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HIV-1 integrase forms an RNA-binding module on the luminal side of the mature capsid lattice.

During the Last Glacial Maximum, the deep Northwest Atlantic was only about 2 °C colder than today, suggesting sustained production of relatively warm North Atlantic Deep Water during the Last Glacial Maximum.

The oceans around the United States suffer from overfishing and pollution, but current government regulatory structures only hamper attempts to fix these problems. Can two high-level commissions put things right? Mark Schrope investigates.

The release of ancient carbon from thawing permafrost is thought to have an important impact on global biogeochemistry through positive feedbacks. Here Dean and colleagues show that in Siberian permafrost, warming could liberate more contemporary carbon relative to aged counterparts.

Anthropogenic lead (Pb) has overwhelmed natural Pb sources for over a century, yet the phasing out of leaded petrol in the early 2000s has renewed hope. Here, Bridgestock et al. use Pd isotopes to reassess the origins of Pd deposited in the tropical North Atlantic and reveal a significant natural source.

Plugging and abandoning oil and gas wells is a growing priority. Here the authors estimate the associated costs for all oil and gas wells in US Gulf Coast offshore waters, coastal inland water and wetlands.

Sialic acid O-acetylation occurs in the Golgi apparatus and is catalyzed by CASD1, a multi-pass transmembrane protein. Here, the authors reveal that SLC33A1 delivers acetyl-CoA to the luminal catalytic domain of CASD1, while a catalytic transmembrane tunnel enables SLC33A1-independent O-acetylation.

The diatom Pseudo-nitzschia produces the neurotoxin domoic acid, known to cause illness and death in marine mammals and humans. Measurements of surface- and deep-water domoic acid concentrations off the coast of California suggest that this toxin is rapidly transported to depth following diatom blooms.

Accurate determination of population size for highly-mobile marine animals is often prohibitively difficult. Here, Bravingtonet al.estimate the abundance of southern bluefin tuna using a method based on the number of parent-offspring pairs detected genetically in samples from the catch.

HECT-type ubiquitin ligases control many cellular processes but remain poorly characterised in their full-length form. Here, the authors present a biochemical analysis and cryo-EM structures of the cancer-associated ligase HECTD3 revealing an interesting domain architecture and mechanistic insights.

Crystalline materials for optical applications are synthesized in living dinoflagellates.

Anthropogenic Cd contributes at least 19%, and possibly more than 45%, of the dissolved Cd in surface water of the western tropical Atlantic Ocean, according to a box model based on measured seawater profiles of Cd concentrations and isotopic compositions.

From 2014–2017, marine heatwaves caused global mass coral bleaching, where the corals lose their symbiotic algae. The authors find, this event exceeded the severity of all prior global bleaching events in recorded history, with approximately half the world’s reefs bleaching and 15% experiencing substantial mortality.

By studying dynamic folding intermediates on the human ribosome, Pellowe et al. show that newly made domains help each other to fold but do not stably interact until synthesis is complete, avoiding interdomain misfolding.

The mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis requires coordinated protein–lipid signals. Here, Gelles et al. show that a BAX lipid-binding cavity for 2-trans-hexadecenal cooperates with BIM to allosterically activate BAX prior to membrane insertion.

Hepatic glycogenolysis is essential for protein glycosylation and rhythmic secretion by the liver. Disruptions to hepatic glycogenolysis, caused by congenital diseases or physiological factors such as obesity, caloric restriction and changes to meal timing, alter hepatic protein secretion.

Dissolved organic matter in the Fennoscandian Shield deep continental bedrock fracture waters of varying characteristics and ages carries a strong terrigenous signature, and only a small proportion of this potential energy source links to the deep biosphere microbial community.

The deep North Pacific is the end of the road for global ocean circulation, but the circulation patterns and ventilation are poorly understood. Here the authors show that diffusive transports both along and across density layers play a leading role in returning 1,400 year old water to the surface.

The hydraulic response time of aquifers with similar residence times varies widely across the globe. Water levels in some aquifers containing fossil groundwater can be controlled by modern climates, according to an analysis of 31 major aquifers.

The tumor environment is nutrient deficient. Here the authors show that early availability of methionine is critical for optimal T cell activation and prevents T cell dysfunction, and that dietary methionine can improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in mice.

The structure of the multiprotein Fanconi anaemia core complex, determined using cryo-electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, shows that the complex adopts an extended asymmetric structure and highlights the structural and functional asymmetry of the RING finger domains.

Lipopeptides are used to combat drug-resistant infections, but drawbacks limit their application. Here, Lim et al. contrast the mechanisms of lipopeptides that are superficially similar yet disrupt membranes in distinctly different ways.

Dissolved organic matter becomes highly labile in dark anoxic groundwater environments, suggesting that groundwater extraction and subterranean groundwater discharge could be significant sources of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

The authors use long-term satellite tracking to project climate-induced shifts in whale shark distributions and understand their potential future risk of ship-strike. Under high-emission scenarios, the movement of sharks to current range-edge habitat is linked to 15,000-fold increased co-occurrence with ships.

TREM2 is an important AD risk factor playing essential roles in the microglial response to amyloid pathology. Here, authors show using a TREM2 reporter mouse that TREM2 levels are critical for efficacy of TREM2 agonism informing current clinical efforts.

Bacterial divisome protein FtsA, which is an actin homologue, forms double filaments following binding to FtsN, and like MreB, an actin homologue in the elongasome, the curvature-sensing double filaments guide peptidoglycan insertion for cell division.

The GroEL/ES chaperonin can act during protein synthesis to promote folding. Here, Roeselová et al. show how GroEL captures, remodels and sequesters nascent proteins in its central chamber, while they remain tethered to the ribosome.

Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase catabolises poly(ADP-ribose), which is covalently attached to proteins following post-translational modification. In this study, the structure of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase fromTetrahymena thermophilais reported in complex with the small molecule inhibitor RBPI-3.

As the oceans become acidic, corals reefs are threatened, generating a need to understand the driving forces controlling the chemical state of the Great Barrier Reef. Here, the authors show a greater spatial variability than previously reported, created by the interaction of reef processes and ocean circulation.

Iron is critical for fueling marine primary productivity, but its concentration is often vanishingly low in the ocean. Here, the authors show that though icebergs serve as vehicles delivering the largest supply of iron to polar oceans, the amount of iron they carry varies widely.

Analysis of benthic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O profiles from sediment cores in two depth transects in the Northwest Atlantic suggests that the subtropical gyre was deeper and stronger during the Last Glacial Maximum compared with today.

Denitrification is still widely considered as the only natural sink for N₂O here we show how direct biological fixation represents an alternative sink for this potent climate gas.

Differentiating DCs express ALDH1A2, which produces retinoic acid and suppresses DC activity. Blocking this pathway with a new inhibitor, KyA33, enhances immune responses and boosts the effectiveness of DC cancer vaccines in mouse models.

SpbK protects Bacillus subtilis from phage infection by depleting NAD⁺. In this study, the authors uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying SpbK’s self association-dependent NADase activity and its activation by the SPβ phage portal protein YonE.

Although small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors are effective in lung cancer driven by mutated EGFR, some receptor variants fail to respond. Here, the authors identify structural features of an important set of EGFR variants with reduced inhibitor sensitivity, guiding future inhibitor selection.

Recombinant T-cells receptors can redirect naïve T cells but often have low or uneven expression. Here, the authors model mutations in TCR constant domains to increase T cell receptor expression, assembly, and stability and generate bispecific molecules.

Tidewater glacier calving is assumed to be dependent on ice dynamics, but direct evidence is lacking. Here, Luckman et al. use satellite data to derive frontal ablation rates for dynamically contrasting Svalbard glaciers, and show that frontal ablation rate varies primarily with sub-surface ocean temperature.

Biological uptake in the surface and release in the deep ocean contribute to oceanic nickel distribution, including the residual surface Ni pool, according to culture experiments, field data and global biogeochemical circulation modelling

Before the rise of oxygen, the atmosphere of the early Earth may have consisted of an organic haze. Geochemical data and modelling suggest that from 2.65 to 2.5 Gyr ago, several transitions between hazy and haze-free atmospheric conditions occurred, potentially linked to variations in biogenic methane production.

Over 90% of calcareous nannoplankton species disappeared during the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction, which occurred after an impact event. Palaeontological analyses show that the extinction was most pronounced in the Northern Hemisphere oceans, possibly as a result of an increased concentration of particulates created by the impact in the north.

Dust-borne nutrients can enhance productivity in the surface ocean. Two years of sediment trap data reveal that dust enhances carbon export to depth by increasing surface nitrogen fixation, productivity and carbon sinking rates in the North Atlantic.

The role of IgG glycosylation in the immune response has been studied, but less is known about IgM glycosylation. Here the authors characterize glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgM and show that it correlates with COVID-19 severity and affects complement deposition.

Here, the authors show that delafloxacin, a respiratory antibacterial fluoroquinolone, binds the Streptococcus pneumoniae topoisomerase IV-DNA cleavage complex in a distinct tilted-ring conformation involving multiple Mg^2 + , K⁺ and water links. Intrinsic target affinity likely contributes to activity against quinolone-resistant bacteria.