Table Of Contents Page, PNAS Volume 118, Number 1
This Week in PNAS
Opinion
Science and Culture
Retrospective
Commentaries
Perspective
The advancement of science depends upon developing classification protocols that systematize
natural objects and phenomena into “natural kinds”—categorizations that are conjectured
to represent genuine divisions in nature by virtue of playing central ...
The last five years marked a surge in interest for and use of smart robots, which
operate in dynamic and unstructured environments and might interact with humans. We
posit that well-validated computer simulation can provide a virtual proving ground
that ...
Letters
View related content:
Island species experience higher niche expansion and lower niche conservatism during invasion
This article replies to:Physical Sciences
Applied Physical Sciences
Defense of the central nervous system (CNS) against infection must be accomplished
without generation of potentially injurious immune cell-mediated or off-target inflammation
which could impair key functions. As the CNS is an immune-privileged compartment,...
View related content:
Ordinary ice has a proton-disordered phase which is kinetically metastable, unable
to reach, spontaneously, the ferroelectric (FE) ground state at low temperature where
a residual Pauling entropy persists. Upon light doping with KOH at low temperature,
...
Many materials, processes, and structures in science and engineering have important
features at multiple scales of time and/or space; examples include biological tissues,
active matter, oceans, networks, and images. Explicitly extracting, describing, and
...
Chemistry
Metallophilicity is defined as the interaction among closed-shell metal centers, the
origin of which remains controversial, particularly for the roles of spd orbital hybridization
(mixing of the spd atomic orbitals of the metal atom in the molecular ...
Performance of membranes for water purification is highly influenced by the interactions
of solvated species with membrane surfaces, including surface adsorption of solutes
upon fouling. Current efforts toward fouling-resistant membranes often pursue ...
View related content:
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Barrier islands are ubiquitous coastal features that create low-energy environments
where salt marshes, oyster reefs, and mangroves can develop and survive external stresses.
Barrier systems also protect interior coastal communities from storm surges and ...
View related content:
Probabilistic structure of events controlling the after-storm recovery of coastal dunes
Coastal dunes protect beach communities and ecosystems from rising seas and storm
flooding and influence the stability of barrier islands by preventing overwashes and
limiting barrier migration. Therefore, the degree of dune recovery after a large storm
...
View related content:
Rivers carry the dissolved and solid products of silicate mineral weathering, a process
that removes from the atmosphere and provides a key negative climate feedback over geological
timescales. Here we show that, in some river systems, a reactive ...
The noble gas isotope systematics of ocean island basalts suggest the existence of
primordial mantle signatures in the deep mantle. Yet, the isotopic compositions of
lithophile elements (Sr, Nd, Hf) in these lavas require derivation from a mantle source
...
Engineering
Osteoarthritis (OA), the leading cause of pain and disability worldwide, disproportionally
affects individuals with obesity. The mechanisms by which obesity leads to the onset
and progression of OA are unclear due to the complex interactions among the ...
Physics
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in mediating immune response. Yet an
algorithmic understanding of the role of Tregs in adaptive immunity remains lacking.
Here, we present a biophysically realistic model of Treg-mediated self-tolerance in
...
We raise fundamental questions about the very meaning of conservation laws in quantum
mechanics, and we argue that the standard way of defining conservation laws, while
perfectly valid as far as it goes, misses essential features of nature and has to
be ...
Statistics
As the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading around the world, increasing evidence highlights
the role of cardiometabolic risk factors in determining the susceptibility to the
disease. The fragmented data collected during the initial emergency limited the ...
Social Sciences
Anthropology
Humans reached the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific by ∼3,500 y ago, contemporaneous
with or even earlier than the initial peopling of Polynesia. They crossed more than
2,000 km of open ocean to get there, whereas voyages of similar length did not ...
Economic Sciences
Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities account for a disproportionate share
of COVID-19 cases and fatalities worldwide. Outbreaks in US nursing homes have persisted
despite nationwide visitor restrictions beginning in mid-March. An early report ...
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enroll hundreds of millions of subjects and involve
many human lives. To improve subjects’ welfare, I propose a design of RCTs that I
call Experiment-as-Market (EXAM). EXAM produces a welfare-maximizing allocation of
...
Environmental Sciences
With nearly every country combating the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), there is
a need to understand how local environmental conditions may modify transmission. To
date, quantifying seasonality of the disease has been limited by scarce data and the
...
Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Real-life decisions are often repeated. Whether considering taking a job in a new
city, or doing something mundane like checking if the stove is off, decisions are
frequently revisited even if no new information is available. This mode of behavior
takes a ...
Vaccination yields the direct individual benefit of protecting recipients from infectious
diseases and also the indirect social benefit of reducing the transmission of infections
to others, often referred to as herd immunity. This research examines how ...
Social Sciences
Despite considerable social scientific attention to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
on urbanized areas, very little research has examined its impact on rural populations.
Yet rural communities—which make up tens of millions of people from diverse ...
Effective states govern by some combination of enforcement and voluntary compliance.
To contain the COVID-19 pandemic, a critical decision is the extent to which policy
makers rely on voluntary as opposed to enforced compliance, and nations vary along
...
Surveillance is critical in containing globally increasing antimicrobial resistance
(AMR). Affordable methodologies to prioritize AMR surveillance efforts are urgently
needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where resources are
...
This article has a correction:
Biological Sciences
Agricultural Sciences
Invasive organisms pose a global threat and are exceptionally difficult to eradicate
after they become abundant in their new habitats. We report a successful multitactic
strategy for combating the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), one of the world’...
Anthropology
Humans reached the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific by ∼3,500 y ago, contemporaneous
with or even earlier than the initial peopling of Polynesia. They crossed more than
2,000 km of open ocean to get there, whereas voyages of similar length did not ...
Primate offspring often depend on their mothers well beyond the age of weaning, and
offspring that experience maternal death in early life can suffer substantial reductions
in fitness across the life span. Here, we leverage data from eight wild primate ...
Biochemistry
The sodium pump (Na+, K+-ATPase, NKA) is vital for animal cells, as it actively maintains Na+ and K+ electrochemical gradients across the cell membrane. It is a target of cardiotonic
steroids (CTSs) such as ouabain and digoxin. As CTSs are almost unique ...
Humans are chronically exposed to mixtures of xenobiotics referred to as endocrine-disrupting
chemicals (EDCs). A vast body of literature links exposure to these chemicals with
increased incidences of reproductive, metabolic, or neurological disorders. ...
Biophysics and Computational Biology
The tumor-suppressor p53 is a critical regulator of the cellular response to DNA damage
and is tightly regulated by posttranslational modifications. Thr55 in the AD2 interaction
motif of the N-terminal transactivation domain functions as a phosphorylation-...
Detecting fluorescence in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II) up to ∼1,700 nm
has emerged as a novel in vivo imaging modality with high spatial and temporal resolution
through millimeter tissue depths. Imaging in the NIR-IIb window (1,500–1,700 nm) ...
Neurodegenerative disorders are frequently associated with β-sheet-rich amyloid deposits.
Amyloid-forming proteins can aggregate under different structural conformations known
as strains, which can exhibit a prion-like behavior and distinct ...
Cell Biology
Acetylcholine (ACh) promotes various cell migrations in vitro, but there are few investigations
into this nonsynaptic role of ACh signaling in vivo. Here we investigate the function
of a muscarinic receptor on an epithelial cell migration in ...
The differentiation of cells depends on a precise control of their internal organization,
which is the result of a complex dynamic interplay between the cytoskeleton, molecular
motors, signaling molecules, and membranes. For example, in the developing ...
Macroautophagy/autophagy is a highly conserved eukaryotic molecular process that facilitates
the recycling of superfluous cytoplasmic materials, damaged organelles, and invading
pathogens, resulting in proper cellular homeostasis and survival during ...
The Ligand of Ate1 (Liat1) is a protein of unknown function that was originally discovered
through its interaction with arginyl-tRNA protein transferase 1 (Ate1), a component
of the Arg/N-degron pathway of protein degradation. Here, we characterized the ...
Fusion-associated small transmembrane (FAST) proteins are a diverse family of nonstructural
viral proteins. Once expressed on the plasma membrane of infected cells, they drive
fusion with neighboring cells, increasing viral spread and pathogenicity. ...
Developmental Biology
Diapause represents a major developmental switch in insects and is a seasonal adaptation
that evolved as a specific subtype of dormancy in most insect species to ensure survival
under unfavorable environmental conditions and synchronize populations. ...
The sinus node (SAN) is the primary pacemaker of the human heart, and abnormalities
in its structure or function cause sick sinus syndrome, the most common reason for
electronic pacemaker implantation. Here we report that transcription factor GATA6,
whose ...
Ecology
Microbial activity in planktonic systems creates a dynamic and heterogeneous microscale
seascape that harbors a diverse community of microorganisms and ecological interactions
of global significance. In recent decades great effort has been put into ...
Environmental Sciences
With nearly every country combating the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), there is
a need to understand how local environmental conditions may modify transmission. To
date, quantifying seasonality of the disease has been limited by scarce data and the
...
Evolution
Tandem gene amplification is a frequent and dynamic source of antibiotic resistance
in bacteria. Ongoing expansions and contractions of repeat arrays during population
growth are expected to manifest as cell-to-cell differences in copy number (CN). As
a ...
Identifying developmental explanations for the evolution of complex structures like
mammalian molars is fundamental to studying phenotypic variation. Previous study showed
that a “morphogenetic gradient” of molar proportions was explained by a balance ...
Skin pigmentation is a classic example of a polygenic trait that has experienced directional
selection in humans. Genome-wide association studies have identified well over a hundred
pigmentation-associated loci, and genomic scans in present-day and ...
Genetics
Precise genome editing is a valuable tool to study gene function in model organisms.
Prime editing, a precise editing system developed in mammalian cells, does not require
double-strand breaks or donor DNA and has low off-target effects. Here, we applied
...
Mutagenic compounds are a potent source of human disease. By inducing genetic instability,
they can accelerate the evolution of human cancers or lead to the development of genetically
inherited diseases. Here, we show that in addition to genetic mutations,...
RNA polymerase (RNAP) encounters various roadblocks during transcription. These obstacles
can impede RNAP movement and influence transcription, ultimately necessitating the
activity of RNAP-associated factors. One such factor is the bacterial protein Mfd,
...
Immunology and Inflammation
Defense of the central nervous system (CNS) against infection must be accomplished
without generation of potentially injurious immune cell-mediated or off-target inflammation
which could impair key functions. As the CNS is an immune-privileged compartment,...
View related content:
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in mediating immune response. Yet an
algorithmic understanding of the role of Tregs in adaptive immunity remains lacking.
Here, we present a biophysically realistic model of Treg-mediated self-tolerance in
...
Dysregulation of inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes promote the pathogenesis
of the skin inflammation, such as allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). High-mobility
group box 1 protein (HMGB1) has been implicated in the promotion of skin inflammation
upon ...
Macrophages activated with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in combination with other proinflammatory
stimuli, such as lipopolysaccharide or tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), respond with
transcriptional and cellular changes that enhance clearance of intracellular ...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by joint
destruction and severe morbidity. Cigarette smoking (CS) can exacerbate the incidence
and severity of RA. Although Th17 cells and the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) have
...
The balance between NLRP3 inflammasome activation and mitophagy is essential for homeostasis
and cellular health, but this relationship remains poorly understood. Here we found
that interleukin-1α (IL-1α)–deficient macrophages have reduced caspase-1 ...
The blood-clotting protein fibrinogen has been implicated in host defense following
Staphylococcus aureus infection, but precise mechanisms of host protection and pathogen clearance remain
undefined. Peritonitis caused by staphylococci species is a ...
Macrophages are the principal immune cells of the epididymis and testis, but their
origins, heterogeneity, development, and maintenance are not well understood. Here,
we describe distinct populations of epididymal and testicular macrophages that display
...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) disease risk is associated with reduced sun-exposure. This
study assessed the relationship between measures of sun exposure (vitamin D [vitD],
latitude) and MS severity in the setting of two multicenter cohort studies (nNationMS = ...
This article has a correction:
Medical Sciences
As the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading around the world, increasing evidence highlights
the role of cardiometabolic risk factors in determining the susceptibility to the
disease. The fragmented data collected during the initial emergency limited the ...
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible
for COVID-19, employs two key host proteins to gain entry and replicate within cells,
angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the cell surface transmembrane protease
...
Effective therapies for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) are limited; therefore,
the discovery of new therapeutic agents is greatly warranted. Toll-like receptor 7
(TLR7) is a pattern recognition receptor for single-stranded RNA, and its activation
...
A pH-Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP) is a pH-sensitive peptide that undergoes membrane
insertion, resulting in transmembrane helix formation, on exposure to acidity at a
tumor cell surface. As a result, pHLIPs preferentially accumulate within tumors and
can ...
Fluorescence imaging is currently being actively developed for surgical guidance;
however, it remains underutilized for diagnostic and endoscopic surveillance of incipient
colorectal cancer in high-risk patients. Here we demonstrate the utility and ...
The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of cell growth and
an attractive anticancer target that integrates diverse signals to control cell proliferation.
Previous studies using mTOR inhibitors have shown that mTOR targeting ...
Microbiology
Surveillance is critical in containing globally increasing antimicrobial resistance
(AMR). Affordable methodologies to prioritize AMR surveillance efforts are urgently
needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where resources are
...
This article has a correction:
The type 6 secretion system (T6SS) is a dynamic organelle encoded by many gram-negative
bacteria that can be used to kill competing bacterial prey species in densely occupied
niches. Some predatory species, such as Vibrio cholerae, use their T6SS in an ...
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a major threat to global health.
Although varied SARS-CoV-2–related coronaviruses have been isolated from bats and
SARS-...
Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the skin of the majority of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), and its
presence increases disease severity. Adhesion of S. aureus to corneocytes in the stratum corneum is a key initial event in colonization, but
the ...
O antigens are important cell surface polysaccharides in gram-negative bacteria where
they extend core lipopolysaccharides in the extracellular leaflet of the outer membrane.
O antigen structures are serotype specific and form extended cell surface ...
The journey from plasma membrane to nuclear pore is a critical step in the lifecycle
of DNA viruses, many of which must successfully deposit their genomes into the nucleus
for replication. Viral capsids navigate this vast distance through the coordinated
...
Biogenesis of viral replication organelles (VROs) is critical for replication of positive-strand
RNA viruses. In this work, we demonstrate that tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) and
the closely related carnation Italian ringspot virus (CIRV) hijack the ...
Neuroscience
Real-life decisions are often repeated. Whether considering taking a job in a new
city, or doing something mundane like checking if the stove is off, decisions are
frequently revisited even if no new information is available. This mode of behavior
takes a ...
The neural mechanisms underlying the impacts of noise on nonauditory function, particularly
learning and memory, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that rats exposed
postnatally (between postnatal days 9 and 56) to structured noise delivered at ...
Hippocampal synaptic plasticity is important for learning and memory formation. Homeostatic
synaptic plasticity is a specific form of synaptic plasticity that is induced upon
prolonged changes in neuronal activity to maintain network homeostasis. While ...
The release of urine, or micturition, serves a fundamental physiological function
and, in many species, is critical for social communication. In mice, the pattern of
urine release is modulated by external and internal factors and transmitted to the
spinal ...
The developing brain is under the risk of exposure to a multitude of environmental
stressors. While perinatal exposure to excessive levels of environmental stress is
responsible for a wide spectrum of neurological and psychiatric conditions, the ...
The regulatory mechanisms of circadian rhythms have been studied primarily at the
level of the transcription–translation feedback loops of protein-coding genes. Regulatory
modules involving noncoding RNAs are less thoroughly understood. In particular, ...
Hippocampal cells are central to spatial and predictive representations, and experience
replays by place cells are crucial for learning and memory. Nonetheless, how hippocampal
replay patterns dynamically change during the learning process remains to be ...
Fertility relies upon pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) that
drives pulsatile luteinizing hormone secretion. Kisspeptin (KP) neurons in the arcuate
nucleus are at the center of the GnRH pulse generation and the steroid feedback ...
Aerobic glycolysis (AG), that is, the nonoxidative metabolism of glucose, contributes
significantly to anabolic pathways, rapid energy generation, task-induced activity,
and neuroprotection; yet high AG is also associated with pathological hallmarks such
...
Inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) kinase B (ITPKB) is a ubiquitously expressed lipid kinase that inactivates IP3, a secondary messenger that stimulates calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum
(ER). Genome-wide association studies have identified ...
Physiology
Metabolic suppression is a hallmark of animal dormancy that promotes overall energy
savings. Some diapausing insects and some mammalian hibernators have regular cyclic
patterns of substantial metabolic depression alternating with periodic arousal where
...
Drosophila melanogaster females experience a large shift in energy homeostasis after mating to compensate
for nutrient investment in egg production. To cope with this change in metabolism,
mated females undergo widespread physiological and behavioral ...
Plant Biology
We hereby show that root systems adapt to a spatially discontinuous pattern of water
availability even when the gradients of water potential across them are vanishingly
small. A paper microfluidic approach allowed us to expose the entire root system of
...
Sugar transport across tonoplasts is essential for maintaining cellular sugar homeostasis
and metabolic balance in plant cells. It remains unclear, however, how this process
is regulated among different classes of sugar transporters. Here, we identified a
...
Plants spend most of their life oscillating around 1–3 Hz due to the effect of the
wind. Therefore, stems and foliage experience repetitive mechanical stresses through
these passive movements. However, the mechanism of the cellular perception and ...
N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) is a key inhibitor of directional (polar) transport
of the hormone auxin in plants. For decades, it has been a pivotal tool in elucidating
the unique polar auxin transport-based processes underlying plant growth and ...
This article has a correction:
Type II tail-anchored (TA) membrane proteins are involved in diverse cellular processes,
including protein translocation, vesicle trafficking, and apoptosis. They are characterized
by a single C-terminal transmembrane domain that mediates ...
Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
An established body of research indicates that discrimination is associated with increased
symptoms of anxiety and negative affect. However, the association cannot be interpreted
unambiguously as an exposure effect because a common set of genetic factors ...
SI Correction
Cover image: Pictured is a moth of the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella). Based on analysis of computer simulations and 21 years of field data, Bruce E. Tabashnik et al. found that synergy between planting genetically engineered cotton and the release of billions of sterile moths helped to eradicate the devastating cotton pest, pink bollworm, from the continental United States and Mexico a century after it invaded both countries. Pink bollworm eradication has led to economic benefits for farmers and environmental benefits from reduced insecticide use. See the article by Tabashnik et al., e2019115118. Image credit: Alexander Yelich (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ). The cover image has been updated.
Sign up for PNAS alerts.
Get alerts for new articles, or get an alert when an article is cited.
Manage alertsStay connected
Advertisement
Recent Issues
Submit to PNAS
Submit to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and have your research discovered by millions of researchers in the biological, physical, and social sciences.
Submit your manuscript