Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Articles in this Issue
Dynamics of longitudinal Hawaiian hotspot motion and the formation of the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend
Formation of the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend has been a key geological puzzle that involves both plate tectonics and plume dynamics. Constrained by paleomagnetic data, southward hotspot motion has been cons...
Favorable epistasis in ancestral diterpene synthases promoted convergent evolution of a resin acid precursor in conifers
A long-standing question in biology is what makes evolution more or less repeatable. Although evolution seems repeatable when observing convergent phenotypic outcomes, each episode of convergence coul...
Distinguishing direct interactions from global epistasis using rank statistics
The phenotypic effect of a mutation may depend on the genetic background in which it occurs, a phenomenon referred to as epistasis. One source of epistasis in proteins is direct interactions between r...
Spin-resolved imaging of atomic-scale helimagnetism in mono- and bilayer NiI <sub>2</sub>
Noncollinear magnetic orders in monolayer van der Waals magnets are crucial for probing delicate magnetic interactions under minimal spatial constraints and advancing miniaturized spintronic devices....
Investigating the effects of single-dose intranasal testosterone on economic preferences in a large randomized trial of men
There is conflicting evidence on whether testosterone affects economic preferences such as risk taking, fairness, and altruism, with most evidence coming from correlational studies or small testostero...
Language models reveal a complex sequence basis for adaptive convergent evolution of protein functions
Convergent evolution, or convergence, refers to repeated, independent emergences of the same trait in two or more lineages of species during evolution, often indicating functional adaptation to specif...
In situ structures of the <i>Legionella</i> Dot/Icm T4SS identify the DotA–IcmX complex as the gatekeeper for effector translocation
The Dot/Icm machine of Legionella pneumophila is among the most versatile type IV secretion systems (T4SSs), capable of translocating more than 330 distinct eff...
A precise metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen ratio for a warm giant exoplanet from its panchromatic JWST emission spectrum
WASP-80 b, a warm sub-Jovian (equilibrium temperature ∼ 820 K, 0.5 J...
Disentangling metabolic and neurovascular timescales supporting cognitive processes
The balance between neural excitation and inhibition (EIB), governed by glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission, is an essential mechanism supporting cognitive processes. Yet, little is understo...
Functional spectrum of USP7 pathogenic variants in Hao–Fountain syndrome: Insights into the enzyme’s activity, stability, and allosteric modulation
Hao–Fountain syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the deubiquitinating enzyme Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 7 (USP7). Due to the novelty of the disease and its poorly un...
Toward a unified taxonomy of information dynamics via Integrated Information Decomposition
Our ability to understand and control complex systems of many interacting parts remains limited. A key challenge is that we still do not know how best to describe—and quantify—the many-to-many dynamic...
Riverine heat waves on the rise, outpacing air heat waves
While air heat waves often grab headlines, riverine heat waves have gone quietly unnoticed because rivers are commonly perceived as cool refuges. Analysis of riverine heat waves has been hindered by f...
Motor origins of timbre in piano performance
Creativity in the arts, such as painting and musical performance, hinges on the ability to produce a wide spectrogram of perceptual experiences. In music, it has long been believed that the timbre of...
Ebola virus VP35 NNLNS motif modulates viral RNA synthesis and MIB2-mediated signaling
Ebola virus (EBOV) is a nonsegmented, negative-sense virus (NNSV) with a single-stranded RNA genome. EBOV encodes for a limited number of proteins and thus depends on host factors to facilitate viral...
Childhood allostatic load predicts cardiometabolic health in adulthood
Allostatic load (AL) measures multisystem physiological functioning to reflect the cumulative burden of chronic stress. Incurring AL during sensitive developmental periods such as childhood may affect...
In vitro maturation of fully active [FeFe]-hydrogenase in a defined system including the iron carrier NfuA
The [FeFe]-hydrogenase employs an active-site 6Fe H-cluster to catalyze the reversible reduction of protons to H 2 . A [4Fe-4S] subcluster of the H-cluster is s...
Emergence of activation or repression in transcriptional control under a fixed molecular context
Transcription factors (TFs) can be both activators and repressors of gene transcription. This can manifest as “duality,” where the transcriptional response increases (activation) with TF concentration...
Châtelperronian cultural diversity at its western limits: Shell beads and pigments from La Roche-à-Pierrot, Saint-Césaire
The timing and mechanisms underlying the gradual replacement of Neanderthal populations by Homo sapiens groups have elicited heated debate for decades. The Chât...
Dried fish provide widespread access to critical nutrients across Africa
Aquatic foods are essential in supporting food security and nutrition across the tropics, with “dried” fish particularly affordable, available, and nutritious. However, dried fish food systems are oft...
Coding of tool use independent of body part
Exploring exoplanet dynamics with JWST: Tides, rotation, rings, and moons
Although nearly 6,000 exoplanets are currently known, in most cases, our knowledge is limited to a handful of the planet’s orbital characteristics and bulk properties such as radius and mass. The Jame...
Prospects for detecting signs of life on exoplanets in the JWST era
The search for signs of life in the Universe has entered a new phase with the advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Detecting biosignature gases via exoplanet atmosphere transmission spectr...
Exploring the sub-Neptune frontier with JWST
Sub-Neptune planets, with sizes and masses between those of Earth and Neptune, dominate the exoplanet population. Sub-Neptunes are expected to be the most diverse family of the exoplanet population, p...
Sustainable forest planning: Assessing biodiversity effects of Triad zoning based on empirical data and virtual landscapes
The Triad framework seeks to balance the economic and ecological functions in forested landscapes by combining intensively, extensively, and unmanaged areas, assuming a higher support to biodiversity...
Inorganic sulfate is critical for <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> lung tissue colonization and redox balance
Tuberculosis remains the deadliest infectious disease caused by a single pathogen, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapies. A deeper understanding of Mycobacterium tubercu...