Browse Articles

Targeting FoxO1/3a, NF-κB, and mTOR signaling attenuates muscle atrophy in sepsis

Localized carbon deposition enables trimming of photonic integrated circuits

Abstract Photonic integrated circuits (PICs), widely used in optical communications and computing, require precise post-fabrication trimming due to their high sensitivity to fabrication imperfections. Focused ion beam (FIB) carbon deposition offers a localized trimming approach with high spatial precision. Here, we demonstrate this technique for the first time to enable non-volatile post-fabrication trimming of PICs. To validate this approach, we use asymmetric directional couplers as representative fabrication-sensitive components. Structural characterizations confirm localized surface deposition without observable modification of the underlying waveguide core, and device measurements show discrete transmission tuning levels of 1.46–16.1 dB. Independent test structures further reveal an additional loss of 0.35 dB per π phase shift, indicating a low optical penalty at the device level. Furthermore, the optical response remains stable over two months following a brief initial settling phase. These results highlight the potential of FIB carbon deposition in device-level trimming and provide a foundation for exploring future trimming strategies toward parallel implementations.

Associations of the uric acid–to–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with hypertension: a cross-sectional study from the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Digital adiabatic evolution is universally accurate

Dynamic antigen expression and cytotoxic T cell resistance in HIV reservoir clones

Single-molecule electrical characterization of photoinduced aggregation evolution

Robust but independent sex differences in human brain function, structure, and behavior

Abstract The neurobiological accompaniments of well-established sex differences in human behavior and disease remain unclear — in part due to a lack of large, diverse functional neuroimaging studies. We address this gap using over 700 h of fMRI data across seven tasks from 978 individuals with extensive structural and behavioral measures. We find that sex differences in task-activation are widespread (85% of cortex) and reproducible,  largely task-specific, of small to moderate effect size, and unaligned with brain volume differences. While machine learning can classify sex from brain activation, volume, or behavior, these data types provide orthogonal information. Brain-wide association studies reveal that links between brain activation and behavior are highly conserved between sexes. The few subtle sex differences in brain-behavior linkage that do exist are not preferentially localized to sex-biased behaviors. Our findings clarify the nature of sex differences in human brain function and their links with neuroanatomy and behavior, providing a useful foundation for future research.

Quantifying crowding-ventilation effect on respiratory infections

Hybrid ferroelectric-ionic memristive hardware for high scalability in-memory computing

A self-reliance framework for identifying strategic advanced materials

Abstract Global supply chain disruptions make securing raw materials for next-generation technologies an urgent priority. Raw materials are currently deemed ‘critical’ based on their supply risk and ‘strategic’ if vital for green or digital transitions. However, these frameworks do not yet cover advanced materials, the complex, engineered substances like nanomaterials that are the drivers of modern innovation. Here we introduce a self-reliance index that quantifies European autonomy for elements, compounds and devices, using import dependence, recycling rates and supplier concentration. Linking this index to the state-of-the-art performance of a broad range of advanced materials, across conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, battery electrodes and photovoltaic layers, we find that high-performance materials based on heavily imported elements almost always have European-sourced substitutes with comparable performance. We propose defining ‘strategic advanced materials’ as those offering high performance through locally available inputs. This framework provides a selection tool for researchers and policymakers to strengthen supply chain resilience and drive European technological sovereignty.

Ribonuclease DIS3 delays aging and senescence by generating tRNA halves

Targeted electron beam creates thousands of atomic crystal defects

A MAFG~MITF complex drives melanoma phenotype switching and progression

Abstract Phenotype switching, a key driver of melanoma progression and therapy resistance, is governed by the lineage transcription factor MITF. Here, we identify the small MAF family transcription factor MAFG as a critical regulator of MITF activity and melanoma cell state plasticity. MAFG expression is frequently elevated in melanoma and correlates with poor patient survival. Mechanistically, MAFG binds MITF and redirects its genomic occupancy, thereby modulating transcriptional programs governed by MITF. Genetic perturbation studies in vitro and in vivo show that MAFG promotes a dedifferentiated cell state and accelerates melanoma progression through its direct interaction with MITF. Moreover, MAFG is required for melanoma cell proliferation and for the transition from nevi to melanoma in genetic mouse models. Together, these findings demonstrate that the MAFG~MITF complex orchestrates phenotype switching and tumor progression, uncovering an unrecognized mechanism of MITF regulation in melanoma.

Macrophage ALDH2 drives immunotherapy resistance by silencing CXCL9 through metabolic-epigenetic crosstalk

Self sustained oscillations of a nonlinear optomechanical system in the low excitation regime

How regional characteristics drive various human mobility types across Europe

Gaussian boson sampling with 1,024 squeezed states in 8,176 modes

Laser-driven ferroelectricity in SrTiO3 via quantum fluctuation quenching

Selective radial thickness growth of compositionally graded shells on colloidal quantum rods for more efficient light-emitting diodes

Hierarchical multi-timescale structural dynamics of the disordered N-terminal of p53

Abstract Most natively folded proteins exhibit a unique spatial structure, which undergoes functional motions ranging from picoseconds to seconds, governed by a hierarchically ordered, funnel-shaped free energy landscape. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) lack such a stable native structure, but undergo fast interconversions between many different structures. Accordingly, the underlying free energy landscape is assumed to be rather shallow and unstructured. However, although IDPs represent nearly one-third of the human proteome, their structural dynamics on timescales slower than nanoseconds remain largely elusive. Here we reveal the structural dynamics of the prototypical IDP p53-TAD, also known as the “guardian of the genome”, by combining high-power relaxation dispersion nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. We found a complex hierarchy of structural dynamics on timescales covering over seven orders of magnitude, ranging from fast nanoseconds backbone reorientations, via sub-microsecond helix-formation dynamics involving many structural sub-states and transition times, to transient tertiary structure formation slower than 25 microseconds. These rich structural dynamics are unexpectedly similar to the timescale hierarchy of natively folded proteins, which may be key to the ability of p53-TAD – and possibly of other IDPs – to bind many different partners by folding into different structures.