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Torres-Águila et al. report that embryo development of the appendicularian chordate Oikopleura dioica is affected by biotoxins released by phytoplankton blooms. This work shows that these biotoxins may impact marine food webs and that defensome genes of appendicularians could be used to monitor the genetic stress of natural populations.
Matti Annala et al. report the recurrence of new FOXA1 mutations in prostate cancer. These FOXA1 mutations in 3’ untranslated region may prove useful as diagnostic markers for prostate cancer.
Taka-aki Takeda et al. find that zinc deficiency impairs adenine nucleotide metabolism in both cell and rat models leading to delays in extracellular ATP clearance and adenosine generation. The results show that zinc deficiency affects purinergic signaling and may explain why zinc deficiency in humans results in diverse symptoms.
Olivia Walton and Martin Stevens revisit the classic example of the peppered moth, objectively quantifying moth camouflage and predation risk. With bird vision models, pale individuals more closely match lichen backgrounds, and survive better, providing support for this iconic example of natural selection.
Ganasen et al. report the crystallographic structures of human duodenal cytochrome b and its complex with ascorbate and Zn2+. This study provides mechanistic insights into how reducing agents promote the uptake of orally administered iron and may facilitate the development of such interventions.
Marianna Pauletto, Tereza Manousaki et al. present the genome sequence of Sparus aurata, a sequential hermaphroditic fish. Comparative analysis with gonochoristic species shows that sex-biased genes generally evolve more slowly in S. aurata due to stronger functional constraints.
Daniel García-Martínez et al. report Neanderthal lung volume estimates based on measurements from rib bone fossils and lung capacity data from modern humans. They estimate that Neanderthal individuals had approximately 20% higher lung capacity than modern humans, possibly due to higher energy requirements.
Jason Hoeksema et al. report a meta-analysis of the drivers of outcomes in mycorrhizal mutualisms across 646 plant–fungi combinations. They find that evolutionary history explains substantially more variation in the strength of mycorrhizal mutualisms than do ecological factors.
Bin Bai et al. report a simultaneous appearance of equids, ceratomorphs, ancylopods, and brontotheres from the earliest Eocene Lingcha Fauna of the Hengyang Basin, China. This study suggests that the four main groups of perissodactyls diverged as early as the beginning of Eocene, and displayed different dispersal scenarios during the early Eocene.
Francesca Leasi et al. report a comparison of approaches for estimating meiofauna diversity, including metabarcoding and other morphological-based taxonomy methods. They show bias in estimates based on methods and phyla, highlighting the need for a standard procedure for assessing biodiversity.
Nikorn Pothayee et al. show that early neural precursor cells (NPCs) derived from the embryonic telencephalon or midbrain can develop into brain-like tissue when implanted into the rat brain ventricle. Telencephalon-derived NPCs also form brain tissue in the host cortex when implanted into a CSF-filled cavity formed by cortical ablation.
Mona Shehata et al. find that cell proliferation within the mouse mammary gland is highly heterogeneous, both between and within estrous cycles. Their study highlights the need for further understanding of the link between human menstrual cycle numbers and breast cancer risk.
Rupali Ugrankar et al. show that Drosophila larvae with high levels of circulating glucose, but not trehalose, don’t eat much. This study suggests that circulating glucose communicates with insulin signaling and the sodium/solute co-transporter SLC5A11 in the brain to suppress larval appetite.
Adam van Casteren et al. report that chimpanzee foods in savannah woodlands are more mechanically demanding than those in tropical forests. This study, based on carbon and nitrogen isotope signature analysis and measurements of the mechanical properties of common food sources, suggests that chimpanzees may adapt their dietary niche to environmental conditions.
Brendan Wringe et al. find evidence of extensive hybridization between wild and domesticated salmon following a large escape event in the Northwest Atlantic in 2013. Genetic screening of juvenile salmon shows that > 27% of fish in 17 of 18 rivers examined are hybrids or feral, demonstrating a significant impact of escaped individuals on local populations.
Ilya Kuzovkin et al. compare intracranial depth recordings from human subjects taken during a visual recognition task to activations of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs). They find that signals in gamma frequency bands in the recordings are aligned with the hierarchical layer structure of the DCNN, showing that DCNNs capture important characteristics of biological object recognition.
Hannes Schihada et al. report the design of 11 BRET-based biosensors that allow for quantification of GPCR ligand-binding dynamics in a micro-titer format. The biosensors achieve higher dynamic range and sensitivity than FRET-based biosensors and their design can be extended to the study of other receptor types.
Louis-Philippe Picard et al. present a BRET-based biosensor for monitoring ligand- and transducer-mediated conformational changes in GPCRs. They apply the biosensor to β2AR, a prototypical class A GPCR, and demonstrate the ability of the biosensor to be multiplexed with other BRET-based biosensors.
Tujin Shi et al. report a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach, cPRISM-SRM, that allows for accurate quantification of proteins in small numbers of mammalian cells through the use of a carrier protein to prevent sample loss. The sensitivity of cPRISM-SRM allows for measurement of the 2500 most abundant proteins in a human cell.
Diabetic atherosclerosis fails to improve even when the blood glucose level returns to normal. Shahzad et al. show that this hyperglycaemic memory is linked with epigenetically sustained expression of the redox-regulator p66Shc in plaque-macrophages, which can be corrected by activated protein C.