ECOLOGY Correction for “Backbones of evolutionary history test biodiversity theory for microbes,” by James P. O’Dwyer, Steven W. Kembel, and Thomas J. Sharpton, which appeared in issue 27, July 7, 2015, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (112:8356–8361; first published June 23, 2015; 10.1073/pnas.1419341112). The authors note that, due to...

NEUROSCIENCE, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES Correction for “Purkinje cell activity during classical conditioning with different conditional stimulus explains central tenet of Rescorla–Wagner model,” by Anders Rasmussen, Riccardo Zucca, Fredrik Johansson, Dan-Anders Jirenhed, and Germund Hesslow, which appeared in issue 45, November 10, 2015, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (112:14060–14065;...

Actin is the most common intracellular protein in eukaryotic cells, with estimates for nonmuscle cells generally ranging from 1–5% of cellular protein (1). Until fairly recently, actin was widely regarded as a ubiquitous and rather humdrum molecule. However, accumulating research is increasingly pointing to a crucial role of impaired actin...

Bowen and Casadevall (1) offer data suggesting that research inputs have not been associated with comparable increases in health outcomes over the past five decades. However, their analysis treats biomedical research the same, regardless of whether the research focuses on early phases, (i.e., basic discovery) or late phases, (i.e., comparative...

We thank Kevin Fiscella for his comments (1) on our report (2). Biomedical science is generally broken into early phases, consisting of basic research and applied translational research or therapeutic development, and late phases, including comparative effectiveness, implementation, and dissemination research (3). Fiscella describes the importance of late-phase research in...

We read with interest the excellent publication by DiGiulio et al. (1), which offers some fascinating insight into the composition and stability of the vaginal bacterial microbiome during pregnancy. Our initial impression, which we suspect would be shared by most readers, is that the study provides evidence supporting the concept...

We thank Keelan and Payne (1) for their interest in our work (2). Their letter emphasizes intrauterine infection as a potential mechanistic link between the vaginal microbiota and preterm birth. Although we share their view of ascending infection as a possible mechanism, we don’t consider it to be the only...

Microtubules (MTs) are hollow cytoskeletal filaments assembled from αβ-tubulin heterodimers. Tau, an unstructured protein found in neuronal axons, binds to MTs and regulates their dynamics. Aberrant Tau behavior is associated with neurodegenerative dementias, including Alzheimer’s. Here, we report on a direct force measurement between paclitaxel-stabilized MTs coated with distinct Tau...

The organization of membranes, the cytosol, and the nucleus of eukaryotic cells can be controlled through phase separation of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Collective interactions of multivalent molecules mediated by modular binding domains can induce gelation and phase separation in several cytosolic and membrane-associated systems. The adaptor protein Nck...

Actin filament networks assemble on cellular membranes in response to signals that locally activate neural Wiskott–Aldrich-syndrome protein (N-WASP) and the Arp2/3 complex. An inactive conformation of N-WASP is stabilized by intramolecular contacts between the GTPase binding domain (GBD) and the C helix of the verprolin-homology, connector-helix, acidic motif (VCA) segment....

The dicistrovirus intergenic region internal ribosome entry site (IRES) adopts a triple-pseudoknotted RNA structure and occupies the core ribosomal E, P, and A sites to directly recruit the ribosome and initiate translation at a non-AUG codon. A subset of dicistrovirus IRESs directs translation in the 0 and +1 frames to...

We recently used in situ Hi-C to create kilobase-resolution 3D maps of mammalian genomes. Here, we combine these maps with new Hi-C, microscopy, and genome-editing experiments to study the physical structure of chromatin fibers, domains, and loops. We find that the observed contact domains are inconsistent with the equilibrium state...

The major underpinning of massive cell death associated with myocardial infarction involves opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), resulting in disruption of mitochondria membrane integrity and programmed necrosis. Studies in human lymphocytes suggested that the hematopoietic-substrate-1 associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) is linked to regulation of mitochondrial membrane function,...

Lung adenocarcinoma, a major form of non-small cell lung cancer, is the leading cause of cancer deaths. The Cancer Genome Atlas analysis of lung adenocarcinoma has identified a large number of previously unknown copy number alterations and mutations, requiring experimental validation before use in therapeutics. Here, we describe an shRNA-mediated...

Defects in the innate immune system in the lung with attendant bacterial infections contribute to lung tissue damage, respiratory insufficiency, and ultimately death in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF). Professional phagocytes, including alveolar macrophages (AMs), have specialized pathways that ensure efficient killing of pathogens in phagosomes. Phagosomal acidification facilitates...

Tsetse flies are the cyclical vectors of deadly human and animal trypanosomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Tsetse control is a key component for the integrated management of both plagues, but local eradication successes have been limited to less than 2% of the infested area. This is attributed to either resurgence of...

A scientist’s choice of research problem affects his or her personal career trajectory. Scientists’ combined choices affect the direction and efficiency of scientific discovery as a whole. In this paper, we infer preferences that shape problem selection from patterns of published findings and then quantify their efficiency. We represent research...

Pathological changes in excitability of cortical tissue commonly underlie the initiation and spread of seizure activity in patients suffering from epilepsy. Accordingly, monitoring excitability and controlling its degree using antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is of prime importance for clinical care and treatment. To date, adequate measures of excitability and action of...

G-quadruplex structures formed by guanine-rich nucleic acids are implicated in essential physiological and pathological processes and nanodevices. G-quadruplexes are normally composed of four Gn (n ≥ 3) tracts assembled into a core of multiple stacked G-quartet layers. By dimethyl sulfate footprinting, circular dichroism spectroscopy, thermal melting, and photo-cross-linking, here we...

Small RNA pathways are important players in posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. These pathways play important roles in all aspects of cellular physiology from development to fertility to innate immunity. However, almost nothing is known about the regulation of the central genes in these pathways. The forkhead box O (FOXO)...