Table Of Contents Page, PNAS Volume 122, Number 16
Special Feature
The Global Dynamics of Economic Inequality over the Long Term
Understanding the relationship between inequality and economic growth is a critical
science problem that hinders sustainable development. In 1955, Simon Kuznets hypothesized
that rising economic growth raises inequality, which levels off as that growth ...
Defining wealth broadly to include wealth in people, relational connections, and material
possessions, we examine the prehistory of wealth inequality at the level of the residential
units using the consistent proxy of Gini coefficients calculated across ...
We address three basic issues regarding the long-term dynamics of inequality in society.
First, we consider the interpretation of residence sizes in socioeconomic terms by
comparing statistical patterns extracted from the Global Dynamics of Inequality (...
Here, we assess the extent to which land use relating to food acquisition (farming,
herding, foraging) and associated value regimes shaped past economic inequality. We
consider the hypothesis that land-use systems in which production was limited by ...
Scholars are divided over the long-term effects that war has had on inequality. Some
have argued that conflict grows the gap between rich and poor. Others counter that
violence levels out wealth differences. The GINI Project Database is a large global
...
Definitions of sustainability commonly stress both systemic continuity and equality
over time. However, the degree to which these two sides of sustainability might be
related has not been systematically investigated. Recent theoretical and methodological
...
From Rousseau onward, scholars have identified the transition to sedentary agriculture
as crucial to the history of wealth inequality. Here, using the GINI project’s global
database on disparities in residential size, we examine the effects of important ...
Long-entrenched grand narratives have tied inequality in large human aggregations
to generally linear trends, a direct outcome of domestication, then fostered by population
growth and/or stepped scalar transitions in the hierarchical complexity of human ...
Humans often live in neighborhoods, nested socio-spatial clusters within settlements
of varying size and population density. In today’s cities, neighborhoods are often
characterized as relatively homogenous and may exhibit segregation along various ...
The Gini coefficient is a statistical measure commonly used to characterize distributions
of socioeconomic quantities. Archaeologists and social scientists have recently adopted
this method to analyze ancient inequality by targeting specific proxy ...
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Commentaries
Brief Reports
There is broad consensus that AI presents risks, but considerable disagreement about
the nature of those risks. These differing viewpoints can be understood as distinct
narratives, each offering a specific interpretation of AI’s potential dangers. One
...
Theory predicts that well-adapted populations may evolve mechanisms to counteract
the inevitable influx of deleterious mutations. While mutational robustness can be
directly selected in the laboratory, evidence for its spontaneous evolution during
general ...
Translational research suggests that the basolateral part of the amygdala (BLA) computes
some of the core processes underlying social preferences, but its precise role in
prosocial choice remains unclear. We hypothesize that the human BLA is not necessary
...
Preparing to rapidly respond to emerging infectious diseases is critical. SpillOver: Viral Risk Ranking is an open-source tool developed to assess the risk of novel wildlife-origin viruses
spilling over from animals to humans and spreading in human ...
Physical Sciences
Applied Physical Sciences
Biobanks advance biomedical and clinical research by collecting and offering data
and biological samples for numerous studies. However, the impact of these repositories
varies greatly due to differences in their purpose, scope, governance, and data ...
Mechanical snapping instabilities are leveraged by natural systems, metamaterials,
and devices for rapid sensing, actuation, and shape changes, as well as to absorb
impact. In all current forms of snapping, shapes deform in the same direction as the
...
Large-scale integration of microbattery systems on chips has long been hindered by
the technical barrier between electrochemistry and microelectronics, particularly
in terms of the compatibility of microbattery cells and their collective ...
We report a transition from the ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal (NF) phase to a lower-temperature, apolar fluid phase having reentrant isotropic symmetry
(IR), in the liquid crystal compound RM734 doped with small concentrations of the ionic
liquids ...
Biophysics and Computational Biology
The elastic properties of nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) are believed to influence
their cellular interactions, thus having a profound implication in intercellular communication.
However, accurate quantification of their elastic modulus is ...
The collective motion of epithelial cells is a fundamental biological process which
plays a significant role in embryogenesis, wound healing, and tumor metastasis. While
it has been broadly investigated for over a decade both in vivo and in vitro, large-...
The concept that proteins are selected to fold into a well-defined native state has
been effectively addressed within the framework of energy landscapes, underpinning
the recent successes of structure prediction tools like AlphaFold. The amyloid fold,
...
Microbial ecosystems are commonly modeled by fixed interactions between species in
steady exponential growth states. However, microbes in exponential growth often modify
their environments so strongly that they are forced out of the growth state into ...
Understanding how localized brain interventions influence whole-brain dynamics is
essential for deciphering neural function and designing therapeutic strategies. Using
longitudinal functional MRI datasets collected from mice, we investigated the effects
...
Chemistry
Most bioorthogonal photouncaging reactions preferentially occur in polar environments
to accommodate biological applications in the aqueous cellular milieu. However, they
are not precisely designed to chemically adapt to the diverse microenvironments of
...
Decreased dendritic spine density in the cortex is a key pathological feature of neuropsychiatric
diseases including depression, addiction, and schizophrenia (SCZ). Psychedelics possess
a remarkable ability to promote cortical neuron growth and increase ...
Mimicking the interconvertible carbon allotropes of 2-dimensional (2D) graphene and
1-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs), herein we report the in situ transformation
of 2D π-conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COFs) sheet into 1D nanotubular ...
Environmental Sciences
Marine heatwaves are extreme climatic events consisting of persistent periods of warm
ocean waters that have profound impacts on marine life. These episodes are becoming
more intense, longer, and more frequent in response to anthropogenic global warming.
...
Social Sciences
Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
The view that words are arbitrary is a foundational assumption about language, used
to set human languages apart from nonhuman communication. We present here a study
of the alignment between the semantic and phonological structure (systematicity) of
...
Awareness of the threats of climate change is causing distress in increasingly documented
ways, with youth particularly affected. Experiences such as climate distress and eco-anxiety
have implications for the health and well-being of societies and ...
The structure of the environment includes more horizontal and vertical (i.e. cardinal)
orientations than oblique orientations, meaning that edges tend to be aligned with
or perpendicular to the direction of gravity. This bias in the visual scene is ...
Social Sciences
Interdisciplinary research is essential for addressing complex global challenges,
but there are concerns that scientific institutions like journals select against it.
Prior work has focused largely on how interdisciplinarity relates to outcomes for
...
Biological Sciences
Agricultural Sciences
Crop pathogens often lack exclusive access to their host and must interact with plants
concurrently engaged with numerous other symbionts. Here, we demonstrate that the
colonization of hosts by plant–mutualistic mycorrhizal fungi can indirectly induce
...
Crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been used extensively to control some major crop pests, but their benefits
decrease when pests evolve resistance. Better understanding of the ...
Biochemistry
Most bioorthogonal photouncaging reactions preferentially occur in polar environments
to accommodate biological applications in the aqueous cellular milieu. However, they
are not precisely designed to chemically adapt to the diverse microenvironments of
...
Human ClpP protease contributes to mitochondrial protein quality control by degrading
misfolded proteins. ClpP is overexpressed in cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia
(AML), where its inhibition leads to the accumulation of damaged respiratory chain
...
Specialized metabolism plays a central role in how plants cope with both biotic and
abiotic stresses in order to survive and reproduce within dynamic and challenging
environments. One recently described class of plant-specific, ribosomally synthesized,
...
Phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ) enzymes are the principal effectors activated by Gq heterotrimers. Both Gαq and Gβγ subunits can activate PLCβ, which requires precise positioning of PLCβ at
the plasma membrane to relieve structural autoinhibition and give the ...
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) stability, essential for cellular energy production, relies
on DNA polymerase gamma (POLγ). Here, we show that the POLγ Y951N disease-causing
mutation induces replication stalling and severe mtDNA depletion. However, unlike
other ...
Bestrophin-1 (BEST1) is a chloride channel expressed in the eye and other tissues
of the body. A link between BEST1 and the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been proposed. The most appreciated receptors for ...
Biophysics and Computational Biology
Biobanks advance biomedical and clinical research by collecting and offering data
and biological samples for numerous studies. However, the impact of these repositories
varies greatly due to differences in their purpose, scope, governance, and data ...
The collective motion of epithelial cells is a fundamental biological process which
plays a significant role in embryogenesis, wound healing, and tumor metastasis. While
it has been broadly investigated for over a decade both in vivo and in vitro, large-...
The concept that proteins are selected to fold into a well-defined native state has
been effectively addressed within the framework of energy landscapes, underpinning
the recent successes of structure prediction tools like AlphaFold. The amyloid fold,
...
Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) reside on cell surfaces and uptake substrates,
including L-glutamate, L-aspartate, and D-aspartate, using ion gradients. Among five
EAATs, EAAT3 is the only isoform that can efficiently transport L-cysteine, a ...
Membrane frizzled-related protein (MFRP), present in the retinal pigment epithelium
(RPE), is an integral membrane protein essential for ocular development and the normal
physiology of the retina. Mutations in MFRP are associated with autosomal recessive
...
Influenza viruses are enveloped, negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses covered
in a dense layer of glycoproteins. Hemagglutinin (HA) accounts for 80 to 90% of influenza
glycoprotein and plays a role in host cell binding and membrane fusion. While ...
Cell Biology
Enchondromas are common bone tumors composed of chondrocytes originating from growth
plate cells which can progress to malignant chondrosarcoma. Mutations in the genes
encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH1 and IDH2) are identified in a large proportion
...
The MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 (MRN) complex plays multiple roles in the maintenance of genome
stability. MRN is associated with replication forks to preserve fork integrity and
is also required for end resection at double-strand breaks (DSBs) to facilitate ...
Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that constantly change morphology. What controls
mitochondrial morphology however remains unresolved. Using actively respiring yeast
cells growing in distinct carbon sources, we find that mitochondrial morphology and
...
Structural homeostasis and proper distributions of signaling molecules in cilia require
a constant flow of cargoes carried by intraflagellar transport (IFT) trains in both
anterograde and retrograde directions within the thin, long ciliary shafts. In the
...
Developmental Biology
Insights into the molecular processes that drive early development of the human placenta
is crucial for our understanding of pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and
fetal growth restriction, since defects in maturation of its epithelial cell, the
...
Ecology
Microbial ecosystems are commonly modeled by fixed interactions between species in
steady exponential growth states. However, microbes in exponential growth often modify
their environments so strongly that they are forced out of the growth state into ...
Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is one of the core vector control interventions available
to malaria control programs. Normative and scientific guidance has long held that
very high IRS coverage (at least 80 to 85% houses sprayed) is necessary to provide
...
Montane ecosystems are crucial for maintaining global biodiversity and function that
sustain life on our planet. Yet, these ecosystems are highly vulnerable to changing
temperatures and may undergo critical transitions under ongoing climate change. What
...
Evolution
As in many diploid organisms with genetic sex determination, haploid-dominant organisms
have also evolved sex chromosomes or extensive genomic regions that lack genetic recombination.
An understanding of sex chromosome evolution should explain the causes ...
Trait regression and loss have occurred repeatedly in numerous lineages in response
to environmental changes. In parasitoid wasps, a megadiverse group of hymenopteran
insects, yolk protein reduction or loss has been observed in many species, likely
linked ...
Genetics
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication requires a steady supply of deoxyribonucleotides
(dNTPs), synthesized de novo by ribonucleotide reductase (RNR). In nondividing cells,
RNR consists of RRM1 and RRM2B subunits. Mutations in RRM2B cause mtDNA depletion ...
Immunology and Inflammation
Renal ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common complication in several clinical
scenarios including kidney transplantation. Mannan-binding lectin-associated serine
proteinase (MASP)-2 is essential for activation of the complement lectin pathway,
...
CD20 is a four-transmembrane protein expressed at the surface of B cells from late
pro-B cells to memory B cells, with the exception of plasma cells. Its expression
pattern makes it an attractive therapeutic target for different B cell malignancies
and ...
CXCR3 is a chemokine receptor for three ligands: CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11. Accumulating
evidence, including data presented here, suggests that the interaction between CXCL9/CXCL10
and CXCR3 not only attracts CXCR3+ T cells but also promotes the induction ...
Medical Sciences
Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are a rapidly developing therapeutic approach in cancer
treatment that has shown remarkable efficacy in breast cancer. Despite the promising
efficacy of anti-HER2 ADCs, many patients are still experiencing disease ...
Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B (PHP1B) is a multihormone resistance disorder caused
by aberrant GNAS methylation. Characteristic epigenetic changes at GNAS differentially methylated regions (DMRs), i.e., NESP, AS1, AS2, XL, and A/B, are
associated with ...
Ischemic retinal diseases are major causes of blindness worldwide and are characterized
by pathological angiogenesis. Epigenetic alterations in response to metabolic shifts
in endothelial cells (ECs) suffice to underlie excessive angiogenesis. Lactate ...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Risk for
MDD is heritable, and the genetic structure of founder populations enables investigation
of rare susceptibility alleles with large effect. In an extended Old Order ...
Elevated miR-155 levels in B cell malignancies, such as CLL and DLBCL, correlate with increased aggressiveness
of the disease. We recently reported that, in two different mouse models of miR-155-driven B cell malignancy, miR-155 targets and down-regulates ...
Neutrophils are the most abundant circulating leukocyte population that play critical
roles in neuroinflammation following central nervous system (CNS) injury. CD177, a
glycoprotein on neutrophils, is emerging as an important immune regulator which can
...
Spatial epigenomics and multiomics can provide fine-grained insights into cellular
states but their widespread adoption is limited by the requirement for bespoke slides
and capture chemistries for each data modality. Here, we present SPatial assay for
...
Microbiology
TonB-dependent signal transduction is a versatile mechanism observed in gram-negative
bacteria that integrates energy-dependent substrate transport with signal relay. In
Escherichia coli, the TonB–ExbBD motor complex energizes the TonB-dependent outer ...
Herpesviruses encode conserved protein kinases (CHPKs) that target cellular cyclin-dependent
kinase (CDK) phosphorylation sites; thus, they are termed viral CDK-like kinases.
Tyrosine 15 in the GxGxxG motifs of CDK1 and CDK2, whose phosphorylation down-...
Many enteric viruses benefit from the microbiota. In mice, microbiota depletion reduces
infection by noroviruses and picornaviruses. However, Reovirales viruses are outliers among enteric viruses. Rotavirus infection is inhibited by bacteria,
and we ...
H5Nx viruses continue to wreak havoc in avian and mammalian species worldwide. The
virus distinguishes itself by the ability to replicate to high titers and transmit
efficiently in a wide variety of hosts in diverse climatic environments. Fortunately,
...
Bedaquiline is the cornerstone of a new regimen for the treatment of drug-resistant
tuberculosis. However, its clinical use is threatened by the emergence of bedaquiline-resistant
strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Bedaquiline targets mycobacterial ...
Conjugation, the major driver of the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes, relies
on a conjugation pilus for DNA transfer. Conjugative pili, such as the F-pilus, are
dynamic tubular structures, composed of a polymerized pilin, that mediate the initial
...
Neuroscience
Understanding how localized brain interventions influence whole-brain dynamics is
essential for deciphering neural function and designing therapeutic strategies. Using
longitudinal functional MRI datasets collected from mice, we investigated the effects
...
The structure of the environment includes more horizontal and vertical (i.e. cardinal)
orientations than oblique orientations, meaning that edges tend to be aligned with
or perpendicular to the direction of gravity. This bias in the visual scene is ...
Brain oscillations in different behavioral states are essential for cognition, and
oscillopathies contribute to cognitive dysfunction in neuropsychiatric diseases. Cannabis-1
receptor (CB1-R) activation was reported to suppress theta and fast gamma ...
Although cochlear implants (CIs) provide valuable auditory information to more than
one million profoundly deaf patients, these devices remain inadequate in conveying
fine timing cues. Early deaf patients in particular struggle to use interaural time
...
In order to forage for food, many animals regulate not only specific limb movements
but the statistics of locomotor behavior, switching between long-range dispersal and
local search depending on resource availability. How premotor circuits regulate ...
Various pathological characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) stem from abnormalities
in brain resident immune cells, specifically microglia, to prune unnecessary synapses
or neural connections during early development. Animal models of ASD ...
Maternal separation (MS), a chronic stress event in early life, impairs myelination
in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and leads to PFC cognitive disorders. It remains largely
unclear how such deficits are mediated. Here, we show that peripheral CD4+ T cells ...
Forming and forgetting memories shape our self-awareness and help us face future challenges.
Therefore, understanding how memories are formed and how different memories interact
in the brain is important. Previous studies have shown that thirsty flies ...
Slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep are the two primary components
of electrophysiological sleep (e-sleep) in mammals and birds. Slow waves in the cortex
not only characterize SWS but are also used as biological markers for sleep ...
Pharmacology
Decreased dendritic spine density in the cortex is a key pathological feature of neuropsychiatric
diseases including depression, addiction, and schizophrenia (SCZ). Psychedelics possess
a remarkable ability to promote cortical neuron growth and increase ...
Physiology
The urethra is considered a passive conduit for urine. Here, we reveal a surprising
multicellular signaling pathway guiding the urethra’s dynamic response to an invading
pathogen. Using a genetic approach in female mice, we deposited uropathogenic ...
Intussusceptive angiogenesis is an increasingly recognized vessel duplication process
that generates and reshapes microvascular beds. However, the mechanism by which a
vessel splits into two is poorly understood. Particularly vexing is formation of the
...
Elevated brain levels of the essential metals manganese (Mn), copper, or iron induce
motor disease. However, mechanisms of metal-induced motor disease are unclear and
treatments are lacking. Elucidating the mechanisms of Mn-induced motor disease is
...
Plant Biology
CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-related (CLE) peptides have emerged as key regulators
of plant–microbe interactions, including arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. Here,
we identify Medicago truncatula CLE16 as a positive regulator of AM symbiosis. ...
Cellular signaling processes can elicit powerful responses and may need to be amplified
to be efficient or dampened to prevent overstimulation. Therefore, they often involve
autoregulatory feedbacks. Receptor kinase signaling pathways are abundant in ...
Corrections
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SI Corrections
Cover image: Pictured are large, luxurious homes (left) and smaller, densely packed dwellings (right), highlighting extreme wealth inequality in northern Jakarta, Indonesia. A collection of articles in The Global Dynamics of Economic Inequality over the Long Term Special Feature used size differences of ~53,000 residential buildings to estimate degrees of wealth inequality at ~4,000 archaeological settlements around the world, from the beginning of the Holocene up to the first millennium BCE. Together, the articles explore patterns of inequality, wealth, and social power across diverse societies. See the Introduction to the Special Feature, e2401989122. Image credit: Johnny Miller (photographer).
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