Planck’s law ignores but does not prohibit black-body radiation (BBR) from being circularly polarized. BBR from nanostructured filaments with twisted geometry from nanocarbon or metal has strong ellipticity from 500 to 3000 nanometers. The submicrometer-scale chirality of these filaments satisfies the dimensionality requirements imposed by fluctuation-dissipation theorem and requires symmetry breaking

The seasonal influenza vaccine contains strains of viruses from distinct subtypes that are grown independently and then combined. However, most individuals exhibit a more robust response to one of these strains and thus are vulnerable to infection by others. By studying a monozygotic twin cohort, we found that although prior exposure is a factor, host genetics are a stronger driver of subtype bias

Decades of research on the infamous antinutritional steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) in Solanaceae plants have provided deep insights into their metabolism and roles. However, engineering SGAs in heterologous hosts has remained a challenge. We discovered that a protein evolved from the machinery involved in building plant cell walls is the crucial link in the biosynthesis of SGAs. We show that cellulose

Deciphering the complex interplay between neuronal activity and mitochondrial function is pivotal in understanding brain aging, a multifaceted process marked by declines in synaptic function and mitochondrial performance. Here, we identified an age-dependent coupling between neuronal and synaptic excitation and mitochondrial DNA transcription (E-TC mito ), which operates differently compared to classic

Antiviral signaling downstream of RIG-I–like receptors (RLRs) proceeds through a multi-protein complex organized around the adaptor protein mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS). Protein complex function can be modulated by RNA molecules that provide allosteric regulation or act as molecular guides or scaffolds. We hypothesized that RNA plays a role in organizing MAVS signaling platforms

microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are 21- to 22-nucleotide RNAs that guide Argonaute-class effectors to targets for repression. In this work, we uncover 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase 1 (ALAS1), the initiating enzyme for heme biosynthesis, as a general repressor of miRNA accumulation. Although heme is known to be a positive cofactor for the nuclear miRNA processing machinery, ALAS1—but

Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial, a 1925 court case in the US state of Tennessee on the teaching of evolution in public schools. John Scopes was tried for violating the Butler Act, a state rule that declared unlawful any teaching that denied the creation of man according to the Bible. The highly publicized event put an intense spotlight on William Jennings Bryan, a populist

Increased antibody affinity over time after vaccination, known as affinity maturation, is a prototypical feature of immune responses. Recent studies have shown that a diverse collection of B cells, producing antibodies with a wide spectrum of different affinities, are selected into the plasma cell (PC) pathway. How affinity-permissive selection enables PC affinity maturation remains unknown. We found

Methane, a greenhouse gas and energy source, is commonly studied using stable isotope signals as proxies for its formation processes. In subsurface environments, methane often exhibits equilibrium isotopic signals, but the equilibration process has never been demonstrated in the laboratory. We cocultured a hydrogenotrophic methanogen with an H 2 -producing bacterium under conditions (55°C, 10 megapascals)

The intestinal immune system must concomitantly tolerate food and commensals and protect against pathogens. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) orchestrate these immune responses by presenting luminal antigens to CD4 + T cells and inducing their differentiation into regulatory (pTreg) or inflammatory (Th) subsets. We used a proximity labeling method (LIPSTIC) to identify APCs that presented dietary antigens

Collective phenomena arise from interactions within complex systems, leading to behaviors absent in individual components. Observing quantum collective phenomena with macroscopic mechanical oscillators has been impeded by the stringent requirement that oscillators be identical. We demonstrate the quantum regime for collective motion of N = 6 mechanical oscillators, a hexamer, in a superconducting circuit

St. Ives is an idyllic seaside town on the southwest tip of England. It is a magnet for holidaymakers and artists. In early 2023, its residents were surprised to find that their beloved bay had become the location for an experiment. A technology start-up called Planetary Technologies had gained permission from the local water company to add magnesium hydroxide to a wastewater outlet pipe and pump it

In November I took part in two very different gatherings—one in Canada, the other in Aotearoa New Zealand—which highlight both the ongoing struggles and joys of being an Indigenous researcher in the academy.

The structural periodicity in photonic crystals guarantees the crystal’s effective energy band structure, which is the fundamental cornerstone of topological and moiré physics. However, the shear modulus in most fluids is close to zero, which makes it challenging for fluids to maintain spatial periodicity akin to photonic crystals. We realized periodic vortices in hydrodynamic metamaterials and created

The global diversity of Proterozoic eukaryote fossils is poorly quantified despite its fundamental importance to the understanding of macroevolutionary patterns and dynamics on the early Earth. Here we report a new construction of fossil eukaryote diversity from the Paleoproterozoic to early Cambrian based on a comprehensive data compilation and quantitative analyses. The resulting taxonomic richness

Modern medicinal chemists are targeting more complex molecules to address challenging biological targets, which leads to synthesizing structures with higher sp 3 character (Fsp 3 ) to enhance specificity as well as physiochemical properties. Although traditional flat, high-fraction sp 2 molecules, such as pyridine, can be decorated through electrophilic aromatic substitution and palladium (Pd)–based

Noncoding RNA controls the expression of a gene implicated in drug- and stress-induced behaviors.

Quantum bits' delicate states preserved by expanding them.

Dialogues between Western and Indigenous systems are critical.

Ancient DNA links people across hundreds of kilometers.

Basic research loses out as the country's "blue-sky" fund shifts to research focused on helping economy.

Mutations found in H5N1 viruses portend major outbreak soon, some scientists fear.

Controlling exciton resonances in twodimensional materials can create dynamic flat optics.

Groups targeting animal studies see an opening.

As U.S. leadership falters, Meng Xiang prepares for bold mission to retrieve rocks from Earth's mantle.

Gene flow from Neanderthals has shaped genetic and phenotypic variation in modern humans. We generated a catalog of Neanderthal ancestry segments in more than 300 genomes spanning the past 50,000 years. We examined how Neanderthal ancestry is shared among individuals over time. Our analysis revealed that the vast majority of Neanderthal gene flow is attributable to a single, shared extended period

Severe lung injury causes airway basal stem cells to migrate and outcompete alveolar stem cells, resulting in dysplastic repair. We found that this “stem cell collision” generates an injury-induced tissue niche containing keratin 5 + epithelial cells and plastic Pdgfra + mesenchymal cells. Single-cell analysis revealed that the injury-induced niche is governed by mesenchymal proliferation and Notch

Bacteriophages are the most abundant and phylogenetically diverse biological entities on Earth, yet the ecological mechanisms that sustain this extraordinary diversity remain unclear. In this study, we discovered that phage diversity consistently outstripped the diversity of their bacterial hosts under simple experimental conditions. We assembled and passaged dozens of diverse phage communities on

Recent marine heatwaves have had pervasive effects on marine ecosystems, from declines in primary production to die-offs of top predators. Seabird mortalities are often observed in association with heatwaves, but population impacts are not well understood. In this work, we report the rapid mortality of approximately half of Alaska’s common murre ( Uria aalge ) population in response to an extreme marine

Emotional experiences often evoke neural plasticity that supports adaptive changes in behavior, including maladaptive plasticity associated with mood and substance use disorders. These adaptations are supported in part by experience-dependent activation of immediate-early response genes, such as Npas4 (neuronal PAS domain protein 4). Here we show that a conserved long noncoding enhancer RNA (lnc-eRNA)

The advancement in semiconductor technology through the integration of more devices on a chip has reached a point where device scaling alone is no longer an efficient way to improve the device performance. One issue lies in the interconnects connecting the transistors, in which the resistivity of metals increases exponentially as their dimensions are scaled down to match those of the transistors. As

Prokaryotes have evolved diverse defense strategies against viral infection, such as foreign nucleic acid degradation by CRISPR-Cas systems and DNA/RNA synthesis inhibition via nucleotide pool depletion. Here, we report an antiviral mechanism of type III CRISPR-Cas-regulated ATP depletion, where ATP is converted into ITP by CRISPR-Cas-associated adenosine deaminase (CAAD) upon activation by either

Limited flexibility, complex manufacturing processes, high costs, and insufficient performance are major factors restricting the scalability and commercialization of flexible inorganic thermoelectrics for wearable electronics and other high-end cooling applications. We developed an innovative, cost-effective technology that integrates solvothermal, screen-printing, and sintering techniques to produce

Artificial neural networks provide a powerful paradigm for nonbiological information processing. To understand whether similar principles could enable computation within living cells, we combined de novo–designed protein heterodimers and engineered viral proteases to implement a synthetic protein circuit that performs winner-take-all neural network classification. This “perceptein” circuit combines

The inverse design of tailored organic molecules for specific optoelectronic devices of high complexity holds an enormous potential but has not yet been realized. Current models rely on large data sets that generally do not exist for specialized research fields. We demonstrate a closed-loop workflow that combines high-throughput synthesis of organic semiconductors to create large datasets and Bayesian

During transcription, RNA polymerase II traverses through chromatin, and post-translational modifications including histone methylations mark regions of active transcription. Histone protein H3 lysine 36 trimethylation (H3K36me3), which is established by the histone methyltransferase SETD2, suppresses cryptic transcription, regulates splicing, and serves as a binding site for transcription elongation

In the highly acclaimed 1991 play Angels in America , which explores AIDS in the United States in the 1980s, one of the characters muses about the nature of knowledge and novelty: “Imagination can’t create anything new, can it? It only recycles bits and pieces from the world and reassembles them into visions.” Although the scene’s intent is to ponder the limits of human experience and how the constraints

Exhausted T cells (TEX) in cancer and chronic viral infections undergo metabolic and epigenetic remodeling, impairing their protective capabilities. However, the impact of nutrient metabolism on epigenetic modifications that control TEX differentiation remains unclear. We showed that TEX cells shifted from acetate to citrate metabolism by downregulating acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) while maintaining

The transmission of antibiotic-resistance genes, comprising mobilization and relocation events, orchestrates the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Inspired by this evolutionarily successful paradigm, we developed ACTIMOT, a CRISPR-Cas9–based approach to unlock the vast chemical diversity concealed within bacterial genomes. ACTIMOT enables the efficient mobilization and relocation of large

We mapped daily streamflow from 1984 to 2018 in approximately 2.9 million rivers to assess recent changes to global river systems. We found that river outlets were dominated by significant decreases in flow, whereas headwaters were 1.7 times more likely to have significantly increased flow than decreased. These changes result in a significant upstream shift in streamflow experienced by about 29% of

Stellar superflares are energetic outbursts of electromagnetic radiation that are similar to solar flares but release more energy, up to 10 36 erg on main-sequence stars. It is unknown whether the Sun can generate superflares and, if so, how often they might occur. We used photometry from the Kepler space observatory to investigate superflares on other stars with Sun-like fundamental parameters. We

Twenty-first-century roboticists envision robots capable of sorting objects and packaging them, of chopping vegetables and folding clothes. But although many today believe that the only factors necessary for robots to achieve dexterous manipulation are data and artificial intelligence (AI), managing all the mundane manipulations that humans perform daily requires constant adaptation to changing conditions

Global tuna fisheries are valued at more than $40 billion, with the majority of this value derived from purse seine fisheries. Recently created large-scale marine protected areas are potentially big enough to protect highly migratory species such as tuna, possibly leading to increases in abundance (a conservation benefit) and consequent spillover near protected area boundaries (an economic benefit)

The global ocean covers 71% of Earth’s surface, yet the seafloor is poorly charted compared with land, the Moon, Mars, and Venus. Traditional ocean mapping uses ship-based soundings and nadir satellite radar altimetry—one limited in spatial coverage and the other in spatial resolution. The joint NASA–CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission uses phase-coherent

Despite the well-known effects of sexual selection on phenotypes, links between this evolutionary process and reproductive isolation, genomic divergence, and speciation have been difficult to establish. We unravel the genetic basis of sexually selected plumage traits to investigate their effects on reproductive isolation in barn swallows. The genetic architecture of sexual traits is characterized by

Immune cells can be programmed to deliver targeted therapies in models of brain and inflammatory disease.

Congress called for the protection of data from legal process.

The heterotrophic theory of the origin of life turns 100.

Fine-grained imaging of mouse brain cells suggests "pearling" of axons that may help with signaling.

Researchers probe volcanoes' response to a changing world.

Model-stumping benchmark shows human experts remain on top-for now.

Jay Bhattacharya, who has analyzed NIH funding and ripped U.S. COVID-19 policies, could overhaul key funder.

A writer reexamines the 20th-century showdown between science and religion.