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Sep 4, 2024 | 
nature.com | Manisha Jalan |Aman Sharma |Xin Pei |Yingjie Zhu |Melody Di Bona |Nadeem Riaz
AbstractCollisions of the transcription and replication machineries on the same DNA strand can pose a significant threat to genomic stability. These collisions occur in part due to the formation of RNA-DNA hybrids termed R-loops, in which a newly transcribed RNA molecule hybridizes with the DNA template strand. This study investigated the role of RAD52, a known DNA repair factor, in preventing collisions by directing R-loop formation and resolution.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Richard J. Conk
AbstractThe selective conversion of polyethylene, polypropylene, and mixtures of the two polymers to form products with high volume demand is urgently needed because current methods suffer from low selectivity, produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, or rely on expensive, single-use catalysts.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Konstantina Agiadi
Editor’s summaryThe disconnection of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic in the late Miocene 5 to 6 million years ago led to the sea’s nearly complete desiccation, leaving only a few hypersaline lakes similar to the present-day Dead Sea. There is a mass of data from both the geological and modern biological records that tracks this crisis and its legacy. Agiadi et al.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Jonathan Benn
Editor’s summaryProtein aggregates are the major cause of neuronal death in many neurodegenerative disorders. However, in the nonaggregate form, the same proteins play important physiological roles. Benn et al. developed a strategy to target intracellular protein aggregates while sparing the monomeric form. Exploiting the clustering-dependent activation of TRIM21, the authors generated degraders combining the RING domain of TRIM21 with a target-specific nanobody.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Yuanyuan Wang
AbstractDespite continuous expansion of the RNA-binding protein (RBP) world, there is a lack of systematic understanding of RBPs in mammalian testis, which harbors one of the most complex tissue transcriptomes. We adapted RNA interactome capture to mouse male germ cells, building an RBP atlas characterized by multiple layers of dynamics along spermatogenesis.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Mauro Spennacchio
Editor’s summaryBroad classes of fluorocarbon compounds are provoking growing concerns over their combination of toxicity and environmental persistence. Fluorinated substituents nonetheless continue to play a critical role in pharmaceuticals. It is therefore increasingly important to incorporate these substituents with maximal efficiency and minimal residual fluorinated waste. Spennacchio et al.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt
AbstractReverse transcription has frequently been co-opted for cellular functions and in prokaryotes is associated with protection against viral infection, but the underlying mechanisms of defense are generally unknown. Here, we show that in the DRT2 defense system the reverse transcriptase binds a neighboring pseudoknotted noncoding RNA.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Maria C. Tello-Ramos
Editor’s summaryHumans are well known to have architectural traditions. Especially before globalization, houses in one country could be very different in form from those in another despite their analogous functions, reflecting local cultural trends in design and building. Humans are not the only animal known to have culture and to build. Tello-Ramos et al. show that white-browed sparrow weavers also display cultural traditions in the structures of their communally built nests.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Panpan Li
Editor’s summaryAdaptable control over the disposition of groups at each end of a carbon-carbon double bond remains a challenge in chemical synthesis. In the E configuration, the largest groups are diagonally opposed, whereas in the Z configuration, they’re on the same side. Li et al. paired up copper and palladium catalysts to deliver either E- or Z-configured double bonds in unnatural amino acids, depending on the ligand choice.
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Aug 29, 2024 | 
science.org | Sara Martin |Melody Di Bona |Michael P. Fatt |Guy Oren
Editor’s summaryThe ability to vocally label other individuals from your species and to learn these labels from others is a high-level cognitive function. Previously, this behavior has only been known to exist in humans, dolphins, and some parrot species. Oren et al. applied machine learning tools and real-time playback experiments to analyze naturally occurring “phee-call” dialogues between pairs of marmoset monkeys. Marmosets used these vocalizations to label their conspecifics.
