Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Vol. 123, Issue 3 Issue 3 2026
64
Articles

Articles in this Issue

Controlled assembly and sophisticated additive manufacturing of macroscopic droplets

Yujie Yang, Huasheng Tian, Aixin Song et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2519305123

Assembly of liquid droplets into ordered patterns and architectures has gained great interests in recent years in view of its tremendous prospects in achieving advanced biological, biochemical, and bi...

Redefining Shiga toxin–induced human cell death as NLRP1- and gasdermin E-mediated pyroptosis

Rafael Ricci-Azevedo, Bishajit Sarkar, Sonia Shivcharan et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2510274123

Shiga toxin (Stx)–mediated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) prevails as the leading cause of pediatric renal failure worldwide despite decades of efforts to develop therapeutic strategies. Stx killing...

The innate immune protein calprotectin ablates the bactericidal activity of β-lactam antibiotics

Amanda Z. Velez, Jana N. Radin, Emily N. Kennedy et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2513462123

β-lactam antibiotics are among the most widely used treatments for bacterial infections, yet therapeutic failure is common even when no genetic resistance is detected. Understanding how host factors i...

Piezo1 dictates K <sup>+</sup> homeostasis through coordinated regulation of the ubiquitin ligase Kelch-like 3 in RBCs and the kidney

Kenichi Ishizawa, Ken Kaseda, Wataru Fujii et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2513222123

The maintenance of potassium (K + ) balance is a fundamental biological process involving multiple tissues. However, the roles of intertissue crosstalk in K...

Correction for Martinez-Corral et al., Emergence of activation or repression in transcriptional control under a fixed molecular context

Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2534268123

Proton-selective conductance and gating of the lysosomal cation channel TMEM175

Tobias Schulze, Timon Sprave, Carolin Groebe et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2503909123

The lysosomal cation channel TMEM175 plays a key role in luminal pH homeostasis and lysosome function, with aberrant activity linked to Parkinson’s disease. Although initially described as a K...

<i>Shigella</i> OspF blocks rapid p38-dependent priming of the NAIP–NLRC4 inflammasome

Elizabeth A. Turcotte, Kyungsub Kim, Kevin D. Eislmayr et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2510950123

The NAIP–NLRC4 inflammasome senses pathogenic bacteria by recognizing the cytosolic presence of bacterial proteins such as flagellin and type III secretion system (T3SS) subunits. In mice, the NAIP–NL...

Correction for Wildenberg et al., Photoemission electron microscopy for connectomics

Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2535466122

Unlocking the benefits of transparent and reusable science for climate risk management

Adam B. Pollack, Lisa Auermuller, Casey D. Burleyson et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2422157123

People around the world seek climate risk information to guide their decisions. For instance, projections about future flood risk inform where households choose to live, how lenders manage credit risk...

Negative feedback regulation of alcohol ingestion through the FGF21-PVH oxytocin-VTA dopamine system

Sho Matsui, Yuma Takahashi, Shuhei Morioka et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2525172122

Alcohol has a notable negative impact on global health. Understanding its physiological regulation is crucial to addressing alcohol use. Here, we show that FGF21-oxytocin neurons in the paraventricula...

A blueprint for curved matter: The art of kirigami in 3D self-assembly

Xiaoming Mao Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2533092123

Multiple modes of AFM reveal distinct mechanical properties for dystrophin and utrophin not manifest by small fragments

Cailong Hua, Joseph Vavra, Jacob Powers et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2511722123

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal muscle disease caused by the absence of the protein dystrophin. Dystrophin is hypothesized to work as a molecular shock absorber that limits myofiber memb...

Phantom sinks and missing pollution: Legacies of a hardened number

Bruce A. Hungate Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2531787123

Brain glucodynamic variability is an essential feature of the metabolism–cognition relationship

Hamish A. Deery, Emma Liang, Chris Moran et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2510850123

Variability ensures that complex biological systems, including the brain, are capable of responding to changing environmental demands. While the importance of neural variability in electrophysiologica...

The co-occurrence of ingroup and outgroup prosociality across 121 societies

Kasper Otten Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2517013123

In an increasingly interconnected world, prosociality across group boundaries becomes ever more important. Yet, a common premise in the behavioral and social sciences is that people are prosocial main...

Ancient landscape evolution tracked through cosmogenic krypton in detrital zircon

Maximilian Dröllner, Milo Barham, Christopher L. Kirkland et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2516058122

Cosmogenic nuclides have revolutionized our quantitative understanding of landscape evolution via measurements of near-surface erosion, exposure, and burial. Here, we integrate stable cosmogenic krypt...

Phosphatase SHP2 pathogenic mutations enhance activity by altering conformational sampling

Andrew W. Glaser, Ricardo A. P. Pádua, Adedolapo M. Ojoawo et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2513851123

SH2 domains are critical mediators of cellular signaling, although the molecular mechanisms by which they bind their phosphopeptide ligands remain incompletely understood. We investigate the atomic me...

Redox robustness drives LPMO evolution

Iván Ayuso-Fernández, Tom Z. Emrich-Mills, Ole Golten et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2521617123

Enzymes known as lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are exceptionally powerful small redox enzymes that master the controlled generation and productive use of potentially damaging hydroxyl ra...

Tube feet dynamics drive adaptation in sea star locomotion

Amandine Deridoux, Sina Heydari, Stanislav. N. Gorb et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2509681123

Sea stars use hundreds of tube feet on their oral surface to crawl, climb, and navigate complex environments, despite lacking a central brain. While tube foot morphology and function as muscular hydro...

Measuring bridging forces in protein–DNA condensates

Vikhyaat Ahlawat, Hashini Ekanayake Mudiyanselage, Divya Kota et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2523058123

Protein-DNA condensates mediate transcription and regulate gene expression and DNA replication and repair. Intermolecular bridging forces stabilizing condensates have direct roles in these processes....

mTOR signaling governs the formation of epithelial apical projections via S6K1–RhoA and aPKC–Lgl2 axes

Sumit Sen, Prithwish Ghosh, Sudipta Mukherjee et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2501779123

In metazoans, epithelia perform functions of absorption, diffusion, and secretion. The actin-based apical projections on the epithelial cells contribute to these functions and are formed via cell-auto...

Multiomics identifies a cholesterol–TFEB–PLD3–TLR9 axis driving immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophage polarization in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Licheng Tan, Hongyu Zhou, Baifeng Zhang et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2520427123

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) reshape the tumor immune microenvironment and promote tumor progression, yet the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Through integration of single-cell RN...

Global destocking of extensive livestock: An overlooked trend with Earth system consequences

José D. Anadón, Osvaldo E. Sala Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2509097122

Managed grazing is the most extensive land use on Earth. The prevailing narrative is that global rangelands, from grasslands to deserts, are being degraded by overgrazing due to overstocking. This per...

Tongue microstructure physically constrains division of labor in bumblebee foraging

Zexiang Huang, Shumeng Wu, Qinglin Wu et al. Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2527391123

Bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris ) is a primitively eusocial species that sustains its colonies by dividing foraging duties between queens and workers. Previous re...

Explaining supernatural cures for poorly understood illnesses: Revisiting classic questions with new evidence

H. Russell Bernard, Amber Wutich Jan 20, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2531788123

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Journal Info

Publisher National Academy of Sciences
ISSN 0027-8424
E-ISSN 1091-6490
Subject Life Sciences
Language English
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