Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p> Highlights from the <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> family of journals </jats:p>

<jats:p>Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature</jats:p>

<jats:p>Aptameric receptors are important biosensor components, yet our ability to identify them depends on the target structures. We analyzed the contributions of individual functional groups on small molecules to binding within 27 target-aptamer pairs, identifying potential hindrances to receptor isolation—for example, negative cooperativity between sterically hindered functional groups. To increase the probability of aptamer isolation for important targets, such as leucine and voriconazole, for which multiple previous selection attempts failed, we designed tailored strategies focused on overcoming individual structural barriers to successful selections. This approach enables us to move beyond standardized protocols into functional group–guided searches, relying on sequences common to receptors for targets and their analogs to serve as anchors in regions of vast oligonucleotide spaces wherein useful reagents are likely to be found.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Measurement systems are important drivers of cultural and technological evolution. However, the evolution of measurement is still insufficiently understood. Many early standardized measurement systems evolved from body-based units of measure, such as the cubit and fathom, but researchers have rarely studied how or why body-based measurement has been used. We documented body-based units of measure in 186 cultures, illustrating how body-based measurement is an activity common to cultures around the world. Here, we describe the cultural and technological domains these units are used in. We argue that body-based units have had, and may still have, advantages over standardized systems, such as in the design of ergonomic technologies. This helps explain the persistence of body-based measurement centuries after the first standardized measurement systems emerged.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Sensor miniaturization enables applications such as minimally invasive medical procedures or patient monitoring by providing process feedback in situ. Ideally, miniature sensors should be wireless, inexpensive, and allow for remote detection over sufficient distance by an affordable detection system. We analyze the signal strength of wireless sensors theoretically and derive a simple design of high-signal resonant magneto-mechanical sensors featuring volumes below 1 cubic millimeter. As examples, we demonstrate real-time tracking of position and attitude of a flying bee, navigation of a biopsy needle, tracking of a free-flowing marker, and sensing of pressure and temperature, all in unshielded environments. The achieved sensor size, measurement accuracy, and workspace of ~25 centimeters show the potential for a low-cost wireless tracking and sensing platform for medical and nonmedical applications.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) drives circadian clock coherence through intercellular coupling, which is resistant to environmental perturbations. We report that primary cilia are required for intercellular coupling among SCN neurons to maintain the robustness of the internal clock in mice. Cilia in neuromedin S–producing (NMS) neurons exhibit pronounced circadian rhythmicity in abundance and length. Genetic ablation of ciliogenesis in NMS neurons enabled a rapid phase shift of the internal clock under jet-lag conditions. The circadian rhythms of individual neurons in cilia-deficient SCN slices lost their coherence after external perturbations. Rhythmic cilia changes drive oscillations of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling and clock gene expression. Inactivation of Shh signaling in NMS neurons phenocopied the effects of cilia ablation. Thus, cilia-Shh signaling in the SCN aids intercellular coupling.</jats:p>

<jats:p> Antibiotics (ABX) compromise the efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade in cancer patients, but the mechanisms underlying their immunosuppressive effects remain unknown. By inducing the down-regulation of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) in the ileum, post-ABX gut recolonization by <jats:italic>Enterocloster</jats:italic> species drove the emigration of enterotropic α4β7 <jats:sup>+</jats:sup> CD4 <jats:sup>+</jats:sup> regulatory T 17 cells into the tumor. These deleterious ABX effects were mimicked by oral gavage of <jats:italic>Enterocloster</jats:italic> species, by genetic deficiency, or by antibody-mediated neutralization of MAdCAM-1 and its receptor, α4β7 integrin. By contrast, fecal microbiota transplantation or interleukin-17A neutralization prevented ABX-induced immunosuppression. In independent lung, kidney, and bladder cancer patient cohorts, low serum levels of soluble MAdCAM-1 had a negative prognostic impact. Thus, the MAdCAM-1–α4β7 axis constitutes an actionable gut immune checkpoint in cancer immunosurveillance. </jats:p>