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Distributed neural codes of the 3D position in the marmoset frontal cortex and hippocampus
Decoupling of Neogene seawater lithium isotopes from uplift-driven weathering
Abstract The 9‰ increase in seawater lithium isotope (δ 7 Li) during the Cenozoic is widely regarded as evidence for uplift-driven enhancement of continental silicate weathering. Yet, the absence of long-term direct riverine δ 7 Li records has left this hypothesis largely untested. Given that the Tibetan Plateau contributes 16% of the modern global riverine Li flux, we present δ 7 Li records of paleowater spanning the past 15 million years covering the southern humid and northern arid Tibetan Plateau. Paleowater δ 7 Li reveals long-term decreases for the northern plateau, and low values for the southern plateau, reflecting a decrease in silicate weathering intensity in response to climatic cooling and high exhumations. Integrating our δ 7 Li record into a global Li cycle model, our study indicates that continental silicate weathering from tectonically active mountains is unlikely to have accounted for the observed rise in seawater δ 7 Li. These findings urge reconsideration of how tectonic uplift affects the chemistry of the ocean and carbon cycle.
Efficient elastocaloric drive system enabled by constant-torque and work-recovery design
~100% upcycling of chlorinated/fluorinated plastic mixtures to H2 and nanotubes over FeNi/Ni/C by microwave catalysis
Abstract The catalytic upcycling of plastic mixtures into H 2 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represents a transformative strategy for advancing plastic management and the circular economy. Herein, an in-situ constructed high-performance FeNi/Ni/C catalyst combined with prompt microwave catalysis enables efficient conversion of LDPE-PVC, LDPE-HDPE-PP-PS-PVC-PTFE and landfilled waste mixture into valuable H 2 and CNTs, resulting in near-quantitative atom economy (i.e., H 2 and carbon efficiencies are nearly 100%) together with H 2 and CNTs yields reaching >922 mmol g -1 catalyst and >10600 mg g -1 catalyst , respectively. Furthermore, this microwave catalysis strategy presents an excellent stability (>35 cycles) via Cl/F-based regeneration and energy efficiency (80% reduction vs. traditional thermal catalysis), alongside a high turnover number of 107.6 mol carbon mol -1 NiFe . Fundamentally, the Ni species contribute to C-H breaking, and Fe is beneficial for CNT formation during plastic decomposition. Here, we show a cost-effective platform for upcycling of chlorinated/fluorinated plastic mixtures, aligning with resource circularity objectives.
Realizing irradiation-resistant metallic alloys by immobilizing induced defects
A long-read human pangenome initiative for comprehensive interpretation of nuclear-embedded mitochondrial DNA
Two distinct SWI/SNF complexes direct chromatin-linked transcriptional programs in Toxoplasma
PromoterAtlas: decoding regulatory sequences across Gammaproteobacteria using a transformer model
Abstract Recent advances in deep learning, particularly transformer architectures, have improved computational approaches for biological sequence analysis. Despite these advances, computational models for bacterial promoter prediction have remained limited by small datasets, species-specific training, and binary classification approaches rather than comprehensive annotation frameworks. We present PromoterAtlas, a 1.8 M parameter transformer model trained on 9 M regulatory sequences from 3371 gammaproteobacterial species. The model demonstrates recognition of various regulatory elements across different species, including ribosomal binding sites, various types of bacterial promoters, transcription factor binding sites, and terminators. Using this model, we developed a whole-genome promoter annotation tool for Gammaproteobacteria, with various levels of validation that support the predictions of promoters associated with different sigma (σ) factors. Furthermore, we show that the model embeddings reflect cross-species evolutionary relationships, clustering promoters by σ factor identity rather than species-specific sequence features. Finally, we show that model embeddings encode regulatory sequence information that enables effective prediction of transcription and translation levels. PromoterAtlas can contribute to our understanding of and ability to engineer bacterial regulatory sequences with potential applications in bacterial biology, synthetic biology, and comparative genomics.
A self healable dielectric elastomer artificial muscle
A non-canonical cholinergic pathway from the dorsal tail of the striatum to the auditory cortex
Interpretable modality-aware mapping of gene regulation in single-cell multiomics with scMAGCA
VEGFR2 is required for VEGF-C–VEGFR3–PI3Kα-mediated sprouting lymphangiogenesis
Abstract Lymphatic vessels are essential for tissue homoeostasis and their growth is regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) signalling through VEGFR3. However, how VEGF-C balances lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) proliferation versus sprouting to ensure functional vessel formation has remained unclear. Using high-fidelity conditional genetics and receptor-specific ligands, we uncover a requirement for the alternative receptor VEGFR2 in VEGF-C-VEGFR3–driven lymphatic vessel sprouting. While activation of VEGFR2 alone fails to induce lymphangiogenesis, VEGFR2 loss abolishes LEC sprouting, but not proliferation, in response to VEGF-C. In contrast, deletion of the VEGFR3 downstream effector PI3Kα completely abrogates lymphangiogenesis. VEGFR2 is activated and found in proximity to VEGFR3 in LECs in vivo, with PI3Kα controlling their relative cell-surface availability and VEGF-C increasing VEGFR2 relative to VEGFR3, thereby priming LECs for sprouting. This receptor coordination balances VEGF-C-driven proliferative and sprouting responses, coupling LEC expansion to vessel growth, ensuring the formation of functional lymphatic networks.
Genotype epigenome phenotype integration reveals peripheral immune contributions to type I bipolar disorder
Abstract Immune dysfunction has been increasingly implicated in bipolar disorder, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To address this, we profile 833 genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing datasets spanning five histone marks in peripheral blood immune cells from 88 Type I bipolar disorder patients and 92 controls, integrating them with whole-genome sequencing and clinical data. We identify disease-associated cis -regulatory elements and genetically influenced regulatory elements, revealing immune signatures and pathways involving calcium signaling and endoplasmic reticulum transport. By integrating genetic risk variants, differential and genetically influenced regulatory elements, and regulatory element—gene links, we prioritize 39 driver genes, 28 of which are exclusively supported by blood evidence. We further stratify patients into five epigenomic subtypes with distinct clinical features and genetic risk profiles and identify compounds that reverse disease-associated epigenomic signatures. Here, we combine immune epigenomics with genetics and clinical traits to identify driver genes, patient subtypes, and therapeutic candidates, highlighting immune contributions to type I bipolar disorder pathogenesis.
Towards hepatitis C elimination with integrated risk-based screening and decentralized care in Taiwan
Filamentous morphology of influenza A virus confers enhanced stability in aerosols
Abstract Airborne transmission of influenza A virus (IAV) poses significant challenges to public health. However, the mechanisms governing viral inactivation in aerosols remain poorly understood. IAVs exhibit morphological variability, ranging from 100 nm spherical virions to micrometer-long filaments, depending on strain and growth conditions. Although virion morphology was shown to influence transmissibility, the mechanisms of how morphology affects airborne transmission are yet to be delineated. Here, we investigated the impact of virion shape on IAV stability in bulk solutions and an aerosol system with a focus on particles in the submicrometer range to examine how physicochemical aerosol properties, such as elevated solute concentration and low pH, affect infectivity. We show that filamentous viruses exhibit enhanced stability in aerosol particles at 80% relative humidity (RH) and in bulk solution mimicking increased salinity at this RH. Similarly, filamentous viruses exhibited slower decay under acidic conditions, both in bulk solutions and in acidified aerosol particles. Using primary human airway cultures, we further found that filamentous IAVs possess an infectivity advantage under mucosal immune pressures, including neutralizing antibodies and mucus. These results reveal that filamentous shape provides IAV with enhanced stability under diverse environmental conditions in the aerosol phase and increased infectivity in the respiratory epithelium.