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Convergent genes shape budding yeast pericentromeres
The three-dimensional structure of pericentromeres in budding yeast is defined by convergent genes, which mark pericentromere borders and trap cohesin complexes loaded at centromeres, generating an architecture that allows correct chromosome segregation.
Flora Paldi, Bonnie Alver, Daniel Robertson et al.
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Plant 22-nt siRNAs mediate translational repression and stress adaptation
Characterization of 22-nucleotide short interfering RNAs in plants finds that they accumulate in response to environmental stress, causing translational repression, inhibition of plant growth and enhanced stress responses.
Huihui Wu, Bosheng Li, Hiro-oki Iwakawa et al.
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Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur
Discovery that the giant theropod dinosaur Spinosaurus has a large flexible tail indicates that it was primarily aquatic and swam in a similar manner to extant tail-propelled aquatic vertebrates.
Nizar Ibrahim, Simone Maganuco, Cristiano Dal Sasso et al.
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APOE4 leads to blood–brain barrier dysfunction predicting cognitive decline
Breakdown of the blood–brain barrier in individuals carrying the ε4 allele of the APOE gene, but not the ε3 allele, increases with and predicts cognitive impairment and is independent of amyloid β or tau pathology.
Axel Montagne, Daniel A. Nation, Abhay P. Sagare et al.
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Brain control of humoral immune responses amenable to behavioural modulation
Neuronal activities in the central amygdala and paraventricular nucleus are transmitted via the splenic nerve to increase plasma cell formation after immunization, and this process can be behaviourally enhanced in mice.
Xu Zhang, Bo Lei, Yuan Yuan et al.
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Massively multiplexed nucleic acid detection using Cas13
Cheri M. Ackerman, Cameron Myhrvold, Sri Gowtham Thakku et al.
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Childhood vaccines and antibiotic use in low- and middle-income countries
Pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines have reduced antibiotic consumption substantially among children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries; however, this effect could be doubled if all countries were to implement vaccination programmes and meet universal vaccine coverage targets.
Joseph A. Lewnard, Nathan C. Lo, Nimalan Arinaminpathy et al.
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Olfactory sniffing signals consciousness in unresponsive patients with brain injuries
Odorant-dependent sniff responses predicted the long-term survival rates of patients with severe brain injury, and discriminated between individuals who were unresponsive and in minimally conscious states.
Anat Arzi, Liron Rozenkrantz, Lior Gorodisky et al.
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Risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease breaks the blood–brain barrier
People who carry the gene variant APOE4 are at higher-than-average risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It emerges that this variant is linked to defects in the blood–brain barrier and subsequent cognitive decline.
Makoto Ishii,
Costantino Iadecola
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LEM2 phase separation promotes ESCRT-mediated nuclear envelope reformation
Following cell division, phase separation of the transmembrane adaptor LEM2 ensures that the ESCRT machinery remodels microtubules and seals the nuclear envelope.
Alexander von Appen, Dollie LaJoie, Isabel E. Johnson et al.
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The architecture of the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall
Using high-resolution atomic force microscopy of live cells, the authors present an updated view of the cell walls of both Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis.
L. Pasquina-Lemonche, J. Burns, R. D. Turner et al.
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A lower X-gate in TASK channels traps inhibitors within the vestibule
The X-ray crystal structure of the potassium channel TASK-1 reveals the presence of an X-gate, which traps small-molecule inhibitors in the intramembrane vestibule and explains their low washout rates from the channel.
Karin E. J. Rödström, Aytuğ K. Kiper, Wei Zhang et al.
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CRISPR screen in regulatory T cells reveals modulators of Foxp3
A CRISPR-based screening platform was used to identify previously uncharacterized genes that regulate the regulatory T cell-specific master transcription factor Foxp3, indicating that this screening method may be broadly applicable for the discovery of other genes involved in autoimmunity and immune responses to cancer.
Jessica T. Cortez, Elena Montauti, Eric Shifrut et al.
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Skeleton of a Cretaceous mammal from Madagascar reflects long-term insularity
Adalatherium hui, a newly discovered gondwanatherian mammal from Madagascar dated to near the end of the Cretaceous period, shows features consistent with a long evolutionary trajectory of isolation in an insular environment.
David W. Krause, Simone Hoffmann, Yaoming Hu et al.
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Brain–spleen connection aids antibody production
Elucidating how the brain controls peripheral organs in the fight against infection is crucial for our understanding of brain–body interactions. A study in mice reveals one such pathway worthy of further investigation.
Flurin Cathomas,
Scott J. Russo
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Population flow drives spatio-temporal distribution of COVID-19 in China
Jayson S. Jia, Xin Lu, Yun Yuan et al.
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Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals
Yuan Liu, Zhi Ning, Yu Chen et al.
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Iron-based binary ferromagnets for transverse thermoelectric conversion
Aluminium- and gallium-doped iron compounds show a large anomalous Nernst effect owing to a topological electronic structure, and their films are potentially suitable for designing low-cost, flexible microelectronic thermoelectric generators.
Akito Sakai, Susumu Minami, Takashi Koretsune et al.
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Alzheimer’s research grants – awards up to $600,000
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute announce the 2020 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award, supporting research to prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer's disease and related conditions. Academic investigators in the US, Canada, and the UK are eligible. Submit a Letter of Intent by May 18, 2020. |
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Two-dimensional halide perovskite lateral epitaxial heterostructures
An epitaxial growth strategy that improves the stability of two-dimensional halide perovskites by inhibiting ion diffusion in their heterostructures using rigid π-conjugated ligands is demonstrated, and shows near-atomically sharp interfaces.
Enzheng Shi, Biao Yuan, Stephen B. Shiring et al.
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Late-stage oxidative C(sp3)–H methylation
A manganese-catalysed oxidative C(sp3)–H methylation method allows a methyl group to be selectively installed into medicinally important heterocycles, providing a way to improve pharmaceuticals and better understand the ‘magic methyl effect’.
Kaibo Feng, Raundi E. Quevedo, Jeffrey T. Kohrt et al.
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The mutational landscape of normal human endometrial epithelium
Whole-genome sequencing of normal human endometrial glands shows that most are clonal cell populations and frequently carry cancer driver mutations that occur early in life, and that parity has a protective effect.
Luiza Moore, Daniel Leongamornlert, Tim H. H. Coorens et al.
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A plant genetic network for preventing dysbiosis in the phyllosphere
Mutations in genes involved in immune signalling and vesicle trafficking cause defects in the leaf microbiome of Arabidopsis thaliana that result in damage to leaf tissues, suggesting mechanisms by which terrestrial plants control the level and diversity of endophytic phyllosphere microbiota.
Tao Chen, Kinya Nomura, Xiaolin Wang et al.
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Action of a minimal contractile bactericidal nanomachine
The authors report near-atomic resolution structures of the R-type bacteriocin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the pre-contraction and post-contraction states, and these structures provide insight into the mechanism of action of molecular syringes.
Peng Ge, Dean Scholl, Nikolai S. Prokhorov et al.
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