Articles in 2020

Experiments in mouse pluripotent embryonic and epiblast stem cells show that TRF2 is dispensable for telomere protection specifically specifically in the pluripotent cells that form during early embryonic development, when cells form T-loops independently of this protein.

A network of small, community-run river reserves in Thailand increases local fish biomass, diversity and richness.

Influence of the gut microbiome on the human immune system is revealed by systems analysis of vast clinical data from decades of electronic health records paired with massive longitudinal microbiome sequencing.

Analysis of humeri from fossils that span the fin-to-limb transition reveal that the change in the humerus shape is driven by both ecology and phylogeny, and is associated with functional trade-offs related to locomotor performance.

A comprehensive map of transcriptomes, cis-regulatory elements, heterochromatin structure, the methylome and 3D genome organization in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) enables identification of species-specific and evolutionarily conserved regulatory features, and provides a foundation for modelling studies on human disease and development.

Comparison of multiple genome assemblies from wheat reveals extensive diversity that results from the complex breeding history of wheat and provides a basis for further potential improvements to this important food crop.

The authors show that zonation extends to hepatic immune cells and that this spatial patterning is mediated by microbiome sensing by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, and provide evidence that immune zonation is required to protect the host from the dissemination of blood-borne pathogens.

A long-term culture method for organoids derived from single adult human lung cells is used to identify progenitor cells and study SARS-CoV-2 infection.

A crow-sized stem bird, Falcatakely forsterae, possesses a long and deep rostrum—a beak morphology that was previously unknown among Mesozoic birds and is similar to that of some crown-group birds, such as toucans.

In Drosophila melanogaster, female mating decisions are governed by female-specific descending neurons that integrate input from auditory neurons that respond to features of the song of a conspecific male and central neurons that encode the mating status of the female.

Inhibition of YBX1, a downstream target of the Janus kinase JAK2, sensitizes myeloproliferative neoplasm cells to JAK and could provide a means to eradicate such cells in human haematopoietic cancers.

Direct experimental evidence of the carbon–nitrogen–oxygen fusion cycle in the Sun is provided by the detection of neutrinos emitted during this process.

Optically dark (non-emitting) triplet excitons on organic molecules may be rendered bright by coupling the molecules to lanthanide-doped nanoparticles, providing a way to control such excitons in optoelectronic systems.

Changes in Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet size during ice-age cycles enhance the advance and retreat of the grounding line of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, owing to interhemispheric sea-level forcing.

Lateral-flow in vitro diagnostic assays based on fluorescent nanodiamonds, in which microwave-based spin manipulation is used to increase sensitivity, are demonstrated using the biotin–avidin model and by the single-copy detection of HIV-1 RNA.

An atomic simulator formed of a few ultracold fermionic atoms trapped in a two-dimensional harmonic potential exhibits precursors of a quantum phase transition, revealing the onset of collective quantum many-body phenomena in a few-body system.

Non-volatile electrical switching of magnetic order in an orbital Chern insulator is experimentally demonstrated using a moiré heterostructure and analysis shows that the effect is driven by topological edge states.

Electronic ferroelectricity is observed in a graphene-based moiré heterostructure, which is explained using a spontaneous interlayer charge-transfer model driven by layer-specific on-site Coulomb repulsion.

Spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations of the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction establish that reaction rates depend on the amount of charge stored in the electrocatalyst, and not on the applied potential.

LDLRAD3 is a receptor for infection with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, and in mouse models deletion of Ldlrad3 or treatment with a soluble LDLRAD3 decoy molecule abrogates infection and disease caused by this virus.