The dominance of matter over antimatter in the Universe has consistently driven the pursuit of new physics beyond the Standard Model that violates charge-parity symmetry. Strange baryons (hyperons) remain a largely unexplored territory in which interactions between hyperons and particles from new physics could induce a nontrivial electric dipole moment (EDM). However, direct measurements of hyperon EDMs through spin precession are highly challenging owing to their short lifetimes. In this work, we introduce a method to extract the EDM of the lightest hyperon, Λ, using the entangled [Formula: see text] system. Our result is consistent with zero, achieving a three-orders-of-magnitude improvement over the previous upper limit established in the 1980s with comparable statistics, providing stringent constraints on potential new physics.
DNA replication generates sister chromatids with identical sequence, yet its mechanism is fundamentally asymmetric: Chromatids inherit strands of opposite orientation, whereas forks synthesize new strands by distinct leading- and lagging-strand mechanisms. How this replication asymmetry affects chromosome organization is unknown. Using sister chromatid-sensitive conformation analysis, we found that human sister chromatids are consistently misaligned in the 5'→3' direction of inherited DNA strands. This shift persisted without cohesin-mediated loop extrusion but was lost upon disruption of cohesion. Polymer modeling showed that modest directional misalignment of cohesive cohesins can explain the observed shift, and we propose two models for how such misalignment could originate from replication fork asymmetry. This register shift between sister chromatids has implications for homology search during DNA repair.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a disabling, often irreversible toxicity that affects millions of patients, limits life-saving cancer therapy, and lacks proven treatment. In this work, we show that as little as two doses of psilocybin before chemotherapy durably prevented the onset of CIPN across platinum- and taxane-based models, including repeated chemotherapy cycles, without impairing antitumor efficacy. Peripherally, psilocybin maintained tactile sensitivity and intraepidermal nerve fiber endings through axonal mitochondrial trafficking and distribution preservation, through the TrkB-Akt-PAK5-MAP2-KIF5B pathway and remobilization of syntaphilin-anchored mitochondria. Centrally, it normalized medial prefrontal cortical synaptic activity and cortical alpha and beta electroencephalography power. This stabilization of peripheral axonal energy balance establishes psilocybin as a first-in-class prophylactic agent for CIPN while also preserving central neural function. Given psilocybin's established safety, these discoveries support clinical evaluation as a strategy to prevent CIPN.
Molecular building blocks spontaneously organize into a thin film with a large surface potential.
Global cooperation revealed a huge landslide likely initiated the cascade of events.
The human cerebral cortex develops through coordinated signals from within the cortex and from other brain regions, including the thalamus. However, how thalamic neuronal projections influence early human cortical development remains less well-understood. In this study, we fused cortical and thalamic organoids to investigate how thalamic input shapes the maturation of human cortical cells. Using single-nuclei RNA-sequencing and cellular imaging, we found that thalamic input increases the production of cortical excitatory neurons. We identify neurexin-1 (NRXN1) as a mediator of physical contact between thalamic axons and cortical outer radial glia. Genetic knockout of thalamic NRXN1 reduced these contacts and attenuated the production of upper-layer excitatory neurons. These findings reveal a mechanism by which thalamic input regulates human cortical progenitors and shapes excitatory neuron production during development.
Clostridioides difficile causes severe disease in adults but commonly colonizes infants asymptomatically. The consequences of early-life colonization on host development remain unknown. In a neonatal mouse model, C. difficile colonization drove proinflammatory and tissue repair responses in the intestinal epithelium, enriching injury-associated intestinal stem cell populations and skewing differentiation toward secretory lineages. Despite transient colonization, exposure to C. difficile early in life led to persistent changes into adulthood. Epithelial responses were toxin dependent, as colonization with nontoxigenic strains or maternal vaccination with a C. difficile-targeted messenger RNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine protected neonates. Human infant intestinal epithelial cells were sensitive to C. difficile toxins, and biopsies from colonized infants exhibited altered intestinal stem cell behavior. This study redefines C. difficile as an underappreciated early-life pathogen with lasting effects on host development.
As AI's capabilities grow, researchers and publishers are exploring how it can support peer review-and where it still falls short.
Controlled surface potentials in permanently polarized polymer films are of increasing interest for electronics, sensing, and biomedical devices. Conventional polymer films require external electric fields or postdeposition treatments, limiting precision and scalability. Here, we report a spontaneous polarization in polymer thin films polymerized through initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). Surface potentials emerge spontaneously during film growth, scale linearly with film thickness, and remain stable under ambient conditions. Their magnitude is tunable through deposition parameters, and polymerization initiator choice determines the polarity. The solvent-free, single-step iCVD process enables mechanically robust, uniform coatings on complex geometries and large areas. Our findings establish a simple, versatile route to intrinsically polarized polymer films without postprocessing, opening new opportunities for direct integration of electric fields into functional devices or surface-driven processes at the nanoscale.
The Hopfield neural network stores memories using all-to-all-coupled spins and recalls those memories through equilibrium dynamics. Storing too many hampers recall because frustration causes an exponential number of spurious patterns to arise as the network becomes a spin glass. Despite this, memory recall can be restored, and even enhanced, under quantum-optical nonequilibrium dynamics because spurious patterns can now serve as reliable memories. We experimentally observe associative memory with high storage capacity in a driven-dissipative spin glass made of atoms and photons. The capacity surpasses that of the Hopfield model under Hebbian learning by up to seven-fold in a sixteen-spin network. Atomic motion boosts capacity by dynamically modifying connectivity akin to short-term synaptic plasticity in neural networks, realizing a precursor to learning in a quantum-optical system.
Watching pups' deaths could affect the mental health of staff, officials say.
Emissions could be reduced, with minimal impact on production, while generating billions in public revenues.
Climate change increases plant species richness in alpine ecosystems. However, to what extent this diversity enrichment masks extinction dynamics of resident species remains elusive. In this study, we used floristic resurvey data from 896 permanent vegetation plots across 62 European mountain summits to show that local extinctions have increased over the past 21 years. Extinction rates rose with the magnitude of warming, and species were more likely to go extinct toward their low-elevation range margins and in communities undergoing stronger thermophilization. Moreover, local extinctions were significantly related to preceding abundance declines, which can serve as an early warning signal. These findings suggest that despite increasing plant species richness, plant assemblages above the treeline face an accelerating but so far neglected loss of their most characteristic species.
