Aberrant innate immune response in lethal infection of macaques with the 1918 influenza virus

The 1918 influenza pandemic was unusually severe, resulting in about 50 million deaths worldwide. The 1918 virus is also highly pathogenic in mice, and studies have identified a multigenic origin of this virulent phenotype in mice. However, these initial characterizations of the 1918 virus did not address the question of its pathogenic potential in primates. Here we demonstrate that the 1918 virus caused a highly pathogenic respiratory infection in a cynomolgus macaque model that culminated in acute respiratory distress and a fatal outcome. Furthermore, infected animals mounted an immune response, characterized by dysregulation of the antiviral response, that was insufficient for protection, indicating that atypical host innate immune responses may contribute to lethality. The ability of influenza viruses to modulate host immune responses, such as that demonstrated for the avian H5N1 influenza viruses, may be a feature shared by the virulent influenza viruses.     

Increased subaerial volcanism and the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.5 billion years ago

The hypothesis that the establishment of a permanently oxygenated atmosphere at the Archaean-Proterozoic transition (approximately 2.5 billion years ago) occurred when oxygen-producing cyanobacteria evolved is contradicted by biomarker evidence for their presence in rocks 200 million years older. To sustain vanishingly low oxygen levels despite near-modern rates of oxygen production from approximately 2.7-2.5 billion years ago thus requires that oxygen sinks must have been much larger than they are now. Here we propose that the rise of atmospheric oxygen occurred because the predominant sink for oxygen in the Archaean era-enhanced submarine volcanism-was abruptly and permanently diminished during the Archaean-Proterozoic transition. Observations are consistent with the corollary that subaerial volcanism only became widespread after a major tectonic episode of continental stabilization at the beginning of the Proterozoic. Submarine volcanoes are more reducing than subaerial volcanoes, so a shift from predominantly submarine to a mix of subaerial and submarine volcanism more similar to that observed today would have reduced the overall sink for oxygen and led to the rise of atmospheric oxygen.     

A molecular information ratchet

Motor proteins and other biological machines are highly efficient at converting energy into directed motion and driving chemical systems away from thermodynamic equilibrium. But even though these biological structures have inspired the design of many molecules that mimic aspects of their behaviour, artificial nanomachine systems operate almost exclusively by moving towards thermodynamic equilibrium, not away from it. Here we show that information about the location of a macrocycle in a rotaxane-a molecular ring threaded onto a molecular axle-can be used, on the input of light energy, to alter the kinetics of the shuttling of the macrocycle between two compartments on the axle. For an ensemble of such molecular machines, the macrocycle distribution is directionally driven away from its equilibrium value without ever changing the relative binding affinities of the ring for the different parts of the axle. The selective transport of particles between two compartments by brownian motion in this way bears similarities to the hypothetical task performed without an energy input by a 'demon' in Maxwell's famous thought experiment. Our observations demonstrate that synthetic molecular machines can operate by an information ratchet mechanism, in which knowledge of a particle's position is used to control its transport away from equilibrium.     

Different responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community to day-time and night-time warming in a semiarid steppe

Arbuscular mycorrhizal （AM） fungi form mutualistic symbioses with most plant species and play important roles in ecosystems. Knowledge of the response of AM fungi to temperature change will improve our under- standing of the function of AM fungal community under global climate change scenarios in ecosystems. The effects of constant warming on AM fungal communities have been investigated previously, but responses to asymmetrical warming over 24-h periods have never been documented in natural ecosystems. In this study, we examined AM fungal communities in a full factorial design including day-time and night-time warming in a semiarid steppe in northern China. Day-time and 24-h warming, but not night-time warming, significantly increased AM fungal spore density. In contrast, none of the three warming regimes had a sig- nificant effect on AM fungal extra radical hyphal density. A total of 161 operational taxonomic units （OTUs） of AM fungi were recovered by 454 pyrosequencing of 18S rDNA. Day-time, night-time, and 24-h warming all significantly increased AM fungal OTU richness. Some AM fungal OTUs showed a significant bias toward day-time, night-time or 24-h warming. The AM fungal community composition was significantly affected by night-time warming, but not by day-time and 24-h warming. Our finding highlighted dif- ferent responses of AM fungal spore density and community composition to asymmetrical warming. This study might improve our understanding of ecosystem functioning of AM fungal community under global climate change scenarios in a semiarid steppe ecosystem.     

Recent advances in brown adipose tissue biology

In mammals, white adipose tissue （WAT） store energy, whereas brown adipose tissue （BAT） burns energy. As a thermogenic organ, BAT can help maintain body temperature during cold exposure. Owing to its important roles in energy metabolism and regulating triacylglycerol levels, BAT has received great attention in treating obesity and its related diseases. Recent studies have suggested that BAT may secrete factor（s）—batokines—to regulate whole- body energy metabolism. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the formation and function of BAT, as well as molecules that regulate the activity of BAT and beige fat.     

缪子：通往新物理的门户

2021年4月7日,美国费米实验室缪子反常磁矩(Muon g-2)国际合作组发布了最新的实验测量结果。结合美国布鲁克海文实验室15年前的实验值,目前缪子反常磁矩最新的实验平均值与标准模型预言值有4.2个标准方差的差异,强烈暗示超越标准模型物理的存在。文章通过介绍基本粒子磁矩的研究历史,希望帮助读者加深对缪子反常磁矩和高精度前沿相关研究的了解和认识。     

Dynamical theory of spectroscopy with pulse excitation

In the coupling system, the dynamical theory of Raman spectroscopy with pulse excitation was developed, and applied to the continuum Raman of IBr. The structure of Raman excitation profile of IBr was explained, which does not follow the new reflection principle.