iScience最新文献

Urbanization reshapes local climates, potentially altering how animals respond to environmental variation. We used continuous acoustic monitoring at 12 urban and 15 rural sites across a steep aridity gradient in Israel, recording bats for 2.5 months from midsummer to autumn. Across 1,151 site-nights, we detected 95,473 encounters from 11 species. Rural bat activity was strongly associated with temperature, humidity, wind speed, and illumination, whereas urban activity was less sensitive to these environmental factors and to building height and density. Rural specialists avoided cities and were active within relatively narrow environmental ranges, while generalists occurred in both habitats and used broader activity conditions in cities. Urban bat activity also remained comparatively stable as rural activity declined seasonally. These findings show that cities may buffer environmental variability, allowing bats to forage across broader weather and potentially remain active later in the year.

Traditional dressings often fail to address the dynamic progression of infected diabetic wounds, which requires early bacterial elimination followed by timely control of oxidative stress and inflammation. Here, we developed an ultrasound-switchable Ce6/celastrol hydrogel for sequential antibacterial and anti-inflammatory therapy. Chlorin e6 (Ce6) and celastrol were co-encapsulated in a gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogel. Upon ultrasound irradiation, Ce6 generated singlet oxygen to reduce methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in vitro. After ultrasound cessation, celastrol scavenged residual reactive oxygen species and suppressed inflammation. In an MRSA-infected diabetic wound model, the hydrogel with ultrasound reduced bacterial burden, alleviated inflammation, promoted collagen deposition, and accelerated wound closure. This strategy provides temporally regulated antibacterial and anti-inflammatory therapy for infected diabetic wounds.

Acquired hydrocephalus in preterm infants follows intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or central nervous system infection and is associated with inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profiles. We integrated clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CSF cytokine profiling, primary human choroid plexus (ChP) epithelial and endothelial cell assays, and independent transcriptomic and proteomic datasets to investigate ChP remodeling. Infants requiring CSF diversion exhibited greater ChP thickness independent of gestational age, ventricular size, and IVH severity, supporting its potential as a biomarker. Growth factor-enriched inflammatory CSF increased proliferation in primary human ChP epithelial and endothelial cells; EGFR and VEGFR inhibition attenuated these responses, and recombinant epidermal growth factor (EGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) reproduced proliferative effects. Independent IVH transcriptomic data confirmed Mki67 elevation in IVH ChP tissue. Integrated proteomic trajectories support a temporally dynamic remodeling framework linking acute inflammatory signaling to proliferative ChP activation and structural remodeling.

Ergosterol has multiple functions in filamentous fungi and yeasts, although only a part of the functions seems to be understood. An antifungal peptide, theonellamide A (TNM-A) induces drastic morphological changes in fission yeast by targeting plasma membrane ergosterol. TNM-A induces overproduction and accumulation of cell wall glucan at growing tips and septum through a yet unknown mechanism. Here, we show that TNM-A causes accumulation of 1,3-β-glucan at cell-polarity sites, not by increased activity of 1,3-β-glucan synthase, but by an increased, persistent localization of the glucan synthases. Screening based on subcellular localization of proteins suggested the involvement of the Rho family GTPase Cdc42, a master regulator of cell polarity. In agreement, TNM-A increased active Cdc42 and enhanced the membrane trafficking of glucan synthases. In conclusion, our chemical genetics analyses using TNM-A suggest that membrane ergosterol regulates the Cdc42 activity, which further regulates the localization of glucan synthases and cell wall biosynthesis.

Adaptive learning under uncertainty requires distinguishing random variability (stochasticity) from true environmental change (volatility), yet how trait anxiety and sleep together influence it remains unclear. Across two preregistered experiments, participants completed a probabilistic reversal-learning task that independently manipulated volatility and stochasticity. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling showed that in stable but noisy environments, individuals with higher trait anxiety appeared to treat stochastic fluctuations as indicators of genuine change, resulting in over updating and lower evidence accumulation, while preserving normative trends in volatile environments. In a second experiment combining task performance with overnight sleep electroencephalography, greater N3 sleep was associated with reduced updating and higher evidence accumulation in stable environments among individuals with higher trait anxiety. These findings suggest that trait anxiety selectively alters how uncertainty is computationally represented, while N3 sleep appears to attenuate it. Together, these findings provide a computational framework linking anxiety, sleep, and adaptive learning under uncertainty.

Understanding the divergence in neurodevelopment between extinct archaic hominins and modern humans is a central goal in evolutionary biology. Structural variants (SVs) are key genomic drivers of phenotypic change. Here, we identified a set of SVs present in archaic humans by screening fixed SV events from diverse non-human primate (NHP) lineages, termed archaic hominin structural variants (AHSVs). AHSVs are significantly enriched in genes governing brain development and function, many of which are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders. We found that several AHSVs overlap with brain cis-regulatory elements (CREs). Furthermore, in three neural-related genes (PDE10A, RAPGEF4, and DCTN4), modern human-specific chromatin loop anchors coincide with deletions shared by archaic hominins, suggesting that AHSVs may have influenced three-dimensional chromatin architecture. Overall, this study expands our understanding of the adaptive evolution of the modern human brain.

Almond is one of the most important nut crops worldwide. In Italy, 96% of the national almond production is covered by the Southern regions. However, small resources of cultivated and wild trees are also found in central Italian regions like Abruzzo, Sardinia, and Marche. Exploratory missions throughout the Marche region revealed the presence of many local and uncharacterized almond genotypes. The aim of this study was to recover this germplasm and characterize it using molecular markers. The genetic analysis revealed a high genetic variation in Marche almond genotypes, which showed them to be genetically distinct from the Italian and international varieties. A great richness in private alleles was found in the Marche almond collection, supporting the uniqueness of this germplasm and the importance of this resource of genetic diversity for the development of conservation programs and the implementation of almond breeding activities.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a complex multisystem disorder requiring coordinated multidisciplinary care. This study aimed to develop consensus recommendations for NF1 management in the Asia-Pacific region. A modified Delphi process involving two survey rounds and a virtual meeting was conducted with experts from nine countries. A total of 141 statements were evaluated using a 9-point Likert scale with a 75% consensus threshold. Consensus was achieved across key domains including diagnosis, genetic testing, surveillance, and management. Experts emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary care, risk-adapted surveillance, and integration of genetic counseling and imaging in clinical practice. These findings provide regionally relevant guidance to support consistent and practical NF1 management across diverse healthcare systems.

In many Proteobacterial species, transcription and RNA degradation are physically separated through segregation of the main ribonucleolytic machinery-the RNA degradosome-into RNase E-driven membrane-anchored assemblies that form discrete foci. Despite widespread conservation of the amphipathic membrane-targeting sequence (MTS) in RNase E, its function and biological importance remain poorly understood. Here, we have investigated how the MTS contributes to bacterial virulence or stress response in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We show that membrane anchoring is dispensable for formation of RNA degradosome foci, but required for their proper morphology, dynamics, and localization, whereas the MTS sequence modulates foci behavior. Transcriptomic and mRNA spatial organization analyses further reveal specific stabilization of localized transcripts encoding membrane proteins in the MTS mutant, together with abnormal operon processing. Altogether, our study reveals the elegant MTS-mediated control of RNA degradosome spatial organization and target selection, shaping the transcriptome and bacterial stress responses.

Recycling lithium-ion batteries hinges on economically producing black mass-the electrode powder concentrate that feeds downstream metal recovery-yet public baselines pairing real process economics with environmental impacts remain scarce. Here we show that a purely mechanical flowsheet-shredding, zigzag air classification, and circular screen vibration-applied identically to two structurally distinct feedstocks recovers black mass at 93.28 wt % separation efficiency from electric-vehicle modules and 75.77 wt % from mobile phone cells. Built on measured pilot data, loaded processing costs of $0.31-0.73/kg yield net profits of $4.39-5.53/kg under realistic feedstock purchase prices, with a probability of unprofitability below 0.2% across simulated market scenarios. Life cycle assessment attributes most impacts to grid electricity, with a global warming potential of 0.210-0.241 kg CO₂ eq./kg input; a low-carbon grid cuts this by 62.8%. This paired baseline enables benchmarking of emerging recycling routes and supports circular battery supply chains.