Browse Articles

Early neural attunement to peer status predicts future social network position and popularity in adolescents

Popularity is a key marker of social status, yet the phenomena that support its emergence within newly forming social groups remain unclear. We combined functional neuroimaging and longitudinal school-wide social network analysis to track adolescents throughout their first year of high school, examining whether early neural responses to peers of varying social status predict later popularity. Here, we show that greater neural differentiation when viewing the faces of unpopular versus popular peers, particularly in the hippocampus, forecasts greater perceived popularity at the end of the school year. This relationship is mediated by midyear social network centrality, especially in-closeness centrality, which reflects being more easily reachable by peers. These findings suggest that early neural attunement to the status of their peers shapes how adolescents become embedded in their social networks, which in turn contributes to later gains in their own perceived popularity. More generally, these findings reveal how neural and social network-level processes jointly drive adolescents’ navigation of evolving social landscapes and attainment of social status.

Cross-species transcriptomic analysis of rodent model fidelity to human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Trait-mediated interactions drive local diversity

Identifying overarching processes that maintain biodiversity in natural communities remains a challenge in ecology. Although functional traits help explain regional species distributions, they often fall short at the local community level. We investigate whether traits can offer mechanism-based insights into local diversity maintenance due to associations with the sign and strength of plant interactions. We examine the effect of 12 plant functional traits on the sign and strength of pairwise species interactions across two Mediterranean annual plant communities. Results show that traits mediate a spectrum from facilitative to competitive interactions and are influenced by neighbor density and identity. At low densities, species with conservative resource-use traits are consistently stronger facilitators than acquisitive species. The traits of the focal species, however, explain facilitation at low densities better than the traits of neighbors or the pairwise differences in traits. When neighbor density increases, facilitation switches to competition, a pattern we hypothesize reflects a density-mediated reduction in how much neighbors’ traits drive interactions. Moreover, species frequently receiving heterospecific facilitation also display traits associated with self-competition and low intrinsic population growth rate. This study of community-level trait sorting provides insights into the persistence of co-occurring populations, showing trait-based generalizable insights into the local context dependency of species interactions.

MINTsC learns multi-way chromatin interactions from single cell high throughput chromatin conformation data

Profile of John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis: 2025 Nobel laureates in Physics

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for their foundational discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in electrical circuits. The work that was honored was conducted primarily in the mid-1980s in John Clarke’s laboratory at the University of California—Berkeley, as described in two articles in Physical Review Letters [M. H. Devoret, J. M. Martinis, J. Clarke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 55 , 1908–1911 (1985); J. M. Martinis, M. H. Devoret, J. Clarke, Phys. Rev. Lett. 55 , 1543–1546 (1985)]. This work effectively bridged the gap between the microscopic world of atoms and the macroscopic world of human-scale engineering.

Stress-induced ribosome degradation in Bacillus subtilis is mediated by the RNase Y-specificity complex

Abstract Limiting ribosome synthesis and activity is crucial for adaptation to stresses, such as heat or nutrient starvation. In Bacillus subtilis , this can be achieved through the coordinated action of the alarmones (p)ppGpp and the transcription factor Spx. Here, we performed a genetic screen to identify novel factors that contribute to the heat shock response in B. subtilis . We identified the Y-complex, which confers specificity to the endonuclease RNase Y, as a critical player under stress conditions, such as heat or transition into the stationary phase. This protein complex is required for the targeting and processing of diverse RNAs, notably the maturation of mRNAs encoding proteins involved in translation and metabolism. We further demonstrate that the Y-complex and RNase Y initiate the degradation of rRNAs of mature ribosomes, lowering their abundance. We propose that the Y-complex is a regulatory hub that modulates gene expression, adjusts protein synthesis and resource allocation.

Multiplex gene editing enables the multibiofortification of essential vitamins and other health-promoting phytonutrients in tomato

Dietary deficiencies in essential micronutrients and other phytonutrients represent a global health and economic burden, contributing to “hidden hunger” and chronic diseases. While genome editing has been employed to improve individual nutritional traits in crops, multibiofortification through simultaneous modification of multiple distinct metabolic pathways is more challenging. Here, we designed a multiplex CRISPR-Cas strategy to edit five key genes in tomato: Sl7-DR2 , SlGAD3 , SlSGR1 , SlGGP1 , and SlGGP2 . This approach successfully generated quintuple mutant ( 5m ) tomato lines simultaneously biofortified with seven health-promoting compounds: vitamin D 3 (from 0 to 0.70 μg/g dry weight), vitamin C (up to 2.53-fold), provitamin A/β-carotene (up to 3.86-fold), α-carotene (up to 2.47-fold), lutein (up to 3.26-fold), lycopene (up to 7.07-fold), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA, up to 5.26-fold). Notably, these multibiofortified tomatoes exhibited no significant trade-offs in plant growth or fruit quality. Extracts from 5m tomatoes showed enhanced suppression of colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vitro. This antiproliferative effect was validated in vivo, where dietary supplementation with 5m tomato powder significantly inhibited tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. Our work demonstrates an effective strategy for developing a next generation of “functional foods” through multibiofortification, creating a single, nutrient-dense crop that combats both micronutrient malnutrition and chronic diseases.

Mevalonate pathway rewiring driven by enhancer remodelling confers resistance to KRAS inhibitors in colorectal cancer

Interaction dynamics between epithelial cysts captured by tissue rheology

Epithelial cysts are minimal structures involved in morphogenesis. They are fluid-filled cavities surrounded by an epithelial monolayer. During development, cyst grow and their interactions shape organs. While their growth dynamics as single structures are well characterized, physical mechanisms underlying their interaction remain poorly understood. Here, we design a minimal assay of interacting cyst doublets based on microfabrication, quantitative biology, and theory to show that Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cysts interaction is essentially determined by rheological properties of their epithelial monolayers. We report two phases of interaction: coalescence of cellular monolayers and lumen fusion, with similar speeds of 0.3 μm/h. We modulate the distribution of interaction phenotypes by reducing cell–cell adhesion using E-cadherin knock-out MDCK cells, and we report that E-cadherin depletion promotes lumen fusion. Remarkably, dynamics of coalescence and fusion are conserved between both cell lines. To understand the conserved speeds and the effect of cell–cell adhesion, we model the mechanical behavior of cyst doublets as a complex fluid to predict a speed determined by viscosity, stretch-dependent monolayer tension, and adhesion energy between cells. We measure these parameters through rheological experiments using micropipette aspiration and lumen drainage, spanningthe full range of stretch. A key insight from this analysis is that accounting for tension’s dependence on stretch is essential to capture dynamics observed during cyst interaction. Using these rheological measurements, we successfully recapitulate the conserved speed. We show that Caco-2 cyst interactions follow similar rules. Altogether, our results open perspectives to understand tissue dynamics during organogenesis through simple physical arguments.

Timed secreted proteomes reveal regulation of hepatokines by the liver circadian clock

A negative-hydrated constriction zone is revealed in the active state of the H _v 1 channel

The voltage-gated proton (H v 1) channel is crucial in regulating cellular pH, yet the mechanism underlying proton permeation remains controversial. A deeper understanding of the differences between the channel’s active and resting states is essential for clarifying its conductive properties. In this study, we employ a combination of molecular dynamics simulations, site-directed mutagenesis, and electrophysiological recordings to investigate what changes occur in an active H v 1 channel and how these changes influence conduction properties in the wild-type (WT) channel, a low-conducting N264R mutant, and a superconductive N264E mutant. Our findings reveal that in the active state, interactions are weakened between the selectivity filter, aspartate D160, and the third arginine in the S4 transmembrane segment. This results in a more negatively charged and hydrated environment, which enables proton transport in the WT and N264E channels. Notably, these conformational changes are absent in the N264R mutant. Additionally, our simulations predict—and osmotic shock experiments in oocytes confirm—that an active H v 1 channel can facilitate water permeation. These observations suggest that water conduction occurs as a byproduct of a more dilated and hydrated pathway. We introduce a methodological approach to studying H v 1 by utilizing water permeation as a functional readout. Collectively, our results provide insights into the structural rearrangements of the H v 1 constriction zone, shedding light on how its resting and active configurations govern proton conduction.

Pre-treatment bacterial cell states shape antibiotic-induced transcriptional reprogramming and survival

Explaining the universality of biological thermal responses

Obexelimab for the Treatment of IgG4-Related Disease

High temperature Néel skyrmions in simple ferromagnets

Abstract A wide variety of chiral non-collinear spin textures have been discovered and have unique properties that make them highly interesting for technological applications. However, many of these are found in complex materials and only in a narrow window of temperature. Here, we show the formation of Néel-type skyrmions in thin layers of simple ferromagnetic alloys, namely Co-Al and Co-Ni-Al, over a wide range of temperature up to ~773 K, by imposing a strain gradient perpendicular to the sample plane via epitaxy with an Ir-Al underlayer. The Néel skyrmions are directly observed using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy in freestanding membranes at high temperatures and the strain gradient is directly measured from x-ray diffraction asymmetric peak profiles. Our concept allows for simple centrosymmetric ferromagnets with high magnetic ordering temperatures to exhibit skyrmions at temperatures well above room temperature, thereby, bringing closer skyrmionic electronics.

Polyploidy and stress

Obexelimab and the Promise of Nondepleting B-Cell Therapy in IgG4-Related Disease

Dynamic cell fate transitions during morphallactic regeneration

Emerging design principles for environmental, economic, and equity successes in land conservation

Land conservation initiatives worldwide are poised to continue rapid growth. Ranging in scale, scope, and mechanisms, these efforts include area-based conservation, incentive-based protection, and community collective management. Evidence from across fields now indicates that it is possible for land conservation to jointly improve environmental conditions, generate positive net local economic benefits, and support social equity. Yet the key policy elements that can lead to this type of multidimensional success are not well understood. Here, we review the considerable body of existing research on land conservation and propose eight emerging design principles that conservation actors can employ to support “win-win-win” outcomes: 1) identify and support credible pathways of change, 2) set goals for all outcomes, recognizing their interdependencies, 3) accommodate multiple needs and uses through spatial or place-specific differentiation, 4) facilitate temporal resilience through diversification and limits, 5) foster nested governance, 6) integrate information structures for environmental and social outcomes, 7) assess policies using counterfactual-based analysis and adaptive management, 8) establish lasting institutions and funding mechanisms. Although these design principles will likely change and evolve, they provide an evidence-grounded framework to support current and future efforts to steward global lands.

Large-scale molecular endotype discovery in synovial fluid reveals osteoarthritis as a single biological continuum

Abstract Knee osteoarthritis affects 40% of people during their lifetime, significantly impacting societies worldwide. Its molecular pathogenesis remains poorly understood and variable clinical phenotypes suggest it may be more than one disease. We established S ynovial fluid T o detect E ndoty p es by U nbiased P roteomics in OA (STEpUP OA) to search for molecular endotypes in knee OA synovial fluid, and to reveal key pathobiological pathways across 1361 individuals with knee OA. Using unsupervised clustering, a single cluster representing a biological continuum is observed, primarily driven by “Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition”. Distinct molecular endotypes are not detected. “Angiogenesis”, “Complement” and “Coagulation” are enriched for after stratification by clinical phenotype (obesity status, biological sex). Complement and coagulation are associated with the inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein. Associations with patient-reported knee pain are weaker. These findings support knee OA as a biological continuum, identify common and phenotype-enriched targetable pathways, and a rationale for stratification in clinical trial design.