Research articles

Force-distance atomic force microscopy enables simultaneous recording of structure and biophysical properties at the nanoscale. Alsteens et al.combine this tool with tips that can recognise specific proteins, allowing them to image bacteriophages extruding from living bacteria.

Plasmonic resonances in nanoparticle helices arranged by the DNA origami method can give rise to strong circular dichroism at visible wavelengths. Schreiber et al. show that aligning and then toggling the orientation of such nanoparticle helices enables reversible switching of the dichroic response.

The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity remains a subject of debate. Krasnov et al.describe a technique for measuring the spectra of bosons generated during the formation of Cooper pairs in a cuprate, the results of which suggest that the process is governed by electron–electron interactions.

Cells in Drosophila salivary glands undergo hormone-dependent apoptosis when larvae pupate. Here, the authors show that the histone methylase dUTX regulates activation of key cell death and autophagy genes leading to the removal of salivary glands during the Drosophilalarval–pupal transition.

Pericytes are cells in the blood–brain barrier that degenerate with the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Here, Sagare et al. show that pericyte loss contributes to disease onset by promoting amyloid-beta accumulation, tau pathology and early loss of neuronal cells.

Non-canonical Wnt signalling regulates cell migration and convergent extension during embryonic development; however, the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Ye et al.identify CD146 as a receptor for Wnt5a, and show that this receptor inhibits canonical Wnt signalling pathways.

Bacterial chemoreceptors regulate the kinase CheA via ligand-induced conformational changes. Using long molecular dynamics simulations, Ortega et al.show that these changes are associated with flipping of the stacked aromatic rings of highly conserved phenylalanine residues within the kinase-activating domain.

Defective ascorbic acid flux is a sign of metabolic failure associated with Huntington’s disease. Here, Acuña et al.show that reduction in ascorbic acid flux from astrocytes precedes the symptoms of Huntington’s disease in mice and impairs ascorbic acid uptake in neurons.

Recent increases in the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content of northern aquatic systems are likely to lead to increases in CO₂ emissions, yet the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, evidence from hundreds of Canadian aquatic systems suggests a causal link between DOC concentrations and CO₂flux.

Variants of the gene encoding the RhoGAP GRAF3 are associated with hypertension; however, the molecular basis for this association is unclear. Here, Bai et al.show that GRAF3 is strongly and specifically expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells, where it regulates blood pressure by inhibiting the GTPase RhoA.

Fluorescence enhancement utilizing surface plasmon excitation is widely used for biomolecular recognition. Here the authors employ a V-shaped trench, incorporating some typical functionalities of a detection system—prism, sensing plate and flow channel—into a single feature.

Understanding the distribution of energy between electric and magnetic channels of a metamaterial remains elusive. Decker et al.study the emission of quantum dots into these channels for a split-ring-resonator metamaterial and differentiate the fundamental behaviour of the two modes.

The establishment of a memory phenotype in T cells requires profound changes in their transcriptional profile, but many components of this profile are still not known. Here, the authors perform a systematic study to identify key transcription factors associated with memory CD8⁺T-cell development.

Co-operativity is an effect where initial reaction events influence later events. Here, White et al.find evidence for co-operativity in the cation exchange process of nanocrystals, as cadmium selenide transforms into the copper selenide phase.

Typically dispersion forces are weak interactions, and host–guest chemistry is dominated by more powerful events such as hydrogen bonding. Here, the authors show extremely high binding between a modified marine peptide and chloroform, driven by dispersion interactions with the chlorine atoms.

Using redox-active electrolytes can promote faradaic reactions in supercapactors. Mai et al.report a copper chloride solution electrolyte, which, when combined with a surface-functionalized carbon-based binder-free electrode, exhibits ultrahigh supercapacitor performance.

The energy alignment at organic-metal interface has a strong influence on the performance of organic-based electronic devices. Lin et al.show this alignment can be tuned by varying the thickness of a uniform metallic thin film, which is confined between organic active layers and the substrate.

The success of spintronics as a new technology hinges on the materials that are suitable for turning a spin current into an electric current. Here, the authors introduce a new material, iridium oxide, for this purpose, which outperforms traditional materials like platinum.

Haematopoietic stem cells emerge from the haemogenic endothelium via an endothelial-to-haematopoietic transition. Here, the authors show using single cell functional and transcriptional analyses that haemogenic endothelial cells begin to lose their endothelial potential while still located within the haemogenic endothelium.

Few of the known antiferromagnetic materials are suitable for use in spintronic devices. Here, the authors show that Mn₂Au, which was believed to be paramagnetic, is an antiferromagnet, combining high Néel temperature and in-plane anisotropy, thus demonstrating its potential for antiferromagnetic spintronics.