Contents
October 2018
Vol 4, Issue 10
Vol 4, Issue 10
Contents
Research Articles
- Evidence for a large exomoon orbiting Kepler-1625b
Hubble Space Telescope observations show a timing offset and an exomoon-like transit associated with a Jupiter-sized planet.
- Approaching the forbidden fruit of reaction dynamics: Aiming reagent at selected impact parameters
By inducing chemical reactions at chosen collision miss-distances, we introduce a new measurable in surface reaction dynamics.
- Kinetic approach to superconductivity hidden behind a competing order
Nonvolatile and reversible switching of superconductivity has been demonstrated with electric pulses.
- Assessing bimanual motor skills with optical neuroimaging
Optical neuroimaging differentiates and classifies surgical motor skill levels with higher accuracy than current methods.
- Ancient genomes suggest the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe as the source of western Iron Age nomads
Bronze and Iron Age genomes from the West Eurasian steppe reveal genetic heterogeneity and origins in the southern Urals.
- Opening the window to the Southern Ocean: The role of jet dynamics
Jet dynamics play a crucial role in Southern Ocean ventilation.
- Couples showing off: Audience promotes both male and female multimodal courtship display in a songbird
Socially monogamous songbird couples show off their courtship display in front of other individuals.
- Fruit scent as an evolved signal to primate seed dispersal
Fruit scent has evolved as a communication channel between plants and primates that disperse their seeds.
- Observation of long-range dipole-dipole interactions in hyperbolic metamaterials
Metamaterials mediate long-range dipole-dipole interactions between quantum emitters.
- Upgrading traditional liquid electrolyte via in situ gelation for future lithium metal batteries
In situ gelation adds fresh potential for conventional liquid electrolytes in applications to lithium metal batteries.
- Cross-talk among writers, readers, and erasers of m6A regulates cancer growth and progression
Collaboration among writers-readers-erasers of m6A regulates the stability of tumor-specific genes.
- Genomic and functional evidence reveals molecular insights into the origin of echolocation in whales
Molecular evolutionary and experimental analyses reject the hypothesis of high-frequency hearing in the archaeocetes.
- Transformation of alcohols to esters promoted by hydrogen bonds using oxygen as the oxidant under metal-free conditions
Ionic liquid initiates and promotes oxidative esterification of alcohols to esters under metal-free conditions in oxygen.
- Impact of parallel fiber to Purkinje cell long-term depression is unmasked in absence of inhibitory input
Simultaneous impairment of Purkinje cell inhibitory input and parallel fiber LTD severely affects cerebellar learning.
- The benefits of grouping as a main driver of social evolution in a halictine bee
Benefits of grouping, not the Hamilton’s relatedness asymmetry benefit, mainly drive the evolution of eusociality in a bee.
- Switchable counterion gradients around charged metallic nanoparticles enable reception of radio waves
Stripping counterions from charged nanoparticles into a porous electrode enables current rectification at radio frequencies.
- Optically transparent, high-toughness elastomer using a polyrotaxane cross-linker as a molecular pulley
We prepared a mechanically tough, highly transparent elastomer by using a polyrotaxane cross-linker acting as a molecular pulley.
- The IgM pentamer is an asymmetric pentagon with an open groove that binds the AIM protein
We demonstrate the bona fide 2D structure of the IgM pentamer and its association with AIM protein.
- Quantum interference mediated vertical molecular tunneling transistors
We report graphene/self-assembly monolayer vertical molecular transistors operating in the quantum tunneling regime.
- Cryo-EM structure of P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein with a vaccine-elicited antibody is stabilized by somatically mutated inter-Fab contacts
An unprecedented spiral structure of the malarial CSP protein in complex with a protective antibody is revealed by cryo-EM.
- Tunable structure and dynamics of active liquid crystals
Activity tunes elastic properties and defect interactions in nematic liquid crystals.
- Decoupled taxonomic and ecological recoveries from the Permo-Triassic extinction
After the enormous Permian-Triassic mass extinction, marine animals high in the food chain recovered the most quickly.
- Microphysiological 3D model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from human iPS-derived muscle cells and optogenetic motor neurons
3D physiological models of neuromuscular junctions could facilitate drug screening and research on pathogenesis of ALS.
- Gravitational collapse of Mount Etna’s southeastern flank
Gravitational collapse of Mount Etna’s SE flank: New seafloor geodetic data capture active displacement of underwater volcanic flank.
- Shaping nanoparticle fingerprints at the interface of cholesteric droplets
Nanoparticles are organized into tunable, periodic patterns by controlling interfacial assembly with cholesteric liquid crystals.
- Wide-field multiphoton imaging through scattering media without correction
Focusing ultrashort laser pulses in time in tandem with single-pixel detection images at depth with no sample characterization.
- Unraveling the long-pursued Au144 structure by x-ray crystallography
A mysterious, long-pursued structure of a nanocluster-nanocrystal transition-sized nanoparticle is unraveled.
- Uranium polyhydrides at moderate pressures: Prediction, synthesis, and expected superconductivity
Formation of uranium polyhydrides UH5–9 is predicted using the evolutionary algorithm USPEX and proved by high-pressure synthesis.
- Mitochondrial oxidation of the carbohydrate fuel is required for neural precursor/stem cell function and postnatal cerebellar development
Mitochondrial utilization of the carbohydrate fuel for energy production is required for postnatal cerebellar development.
- Synthesis of stable and low-CO2 selective ε-iron carbide Fischer-Tropsch catalysts
Phase-pure ε-iron carbide catalysts amenable to scale-up exhibit low CO2 selectivity and high stability in the FT reaction.
- Tracking time with ricequakes in partially soaked brittle porous media
Timing your breakfast? Soak cereal in milk, apply pressure, and get recurring collapses whose sound resembles a slowing metronome.
- A high-entropy alloy with hierarchical nanoprecipitates and ultrahigh strength
HEAs’ compositional space allows the design of hierarchical microstructures that contribute to the exceptional strength values.
- Climbing the crustal ladder: Magma storage-depth evolution during a volcanic flare-up
Very large eruptions in the TVZ (New Zealand) reveal rapid magma assembly and eruption and progressive magma shallowing with time.
- Ultrafast manipulation of mirror domain walls in a charge density wave
Topological defects, potential information carriers, were written into and erased from a solid with femtosecond light pulses.
- Atomic-level structure engineering of metal oxides for high-rate oxygen intercalation pseudocapacitance
Atomic-level structure engineering potentially revolutionizes the design of capacitive oxide materials.
- GPR40 modulates epileptic seizure and NMDA receptor function
GPR40 modulates epileptic seizure and NMDA receptor function through the regulation of NR2A and NR2B surface expression.
- Full-field imaging of thermal and acoustic dynamics in an individual nanostructure using tabletop high harmonic beams
We built a stroboscopic extreme UV microscope with tabletop high harmonics to make nanoscale movies of thermal and acoustic waves.
- An enzymatic approach reverses nicotine dependence, decreases compulsive-like intake, and prevents relapse
A bacterial enzyme that eats nicotine reverses addiction-like behaviors and offers a new strategy to help smokers quit.
- Prevention of pesticide-induced neuronal dysfunction and mortality with nucleophilic poly-Oxime topical gel
Topical gel reduces pesticide-induced systemic acetylcholinesterase inhibition, thus preventing neuronal dysfunction and mortality.
- Deterministic quantum teleportation through fiber channels
The deterministic teleportation of optical modes over a 6.0-km fiber channel is realized with continuous variable entanglement.
- Catalysis-tunable Heusler alloys in selective hydrogenation of alkynes: A new potential for old materials
Heusler alloys are well known in other fields but little known in catalysis, where we demonstrate that they have great potential.
- Nonthrombogenic, stretchable, active multielectrode array for electroanatomical mapping
The stretchable and active multielectrode array successfully measured electrocardiography of rat during blood exposure.
- Targeted delivery of antisense oligonucleotides to pancreatic β-cells
Receptor-dependent productive uptake of GLP1-conjugated antisense oligonucleotides occurs selectively in pancreatic β-cells.
- Functional regeneration of tendons using scaffolds with physical anisotropy engineered via microarchitectural manipulation
Polymer axial drawing enables the design of optimal microarchitectured scaffolds for tendon regeneration.
- Photonic implementation of Majorana-based Berry phases
Experimental realization of Berry phases brings us closer to the exotic physics of Majorana fermions.
- New generation of U.S. satellite microwave sounder achieves high radiometric stability performance for reliable climate change detection
How accurate can satellite measure the climate trends in atmospheric temperatures?
- A three-dimensional photonic topological insulator using a two-dimensional ring resonator lattice with a synthetic frequency dimension
Topology traps photons in a one-way channel in the frequency space with the help of ring resonators.
- Global expansion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 shaped by colonial migration and local adaptation
Repeated emergence, not international dissemination, is behind the rise of multidrug-resistant lineage 4 tuberculosis.
- Strongly interacting dipolar-polaritons
Strong electrical interactions between hybrid light-matter quasiparticles in semiconductors can lead to new quantum applications.
- The demise of Angkor: Systemic vulnerability of urban infrastructure to climatic variations
The historic urban collapse of Angkor is linked to infrastructural complexity and climatic variability.
- Fear extinction requires ASIC1a-dependent regulation of hippocampal-prefrontal correlates
Learning to extinguish traumatic memory depends on fine-tuning of hippocampal-prefrontal connections via the ASIC1a channel.
- Uncovering the psychoactivity of a cannabinoid from liverworts associated with a legal high
Pharmacology on cannabinoids originating from convergent evolution in bryophytes was enabled by total synthesis.
- Memory enhancement by ferulic acid ester across species
Inspired from plant medicine, a drug that partially compensates for memory decline in aged flies and mice is identified.
- Evaluating the extent of a large-scale transformation in gateway science courses
An institutional effort to transform gateway science courses is evaluated using a novel approach based on course assessments.
- Transistor in a tube: A route to three-dimensional bioelectronics
We report development of the first biomimetic transistor in a tube for continuous monitoring of 3D cell cultures.
- Moisture availability in the southwest United States over the last three glacial-interglacial cycles
Caves in Death Valley National Park reveal past water table fluctuations in response to 350,000 years of global climate change.
- Single-molecule observation of nucleotide induced conformational changes in basal SecA-ATP hydrolysis
We visualize ATP-driven domain dynamics of individual SecA molecules in a near-native setting using atomic force microscopy.
- Paralyzed membrane: Current-driven synthesis of a metal-organic framework with sharpened propene/propane separation
ZIF-8 membranes with inborn-suppressed linker mobility sharpen molecular sieving with C3H6/C3H8 separation factor above 300.
- Pre-Clovis projectile points at the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas—Implications for the Late Pleistocene peopling of the Americas
Stemmed projectile points are ~13,500 to ~15,500 years old and lie stratigraphically below ~13,000-year-old Clovis artifacts.
- Structure and dynamics conspire in the evolution of affinity between intrinsically disordered proteins
Structural snapshots characterize six hundred million years of evolution of intrinsically disordered proteins.
- Cell chirality regulates intercellular junctions and endothelial permeability
The handedness of the cell regulates the permeability of blood vessels.
- Room temperature long-range coherent exciton polariton condensate flow in lead halide perovskites
Long-range coherent polariton condensate flow is observed in all-inorganic perovskite microcavities.
- Bacterial virulence against an oceanic bloom-forming phytoplankter is mediated by algal DMSP
A new alga-bacterium model system sheds light on mortality factors affecting phytoplankton bloom demise and sulfur cycling.
- Unique ion rectification in hypersaline environment: A high-performance and sustainable power generator system
Ion-selective Janus membranes with one-way ionic transport in hypersaline solution approach efficient osmotic energy conversion.
- Design of magnetic spirals in layered perovskites: Extending the stability range far beyond room temperature
A novel strategy to design magnetic spirals well above room temperature opens a way for their use in technological applications.
- Minimal PAM specificity of a highly similar SpCas9 ortholog
S. canis Cas9 is a natural CRISPR enzyme that uses two motif insertions to enable flexible targeting of DNA sequences.
- Electrochemically induced phase separation and in situ formation of mesoporous structures in ionic liquid mixtures
Tailoring mesoporous structures via electrochemically induced phase separation at solid/ionic-liquid interface is shown.
- Poly(amide-imide) materials for transparent and flexible displays
Transparent polymers that can match the optical and thermal expansion properties of glass were synthesized for flexible devices.
- Do slow slip events trigger large and great megathrust earthquakes?
A slow slip event in Costa Rica migrated toward the hypocenter of a large megathrust earthquake, possibly triggering the event.
- High-throughput screening for selective appetite modulators: A multibehavioral and translational drug discovery strategy
Large-scale chemical and multibehavioral profiling identifies previously unknown potent and specific appetite modulators.
- A single-cell survey of the human first-trimester placenta and decidua
Single-cell transcriptomics reveal cellular diversity in the human first-trimester placenta and decidua.
- Multiple modes of PRC2 inhibition elicit global chromatin alterations in H3K27M pediatric glioma
H3K27M transiently recruits PRC2 to chromatin but persistently affects its activity, leading to an aberrant epigenome in DIPG.
- Mass spectrometry imaging of the in situ drug release from nanocarriers
Novel label-free MSI strategy was developed for evaluation of the in situ drug release of nanocarriers in sub-organ level.
- Organic synthesis on Mars by electrochemical reduction of CO2
Organic synthesis on Mars occurs by the electrochemical reduction of CO2, a reaction that is highly relevant for abiotic organic synthesis on early Earth.
- Climate change stimulated agricultural innovation and exchange across Asia
Agrarian societies reduced risk during pan-Asian cooling events by investing in pastoralism and developing long-distance trade.
- Wintertime stress, nursing, and lead exposure in Neanderthal children
Elemental records in teeth reveal prehistoric seasons of Neanderthal birth, weaning, childhood illness, and neurotoxic exposures.
- Universal intracellular biomolecule delivery with precise dosage control
We demonstrate quantitatively controlled delivery of DNA, mRNA, and protein into primary cells using nanostraw electroporation.
- A new mathematical model to explore microbial processes and their constraints in phytoplankton colonies and sinking marine aggregates
New mathematical model explains physical-biological coupling of processes occurring within sinking aggregates in the ocean.
- Projected changes in persistent extreme summer weather events: The role of quasi-resonant amplification
Projections of warming favor more frequent extreme weather events, but there is a large spread due to aerosol forcing changes.
Review
- Secondary building units as the turning point in the development of the reticular chemistry of MOFs
The SBU approach facilitated the development of permanently porous MOFs with unique properties, chemistry, and applications.
Technical Comments
- Working constructively toward an improved North American approach to wildlife management
Canadian and U.S. wildlife management needs an improved scientific basis and clearer definition of “science-based” expectations.
- Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management
Artelle et al. (2018) miss the science underlying North American wildlife management.
Editorial
About The Cover
COVER While the existence of exomoons—moons orbiting extrasolar planets—is probable, direct observational evidence of that existence has been elusive. Previous observations made using NASA's Kepler space telescope offered suggestions that Kepler-1625b, a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting the Solar-mass yellow star Kepler-1625, may be orbited by an exomoon. Now, Teachey and Kipping report additional observations made using the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as a refined analysis of Kepler photometry data, that strongly support the exomoon hypothesis. Their work suggests that this moon, if it exists, would be similar in size to Neptune or Uranus in our own Solar System. While the authors caution that their results must be confirmed by subsequent studies, the moon of Kepler-1625b ultimately could be the first confirmed exomoon. [CREDIT: DAN DURDA, FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ASTRONOMICAL ARTISTS]