| | Genetics: Mitochondrial DNA in evolution and disease
Cellular organelles called mitochondria contain their own DNA. The discovery that variation in mitochondrial DNA alters physiology and lifespan in mice has implications for evolutionary biology and the origins of disease. | Molecular biology: A surprise beginning for RNA
Organic molecules called coenzymes are central to metabolism, but have also been found to act as components of RNA in bacteria. A study reveals how coenzymes are incorporated into RNA. | Multiple mechanisms disrupt the let-7 microRNA family in neuroblastoma
Disparate modes of suppression of the let-7 microRNA family are selectively and inversely related in neuroblastoma. | High-resolution seismic constraints on flow dynamics in the oceanic asthenosphere
Rayleigh waves recorded with an ocean-bottom seismograph array in the central Pacific Ocean constrain the seismic anisotropy within the oceanic lithosphere–asthenosphere system: seafloor-spreading-induced lithospheric fabric generates the strongest anisotropy, while density- and/or pressure-driven flow produces a secondary peak in anisotropy at the base of the asthenosphere. | Transport evidence for Fermi-arc-mediated chirality transfer in the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2
Electronic transport measurements in a magnetic field on the topological Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 identify the predicted Weyl orbits that weave Fermi arcs and bulk states together; the Weyl orbits enable transfer of chirality from one node to another, and open up the possibility of controlling topological properties electronically. | High-efficiency two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper perovskite solar cells
Thin-film solar cells were fabricated using layered two-dimensional perovskites with near-single-crystalline out-of-plane alignment, which facilitates efficient charge transport leading to greatly improved power conversion efficiency with technologically relevant stability to light exposure, humidity and heat stress. | A photon–photon quantum gate based on a single atom in an optical resonator
To enable two photons to interact, a single atom in an optical resonator is used to build a universal photon–photon quantum gate; this could lead to applications in long-distance quantum communication and scalable quantum computing that require the processing of optical quantum information. | Molecular logic behind the three-way stochastic choices that expand butterfly colour vision
Butterflies diversify their retinal mosaics by producing three stochastic types of ommatidia instead of the two types found in Drosophila; this study shows that butterfly retinas use two R7-like photoreceptors per ommatidium that each make an independent stochastic decision to express the transcription factor Spineless, which controls photoreceptor and ommatidial fate. | Dissociated functional significance of decision-related activity in the primate dorsal stream
Activity in regions of the brain have been correlated with decision making but determining whether such relationships are correlative or causative has been challenging; using a technique to reversibly inactivate brain areas in monkeys reveals that although there is decision-related activity in the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area, LIP is not critical for the perceptual decisions studied here. | Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA matching shapes metabolism and healthy ageing
Conplastic mice that share the same nuclear genome but have different mitochondrial DNA were analysed throughout their life — the mitochondrial genome affects many aspects of physiology and results in differences in median lifespan; the authors propose that the interplay of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes may be an important factor influencing this phenomenon. | The mechanism of RNA 5′ capping with NAD+, NADH and desphospho-CoA
RNA caps other than the 7-methylguanylate modification are generated by a distinct mechanism in which caps are added during, not after, transcription initiation through the use of non-canonical initiating nucleotides by RNA polymerases, a finding which has functional consequences. | TTC39B deficiency stabilizes LXR reducing both atherosclerosis and steatohepatitis
In mice, deficiency in the high-density lipoprotein gene T39 stabilizes liver X receptor (LXR), reducing both atherosclerosis and steatohepatitis, suggesting that T39 inhibition could be an effective strategy for reducing these diseases. | Resolving early mesoderm diversification through single-cell expression profiling
Analysis of the transcriptome of more than 1,200 cells from gastrulating mouse embryos using single-cell sequencing, gathering unexpected insights into early mesoderm formation during gastrulation. | | Corrigendum: Malaria: Thermoregulation in a parasite’s life cycle | | Corrigendum: Convection in a volatile nitrogen-ice-rich layer drives Pluto’s geological vigour | | Corrigendum: sFRP2 in the aged microenvironment drives melanoma metastasis and therapy resistance | | Intestinal microbiota in health and disease
Christina Tobin Kåhrström, Nonia Pariente, Ursula Weiss | A microbial perspective of human developmental biology
Mark R. Charbonneau, Laura V. Blanton, Daniel B. DiGiulio et al. | Diet–microbiota interactions as moderators of human metabolism
Justin L. Sonnenburg, Fredrik Bäckhed | The microbiome and innate immunity
Christoph A. Thaiss, Niv Zmora, Maayan Levy et al. | The microbiota in adaptive immune homeostasis and disease
Kenya Honda, Dan R. Littman | Interactions between the microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in the gut
Andreas J. Bäumler, Vanessa Sperandio | Microbiome-wide association studies link dynamic microbial consortia to disease
Jack A. Gilbert, Robert A. Quinn, Justine Debelius et al. | | Sponsor | | | Genetic dissection of Flaviviridae host factors through genome-scale CRISPR screens
A CRISPR screening approach shows that endoplasmic-reticulum (ER)-associated protein complexes, including the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) protein complex, are important for infection by dengue virus and other related mosquito-borne flaviviruses, whereas hepatitis C virus is dependent on distinct entry factors, RNA binding proteins and FAD biosynthesis.
Caleb D. Marceau, Andreas S. Puschnik, Karim Majzoub et al. | Photodissociation of ultracold diatomic strontium molecules with quantum state control
The photodissociation of 88Sr2 molecules is examined at ultracold temperatures with a high degree of control, and a wealth of quantum effects such as barrier tunnelling, matter—wave interference of reaction products and forbidden pathways are observed
M. McDonald, B. H. McGuyer, F. Apfelbeck, C. -H. Lee, I. Majewska et al. | Allosteric inhibition of SHP2 phosphatase inhibits cancers driven by receptor tyrosine kinases
SHP099, a selective inhibitor of signalling meditator SHP2 with drug-like properties, has an allosteric mechanism of action whereby it stabilizes SHP2 in an auto-inhibited conformation, and suppresses RAS–ERK signalling and proliferation in receptor-tyrosine-kinase-driven cancer cell lines and mouse tumour xenograft models.
Ying-Nan P. Chen, Matthew J. LaMarche, Ho Man Chan et al. | Toremifene interacts with and destabilizes the Ebola virus glycoprotein
High-resolution structures of the unliganded Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP) and of GP bound to the drugs toremifene and ibuprofen are presented, providing insights into how the drugs inhibit viral fusion with the endosomal membrane.
Yuguang Zhao, Jingshan Ren, Karl Harlos et al. | Lanthanum-catalysed synthesis of microporous 3D graphene-like carbons in a zeolite template
A long-sought three-dimensional graphene-like carbon structure that resembles periodically networked carbon nanotubes is now readily available through lanthanum-catalysed carbon synthesis using a zeolite template.
Kyoungsoo Kim, Taekyoung Lee, Yonghyun Kwon et al. | Anthropogenic disturbance in tropical forests can double biodiversity loss from deforestation
Evaluation of the primary forests in the Brazilian state of Pará shows that anthropogenic disturbance can more than double the loss of biodiversity expected from deforestation.
Jos Barlow, Gareth D. Lennox, Joice Ferreira et al. | Design of a hyperstable 60-subunit protein icosahedron
The computational design of an extremely stable icosahedral self-assembling protein nanocage is presented; the icosahedron should be useful for applications ranging from calibrating fluorescence microscopy to drug delivery.
Yang Hsia, Jacob B. Bale, Shane Gonen et al. | Single-molecule strong coupling at room temperature in plasmonic nanocavities
Placing a light emitter in an ultra-small optical cavity results in coupling between matter and light, generating new forms of emission that can be exploited in practical or fundamental applications; here, a system is described in which strong light–matter coupling occurs at room temperature and in ambient conditions by aligning single dye molecules in the optical cavities between gold nanoparticles and surfaces.
Rohit Chikkaraddy, Bart de Nijs, Felix Benz et al. | Subduction controls the distribution and fragmentation of Earth’s tectonic plates
Computer models of mantle convection with plate-like behaviour are used to demonstrate that the size–frequency distribution of tectonic plates on Earth is controlled by subduction geometry—the spacing between subducting slabs controls the layout of large plates, and the stresses caused by the bending of trenches break plates into smaller fragments.
Claire Mallard, Nicolas Coltice, Maria Seton et al. | A CRISPR screen defines a signal peptide processing pathway required by flaviviruses
The endoplasmic-reticulum-associated signal peptidase complex is required for infection by numerous flaviviruses, including West Nile, Dengue and Zika viruses, but is not required for infection by other types of virus or for host protein synthesis.
Rong Zhang, Jonathan J. Miner, Matthew J. Gorman et al. | The quiescent intracluster medium in the core of the Perseus cluster
X-ray observations of the core of the Perseus cluster reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere in which the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of about 164 kilometres per second in the region 30–60 kiloparsecs from the central nucleus; turbulent pressure support in the gas is four per cent of the thermodynamic pressure, necessitating only a small correction to the total cluster mass determined from hydrostatic equilibrium.
Hitomi Collaboration, Felix Aharonian, Hiroki Akamatsu et al. | Inflammasome-activated gasdermin D causes pyroptosis by forming membrane pores
Caspase-mediated cleavage of gasdermin D, previously shown to mediate pyroptosis, acts by inducing oligomerization and pore formation in cell membranes.
Xing Liu, Zhibin Zhang, Jianbin Ruan et al. | A core viral protein binds host nucleosomes to sequester immune danger signals
Here, a small core protein of human adenoviruses is shown to associate with histones, sequestering proteins on host chromatin and preventing inflammatory proteins from being released and triggering inflammation.
Daphne C. Avgousti, Christin Herrmann, Katarzyna Kulej et al. | The nature of mutations induced by replication–transcription collisions
When transcription and replication machineries collide on DNA, they can cause mutations to occur in the area near the collision; these mutations are now shown to include two types—duplications/deletions within the transcription unit and base substitutions in the cis-regulatory element of gene expression.
T. Sabari Sankar, Brigitta D. Wastuwidyaningtyas, Yuexin Dong et al. | Allosteric coupling from G protein to the agonist-binding pocket in GPCRs
Here, pharmacological and biochemical evidence is provided that shows that G-protein coupling to the β2-adrenergic receptor stabilizes a ‘closed’ conformation of the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and that that the effects of the G protein on the ligand-binding site of the GPCR are observed even in the absence of a bound agonist.
Brian T. DeVree, Jacob P. Mahoney, Gisselle A. Vélez-Ruiz et al. | | | | |
