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N-Terminal Actin-Binding Site of Lmod2 Promotes Controlled Pointed End Elongation

Larrinaga & colleagues discovered how a heart muscle protein fine-tunes muscle contraction by acting like a “leaky cap” & controlling how important muscle fiber components (actin filaments) grow. Learn how disrupting this control causes actin filaments to grow unusually long, perturbing the beating of the heart at.

BACKGROUND: Lmods (leiomodins) are critical for the assembly and maintenance of thin filaments in striated muscles by allowing thin filament elongation at the pointed ends. Lmod2’s elongation function has been linked to both actin-binding sites (ABSs) 2 and 3, while the existence and function of an N-terminal ABS1 has been debated. METHODS: To elucidate the little-known role of Lmod2’s ABS1, we created a mutant (F64D/L69D/W72D/W73D: Lmod2-quadruple mutant) predicted to decrease the binding of ABS1 to actin. We analyzed the effect of the mutations using several in vitro, cellular, and in vivo assays. RESULTS: By disrupting the interaction of Lmod2 ABS1 with actin in isolated cardiomyocytes and in mice, we engineered a super Lmod2 that results in remarkably longer thin filaments.

Metasurface-based SLM could enhance AR, VR and LiDAR performance

Many cutting-edge technologies, ranging from augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems, rely on components that enable the precise control of light. These components include so-called spatial light modulators (SLMs), systems that dynamically adjust the position of a light wave within its cycle (i.e., phase), as well as its amplitude or direction across several pixels.

Conventional SLMs rely on liquid crystals, materials in a state of matter at the intersection between solid and liquid. While these components are widely used, they typically struggle to reach the speed and pixel density required to create high-quality three-dimensional (3D) images known as holographs.

Researchers at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and other institutes recently developed a new metasurface, an ultrathin and nano-engineered surface, that could be used to produce dynamic and high-quality holographic images in real time, with a remarkable definition. The new metasurface, introduced in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, was used to create a SLM that could be used to enhance the performance of AR, VR, and LiDAR technology.

Promoters and enhancers: Tool catches gene-controlling DNA sequences doing each other’s jobs

Researchers at the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology have uncovered new evidence that two major types of gene-controlling DNA sequences, promoters and enhancers, operate with a shared logic and often perform the same jobs. The finding, made possible through a high-throughput assay they developed called QUASARR-seq, could reshape how scientists design gene therapies, interpret disease-related mutations, and understand cancer genetics.

New research from the lab of Haiyuan Yu, Tisch University Professor of Computational Biology at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and faculty at the Weill Institute, reveals that drawing a distinction between the two classes gene controllers may be too black and white—they seem to respond to the same biological rules and act in concert.

In a study published in Nature Communications on Jan. 30 and led by Mauricio Paramo, a graduate student at the Weill Institute, the team developed a technology capable of measuring an element’s promoter and enhancer activity simultaneously, in close collaboration with the lab of John Lis, Barbara McClintock Professor of Molecular Biology & Genetics. This is significant because, until now, most technologies could measure only one function at a time, leaving open the question of whether—and how—the two activities interact inside the same DNA sequence.

How a common fungus outsmarts drugs and our immune system

Our bodies are home to millions of fungi that, for the most part, are completely harmless. However, they can sometimes change from peaceful residents into dangerous invaders. One such is Candida parapsilosis, which normally lives on our skin or in our intestinal tract but can also be found on medical devices and hospital surfaces. If it gets into a wound or onto a catheter, it can cause a serious blood infection.

Treatments typically include a class of medicines called echinocandins, but the fungus is increasingly developing resistance to them. In a new study published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, scientists describe how it can resist our strongest drugs and evade the immune system—by undergoing cell wall remodeling.

The researchers collected four separate samples of the fungus at different stages of a persistent blood infection. They were taken from a patient who was undergoing treatment with echinocandins but was failing to get better.

Dynamical freezing can protect quantum information for near-cosmic timescales

Preserving quantum information is key to developing useful quantum computing systems. But interacting quantum systems are chaotic and follow laws of thermodynamics, eventually leading to information loss. Physicists have long known of a strange exception, called dynamical freezing, when quantum systems shaken at precisely tuned frequencies evade these laws. But how long can this phenomenon postpone thermodynamics?

Not forever, but for an astonishingly long time, Cornell physicists have determined, giving the first quantitative answer. Using a new mathematical framework, they demonstrate that the frozen state can be stabilized long enough to be a useful strategy for preserving information in quantum systems. This can be a promising route for maintaining coherence in quantum computers as the numbers of qubits scale up to the millions.

“It’s like asking, how do you evade the laws of physics from eventually taking over?” said Debanjan Chowdhury, associate professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Imagine that you had a hot cup of coffee that even without a heater, stayed hot. Or a block of ice placed on a heater that never melts. Is that even possible? This has been one of the big open problems in the field of quantum many-body systems.”

The screech of peeling sticky tape conceals a rapid train of tiny shockwaves, ultrafast imaging shows

A new experiment has uncovered the mechanism responsible for the screeching sound made by peeling sticky tape. Using a combination of ultrafast imaging and synchronized acoustic recordings, Sigurdur Thoroddsen and colleagues at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have shown that the noise is produced by a rapid train of tiny shockwaves, released through a specialized form of stick–slip motion. The research is published in Physical Review E.

If you’ve ever used sticky tape, you’ll probably be all too familiar with the harsh sound it makes as it peels away from a surface. Yet despite decades of experimental scrutiny, physicists have yet to fully explain the origins of this intriguing acoustic effect.

Previous studies established that peeling proceeds via a “stick–slip” mechanism—a jerky motion characterized by brief, rapid accelerations interrupted by sudden stops. Similar dynamics underpin phenomena ranging from earthquakes to the squeak of basketball shoes on a polished wooden court. However, the fine details of how this process unfolds in peeling tape turned out to be more complex than they first appeared.

Cooling without gases: Molecular design brings solid-state cooling closer to reality

Some solid materials can cool down or heat up when pressure is applied or released. This behavior enables cooling and heating technologies that do not rely on climate-damaging refrigerant gases. In practice, however, a major obstacle remains: many materials behave differently during heating and cooling, which makes their response difficult to use reliably in real devices. In a study published in the journal Communications Materials, researchers investigate a solid material known for its exceptionally large cooling/heating response (thermal response) under pressure and ask a simple question: can this response be made more reliable? They show that a very small change in composition leads to a clear improvement and use neutron experiments to explain why this improvement occurs.

Putting sports stats to the test: Unpredictable play helps pick a winner in soccer

A comprehensive game plan and strategic tactics are critical to winning soccer, but how much does a team’s unpredictability in moving the soccer ball around the pitch matter? In a new article published in PLOS One, an international team of researchers analyzed event data from top-tier association soccer competitions to provide insights into match analysis, player tactics and game strategy.

“Soccer is low-scoring, so a couple of moments can swing a match, and simple statistics like possession or shot counts do not always capture who performed better. Our approach measures how unpredictably and widely a team moves the ball across a match,” says Dr. Sergiy Shelyag, Associate Professor in Applied Mathematics and Data Science at Flinders University.

We found that ‘all zones count’ metric, the one that values every region of the field equally, including rarely used areas, aligns best with winning.

InN thin films show transient Pauli blocking for broadband ultrafast optical switching

Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in high-intensity laser technology. The combination of laser irradiation and novel materials is opening exciting avenues for the design of functional materials and devices. Semiconductors are ideal platforms for generating laser-driven functionalities because they can exhibit novel features such as ultrafast optical transparency. This effect arises from electronic occupation redistribution driven by ultrafast excitation, which manifests as a phenomenon called transient Pauli blocking.

In a new development, a team of researchers in Japan, led by Professor Junjun Jia from the Global Center for Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at Waseda University, has examined the transient Pauli blocking effect in an InN film.

The study utilized pump-probe transient transmittance measurements with multicolor probe lasers, alongside first-principles electronic band-structure calculations. Their findings are published in Physical Review B.

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