Contents
Vol 4, Issue 9
Contents
Research Articles
- Transparent arrays of bilayer-nanomesh microelectrodes for simultaneous electrophysiology and two-photon imaging in the brain
We report a transparent, bilayer-nanomesh microelectrode array for concurrent electrophysiology recording and two-photon imaging.
- Ancient genome-wide analyses infer kinship structure in an Early Medieval Alemannic graveyard
Reconstruction of relatedness and ancestry from ancient DNA from Medieval burial provides new insights into kinship behavior.
- Middle-Late Triassic insect radiation revealed by diverse fossils and isotopic ages from China
Chinese fossils reveal a Triassic insect radiation.
- Ionic decision-maker created as novel, solid-state devices
Adaptive human decision-making, including collision and mutual concession, is computed by solid-state ionic devices.
- The second century CE Roman watermills of Barbegal: Unraveling the enigma of one of the oldest industrial complexes
Carbonate deposits provide insights into the operation of the earliest industrial utilization of hydropower by an ancient society.
- Leg force interference in polypedal locomotion
When leg number increases, COM oscillations decline more quickly with increasing deviations from alternating leg coordination.
- Little lasting impact of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum on shallow marine molluscan faunas
Brief but intense global warming 56 million years ago had few long-term effects on the ecology and evolution of marine mollusks.
- Accelerated ex situ breeding of GBSS- and PTST1-edited cassava for modified starch
The growing need for cassava, a food and fuel crop, has led to a new plant breeding technique designed to accelerate breeding of cassava with modified starch.
- Voltage-driven, local, and efficient excitation of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
Leveraging magnetoelastic coupling, we show a power efficient mechanism for exciting nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.
- Transcranial brain atlas
A transcranial brain atlas is a new kind of brain atlas specialized for transcranial noninvasive brain stimulation/imaging techniques.
- Progressive fuzzy cation-π assembly of biological catecholamines
Dopamine-melanin, polydopamine molecular assembly by cation-π bonds.
- PGE2 production at sites of tissue injury promotes an anti-inflammatory neutrophil phenotype and determines the outcome of inflammation resolution in vivo
Neutrophil removal from inflammatory sites is regulated by lipid mediator signals between macrophages and neutrophils.
- Self-folding of supramolecular polymers into bioinspired topology
Supramolecular polymers undergo self-folding on a time scale of days into topologies resembling the protein’s tertiary structures.
- Pulling apart photoexcited electrons by photoinducing an in-plane surface electric field
We make a movie, on the nanometer and femtosecond scale, as we pull apart electrons with a photoinduced surface field.
- A comprehensive portrait of the venom of the giant red bull ant, Myrmecia gulosa, reveals a hyperdiverse hymenopteran toxin gene family
Characterization of the venom of an ant reveals a diverse and multifunctional hymenopteran toxin superfamily.
- Disordered skyrmion phase stabilized by magnetic frustration in a chiral magnet
Magnetic frustration in a chiral magnet stabilizes a new disordered skyrmion phase over an extended temperature region.
- The adjuvant GLA-AF enhances human intradermal vaccine responses
We present an adjuvant for intradermal use that works in humans, enabling self-administration in case of a flu pandemic.
- ETV7 is an essential component of a rapamycin-insensitive mTOR complex in cancer
A novel mTOR complex assembled by the ETS transcription factor ETV7 contributes to rapamycin resistance in cancer.
- Frustration-induced phases in migrating cell clusters
Frustration due to differences in cell motility within clusters gives rise to novel collective motion of migrating cell clusters.
- A cascade of phase transitions in an orbitally mixed half-filled Landau level
An unexpectedly rich cascade of quantum phase transitions is reported in a half-filled Landau level in ZnO.
- Quantum interference of topological states of light
Quantum interference of topologically protected single-photon states is demonstrated in an integrated photonic chip.
- Electronic structures and unusually robust bandgap in an ultrahigh-mobility layered oxide semiconductor, Bi2O2Se
A new layered oxide semiconductor (Bi2O2Se) is found with excellent electronic properties for promising applications.
- Learning of spatiotemporal patterns in a spiking neural network with resistive switching synapses
Resistive switching devices were used as technological synapses to learn about the spatial- and temporal-correlated neuron spikes.
- Cell fusion potentiates tumor heterogeneity and reveals circulating hybrid cells that correlate with stage and survival
Peripheral blood MФ–cancer cell fusion hybrids identified in cancer patients correlate with disease stage and overall survival.
- Visible light–gated reconfigurable rotary actuation of electric nanomotors
A widely applicable mechanism that facilely enables semicondutor micro/nanodevices with multifold mechanical reconfigurability.
- Mechanically active materials in three-dimensional mesostructures
We integrate multiple, independently addressable piezoelectric thin-film actuators into complex, 3D mesostructures.
- Nitrogen isotope signature evidences ammonium deprotonation as a common transport mechanism for the AMT-Mep-Rh protein superfamily
Natural nitrogen isotopic signature reveals deprotonation during ammonium transport across living organisms.
- Programmable wettability on photocontrolled graphene film
We fabricated a paraffin-infused porous graphene film with programmable wettability for the spatiotemporal droplet manipulation.
- Early Holocene human presence in Madagascar evidenced by exploitation of avian megafauna
Radiocarbon dates of perimortem tool marks reveal human presence in Madagascar 6000 years earlier than previously thought.
- High electrical conductivity and carrier mobility in oCVD PEDOT thin films by engineered crystallization and acid treatment
We present a structural engineered air-stable conducting polymer with high electrical conductivity and carrier mobility.
- GLK-IKKβ signaling induces dimerization and translocation of the AhR-RORγt complex in IL-17A induction and autoimmune disease
The kinase GLK induces dimerization of AhR-RORγt, leading to induction of the cytokine IL-17A and autoimmune responses.
- Rapid eruption of the Columbia River flood basalt and correlation with the mid-Miocene climate optimum
U-Pb ages show Earth’s youngest flood basalt province erupted in 750 ka starting ~16.65 Ma during Miocene global warming.
- Powering the ABC multidrug exporter LmrA: How nucleotides embrace the ion-motive force
Researchers study how different forms of metabolic energy are coupled to drug extrusion by an ATP-binding cassette transporter.
- Tailoring emergent spin phenomena in Dirac material heterostructures
Dirac material–based heterostructures reveal enhanced spin-orbit coupling with an emerging spin texture.
- The long-term impact of employment bans on the economic integration of refugees
Temporary employment bans for asylum seekers have lasting negative consequences for their economic integration.
- Structural investigation of a chaperonin in action reveals how nucleotide binding regulates the functional cycle
Site-selective isotope labeling enables structural and functional investigation of a working 1-MDa chaperonin by NMR spectroscopy.
- Dislocation behaviors in nanotwinned diamond
The unprecedented hardness of nt-diamond originates from high lattice frictional stress and high athermal stress.
- Magic angle spinning spheres
Spherical rotors can be used for magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance.
- Magnetism and photo dual-controlled supramolecular assembly for suppression of tumor invasion and metastasis
Tumor cell invasion and metastasis can be suppressed by (geo)magnetism- and photoresponsive supramolecular nanofibers.
- Facile manufacture of porous organic framework membranes for precombustion CO2 capture
Ultrastable and highly H2-selective porous organic framework membranes were successfully synthesized by interfacial polymerization.
- Tracking the weight of Hurricane Harvey’s stormwater using GPS data
GPS can track terrestrial water storage following extreme precipitation events, with potential to improve flood planning.
- Combating transnational organized crime by linking multiple large ivory seizures to the same dealer
Genetically matching tusks from the same elephant in consecutive shipments links the same trafficker to multiple ivory seizures.
- Hydrogenation of terminal and internal olefins using a biowaste-derived heterogeneous cobalt catalyst
An active and renewable catalyst for olefin hydrogenation was obtained by inclusion of cobalt in a carbon matrix derived from the pyrolysis of chitosan.
- 2D titanium carbide (MXene) for wireless communication
Flexible 100-nm-thick antennas are made by one-step spray coating of metallic 2D titanium carbide MXene.
- Crystal structure of rhodopsin in complex with a mini-Go sheds light on the principles of G protein selectivity
The structure of the rhodopsin/mini-Go complex reveals new insights on G protein selectivity.
- Recent intensification of Amazon flooding extremes driven by strengthened Walker circulation
A recent increase in extreme flooding in Amazonia is linked to intensification of the atmospheric east-west Walker circulation.
- Discovery and structural characterization of a therapeutic antibody against coxsackievirus A10
Isolation of the first neutralizing antibody of CVA10 and the mechanism underlying its potency against all three existing capsid forms.
- New magnetic phase of the chiral skyrmion material Cu2OSeO3
A new magnetic phase is reported in the chiral magnet, Cu2OSeO3, which is predicted to affect its physical properties.
- The origins of human prosociality: Cultural group selection in the workplace and the laboratory
As predicted by cultural group selection, increases in firm-level competition raise the generalized trust of workers.
- Evidence for precision grasping in Neandertal daily activities
Contrary to common assumptions, Neandertal habitual behavior relied mainly on manual precision rather than brute grip force.
- Large regional shortwave forcing by anthropogenic methane informed by Jovian observations
Methane also heats the climate system by absorbing sunlight, and the absorption is maximized over bright clouds and deserts.
- Unprecedented high irreversibility line in the nontoxic cuprate superconductor (Cu,C)Ba2Ca3Cu4O11+δ
The nontoxic superconductor (Cu,C)Ba2Ca3Cu4O11+δ has the highest irreversibility line for possible applications above the LN2 temperature.
- Evaluating biological activity of compounds by transcription factor activity profiling
Transcription factor activity profiling reveals invariant signatures of perturbed biological pathways and cell systems.
- Multidimensional spectroscopy with attosecond extreme ultraviolet and shaped near-infrared pulses
We demonstrate the first multidimensional spectroscopy in the extreme ultraviolet using attosecond pulses and pulse shaping.
- Biomechanics of hover performance in Neotropical hummingbirds versus bats
To hover effectively, hummingbirds invert their wings further to increase upstroke lift, while small bats rely on larger wings.
- Enhanced transport in transistor by tuning transition-metal oxide electronic states interfaced with diamond
A novel facile strategy was developed to tune transition-metal oxide electronic states for transistor’s transport enhancement.
- Niche partitioning of a pathogenic microbiome driven by chemical gradients
Chemical gradients shape the cystic fibrosis lung microbiome, with marked effects on the outcome of antimicrobial treatments.
- A new fossil assemblage shows that large angiosperm trees grew in North America by the Turonian (Late Cretaceous)
Fossils from Utah show large flowering trees evolved at least 15 million years earlier than previously thought.
- A unique role for DNA (hydroxy)methylation in epigenetic regulation of human inhibitory neurons
DNA hydroxymethylation is a distinctive epigenetic regulator of human inhibitory neurons, potentially affecting brain diseases.
- Evidence of a low-temperature dynamical transition in concentrated microgels
The dynamical transition of hydrated proteins also occurs in nonbiological macromolecules, such as colloidal microgels.
- The CCT chaperonin is a novel regulator of Ca2+ signaling through modulation of Orai1 trafficking
A chaperone complex (CCT) regulates the trafficking of a calcium channel (Orai1) and, as such, modulates cellular function.
- Molecular parallelism in fast-twitch muscle proteins in echolocating mammals
A genomic screen uncovers a link between molecular parallelism and the convergent evolution of superfast sound-producing muscles.
- Flagellar number governs bacterial spreading and transport efficiency
We show that the flagellar number affects the intrinsic dynamics of swimming bacteria and governs their transport efficiency.
- An “ideal lignin” facilitates full biomass utilization
The structural homogeneity and acid stability of linear C-lignins allow their deconstruction to useful monomers in high yield.
- Manta rays feed using ricochet separation, a novel nonclogging filtration mechanism
Experimental and computational fluid dynamics indicate that manta rays use a novel filtration mechanism for feeding.
- Facile profiling of molecular heterogeneity by microfluidic digital melt
Digital microfluidic technology enables profiling of genetic and epigenetic differences within tumors or cells.
Errata
Technical Comments
- Inconsistencies undermine the conclusion that agriculture is a dominant source of NOx in California
Several inconsistencies undermine the conclusion that agricultural soils are a dominant source of NOx pollution in California.
- Extrapolation of point measurements and fertilizer-only emission factors cannot capture statewide soil NOx emissions
Biogeochemical models are more capable of capturing statewide soil NOx emissions than emission factors.
Editorial
About The Cover

COVER The Alemanni are a group of Germanic tribes that occupied a region spanning parts of present-day Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. However, little is known about the tribes' household makeup. To glean insight, O'Sullivan et al. used ancient genome-wide analyses techniques to analyze bones from a 7th century AD Alemannic burial site at Niederstotzingen in southern Germany, where, decades ago, 13 skeletal remains, as well as collections of goods, were uncovered from 12 graves. At least 11 of the individuals were likely male, suggesting that burial rites were sex-biased. Strontium and oxygen isotope content of the individuals’ dental enamel revealed that five of the individuals were second-degree relatives born in the region, whereas three other individuals were not detectably related. These findings suggest that other social processes, such as personal fealty to powerful families, might have also influenced the composition of these cemeteries. [CREDIT: NIALL O'SULLIVAN]