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Disproportionate exposure to extreme floods in historically redlined U.S. communities
Abstract Extreme floods and historical public policies both leave lasting impacts. We analyzed flood exposure across the neighborhoods of 202 US cities historically assessed for lending risk by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation on a scale from ‘best (A) to ‘hazardous’ (D). Using high-resolution flood modeling and dasymetric population mapping, we found that D-graded neighborhoods bear a disproportionate flood burden in roughly three-quarters of cities. This inequality follows a systematic gradient: A- and B-graded neighborhoods are underrepresented in the flooded population, C-graded neighborhoods are proportionately represented, and D-graded neighborhoods are overrepresented. A greater fraction of D-graded residents are exposed to the 100-yr flood (6.4%) than A-graded residents to the 1000-yr flood (5.9%) with the gap widening at higher-magnitude floods. Flood disparities are most pronounced in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, aligning with the historical concentration of industrial labor and redlined neighborhoods along waterways. However, we find that proximity to waterways alone does not explain the observed inequality: flood disparities persist even among neighborhoods far from major rivers and coasts, implicating infrastructure deficits as a compounding factor. Neighborhoods marked as ‘hazardous’ nearly a century ago remain disproportionately vulnerable today, underscoring the need for equitable urban planning.
Effects of cold plasma systems applied to sutures used in third molar surgery on postoperative sequelae and quality of life: a randomized pilot clinical trial
No strain, no gain
A modular approach could expand the repertoire of spring-loaded covalent drugs
Author Correction: Both fallopian tube and ovarian surface epithelium are cells-of-origin for high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma
Crystal structure and thermal expansion behaviour of high-entropy perovskite (Y0.2Nd0.2Sm0.2Eu0.2Er0.2)AlO3
Single-cell multiomics connects 3D genome and transcriptome alterations in Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disrupts brain function through cell type–specific transcriptomic and epigenomic alterations, yet the contribution of three-dimensional (3D) genome organization to AD remains poorly understood. We applied GAGE-seq (genome architecture and gene expression by sequencing) to jointly profile gene expression and 3D chromatin structure in single cells from postmortem brain tissue from AD patients and age-matched individuals without AD, revealing chromatin reorganization linked to cell type–specific dysregulation. Integrations with spatial transcriptomics and chromatin accessibility data uncovered altered niches reflecting genome compartment remodeling and regulatory element reorganization. Hicformer, a deep learning framework, showed that 3D genome features are essential for predicting disease-relevant, cell type–specific gene expression changes. Our results establish higher-order chromatin alterations as a component of AD-associated molecular pathology, providing a multiscale view of transcriptional regulation and 3D genome organization in neurodegeneration.
Structure-based design of stable recombinant hepatitis C virus E1E2 heterodimers
Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects 47 million people and causes 239,000 deaths annually, yet no vaccine is on the horizon. Generating a stable native-like mimic of the envelope complex E1E2, the only target for known neutralizing antibodies, is an important aim for HCV vaccine development. Starting from a recombinant E1E2 design that utilizes a leucine zipper for proper folding, we used an iterative structure-based design approach to engineer antigens with at least 100-fold stronger binding to conformational antibodies and increased thermal stability. These new E1E2 designs facilitate production of native-like E1E2 antigens based on strains from different HCV genotypes and enable the generation of a recombinant E1E2 antigen design that lacks the immunogenic leucine zipper. A cryo-EM structure of one of the stabilized E1E2 antigens in complex with neutralizing antibody AT1211 provides atomic-level insights into an atypical epitope on the E2 subunit. Finally, immunogenicity studies in rabbits with adjuvanted E1E2 proteins show that immunogen stabilization alone does do not enhance serum neutralization breadth, but that removing the leucine zipper does increase homologous serum neutralization.
Diagnostic utility of colourimetric readout loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for rapid detection of Babesia gibsoni at the clinical point-of-care (POC)
Spatially resolving the cone of reaction for a single molecule
Collisions of atoms and molecules are required for bond formation and are thus key to any chemical reaction. Their outcome is determined by the collision energy, relative orientation, and impact parameter of the reactants. Collision studies in the gas phase have shown that energies are easily controlled, whereas it is difficult to steer the molecular orientations and completely impossible to control the impact parameter. Here, we study the collision of individual molecules at a surface where each involved compound is imaged before and after collision by scanning tunneling microscopy, allowing precise control of orientations and impact parameter. We observe that the molecules must collide in a narrow cone of reaction and that surface atom displacements can enable a reaction even for disfavored pathways.
RHOT1/2-driven mitochondrial membrane vesicles confer tumor-homing selectivity and enable in situ cancer vaccination
Microwave-assisted green digestion method for a variety of biological samples with hydrogen peroxide as the main digestion solvent
The rise and fall of language diversity through the Holocene
Characterizing the factors that have shaped linguistic diversity is fundamental for understanding human history, culture, and cognition. In this study, we combined statistical and social computational modeling, ethnographic data, and paleodemographic inference to model trajectories of global linguistic diversity. Before the onset of plant and animal domestication, the number of languages was smaller than it is today (4500 to 6000 compared with 7500). Subsequent increases in global population precipitated increased linguistic diversity. We uncovered a linguistic “golden age” with tens of thousands of languages 3000 to 1000 years ago. Great loss of linguistic diversity did not begin with recent colonial expansion but as multinational empires first spread along with their languages, pathogens, and cultures. Thus, extinction has likely played a much greater role in shaping linguistic and cultural diversity than previously thought.
Dyscoordination of thalamic reticular spindles is associated with social memory deficits in mice and humans with autism spectrum disorder
A novel laboratory methodology to evaluate the particle extinction-to-backscatter ratio or particle lidar ratio of aerosols
In Science Journals
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The Nigella damascena genome provides insights into transposable element-driven genomic gigantism and trait evolution
Purinergic receptor remodelling in circulating and airway cells of patients with progressive fibrotic lung disease
A tiny cone of reactivity
Colliding molecules react only when their orientations and point of impact fall within a narrow range