| | Regeneration: Stem cells make the bowel nervous
In Hirschsprung disease, the enteric nervous system (ENS) is missing from the distal bowel. It emerges that postnatal transplantation of stem-cell-derived ENS precursors can prevent death in a mouse model of the disease. | Anthropology: Hand of the gods in human civilization
Cross-cultural experiments find that belief in moralistic, knowledgeable and punishing gods promotes cooperation with strangers, supporting a role for religion in the expansion of human societies. | Plankton networks driving carbon export in the oligotrophic ocean
Plankton communities in the top 150 m of the nutrient-depleted, oligotrophic global ocean that are most associated with carbon export include unexpected taxa, such as Radiolaria, alveolate parasites, and Synechococcus and their phages, and point towards potential functional markers predicting a significant fraction of the variability in carbon export in these regions. | The peptidergic control circuit for sighing
The peptidergic neuronal circuit controlling sigh generation has been identified as ~200 Nmb- or Grp-expressing neurons in the RTN/pFRG breathing control centre of the medulla that project to ~200 receptor-expressing neurons in the respiratory rhythm generator, the preBötzinger Complex. | The dynamic N1-methyladenosine methylome in eukaryotic messenger RNA
Here the m1A modification is discovered in messenger RNA and mapped at the transcriptome-wide level; the modification is conserved, dynamic, accumulates in structured regions around translation initiation sites upstream of the first splice site, and correlates with higher protein expression. | Non-destructive state detection for quantum logic spectroscopy of molecular ions
Detecting the quantum states of molecules is harder than detecting those of atoms; here, a way around this problem is found by co-trapping a molecular and an atomic ion, using the state of the atomic ion to non-destructively determine that of the molecular ion. | Possible light-induced superconductivity in K3C60 at high temperature
By exciting high-temperature K3C60 with mid-infrared pulses, a large increase in carrier mobility is obtained, accompanied by the opening of a gap in the optical conductivity; these same signatures are observed at equilibrium when cooling K3C60 below the superconducting transition temperature of 20 kelvin, which could be an indication of light-induced high-temperature superconductivity. | A pentanuclear iron catalyst designed for water oxidation
A complex containing five atoms of iron is shown to be a highly efficient and robust water oxidation catalyst owing to the presence of redox flexibility, which enables charge accumulation and electron transfer, and the presence of adjacent active sites that enables intramolecular O–O bond formation. | Visualization of a short-range Wnt gradient in the intestinal stem-cell niche
Generation of an epitope-tagged, functional Wnt3 knock-in allele, the signal produced by Paneth cells to regulate intestinal stem cells. | Polygenic evolution of a sugar specialization trade-off in yeast
An evolutionary trade-off of unprecedented genetic complexity in the glucose/galactose utilization regulatory pathway across several long-diverged species of Saccharomyces. | Effector T-cell trafficking between the leptomeninges and the cerebrospinal fluid
By investigating trafficking of autoreactive T cells into the CSF during experimental autoimmune encephalitis, the authors find that T cells enter the CSF from the leptomeninges, and that commuting between the leptomeninges and the CSF is regulated by integrin adhesive forces triggered by T-cell activation and/or chemokines. | Deriving human ENS lineages for cell therapy and drug discovery in Hirschsprung disease
A differentiation protocol to obtain enteric nervous system (ENS) progenitors and a range of neurons from human pluripotent stem cells is developed; the cells can migrate and graft to the colon of a chick embryo and an adult mouse colon, including in a mouse model of Hirschsprung disease, in which a functional rescue is observed. | A receptor heteromer mediates the male perception of female attractants in plants
A male cell-surface receptor-like kinase that responds to the female chemoattractant LURE1 on the pollen tube of Arabidopsis thaliana is identified; LURE1 triggers dimerization of the receptor components and activation of the kinase activity, and the transformation of a component of the A. thaliana receptor to the Capsella rubella species partially breaks down the reproductive isolation barrier. | Moralistic gods, supernatural punishment and the expansion of human sociality
Using economic games, the authors examine the role of religion in the persistence of human cooperation; individuals who claim that their gods are moralizing, punitive and knowledgeable about human affairs are more likely to play fairly towards geographically distant co-religionists. | Cryo-electron microscopy structure of a coronavirus spike glycoprotein trimer
The high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of a pre-fusion coronavirus spike trimer from mouse hepatitis virus is presented; the structure reveals architectural similarities to paramyxovirus F proteins, suggesting that these fusion proteins may have evolved from a distant common ancestor. | Structural basis for promiscuous PAM recognition in type I–E Cascade from E. coli
The structure of E. coli Cascade bound to foreign target DNA is presented, revealing the basis of the relaxed Cascade PAM recognition specificity, which results from its interaction with the minor groove, and demonstrating how a wedge in Cascade forces the directional pairing of the target strand with CRISPR RNA while stabilizing the non-target displaced strand. | | | |
CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA
This focus collection brings to the fore a number of Leukemia articles which highlight new developments in our understanding and management of persons with CML.
Available free online. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Schizophrenia risk from complex variation of complement component 4
Schizophrenia is associated with genetic variation at the major histocompatibility complex locus; this study reveals that alleles at this locus associate with schizophrenia in proportion to their tendency to generate greater expression of complement component 4 (C4A) genes and that C4 promotes the elimination of synapses.
Aswin Sekar, Allison R. Bialas, Heather de Rivera et al. | Re-engineering the zinc fingers of PRDM9 reverses hybrid sterility in mice
PRDM9 is a DNA-binding protein that controls the position of double-strand breaks in meiosis, and the gene that encodes it is responsible for hybrid infertility between closely related mouse species; this hybrid infertility is eliminated by introducing the zinc-finger domain sequence from the human version of the PRDM9 gene, a change which alters both the position of double-strand breaks and the symmetry of PRDM9 binding and suggests that PRDM9 may have a more general but transient role in the early stages of speciation.
Benjamin Davies, Edouard Hatton, Nicolas Altemose et al. | Naturally occurring p16Ink4a-positive cells shorten healthy lifespan
When senescent cells accumulate during adulthood they negatively influence lifespan and promote age-dependent changes in several organs; clearance of these cells delayed tumorigenesis in mice and attenuated age-related deterioration of several organs without overt side effects, suggesting that the therapeutic removal of senescent cells may be able to extend healthy lifespan.
Darren J. Baker, Bennett G. Childs, Matej Durik et al. | | Observing the Rosensweig instability of a quantum ferrofluid
Spontaneous translational symmetry breaking is experimentally observed in a dipolar Bose–Einstein condensate of dysprosium atoms, whereby an instability causes a spontaneous transition from an unstructured superfluid to an ordered arrangement of droplet crystals, which is surprisingly long-lived.
Holger Kadau, Matthias Schmitt, Matthias Wenzel et al. | Covariation of deep Southern Ocean oxygenation and atmospheric CO2 through the last ice age
A reconstruction of changes in ocean oxygenation throughout the last glacial cycle shows that respired carbon was removed from the deep Southern Ocean during deglaciation and Antarctic warm events, consistent with a prominent role of reduced iron fertilization and enhanced ocean ventilation, modifying atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 80,000 years.
Samuel L. Jaccard, Eric D. Galbraith, Alfredo Martínez-García et al. | Observation of polar vortices in oxide superlattices
In material systems with several interacting degrees of freedom, the complex interplay between these factors can give rise to exotic phases; now superlattices consisting of alternating layers of PbTiO3 and SrTiO3 are found to exhibit an unusual form of ferroelectric ordering in the PbTiO3 layers, in which the electric dipoles arrange themselves into regular, ordered arrays of vortex–antivortex structures.
A. K. Yadav, C. T. Nelson, S. L. Hsu et al. | Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests
An analysis of above-ground biomass recovery during secondary succession in forest sites and plots, covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics.
Lourens Poorter, Frans Bongers, T. Mitchell Aide et al. | New geological and palaeontological age constraint for the gorilla–human lineage split
A substantial revision to the age of the Chorora Formation, Ethiopia, constraining the deposits to around 8 million years old and forming a revised age constraint for the human–gorilla lineage split.
Shigehiro Katoh, Yonas Beyene, Tetsumaru Itaya et al. | Hoxb5 marks long-term haematopoietic stem cells and reveals a homogenous perivascular niche
Until recently, complex multi-parameters were required for the isolation and identification of haematopoietic stem cells, complicating study of their biology in situ; here the authors have found that expression of a single gene, Hoxb5, defines haematopoietic stem cells with long-term reconstitution capacity, and that these cells are mainly found in direct contact with endothelial cells.
James Y. Chen, Masanori Miyanishi, Sean K. Wang et al. | Structure- and function-based design of Plasmodium-selective proteasome inhibitors
Structural and functional characterizations show that the specificity of the Plasmodium falciparum proteasome is sufficiently unique from that of the human proteasome to allow selective targeting with inhibitors.
Hao Li, Anthony J. O’Donoghue, Wouter A. van der Linden et al. | Backbone NMR reveals allosteric signal transduction networks in the β1-adrenergic receptor
Although several X-ray crystal structures of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been reported, relatively little is known about the conformational dynamics of these important membrane proteins; here, the authors used NMR spectroscopy to monitor the conformational changes that occur in the turkey β1-adrenergic receptor in the presence of antagonists, partial agonists, and full agonists.
Shin Isogai, Xavier Deupi, Christian Opitz et al. | Macromolecular diffractive imaging using imperfect crystals
Crystal lattice disorder, which gives rise to a continuous diffraction pattern, is exploited to determine the structure of the integral membrane protein complex photosystem II to a higher resolution than could be achieved using Bragg diffraction alone.
Kartik Ayyer, Oleksandr M. Yefanov, Dominik Oberthür et al. | A thalamic input to the nucleus accumbens mediates opiate dependence
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus to the nucleus accumbens pathway mediates physical signs and aversive memory of opiate withdrawal.
Yingjie Zhu, Carl F. R. Wienecke, Gregory Nachtrab et al. | Multistage coupling of independent laser-plasma accelerators
Laser-plasma particle accelerators offer much higher acceleration than conventional methods, which could enable high-energy applications; here two separate accelerator stages, driven by two independent lasers, are coupled using plasma-based optics.
S. Steinke, J. van Tilborg, C. Benedetti et al. | Real-time, portable genome sequencing for Ebola surveillance
A nanopore DNA sequencer is used for real-time genomic surveillance of the Ebola virus epidemic in the field in Guinea; the authors demonstrate that it is possible to pack a genomic surveillance laboratory in a suitcase and transport it to the field for on-site virus sequencing, generating results within 24 hours of sample collection.
Joshua Quick, Nicholas J. Loman, Sophie Duraffour et al. | | | | |
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