Airborne microplastics in leaves and food safety risks.

Global plastic production has surged. Li et al. provide evidence of an important aspect of terrestrial plastic pollution, highlighting leaf absorption of airborne plastics as a major route into plants.

A single-cell atlas of the bobtail squid visual and nervous system highlights molecular principles of convergent evolution.

The cephalopod and vertebrate visual systems are a textbook example of convergent evolution with unknown molecular underpinnings. Here we characterize 98,537 single-cell transcriptomes in the bobtail squid Euprymna berryi to understand how the cephalopod retina and optic lobes relate to the vertebrate retina. We confirm the overall relative simplicity of the cephalopod retina but identify two related photoreceptor cell subtypes expressing distinct r-opsins.

Self-Assembly of a Customizable Library of Nickel Trifluoromethylation Catalysts via Selective C─F and C─O Bond Cleavage.

Using a combination of metal-promoted reactivity, in situ covalent bond modification, and hydrogen bonding-promoted fluorine labilization, a unified approach was developed to self-assemble a library of customizable ligand architectures directly at the nickel center via selective cleavage of C─F or C─O bonds and the formation of C─C or C─N bonds. As a result, a structurally diverse set of nickelacarbatrane and pincer complexes was obtained, including unsymmetrical and mixed-heterocyclic atranes and trifluoromethylated pincers that cannot be accessed by conventional organic synthetic methods or require multiple steps and a tedious and low-yielding separation. This suggests a possibility of a spontaneous generation of high-complexity structures from a commonly used metal precursor and simple N-heterocycle building blocks, despite commonly believed innocence of the C─F bonds, which may also generate catalytically active species.

Paper-based microfluidics: Analyte-driven imbibition under the lens.

Paper-based microfluidic devices are widely used in point-of-care diagnostics, yet the fundamental mechanisms governing analyte transport under partially saturated conditions remain insufficiently characterized. Here, we systematically investigate the concentration-dependent imbibition dynamics and particle trapping behavior of analyte/colloid-laden fluids in porous paper substrates. Using model food-dye colloids of varying particle sizes (∼0.

Quantum Size Effects on Andreev Transport in Nb/Au/Nb Josephson Junctions: A Combined Ab Initio and Experimental Study.

We have measured the critical current density, superconducting coherence length, and superconducting transition temperature of single-domain, epitaxially grown Nb(110)/Au(111)/Nb(110) trilayers, all of which show a nonmonotonic dependence on the thickness of the Au layer. These results are compared with the predictions of a relativistic, ab initio theory, which incorporates superconducting correlations. We find good agreement with experiment, coming from a rich interplay between superconducting proximity and quantum size effects, mediated by Andreev bound states.

Mechanoactivated Celite as a Catalyst for C‒H Bond Perfluoroalkylation and Other Radical Reactions.

Herein, we report that Celite (diatomaceous earth) commonly viewed as an innocent filter aid or support material, or Earth-abundant, non-toxic metal oxides are efficient mechanoactivated catalysts for arene and heteroarene C─H bond radical trifluoromethylation and pentafluoroethylation, with the activity comparable with previously reported mechanochemical methods utilizing piezoelectric materials. Celite was also applied for mechanochemical dibromination of a double bond with N-bromosuccinimide, eliminating the need to use of lithium titanate as a piezoelectric mechanoredox catalyst. Mechanoactivation via ball milling in the presence of minimal amount of solvent was crucial to observe the reactivity, while sonication or using a pre-ground suspension in a bulk solvent were not efficient.

Accelerated Pseudogenization in the Ancient Endosymbionts of Giant Scale Insects.

Symbiotic microorganisms are subject to a complex interplay of environmental and population-genetic pressures that drive their gene loss. Despite the widely held perception that ancient symbionts have stable genomes, even tiny genomes experience ongoing pseudogenization. Whether these tiny genomes also experience bursts of rapid gene loss is, however, less understood.

Phosphoinositides: Nanoscale Effects on Neuronal Membranes.

Phosphoinositides (PIs) are essential regulators of neuronal function, playing pivotal roles in processes such as synaptic transmission, membrane excitability, and long-term synaptic plasticity. The seven PI isoforms, including PI(4)P, PI(4,5)P, and PI(3,4,5)P, exhibit distinct subcellular distributions that are tightly regulated by specific kinases and phosphatases. These isoforms contribute to key neuronal processes by modulating protein interactions and signaling pathways.

Dynamic regulation of vesicle pools in a detailed spatial model of the complete synaptic vesicle cycle.

Synaptic transmission is driven by a complex cycle of vesicle docking, release, and recycling, maintained by distinct vesicle pools. However, the partitioning of vesicle pools and reserve pool recruitment remain poorly understood. We use a novel vesicle modeling technology to model the synaptic vesicle cycle in unprecedented molecular and spatial detail at a hippocampal synapse.

Decoupling both local and global abundance from global range size, challenging the abundance-occupancy relationship in birds.

In macroecology, a classic empirical observation has been positive relationships between local abundance and species' range, known as the abundance-occupancy relationships (AORs). The existence of this empirical relationship has informed both theory development and applied questions. Notably, the spatial neutral model of biodiversity predicts AORs.

Insights into the Red Seaweed Using an Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis.

The red seaweed (Bonnemaisoniaceae, Rhodophyta) produces a bioactive natural product, bromoform, which, when fed to ruminant livestock, can eradicate methane emissions. However, to cultivate enough to produce a yield that would have a meaningful impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, we need to advance our current understanding of the biology of this seaweed species. Here, we used both a domesticated diploid tetrasporophyte (>1.

Alternative Mutational Architectures Producing Identical M-Matrices can Lead to Different Patterns of Evolutionary Divergence.

Explaining macroevolutionary divergence in light of population genetics requires understanding the extent to which the patterns of mutational input contribute to long-term trends. In the context of quantitative traits, mutational input is typically described by the mutational variance-covariance matrix, the M-matrix, which summarizes phenotypic variances and covariances introduced by new mutations per generation. However, as a summary statistic, the M-matrix does not fully capture all the relevant information from the underlying mutational architecture, and there exist a myriad of possible underlying mutational architectures that give rise to the same M-matrix.

Sequencing of the chloroplast genome of Taimo, a paddy cultivar of Taro ( (L.) Schott) in the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Taimo is a paddy cultivar of Taro ( (L.) Schott) that is traditionally consumed in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Its origin remains unknown, although it has been identified as belonging to a haplotype commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions.

PCR-Based Genotyping of Zebrafish Genetic Mutants.

Zebrafish genetic mutants have emerged as a valuable model system for studying various aspects of disease and developmental biology. Mutant zebrafish embryos are generally identified based on phenotypic defects at later developmental stages, making it difficult to investigate underlying molecular mechanisms at earlier stages. This protocol presents a PCR-based genotyping method that enables the identification of wild-type, heterozygous, and homozygous zebrafish genetic mutants at any developmental stage, even when they are phenotypically indistinguishable.

Optical Neuroimage Studio (OptiNiSt): Intuitive, scalable, extendable framework for optical neuroimage data analysis.

Advancements in calcium indicators and optical techniques have made optical neural recording common in neuroscience. As data volumes grow, streamlining the analysis pipelines for image preprocessing, signal extraction, and subsequent neural activity analyses becomes essential. Challenges in analysis includes 1) ensuring data quality of original and processed data at each step, 2) selecting optimal algorithms and their parameters from numerous options, each with its own pros and cons, by implementing or installing them manually, 3) systematically recording each analysis step for reproducibility, and 4) adopting standard data formats for data sharing and meta-analyses.

Time-Domain Visualization of Electron-Phonon Coupling in Nanographenes.

Coherent molecular vibrations determine many molecular properties like intersystem crossing or intramolecular charge transfer, holding potential for developing systems with vibrationally controlled electronic dynamics and reactivity. Research efforts have been focused mainly on localized vibrational modes, leaving collective vibrational modes widely unexplored despite their prominent role in driving molecular dynamics. Besides, the lower intensity associated to collective vibrational modes and their low frequency makes their study a demanding task.

Chromosomal capture of beneficial genes drives plasmids toward ecological redundancy.

Plasmids are a ubiquitous feature of bacterial genomes, but the forces driving genes and phenotypes to become associated with plasmids are poorly understood. To address this problem, we compared the fitness effects of chromosomal and plasmid genes in the plant symbiont Rhizobium leguminosarum. The relative abundance of beneficial genes on plasmids was very low compared to the chromosome across niches that reflect key steps in plant colonization.

Coherence resonance in a nonlinear aeroelastic system.

This study is a novel attempt to investigate and establish coherence resonance in a nonlinear aeroelastic system under additive Gaussian white noise. It offers a fresh perspective compared to the earlier studies in this field, which mostly focused on the undesirable disordered responses due to noise, while the present study explores the ability of noise to induce "order" in the system. The baseline deterministic model considered is a classical representative of a fluid-structure interaction system displaying subcritical Hopf bifurcation and is well-studied due to its engineering relevance.

Cell biology of astrocytic adhesive interactions and signaling pathways in regulating neuronal circuits.

Astrocytes have attracted attention for their crucial roles in various brain functions. Yet a gap remains in our understanding. The cellular and molecular basis by which astrocytes interact with neuronal circuits are not clear, and how astrocytes leverage their hallmark morphology dominated by intricate processes in implementing their functions require consideration.

Suppressed Defects and Improved Stability of All-Inorganic CsSnI Films by Solid Additive-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition Process.

All-inorganic Sn-based halide perovskite CsSnI is a promising candidate for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) owing to its narrower bandgap (≈1.3 eV) and lower toxicity as compared with traditional organic-inorganic hybrid Pb-based counterparts. However, CsSnI rapidly degrades in ambient air and simultaneously generates intrinsic defect states, thus seriously impairing the optoelectronic property of the film, as well as the corresponding device performance.

Coastal oceanographic connectivity at the global scale: a dataset of pairwise probabilities and travel times derived from biophysical modeling.

Ocean currents are fundamental drivers of marine biodiversity distribution, mediating the exchange of genetic material and individuals between populations. Their effect ranges from creating barriers that foster isolation to facilitating long-distance dispersal, which is crucial for species expansion and resilience in the face of climate change. Despite the significance of oceanographic connectivity, comprehensive global estimates remain elusive, hindering our understanding of species' dispersal ecology and limiting the development of effective conservation strategies.

On-Surface Synthesis of Nanographenes Through Domino Cyclization Reactions.

On-surface synthesis has emerged as a powerful method to synthesize nanographenes that are difficult to obtain through the solution chemistry, but the number of available reactions is still highly limited. In this study, we demonstrate an unprecedented on-surface domino cyclization of bis{2-(7-formylnaphthalen-2-yl)phenyl}diacetylene, leading to dibenzo[hi,st]ovalene and peryleno[2,1,12,11-fghij]pentaphene through a sequence of 1) cycloisomerization of diaryldiacetylene moieties, 2) oxidative cyclodehydrogenation, and 3) reductive cyclization of formyl groups. The structures of these nanographenes and other cyclized products were unambiguously elucidated by using scanning tunneling microscopy directly on Au(111).

Agouti and BMP signaling drive a naturally occurring fate conversion of melanophores to leucophores in zebrafish.

The often-distinctive pigment patterns of vertebrates are varied in form and function and depend on several types of pigment cells derived from embryonic neural crest or latent stem cells of neural crest origin. These cells and the patterns they produce have been useful for uncovering features of differentiation and morphogenesis that underlie adult phenotypes, and they offer opportunities to discover how patterns and the cell types themselves have diversified. In zebrafish, a body pattern of stripes arises by self-organizing interactions among three types of pigment cells.

Synaptic vesicle fusion promotes phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate synthesis for efficient synaptic transmission.

Efficient synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling is essential for sustaining synaptic transmission. While the multiple roles of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P) in SV recycling are well documented, presynaptic regulation of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) synthesis and its potential role in SV recycling remain poorly understood. Here, we identify phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIIα (PI4KIIIα) as the key enzyme responsible for both the maintenance and activity-dependent production of presynaptic PI(4)P.