Research articles

Telomerase RNA (hTR) is transcribed as a 3′-extended precursor. Here the authors examine the processing of hTR precursors of various lengths and show that processing occurs in distinct steps involving different nucleases PARN and RRP6.

Control of spin wave transport in magnonic crystals is vital for magnonic devices. Here the authors show low-loss spin-wave manipulation in nanometer thick magnonic crystals of discrete YIG stripes separated by air or CoFeB filled grooves exhibiting tunable bandgaps of 50–200 MHz.

A decrease in the fraction of non-classical monocytes is a hallmark of chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia. Taking advantage of this abnormal situation, the authors identify a mechanistic link between miR-150 and TET3 as being involved in monocyte subset generation.

Gas-sensing materials are of increasing societal importance, but the ability to differentiate between similarly sized gases remains highly challenging. Here the authors report on a porous ferrimagnet that distinguishes diamagnetic N₂ and CO₂ gases from paramagnetic O₂ gas.

Senescent cells accumulate with aging contributing to age-related disease and the role of the immune system in removing senescent cells is not completely understood. Here, the authors show that perforin deficient mice accumulate more senescent cells and have a shorter lifespan, and that this phenotype can be reversed with administration of a senolytic drug.

Ezh2 is an histone methyltransferase that catalyzes H3K27me3. Here the authors show that Ezh2 promotes T follicular helper (T_FH) differentiation and helper activity, by cooperating with Tcf1 to activate Bcl6 transcription and epigenetically repressing p19Arf, an antagonist of Bcl6 function and T_FH cell survival.

It is highly desired to maintain superconductivity in presence of magnetic fields but it is by far difficult. Here, Nam et al. create a single crystalline superconducting Pb nanowire network, where critical temperatures are maintained and critical fields are enhanced in either parallel or perpendicular fields.

Inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) is essential in the response to mycobacterial infection, yet NOS signalling can occur through NO-dependent or NO-independent pathways. Here the authors show macrophage Gch1 and tetrahydrobiopterin mediate NO-independent control of Mycobacterial infection.

The source of where definitive hematopoietic stem cells (dHSCs) develop in the mouse embyro has been much debated. Here, the authors identify that dHSCs arise from the intra-embyronic region by using murine embryonic explant transplantation but not from the yolk sac.

Engineering 3D tissues faces the challenge of adequate vascularisation for nutrient delivery and gas exchange deep inside the construct. Here the authors use surface acoustic waves to create an aligned array of blood vessels in a hyaluronic acid hydrogel and use it to improve function in a mouse hindlimb ischemia model.

IgSF9b is a synaptic adhesion protein that has been linked to psychiatric disorders. Here the authors show that deletion of IgSF9b regulates anxiety-like behaviour in mice by increasing inhibitory synaptic transmission in the centromedial amygdala.

Better understanding of the determinants of residential water demand is important for Tropical Asian countries. Here the author studied how Singapore household electricity use from appliances modify weather-induced water demand and found that residential water and electricity demand respond differently to heat across different income groups.

Peach is an economically important fruit crop. Here, the authors carry out a large-scale population genomics analysis of peach, describing its demographic history as well as genes associated with domestication and edibility traits.

Male pattern baldness (MPB) is a polygenic trait that affects the majority of European men. Here, Yap et al. estimate heritability, partitioned by autosomes and the X-chromosome, of MPB in the UK Biobank cohort, perform GWAS for MPB and find genetic correlation with other sex-specific traits.

The impacts of climate change on summer carbon cycling in the northern hemisphere remain poorly resolved. Here the authors use atmospheric CO₂ records from Point Barrow (Alaska) to show that summer CO₂ drawdown is significantly negatively correlated with terrestrial temperature north of 50°N between 1979–2012.

How DNA repair proteins locate their target sites on DNA is still a matter of debate. Here the authors characterize by single-molecule fluorescence imaging the modes of scanning adopted by bacterial endonuclease V as it moves along linear DNA tracks.

Recruitment of myeloid cells can be regulated by integrin CD11b. Here the authors show that in the tumor microenvironment, CD11b is not essential for recruitment of myeloid cells but rather induces macrophage anti-tumorigenic polarization via stimulating let7a and NFκB signaling and that pharmacological activation of CD11b enhances survival in mouse models of cancer.

SRPK1, a kinase involved in splicing regulation, is a potential therapeutic target for AML patients. Here, the authors show that SRPK1 inhibition changes isoform levels of key epigenetic regulators, including BRD4, and it has anti-tumor effects specifically against MLL-rearranged AML cells.

The causes of Mid-Pleistocene Transition global cooling 1 million years ago are still unknown. Here, the authors find the subarctic North Pacific became stratified during these glaciations due to closure of the Bering Strait, which would have removed CO₂ from the atmosphere and caused global cooling.

Weaker ferritic/matensitic steels rather than stronger austenitic steels are usually candidates for nuclear reactors since they do not easily swell under irradiation. Here, the authors make an ultrastrong lanthanum-doped nanocrystalline austenitic steel that is thermally stable and radiation-tolerant.