Contents
August 2020
Vol 6, Issue 35
Vol 6, Issue 35
Contents
Research Articles
- Amazon conservation and students’ interests for biodiversity: The need to boost science education in Brazil
Amazon youngsters’ interests about biodiversity are different from those of southeast Brazil, but both support conservation.
- Ingestible transiently anchoring electronics for microstimulation and conductive signaling
An ingestible device injects probes into stomach tissue for electrical stimulation and potential treatment of gastroparesis.
- Rupture of blood clots: Mechanics and pathophysiology
We investigate the biomechanical and structural origins of blood clot rupture with implications for thrombotic embolization.
- Cardiolipin, conformation, and respiratory complex-dependent oligomerization of the major mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in yeast
The structural assembly and conformation of yeast’s major ADP/ATP carrier is dependent on the signature lipid of mitochondria.
- Wirelessly controlled, bioresorbable drug delivery device with active valves that exploit electrochemically triggered crevice corrosion
Bioresorbable drug release platforms offer advanced treatment for hormone imbalances, malignant cancers, and diabetic conditions.
- Unmasking selective path integration deficits in Alzheimer’s disease risk carriers
Alzheimer’s risk carriers exhibit impaired path integration performance when compensatory strategies cannot be used.
- Early-life environmental enrichment generates persistent individualized behavior in mice
Experience-induced differences in behavior, brain plasticity, and epigenetics persist even after stimulus withdrawal.
- Highly active dry methane reforming catalysts with boosted in situ grown Ni-Fe nanoparticles on perovskite via atomic layer deposition
Topotactic exsolution with ALD enables abundant alloy nanocatalysts as a new driving force applicable to perovskite systems.
- Kondo physics in antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetal Mn3+xSn1−x films
Evolution of Kondo effect in Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn leads to extraordinary terahertz and DC transport properties.
- Fate mapping via CCR2-CreER mice reveals monocyte-to-microglia transition in development and neonatal stroke
Fate mapping study via a new transgenic mouse line reveals monocyte-to-microglia conversion in development and after brain injury.
- Predicting short-range order and correlated phenomena in disordered crystalline materials
Short-range structure in disordered materials can be predicted by application of Pauling’s rules.
- Accumulation of collagen molecular unfolding is the mechanism of cyclic fatigue damage and failure in collagenous tissues
Denatured collagen accumulates during cyclic fatigue loading and explains the micro-damage hypothesis of overuse tissue injury.
- Interference with pancreatic sympathetic signaling halts the onset of diabetes in mice
Nerve signaling in the pancreas affects the local immune response in type 1 diabetes and can be targeted to halt disease.
- Correlation between tectonic CO2 Earth degassing and seismicity is revealed by a 10-year record in the Apennines, Italy
Massive emissions of deep CO2 coupled to the 2009–2018 Central Italy earthquakes.
- Primate-restricted KRAB zinc finger proteins and target retrotransposons control gene expression in human neurons
Young transposable elements and their protein controllers team up to regulate the differentiation and function of human neurons.
- Examining metastatic behavior within 3D bioprinted vasculature for the validation of a 3D computational flow model
3D printed vasculature paired with a 3D in silico model interrogates biophysical forces of circulating tumor cells.
- Nanoparticle-based computing architecture for nanoparticle neural networks
The nanoparticle-based von Neumann architecture is constructed on a lipid chip to execute nanoparticle neural networks with DNA.
- Nanoparticle-enhanced chemo-immunotherapy to trigger robust antitumor immunity
Stimuli-responsive nano-immunochemotherapy modulates the tumor microenvironment to enhance antitumor immunity.
- Structural response of α-quartz under plate-impact shock compression
Gas-gun shock compression and pulsed x-ray diffraction reveal new details of the crystal structure of SiO2 under shock loading.
- METTL6 is a tRNA m3C methyltransferase that regulates pluripotency and tumor cell growth
RNA methyltransferase METTL6 is implicated in tumor cell growth and in mouse energy consumption.
- The NEMP family supports metazoan fertility and nuclear envelope stiffness
Loss of Nemp leads to softening of the germline nuclear envelope and loss of fertility.
- 3D printed patient-specific aortic root models with internal sensors for minimally invasive applications
3D printed patient-specific aortic root models with internal sensor arrays can augment the planning of medical procedures.
- Neogene precipitation, vegetation, and elevation history of the Central Andean Plateau
Fossil plants from the Central Andes reveal Neogene wetter conditions than previously estimated and the birth of the Puna.
- Disruption in ACTL7A causes acrosomal ultrastructural defects in human and mouse sperm as a novel male factor inducing early embryonic arrest
ACTL7A deficiency is a novel male factor inducing early embryonic arrest that can be overcome by artificial oocyte activation.
- Floquet metal-to-insulator phase transitions in semiconductor nanowires
Laser-illuminated semiconductor nanowires host a nonequilibrium metal-to-insulator quantum phase transition.
- Cryo-EM structure of human Cx31.3/GJC3 connexin hemichannel
Cryo-EM structure of human connexin 31.3 hemichannel reveals the selective permeability mechanism.
- Artificial regulation of state transition for augmenting plant photosynthesis using synthetic light-harvesting polymer materials
A light-harvesting polymer is used to augment photosynthesis through regulating state transition of photosystems I and II.
- Immunotherapy via PD-L1–presenting biomaterials leads to long-term islet graft survival
Local biomaterial-mediated delivery of PD-L1 induces alloislet graft survival and function in a murine model of type 1 diabetes.
- SQR mediates therapeutic effects of H2S by targeting mitochondrial electron transport to induce mitochondrial uncoupling
A sulfide oxidase mediates therapeutic actions of H2S by targeting mitochondrial electron flow to induce mitochondrial uncoupling.
- DNA polymerase α interacts with H3-H4 and facilitates the transfer of parental histones to lagging strands
DNA Pol α transfers parental histones to lagging strands.
- Global and local envelope protein dynamics of hepatitis C virus determine broad antibody sensitivity
New insights into hepatitis C virus evasion from neutralizing antibodies have important implications for vaccine development.
- Chlamydial contribution to anaerobic metabolism during eukaryotic evolution
Genomic analysis of newly identified Chlamydiae reveals that their ancestors contributed to the evolution of anaerobic eukaryotes.
- Wnt signaling activates MFSD2A to suppress vascular endothelial transcytosis and maintain blood-retinal barrier
Wnt signaling pathway suppresses vascular endothelium transcytosis in the BRB through activating MFSD2A.
- Crystal structure of a YeeE/YedE family protein engaged in thiosulfate uptake
The crystal structure of YeeE shows a sophisticated hourglass shape for thiosulfate uptake.
- The participatory and partisan impacts of mandatory vote-by-mail
This paper shows that mandatory vote-by-mail increases voter turnout but does not advantage one political party over the other.
- Systemic anti-inflammatory therapy aided by double-headed nanoparticles in a canine model of acute intraocular inflammation
Orally delivered double-headed nanoparticle curcumin has potential to treat intraocular inflammation.
- Viruses harness YxxØ motif to interact with host AP2M1 for replication: A vulnerable broad-spectrum antiviral target
Host AP2M1 protein is exploited by diverse pathogenic viruses via their YxxØ protein motif during viral replication cycle.
- Neuronal metabolic rewiring promotes resilience to neurodegeneration caused by mitochondrial dysfunction
Proteomic analysis of dysfunctional neurons reveals a metabolic program that is activated to counteract neurodegeneration.
- Glove-based sensors for multimodal monitoring of natural sweat
Functionalized glove sensors allow natural sweat analysis without requiring exercise or iontophoretic stimulation.
- Sustained release of a GLP-1 and FGF21 dual agonist from an injectable depot protects mice from obesity and hyperglycemia
A type 2 diabetes therapeutic merges two complementary drugs with a depot-forming linker to enable once-weekly dosing.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Ruptured blood clots can be deadly, sometimes resulting in a life-threatening condition in which a piece of the clot travels downstream and blocks other vessels, preventing blood flow to tissues. Ruptured blood clots correlate with a 30% higher mortality rate in venous thromboembolism, a condition that affects 900,000 people in the U.S. alone each year. However, the mechanisms that lead to ruptures in fibrin, a protein involved in blood clotting, remain unknown. To measure the toughness of fibrin clots and determine the structural mechanisms that cause them to break, Tutwiler et al. stretched clots derived from human blood plasma in a strain-controlled tensile tester. The researchers tested clots of various lengths with or without edge cracks, finding that the fibrin gels could sustain much higher forces when did not have preexisting cracks than they could when a crack was already present. These observations led them to conclude that growth of a critical flaw, rather than diffuse damage, causes fibrin to fail. The findings may help inform personalized medical treatments and assist in the development of fibrin-based biomaterials. [CREDIT: VALERIE TUTWILER, RUSTEM I. LITVINOV, JOHN W. WEISEL, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA]
