Table Of Contents Page, PNAS Volume 121, Number 43
This Week in PNAS
Opinion
Commentaries
Letters
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Evaluating the persuasive influence of political microtargeting with large language models
This article has a reply:Reply to Teeny and Matz: Toward the robust measurement of personalized persuasion with generative AI
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Single-nuclei sequencing of uterine serous carcinoma reveals racial differences in immune signaling
This article has a reply:Physical Sciences
Applied Physical Sciences
Free radical generation plays a key role in many biological processes including cell
communication, maturation, and aging. In addition, free radical generation is usually
elevated in cells under stress as is the case for many different pathological ...
Obesity is one of the primary risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA), acting through
cross talk among altered biomechanics, metabolism, adipokines, and dietary free fatty
acid (FA) composition. Obesity and aging have been linked to cellular senescence in
...
Hyperpolarized nuclear spins in molecules exhibit high magnetization that is unachievable
by classical polarization techniques, making them widely used as sensors in physics,
chemistry, and medicine. The state of a hyperpolarized material, however, is ...
Ultimately, brittle fracture involves breaking atomic bonds. However, we still lack
a clear picture of what happens in the highly deformed region around a moving crack
tip. Consequently, we still cannot link nanoscale phenomena with the macroscopic ...
Biophysics and Computational Biology
Bacterial ice nucleating proteins (INPs) are exceptionally effective in promoting
the kinetically hindered transition of water to ice. Their efficiency relies on the
assembly of INPs into large functional aggregates, with the size of ice nucleation
sites ...
Organelles in cells are appropriately positioned, despite crowding in the cytoplasm.
However, our understanding of the force required to move large organelles, such as
the nucleus, inside the cytoplasm is limited, in part owing to a lack of accurate
...
Hibernation is a widespread and highly efficient mechanism to save energy in mammals.
However, one major challenge of hibernation is maintaining blood circulation at low
body temperatures, which strongly depends on the viscoelastic properties of red blood
...
Chemistry
Expanding the protein fold space beyond linear chains is of fundamental significance,
yet remains largely unexplored. Herein, we report the creation of seven topological
isoforms (i.e., linear, cyclic, knot, lasso, pseudorotaxane, and catenane) from a
...
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Asymmetric seasonal warming trends are evident across terrestrial ecosystems, with
winter temperatures rising more than summer ones. Yet, the impact of such asymmetric
seasonal warming on soil microbial carbon metabolism and growth remains poorly ...
The aqueous alteration of the oceanic lithosphere provides significant energy that
impacts the synthesis and diversity of organic compounds, which are crucial for the
deep carbon cycle and may have provided the first building blocks for life. Although
...
The chemical compositions of island arc basalts (IAB) reflect contributions from the
mantle as well as fluids and melts from the subducting slab. Addition of radiogenic
seawater Sr to oceanic crust through hydrothermal alteration and subsequent subduction
...
Engineering
We present a dynamic perspective to quantify the air quality–related health impacts
of the electrification of light-duty vehicles in the United States between 2022 and
2050. Using a fleet turnover model and future electricity generation mix scenarios,
we ...
Shear bands frequently appear in lattice architectures subjected to compression, leading
to an unstable stress–strain curve and global deformation. This deformation mechanism
reduces their energy absorption and loading-bearing capacity and causes the ...
A turbulent pipe flow experiment was conducted where the surface of the pipe was oscillated
azimuthally over a wide range of frequencies, amplitudes, and Reynolds numbers. The
drag was reduced by as much as 35%. Past work has suggested that the drag ...
Spontaneous Raman imaging has emerged as powerful label-free technique for investigating
the molecular composition of medicines and biological specimens. Although Raman imaging
can facilitate understanding of complex biological phenomena in vivo, current ...
The fabrication of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) using liquid crystal elastomers
(LCE) that are tolerant to substrate roughness is explored in this work. Traditional
soft adhesives are designed by maintaining a balance between their cohesive strength
...
Environmental Sciences
The insatiable demand for lithium in portable energy storage necessitates a sustainable
and low-carbon approach to its recovery. Conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical
methods heavily involve hazardous chemicals and significant CO2 ...
Physics
Flat bands and nontrivial topological physics are two important topics of condensed
matter physics. With a unique stacking configuration analogous to the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger
model, rhombohedral graphite (RG) is a potential candidate for realizing both ...
Hydraulic energy is a key component of the global energy mix, yet there exists no
practical way of harvesting it at small scales, from flows with low Reynolds number.
This has triggered a search for alternative hydroelectric conversion methodologies,
...
Recent advances in the study of cobaltites have unveiled their potential as a promising
platform for realizing Kitaev physics in honeycomb systems and the Ising model in
weakly coupled chain materials. In this manuscript, we explore the magnetic ...
Sustainability Science
We present a dynamic perspective to quantify the air quality–related health impacts
of the electrification of light-duty vehicles in the United States between 2022 and
2050. Using a fleet turnover model and future electricity generation mix scenarios,
we ...
Social Sciences
Economic Sciences
Lockdowns were implemented to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. However,
it is unclear how severely curtailed physical interaction shapes individual behaviors
that are considered vital for socioeconomic development. In this exploratory study,
...
Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Based on current research, it is evident that the way people see themselves is shaped
by their conversation partners. Historically, this literature focuses on how one individual’s
expectations can shape another person’s self-views. Given the reciprocal ...
We propose that experiencing a lack of personal control will increase people’s preferences
for self-similar others and that this effect would be explained by a greater need
for structure. Our hypotheses received support across 11 longitudinal, ...
Effective health promotion may benefit from understanding how persuasion emerges.
While earlier research has identified brain regions implicated in persuasion, these
studies often relied on event-related analyses and frequently simplified persuasive
...
Biological Sciences
Biophysics and Computational Biology
Free radical generation plays a key role in many biological processes including cell
communication, maturation, and aging. In addition, free radical generation is usually
elevated in cells under stress as is the case for many different pathological ...
Although it is well established that the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein binds to the
host cell ACE2 receptor to initiate infection, far less is known about the tissue
tropism and host cell susceptibility to the virus. Differential expression across
...
Ribonuclease P (RNase P) plays a vital role in the maturation of tRNA across bacteria,
archaea, and eukaryotes. However, how RNase P assembles various components to achieve
specific cleavage of precursor tRNA (pre-tRNA) in different organisms remains ...
Recent studies showed an interphase chromosome architecture—a specific coiled nucleosome
structure—derived from cryopreserved EM tomograms, and dispersed throughout the nucleus.
The images were computationally processed to fill in the missing wedges of ...
Cell Biology
Organelles in cells are appropriately positioned, despite crowding in the cytoplasm.
However, our understanding of the force required to move large organelles, such as
the nucleus, inside the cytoplasm is limited, in part owing to a lack of accurate
...
The major organelles of the endomembrane system were in place by the time of the last
eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) (~1.5 billion years ago). Their acquisitions were
defining milestones during eukaryogenesis. Comparative cell biology and evolutionary
...
The high turgor pressure across the plasma membrane of yeasts creates a requirement
for substantial force production by actin polymerization and myosin motor activity
for clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Endocytic internalization is severely impeded
...
Liquid–liquid phase separation has emerged as a crucial mechanism driving the formation
of membraneless biomolecular condensates, which play important roles in numerous cellular
processes. These condensates, found both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, are ...
Developmental Biology
UBR5 E3 ligase has been associated with cancer susceptibility and neuronal integrity,
with functions in chromatin regulation and proteostasis. However, the functions of
ubr5 within animals remain unclear due to lethality in both mammals and flies when ...
Ecology
Empirical studies from laboratory systems and humans show that the gut microbiota
is linked to host health. Similar evidence for effects on traits linked to fitness
in nature is rare, not least because experimentally manipulating the gut microbiota
is ...
Environmental Sciences
Asymmetric seasonal warming trends are evident across terrestrial ecosystems, with
winter temperatures rising more than summer ones. Yet, the impact of such asymmetric
seasonal warming on soil microbial carbon metabolism and growth remains poorly ...
Genetics
The conserved mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is known
for protecting dopaminergic neurons and functioning in various other tissues. Previously,
we showed that Caenorhabditis elegans manf-1 null mutants exhibit defects such as ...
Immunology and Inflammation
B cell linker protein (BLNK) is crucial for orchestrating B cell receptor-associated
spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) signaling. However, the role of BLNK in Syk-coupled C-type
lectin receptor (CLR) signaling in macrophages remains unclear. Here, we delineate
...
Medical Sciences
Light enhances or disrupts circadian rhythms, depending on the timing of exposure.
Circadian disruption contributes to poor health outcomes that increase mortality risk.
Whether personal light exposure predicts mortality risk has not been established.
We ...
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary
kidney disease and causes significant morbidity, ultimately leading to kidney failure.
PKD pathogenesis is characterized by complex and dynamic alterations in multiple cell
...
As catabolic enzyme, CD73 dephosphorylates adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and can also
regulate tumor cell proliferation and metastasis. To date, very few studies have explored
the role of CD73 in mediating non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastasis, ...
The poor prognosis of relatively undifferentiated cancers has long been recognized,
suggesting that selection against differentiation and in favor of uncontrolled growth
is one of the most powerful drivers of cancer progression. Goblet cells provide the
...
Microbiology
Bacillus subtilis spores are produced inside the cytosol of a mother cell. Spore surface assembly requires
the SpoVK protein in the mother cell, but its function is unknown. Here, we report
that SpoVK is a sporulation-specific, forespore-localized ...
CRISPR-associated (Cas) endonucleases and their derivatives are widespread tools for
the targeted genetic modification of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. A critical
step of all CRISPR-Cas technologies is the delivery of the Cas endonuclease to ...
RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) demethylase AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5) plays a crucial role in regulating innate immunity.
Lysine acylation, a widespread protein modification, influences protein function,
but its impact on ALKBH5 during viral infections has not ...
Bats are tolerant to highly pathogenic viruses such as Marburg, Ebola, and Nipah,
suggesting the presence of a unique immune tolerance toward viral infection. Here,
we compared severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection
of ...
Neuroscience
Synaptic-vesicle (SV) recruitment is thought to maintain reliable neurotransmitter
release during high-frequency signaling. However, the mechanism underlying the SV
reloading for sustained neurotransmission at central synapses remains unknown. To
...
Dopamine transfers information to striatal neurons, and disrupted neurotransmission
leads to motor deficits observed in movement disorders. Striatal dopamine converges
downstream to Adenylyl Cyclase Type 5 (AC5)-mediated synthesis of cAMP, indicating
the ...
Physiology
Hibernation is a widespread and highly efficient mechanism to save energy in mammals.
However, one major challenge of hibernation is maintaining blood circulation at low
body temperatures, which strongly depends on the viscoelastic properties of red blood
...
Two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels play a central role in modulating cellular
excitability and neuronal function. The unique structure of the selectivity filter
in K2P and other potassium channels determines their ability to allow the selective
...
Dietary restriction (DR) slows aging in many animals, while in some cases, the sensory
signals from diet alone are sufficient to retard or accelerate lifespan. The digestive
tract is a candidate location to sense nutrients, where neuropeptides secreted by
...
Canonical models of intestinal regeneration emphasize the critical role of the crypt
stem cell niche to generate enterocytes that migrate to villus ends. Burmese pythons
possess extreme intestinal regenerative capacity yet lack crypts, thus providing ...
Plant Biology
Increasing heatwaves are threatening forest ecosystems globally. Leaf thermal regulation
and tolerance are important for plant survival during heatwaves, though the interaction
between these processes and water availability is unclear. Genotypes of the ...
Dynamic changes in intracellular ultrastructure can be critical for the ability of
organisms to acclimate to environmental conditions. Microalgae, which are responsible
for ~50% of global photosynthesis, compartmentalize their Ribulose 1,5 Bisphosphate
...
Population Biology
The conservation status of monarch butterflies in North America is a topic of intense
scrutiny and debate. It is clear that winter colonies in Mexico are declining, yet
some recent studies suggest that summer breeding populations are relatively stable
and ...
Mumps outbreaks among fully vaccinated young adults have raised questions about potential
waning of immunity over time and need for a third dose of the measles, mumps, rubella
(MMR) vaccine. However, there are currently limited data on real-life ...
Obesity is a major public health crisis in the United States (US) affecting 42% of
the population, exacerbating a spectrum of other diseases and contributing significantly
to morbidity and mortality overall. Recent advances in pharmaceutical interventions,...
Corrections
Cover image: Pictured is a human-occupied underwater vehicle equipped with robotic arms, engaged in exploration and rock collection from oceanic crust at a mid-ocean ridge. Jingbo Nan et al. investigated the abiotic origins of organic compounds in mafic crustal rocks at the Southwest Indian Ridge. The authors identified a correlation between abiotic organic compounds and iron minerals with the potential to catalyze the organics’ synthesis. The results reveal how hydrothermal processes in the oceanic crust facilitate organic synthesis, providing insight into deep carbon cycles and the potential origins of life on Earth. See the article by Nan et al. e2308684121. Image Credit: Zongjun Yin (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China) and Chao Tan (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China).
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