Research articles

Understanding structure evolution during electrochemical growth is crucial in materials processing and design of devices such as batteries. Here, the authors image copper during electrodeposition to provide strategies for controlling interface morphology.

Previous work has documented a slow form of memory generalization although a rapid one is demanded. Here the authors elucidate the role of the interhemispheric CA1-CA1 projection in a form of rapid generalization of contextual fear memory via gradual potentiation of these synapses over 24 h.

Solid organic matter (OM) plays a key role in the production of hydrocarbons in shale formations, yet information on OM heterogeneity at a nanoscale is lacking. Here, the authors use atomic force microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy to document the evolution of individual organic macerals with maturation.

The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways are essential for cancer cell survival. Here, the authors describes a molecule a131 with dual-inhibitory properties, which targets PI5P4K and mitosis, and it is involved in Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR crosstalk, thereby causing reversible growth arrest in normal cells and cell death of tumor cells.

A 56–60 km thick low velocity layer exists at the base of the Earth’s upper mantle. Here, the authors experimentally reproduced the wadsleyite-to-olivine transition in the upwelling mantle and show that the low velocity anomaly can be explained by melting of hydrous peridotite.

The existence of a pan-tropical forest carbon sink remains uncertain due to the lack of data from Asia. Here, using direct on-the-ground observations, the authors confirm remaining intact forests in Borneo have provided a long-term carbon sink, but carbon net gains are vulnerable to drought and edge effects.

Somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) can confound gene co-expression analysis in cancers. Here the authors develop a method to remove the effects of SCNA in co-expression analysis, improving the analysis of network rewiring in cancer, and provide a database with adjusted data from TCGA.

Ions produced by cosmic rays have been thought to influence aerosol and cloud processes by an unknown mechanism. Here the authors show that the mass flux of ions to aerosols enhances their growth significantly, with implications for the formation of cloud condensation nuclei.

Nonlocal resistances in graphene Hall bars attributed to neutral current Hall effects have been mainly measured at the microscale. Here, the authors observe consistently strong nonlocal signals in Hall bars with channel length ranging from the micrometer up to the millimeter scale, and explain them by field-induced spin-split edge states.

Theta- and gamma-frequency oscillatory synchrony correlates with spatial working memory performance. Here the authors report increases in theta-gamma cross-frequency coupling as a compensatory mechism associated with better working memory performance in models of cognitive dysfunction in mice.

Understanding subduction zone mechanics and resulting volcanism remains challenging. Here, the authors present seismic reflection profiles from the Mediterranean Sea where serpentinite diapirs are present on the external subduction system of the Calabrian Arc and may be linked to recent volcanism at Etna.

Adolescence is associated with negative behaviors that are related to enhanced reward-related striatal activity, but it is unclear whether this activity could also be beneficial. Here, authors report longitudinal data showing that enhanced striatal activity is related with increased learning ability.

The lack of an appropriate method has hampered quantitative measurements of cell chirality. Here, the authors combine Riesz transform-differential interference contrast microscopy and computational kinematic analysis to reveal chiral cell motility of neuronal growth cone filopodia and cellular slime mold.

The mechanics and structural transitions of DNA are important to many essential processes inside living cells. Here the authors combine theory and single-molecule experiments to show that intercalator binding stabilises a new structural state of DNA: hyperstretched DNA.

Reservoir computing facilitates the projection of temporal input signals onto a high-dimensional feature space via a dynamic system, known as the reservoir. Du et al. realise this concept using metal-oxide-based memristors with short-term memory to perform digit recognition tasks and solve non-linear problems.

The impact of cisplatin-based chemotherapy on tumor genomes is complex. Here, the authors study matched pre- and post-chemotherapy primary samples in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, finding a cisplatin-based mutational signature, and highlighting the impact of intratumor heterogeneity on survival.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is an aggressive disease with limited options for treatment. Here, the authors analyse the DNA methylome and mutational profile of JMML to define three subgroups with unique molecular and clinical characteristics.

The role of differential gene content in the evolution and function of eukaryotic genomes remains poorly explored. Here the authors assemble and annotate the Brachypodium distachyon pan-genome consisting of 54 diverse lines and reveal the differential present genes as a major driver of phenotypic variation.

Asymmetric synthesis predominantly falls within the realm of homogeneous catalysis. Here, the authors synthesized 16 chiral metal–organic frameworks differing in the nature of the transition metal and demonstrate their excellent stability, catalytic activity and recyclability in a number of enantioselective reactions.

Detecting metastatic cells in tumor/lymph node samples of breast cancer patients is extremely important for diagnosis. Here the authors develop a microelectronic biochip that detect the presence of invasive/metastatic cells in unprocessed biopsies and performs better than the current gold standards.