| | Molecular biology: The long and short of a DNA-damage response
Ultraviolet light can damage DNA, triggering a general shutdown of gene transcription — yet some genes are activated by UV light. An investigation of this counter-intuitive behaviour reveals a surprising gene-regulation mechanism. | Neurodegeneration: Role of repeats in protein clearance
Mutant proteins that contain stretches called polyQ repeats can misfold or form aggregates linked to neurodegeneration. It emerges that some polyQ-containing proteins regulate a process that degrades misfolded proteins. | Stem cells: Subclone wars
Pluripotent stem cells, which give rise to every cell type, can acquire cancer-causing genetic mutations when grown in vitro. This finding has implications for the use of pluripotent cells in basic research and in the clinic. | Cell diversity and network dynamics in photosensitive human brain organoids
Long-term cultures of human brain organoids display a high degree of cellular diversity, mature spontaneous neuronal networks and are sensitive to light. | Phase-plate cryo-EM structure of a class B GPCR–G-protein complex
Volta phase-plate cryo-electron microscopy reveals the structure of the full-length calcitonin receptor in complex with its peptide ligand and Gαsβγ. | Assembly of functionally integrated human forebrain spheroids
Human pluripotent stem cells were used to develop dorsal and ventral forebrain 3D spheroids, which can be assembled to study interneuron migration and to derive a functionally integrated forebrain system with cortical interneurons and glutamatergic neurons. | | Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early stage lung cancer evolution | Discovery of intrinsic ferromagnetism in two-dimensional van der Waals crystals
Intrinsic long-range ferromagnetic order is observed in few-layer Cr2Ge2Te6 crystals, with a transition temperature that can be controlled using small magnetic fields. | The effect of illumination on the formation of metal halide perovskite films
Films of metal halide perovskite are used as the absorber material in solar cells, and light irradiation during their formation is shown to affect their crystallization, morphology and photovoltaic performance. | Polyglutamine tracts regulate beclin 1-dependent autophagy
The polyglutamine domain in ataxin 3, which is expanded in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, allows normal ataxin 3 to interact with and deubiquitinate beclin 1 and thereby to promote autophagy. | Burgess Shale fossils illustrate the origin of the mandibulate body plan
Tokummia katalepsis from the Burgess Shale had a pair of mandibles and maxilliped claws, showing that large bivalved arthropods from the Cambrian period are forerunners of myriapods and pancrustaceans, thereby providing a basis for the origin of the hyperdiverse mandibulate body plan. | The mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger is essential for Ca2+ homeostasis and viability
Conditional deletion of the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger NCLX in adult mouse hearts causes sudden death due to mitochondrial calcium overload, whereas its overexpression limits cell death elicited by ischaemia reperfusion injury and heart failure. | Structural insight into allosteric modulation of protease-activated receptor 2
Crystal structures of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) in complex with two different antagonist ligands and with a blocking antibody reveal binding sites that are distinct from those found on PAR1, offering new leads for structure-based drug design. | Tumour ischaemia by interferon-γ resembles physiological blood vessel regression
Interferon-γ acts on tumour endothelial cells to drive vascular regression, inducing ischaemia that leads to tumour collapse. | Human pluripotent stem cells recurrently acquire and expand dominant negative P53 mutations
The authors surveyed whole-exome and RNA-sequencing data from 252 unique pluripotent stem cell lines, some of which are in the pipeline for clinical use, and found that approximately 5% of cell lines had acquired mutations in the TP53 gene that allow mutant cells to rapidly outcompete non-mutant cells, but do not prevent differentiation. | Floor-plate-derived netrin-1 is dispensable for commissural axon guidance
Preventing netrin secretion from floor-plate cells at the midline does not disrupt axonal guidance; commissural axons develop normally and the data suggest that netrin may influence axons locally by promoting growth cone adhesion. | | | | 
npj Vaccines is an online-only, open access, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing cutting-edge research and development on human and veterinary vaccines. npj Vaccines is now open for submissions.
Explore the benefits of submitting your next manuscript to the journal. | | | | | | | | | | | A chromosome conformation capture ordered sequence of the barley genome OPEN
The International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium reports sequencing and assembly of a reference genome for barley, Hordeum vulgare.
Martin Mascher, Heidrun Gundlach, Axel Himmelbach et al. | The genetic basis of parental care evolution in monogamous mice
Parental care in mice evolves through multiple genetic changes; one candidate is vasopressin, the reduced expression of which promotes parental nest-building behaviour in monogamous mice.
Andres Bendesky, Young-Mi Kwon, Jean-Marc Lassance et al. | Mechanism of chromatin remodelling revealed by the Snf2-nucleosome structure
The cryo-electron microscopy structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Snf2 chromatin remodeller bound to a nucleosome and a proposed mechanism for DNA translocation by Snf2 are presented.
Xiaoyu Liu, Meijing Li, Xian Xia et al. | Structure and allosteric inhibition of excitatory amino acid transporter 1
High-resolution structures of the thermostabilized human excitatory amino acid transporter EAAT1, alone or in association with its substrate or small molecule inhibitors, reveal architectural features of human SLC1 transporters and an allosteric mechanism of inhibition.
Juan C. Canul-Tec, Reda Assal, Erica Cirri et al. | | A universal model for solar eruptions
Simulations of a solar coronal jet driven by filament ejection demonstrate that magnetic reconnection underlies the energy release, implying that a universal ‘breakout’ model explains both tiny jets and huge mass ejections from the Sun.
Peter F. Wyper, Spiro K. Antiochos, C. Richard DeVore | Predicting crystal growth via a unified kinetic three-dimensional partition model
A general simulation approach that can replicate, and in theory predict, the growth of a wide range of crystal types, including porous, molecular and ionic crystals, is demonstrated.
Michael W. Anderson, James T. Gebbie-Rayet, Adam R. Hill et al. | Ultrastrong steel via minimal lattice misfit and high-density nanoprecipitation
A method of producing superstrong yet ductile steels using cheaper and lighter alloying elements is described, based on minimization of the lattice misfit to achieve a maximal dispersion of nanoprecipitates, leading to ultimate precipitation strengthening.
Suihe Jiang, Hui Wang, Yuan Wu et al. | Super-multiplex vibrational imaging
Stimulated Raman scattering under electronic pre-resonance conditions, combined with a new palette of probes, enables super-multiplex imaging of molecular targets in living cells with very high vibrational selectivity and sensitivity.
Lu Wei, Zhixing Chen, Lixue Shi et al. | Abrasion-set limits on Himalayan gravel flux
The amount of coarse gravel transported out of the Himalayan mountains by rivers is insensitive to catchment size, because the majority of gravel sourced more than 100 kilometres upstream of the mountain front is abraded into sand before it reaches the Ganga Plain.
Elizabeth H. Dingle, Mikaël Attal, Hugh D. Sinclair | Frequency of extreme Sahelian storms tripled since 1982 in satellite observations
Since 1982, extreme daily rainfall in the western Sahel has increased persistently, owing to a warmer Sahara which has led to increased wind shear and an increase in intense storms.
Christopher M. Taylor, Danijel Belušić, Françoise Guichard et al. | A 130,000-year-old archaeological site in southern California, USA
Evidence of mastodon bone modifications for marrow extraction and/or tool production, found in the presence of hammerstones and anvils that showed use-wear and impact marks, suggest the presence of Homo in North America around 130 thousand years ago.
Steven R. Holen, Thomas A. Deméré, Daniel C. Fisher et al. | The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan
The archosaur species Teleocrater rhadinus, part of the new clade Aphanosauria, is an example of the earliest divergence of the avian stem lineage (Avemetatarsalia), the lineage that contains dinosaurs (including birds).
Sterling J. Nesbitt, Richard J. Butler, Martín D. Ezcurra et al. | Human umbilical cord plasma proteins revitalize hippocampal function in aged mice
Treatment with plasma of an early developmental stage, human umbilical cord, revitalizes the hippocampus and improves cognitive function in aged mice.
Joseph M. Castellano, Kira I. Mosher, Rachelle J. Abbey et al. | SLAMF7 is critical for phagocytosis of haematopoietic tumour cells via Mac-1 integrin
The identification of homotypic SLAMF7 interactions responsible for haematopoietic tumour cell phagocytosis by macrophages when the inhibitory receptor/ligand interaction of SIRPα/CD47 is blocked therapeutically.
Jun Chen, Ming-Chao Zhong, Huaijian Guo et al. | High-avidity IgA protects the intestine by enchaining growing bacteria
Oral-vaccine-induced IgA cross-links growing bacteria into clonal aggregates, inhibiting pathogenesis, adaption and the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes.
Kathrin Moor, Médéric Diard, Mikael E. Sellin et al. | Cohesin is positioned in mammalian genomes by transcription, CTCF and Wapl
The distribution of cohesin in the mouse genome depends on CTCF, transcription and the cohesin release factor Wapl.
Georg A. Busslinger, Roman R. Stocsits, Petra van der Lelij et al. | | | | |
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