Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:title>GPER1 in utero to the rescue!</jats:title> <jats:p> Several common pathogens, including influenza A virus (IAV), can activate systemic type I interferon (IFN) signaling during pregnancy. Such infections would be expected to cause birth defects and fetal mortality, but maternal IAV infections rarely produce such effects, suggesting the presence of a protective mechanism in fetal tissues. Harding <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> used a CRISPR screen to uncover IFN regulators that can mediate differential IFN control across tissues in human cell lines. They found that G protein–coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1), which is expressed in fetal tissues, acts as a protective suppressor of IFN responses in the placenta during maternal infection. In a mouse model, pharmacological activation of GPER1 shielded fetuses from maternal inflammation. Activation of GPER1 might be promising therapeutically to protect the fetus from both maternal and fetal infections. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="271" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.aba9001">271</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Ethylene aplenty signals soil compaction</jats:title> <jats:p> It's tough to drive a spade through compacted soil, and plant roots seem to have the same problem when growing in compacted ground. Pandey <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> found that the problem is not, however, one of physical resistance but rather inhibition of growth through a signaling pathway. The volatile plant hormone ethylene will diffuse through aerated soil, but compacted soil reduces such diffusion, increasing the concentration of ethylene near root tissues. The cellular signaling cascades triggered by too much ethylene stop root growth. Therefore, gaseous diffusion serves as a readout of soil compaction for plant roots growing in search of productive nutrition. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="276" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf3013">276</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Coaxing unreactive sites</jats:title> <jats:p> Optical excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances can confine light and create electromagnetic (EM) “hotspots” that can increase catalytic reaction rates. Sytwu <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> show how optical excited plasmons can also control the location of the active site. A crossed-bar gold-palladium hydride (Au-PdH <jats:sub> <jats:italic>x</jats:italic> </jats:sub> ) plasmonic antenna-reactor system localized EM radiation away from the more reactive PdH <jats:sub> <jats:italic>x</jats:italic> </jats:sub> tips. Using in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy, the authors show that changing the illumination wavelength and intensity, along with the surrounding hydrogen gas pressure, could shift dehydrogenation away from the sharp PdH <jats:sub> <jats:italic>x</jats:italic> </jats:sub> nanorod tips to the flat middle faces. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="280" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd2847">280</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Natural language predicts viral escape</jats:title> <jats:p> Viral mutations that evade neutralizing antibodies, an occurrence known as viral escape, can occur and may impede the development of vaccines. To predict which mutations may lead to viral escape, Hie <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> used a machine learning technique for natural language processing with two components: grammar (or syntax) and meaning (or semantics) (see the Perspective by Kim and Przytycka). Three different unsupervised language models were constructed for influenza A hemagglutinin, HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein. Semantic landscapes for these viruses predicted viral escape mutations that produce sequences that are syntactically and/or grammatically correct but effectively different in semantics and thus able to evade the immune system. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="284" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd7331">284</jats:related-article> ; see also p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="233" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf6894">233</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Attack rate in Manaus</jats:title> <jats:p> Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) incidence peaked in Manaus, Brazil, in May 2020 with a devastating toll on the city's inhabitants, leaving its health services shattered and cemeteries overwhelmed. Buss <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> collected data from blood donors from Manaus and São Paulo, noted when transmission began to fall, and estimated the final attack rates in October 2020 (see the Perspective by Sridhar and Gurdasani). Heterogeneities in immune protection, population structure, poverty, modes of public transport, and uneven adoption of nonpharmaceutical interventions mean that despite a high attack rate, herd immunity may not have been achieved. This unfortunate city has become a sentinel for how natural population immunity could influence future transmission. Events in Manaus reveal what tragedy and harm to society can unfold if this virus is left to run its course. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="288" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abe9728">288</jats:related-article> ; see also p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="230" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf7921">230</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Not so different</jats:title> <jats:p> Humans often focus on how different we are from other animals. Certainly, there are some important differences, but more and more we are learning that we differ by degree rather than kind. We see these similarities most clearly when we look at human populations that live a more traditional, foraging lifestyle. Barsbai <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> compared more than 300 such foraging human populations with mammal and bird species living in the same environment across a wide array of environmental conditions (see the Perspective by Hill and Boyd). They found that all three groups converged with regard to foraging, social, and reproductive behaviors. Thus, adaptation to environmental selection shapes similar responses across a wide diversity of life forms. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="292" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abb7481">292</jats:related-article> ; see also p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="235" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf7572">235</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Making a quantum pump</jats:title> <jats:p> Most nonequilibrium, many-particle systems eventually reach a thermal state. However, some one-dimensional quantum systems do not thermalize, although they may settle into a long-term equilibrium state. Kao <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> studied such a system consisting of dipolar dysprosium atoms confined in an optical potential shaped like a two-dimensional array of elongated tubes. The authors cycled the contact interaction between the atoms in a prescribed way, creating increasingly excited nonthermal quantum many-body states. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="296" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abb4928">296</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>A key complex in B cell activation</jats:title> <jats:p> A core component of the immune system are B cells, which are activated by infection and then mature to provide long-lived immunity. Activation is initiated when a cell surface B cell receptor, in association with its coreceptor, recognizes an antigen. Susa <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> report a structure of the B cell coreceptor signaling subunit CD19 in complex with CD81, a key regulator. CD81 alone binds to cholesterol, but the conformational changes associated with binding to CD19 occlude the cholesterol-binding pocket. Regulating cholesterol binding could play a role in the activation mechanism. The structure also provides a basis for the design of immunotherapies. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="300" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd9836">300</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>A tight couple makes messenger RNAs</jats:title> <jats:p> Gene expression in eukaryotes first requires transcription of DNA to an RNA copy and then splicing to form the final, processed messenger RNA (mRNA). Zhang <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> investigated how gene transcription and RNA splicing are physically coupled. Using cryo–electron microscopy, they resolved the molecular structure of a complex of the transcription enzyme RNA polymerase II with part of the splicing machinery, the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle. The results provide important details for our understanding of coupled mRNA production. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6526" page="305" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf1870">305</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:p>A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.</jats:p>