Search

CNS injuries cause persistent deficits. Here, the authors show that regenerated axons in an optic tract injury model form functional synapses, restoring the pupillary light reflex, and highlight neuronal types and presynaptic activity in recovery.

Precise control of the growth of transition metal dichalcogenides layers in atomically thin van der Waals heterostructures has gained significant attention. Here, the authors report 100% overlapped vertical ReS₂/WS₂heterostructures by utilizing the twinned growth behaviour of two-dimensional materials.

The authors strengthen the elasticity of Ag₂Se by microstructure engineering approach, realizing bendability of the thermoelectric generator for at least 1,000,000 times at a tiny bending radius of 3 mm with a high power density.

This Protocol describes optimized procedures for purification and sequencing of small noncoding RNAs from a variety of samples to characterize these diverse RNA species and map them to the parental RNAs from which they originate.

Hybrids often show poorer performance than their parents due to conflict between parental genes, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, Chen et al. identify three genes that activate immune responses and hinder hybrids growth in rice, a finding that may help rice breeding.

Good thermoelectric materials are often complex compounds. Here, the authors reveal that elemental tellurium has a high thermoelectric figure of merit between 300 and 700 K when doped with As, with the potential advantages of easy preparation and relative isotropy.

Analysis of CRISPR-Cas off-targets is important. Here the authors incorporate molecular dynamics simulations in the computational analysis of CRISPR editing and report the CRISOT tool suite and apply this to genome-wide CRISPR off-target prediction and sgRNA optimisation.

Wu et al. report that IFNγ induces the phase separation of KAT8 and IRF1 into condensates that promote PD-L1 upregulation. They further identify a peptide that blocks KAT8–IRF1 condensates, reducing PD-L1 levels and increasing antitumor immunity.

Ultra-fast optical time-domain transformation (UO-TDT) techniques are used to encode spatial and spectral information from ultra-short pulses into the time domain. In this Primer, Zhang et al. cover the physical and mathematical basis of UO-TDT and its application in various imaging platforms, and conclude with an outlook on how these techniques could be applied to novel applications and imaging modalities.

The effects of Schwann cells on the neuro-stroma niche in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain to be explored. Here, single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptome analysis of PDAC tissues reveal that Schwann cells induce malignant subtypes of tumour cells and cancer associated fibroblasts.

Analysis of bacterial, archaeal, fungal and viral species in the gut microbiome of patients with colorectal cancer identified cross-kingdom interactions and multi-kingdom markers of disease.

TAGAP gene variants are linked to human autoimmunity. Here the authors identify TAGAP as a Dectin-1 and EphB2-binding protein mediating antifungal innate immune signaling and cytokine production, and demonstrate TAGAP in non-T cells promotes Th17 response in mouse models of infection and autoimmunity.

Yin et al. show that motor learning is delayed in mice with 16p11.2 deletion, associated with abnormal ensemble activity and delayed spine remodeling in motor cortex and reduced activity of of locus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons. The motor-related abnormalities were rescued by activation of ocus coeruleus noradrenergic neurons.

This study reveals that short-term acute heat stress causes vacuolation of the Golgi apparatus, whereafter autophagy-related protein 8 (ATG8) translocates to the cisternal membrane and recruits CLATHRIN LIGHT CHAIN 2 (CLC2) to facilitate Golgi reconstruction by promoting the budding of ATG8-positive vesicles.

With increasing age, brown adipose tissue (BAT) becomes characterized by increased adiposity and immune cell infiltration but reduced thermogenic capacity. Here the authors report that bone marrow-derived pro-inflammatory and senescent S100A8⁺ immune cells accumulate in BAT of male rats and mice during aging and contribute to BAT dysfunction.

To obtain optimal yield and productivity in bioproduction, expression of pathway genes must be appropriately coordinated. Here, the authors report repurposing of base editors for simultaneous regulation of multiple gene expression and demonstrate its application in industrially important and model microorganisms.

Nutrient sensing impinges on the autophagosome biogenesis. Here, the authors present evidence that plant energy sensing regulates the autophagosome closure by modulating the phosphorylation status and localization of the ESCRT machinery.

Cuprate superconductors are known for their intertwined interactions and coexistence of competing orders. Here, the authors observe a Fano resonance in the nonlinear THz response of La_2-xSr_xCuO₄, which may arise from a coupling between superconducting and charge-density-wave amplitude fluctuations.

A common failure of many cancer treatments is attributed to the resistance imparted by tumour hypoxia. Here, the authors report on the generic synthesis of small-sized hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles which are designed for oxygen-independent X-ray-activated synergistic therapy.

Tumour microenvironment profiling during colorectal cancer progression may enable the discovery of therapeutic targets. Here, single cell and spatial RNA sequencing of tumour and adjacent normal tissues reveals an interaction between FAP⁺ fibroblasts and SPP1⁺ macrophages that could be disrupted as an immunotherapy strategy.

Competitive endogenous RNAs help to regulate biological processes by regulating miRNA activity levels. Here the author show TGFBI acts as a ceRNA for miR-21 in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Ultrafast water transport in the surface of Sarracenia trichome is reported and demonstrated in synthetic bioinspired materials, where nano- and microchannels induce high-speed sliding of droplets on top of a thin water film.

On International Women in Engineering Day, members of our editorial board highlight individuals who have inspired them during their research careers.

Here, the authors present a comparative analyses on vaginal and uterine microbiota in 1223 samples derived from 655 women with chronic endometritis, which, combined with animal experiments, characterize the microbial translocation in the female reproductive tract and its role in modulating uterine health.

The Editorial Board and Editorial Team are delighted to present a selection of short Research Highlights describing some of our favourite Communications Engineering publications of 2023.

Soft robots are challenging to model and program. Non-specialists face non-negligible obstacles when working with soft robots to perform tasks. Here, the authors propose a method to interactively teach soft robots complex motions through flexible touchless and tactile multimodal sensors.

The cell cycle regulator CDK1 phosphorylates the acetyltransferase TIP60, which subsequently acetylates the mitotic regulator Aurora B to ensure chromosomal segregation. Aurora B acetylation prevents inactivation by PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation.

Insects are captured by the carnivorous plant Nepenthes alata when they ‘aquaplane’ on the wet rim, or ‘peristome’, of the plant’s pitcher organ; here it is shown that unidirectional water flow is crucial to the complete wetting of the peristome, and that the underlying mechanism involves multiscale structural features.

Shi et al. profiled small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) through PANDORA-seq, which identified tissue-specific transfer RNA- and ribosomal RNA-derived small RNAs, as well as sncRNAs, with dynamic changes during induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming.