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Developmental stress can detrimentally affect adult female reproductive behavior, influencing sexual receptivity and fertility. Recent work has demonstrated neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (nNOS)-promoted NO release in the ventromedial hypothalamus as a nexus between pre-pubertal stress and adult sexual behavior in mice.
Plastic pollution severely threatens the resilience of nature. Here, the authors utilize the spore-forming, polymer-degrading bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, as a living filler to develop biocomposite thermoplastic polyurethane with improved mechanical properties and biodegradation.
The molecular features of paediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumours are not fully understood, posing a challenge for targeted therapies. Here, the authors characterise paediatric CNS tumours using single-nucleus RNA-seq; they identify cell type populations associated with specific tumour types and with response to therapy.
Cell type-specific epigenomic alterations and heterogeneity in paediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumours remain underexplored. Here, the authors integrate bulk DNA cytosine modification data with bulk and single-nucleus RNA-sequencing to explore cell type-specific epigenomic alterations and gene regulation in paediatric CNS tumours.
Evidence suggests that stress during development might lead to sexual dysfunction. Here, authors show that pubertal stress disrupted female sexual behavior by reducing activation of nitric oxide synthase-expressing neurons in response to male cues.
Here, the authors report that schizophrenia risk variants mapping to a striatal dopamine-related gene set are associated with increased striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and increased striatal activity during reward anticipation in humans.
Economic evaluation of utilization of digital technologies for cataract screening remains unknown. Here the authors show that digital hierarchical screening is cost-effective in China and annual screening proved to be the most cost-effective option.
The structure of a social network is thought to be heritable in many animals, including humans. Here, Rooke and colleagues identify a gene, which they name “degrees of kevin bacon (dokb)”, that is expressed in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster and regulates the structure of social networks.
Two new gridded, model-ready historical biomass burning emission datasets (BB4CMIPpost and LPJ-LMfirepost) are developed by inverse modeling that leveraged 31 ice core records, existing emissions as a priori, and chemical transport model simulations.
Conventional dendritic cells are playing a pivotal role at the interface of innate and adaptive immunity, but they are a heterogenous group regarding function and regulation. Here, the authors show that although Bcl6-deficiency does not regulate general DC subset identity, Bcl6 expression is required for a specific subset of type 2 DCs in mice, resulting in impaired T helper cell responses and further clarifying molecular players driving DC subset heterogeneity.
This study explores selection signals of Papua New Guinean highlanders and lowlanders using 128 new whole genome sequences. It highlights two genetic variants associated with blood traits that also influence the heart rate of these populations.
In patient with glioblastoma, a major cause of resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy is the high degree to intratumoral heterogeneity and cell plasticity. Here, the authors demonstrate that chemoradiation induces the reprograming of glioblastoma cells into an invasive and vessel co-opting state, termed VC-Resist, capable of promoting resistance to therapy.
The design of synthetic systems that can sense chemical gradients and respond with directional motility and chemical activity is of interest. Here, the authors realize and control such behaviors in a synthetic system by tailoring multivalent interactions of adenosine nucleotides with catalytic microbeads.
The regulation of meiotic prophase progression varies between males and females. This study reveals the involvement of an atypical heat shock transcription factor HSF5 in gene expression during male meiotic prophase and highlights the involved gene regulatory mechanism.
Evolutionary and rational design approaches are commonly used to engineer biological systems but are typically seen at odds with each other. In this perspective the authors argue for the concept of an evolutionary design spectrum to help unify and compare these design methodologies to support more effective biological engineering.