP2. This study describes a new line of knock-in mutant mice that mimics a MeCP2 mutation found in individuals with RTT and recapitulates RTT-like phenotypes, including motor and cognitive impairments. These MeCP2 knock-in mice also have age-dependent abnormalities in audiogenic event-related neuronal information processing.

Xuejun Zhang and colleagues report a genome-wide association and replication studies for psoriasis, conducted in Chinese populations. They confirm previous associations in MHC and IL12B to psoriasis susceptibility, and report a new association within the LCE gene cluster at 1q21.

StrucGP offers a de novo glycan mapping method to determine detailed N-glycan structures at the site-specific level.

A forward-genetic screen revealed that the mutations in DNA polymerase α (POLA1) are resistant to the effects of CD437. The direct interaction of CD437 and POLA1 blocks DNA replication and promotes cancer cell death.

Chemical vapour deposition is a promising route for large-scale graphene growth. It is now shown that—through the use of seeds—high-quality, large, single-crystal domains can be grown on a patterned arrangement, and can be used to carefully study the transport across grain boundaries.

It is believed that mutations in desmosomal adhesion complex protein plakophilin 2 (PKP2) cause arrhythmia due to loss of cell-cell communication. Here the authors show that PKP2 controls the expression of proteins involved in calcium cycling in adult mouse hearts, and that lack of PKP2 can cause arrhythmia in a structurally normal heart.

The pyruvate kinase type M2 (PKM2) has a well-established role in cancer due to its functions in regulating glucose metabolism, G1-S transition and mitotic checkpoint. Here the authors identified a novel role for PKM2 in regulating cytokinesis in cancer cells through the phosphorylation of the myosin light chain 2 at the contractile ring.

The complete architecture of the yeast COG tethering complex is revealed by negative-stain electron microscopy, showing an intricate shape with up to five flexible legs.

Ouzounov et al. report calcium imaging with three-photon microscopy in the mouse brain. The approach enabled noninvasive recording of activity with high spatial and temporal resolution from GCaMP6-labeled neurons located as deep as the hippocampus.

A high-quality reference genome of the stout camphor tree reveals its genome evolution and supports that magnoliid and eudicot lineages share more common ancestry relative to monocots.

Methane metabolism by some lineages of Archaea contributes to the cycling of carbon on Earth. Here, the authors show high diversity of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr), a key enzyme associated with archaeal methane/alkane metabolism, in hot spring Archaea, and investigate their ecological roles and evolution.

By day 1,041 after explosion, SN Ia-CSM 2018evt had produced an estimated 0.01 solar masses of dust in the cold, dense shell behind the supernova ejecta–circumstellar medium interaction, ranking it as one of the most prolific dust-producing supernovae ever recorded.

Ammonium affects plant root development through different mechanisms than nitrate. Here, the authors show that the Arabidopsis cell wall-localized ferroxidase LPR2 is required to attenuate root growth in response to ammonium.

Epigenetics plays critical roles in controlling stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Here, Sun et al. show that H1 is intrinsically required in the regulation of germline stem cells in the Drosophilaovary by antagonizing MOF, a histone acetyltransferase specific for H4K16.

The structure of hydrogels is normally isotropic, but anisotropic hydrogels with a periodic lamellar structure can also be synthesized. Here the confined water layers in a lamellar hydrogel are used to guide the growth of large area, single-crystalline gold membranes with two-dimensional properties.

As the cytosolic guardian for many microbial and sterile inflammatory insults, NLRP3 is best appreciated for its innate immunological role mediating inflammasome activation. Now NLRP3 debuts as a transcription factor key for T_H2 polarization.

Paired-end reads consisting of 5′ transcription start sites and 3′ downstream sequences from transcripts in Drosophila melanogaster reveal distinct initiation patterns at different fly promoters and show that 5′ caps originating in coding regions are added posttranscriptionally.

An introgression platform for transferring genetic variations of Aegilops tauschii to hexaploid wheat is established based on synthetic octoploid wheat. Combined with newly generated genome resources of A. tauschii, it represents a powerful tool for wheat gene discovery and breeding.

Multidrug efflux pumps significantly contribute for bacteria resistance to antibiotics. Here the authors present the structure of Campylobacter jejuni CmeB pump combined with functional FRET assays to propose a transport mechanism where each CmeB protomers is functionally independent from the trimer.

Whole-genome resequencing of 445 Lactuca accessions, including major lettuce crop types and wild relative species, provides a comprehensive map of lettuce genome variations and sheds light on the domestication history of cultivated lettuce.

A central event in celiac disease (CD) is the recognition by TCRs of gluten epitopes presented by specific HLAs, with HLA-DQ2 being associated with 95% of CD cases. The molecular basis for these interactions are now revealed by crystal structures of TCRs from individuals with CD in complex with wheat gliadin epitopes presented by HLA-DQ2.

The light field effect can improve performance in electrocatalytic processes, but is not fully understood. Here the authors design a photo-coupled electrocatalyst using a porphyrin ligand as a photosensitizer and a coordinated metal as a catalytically active site for carbon dioxide reduction.

Fuel cells are promising for sustainable energy generation, but are limited by the performance of electrocatalysts. Here the authors synthesize dendritic palladium–copper–cobalt nanoalloys with electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction and formic acid oxidation as well as alcohol tolerance.

The production of inflammatory interleukin 1β after uptake of silica crystals and alum salt or amyloid-β occurs by a process that involves lysosomal destabilization and release of cathepsin B that activates the NLRP3 inflammasome.

The identification of genes that control economically important traits is an essential step towards crop improvement. Here the authors sequence the genome of the wild soybean and, through a combined genetic and functional approach, identify a new gene affecting salt tolerance in soybean.