- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026.
- by Iris PrigentCharles MullonaDepartment of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, SwitzerlandProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceA central question in evolutionary biology is why variation in traits that affect fitness persists within populations. Here we consider the role of ecological inheritance, whereby organisms modify their local environment and pass these …
- by Mark P. LynchSimon K. SchnyderJohn J. MolinaRyoichi YamamotoMatthew S. TurneraDepartment of Mathematics, Mathematics for Real-World Systems Centre for Doctoral Training, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United KingdombInstitute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8505, JapancDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, JapandDepartment of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United KingdomeInstitute for Global Pandemic Planning, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United KingdomProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceThe question of whether to social distance when infected with a dangerous disease can be viewed as a problem in game theory. We find that such behavior is only rational for individuals with a minimum level of altruism, quantifying how much …
- by Samuel J. SennekaMaria C. DadarlataWeldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceMultisensory integration of visual and proprioceptive information facilitates accurate and precise movements. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) elicits perceptions that could supplement visual information for patients controlling a …
- by Shuang SongXihao LiHufeng ZhouZilin LiXihong LinaDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115bDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599cDepartment of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599dDepartment of Statistics, School of Mathematics and Statistics and Key Laboratory of Applied Statistics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, ChinaeDepartment of Statistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceRare variants (RV) identified through whole genome sequencing hold great promise for elucidating the genetic basis of disease onset, but existing methods for RV association testing are not well suited for time-to-event phenotypes. Here, we …
- by Zimo HuangJames A. BisbyNeil BurgessDaniel BushaDepartment of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United KingdombDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London W1T 7BN, United KingdomcUCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United KingdomdUCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United KingdomeWellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United KingdomProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceHuman behavior often relies on executing specific sequences of actions to achieve desired outcomes—like planning the series of locations one needs to pass through to reach a given destination. However, the neural mechanisms underlying …
- by Bin DingXun WuSiyi HuangYe XuYuxuan JiangXiaoyan LiHuajian GaoaNational Key Laboratory of Strength and Structural Integrity, Institute of Solid Mechanics, School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinabSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinacMechano-X Institute, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceUnlike crystals, amorphous solids lack long-range order and thus a universal structural descriptor for characterizing intrinsic disorder. We introduce a structural disorder function,Sd(r), which quantifies local symmetry breaking directly …
- by Shixin TangJun ZhangZhenghai HeGang LiuShenyou NieXingyang ShiKun ZhangDandan PiXiao GuiYi HeShuang ZhaoZhihui LiuLejiao MaoYu JiangMingjun WuJu CaoJingfu QiuChengzhi ChenZhen ZouaDepartment of Health Laboratory Technology, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinabDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinacDepartment of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinadDepartment of Emergency, The University-Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401331, ChinaeBasic Medicine Research and Innovation Center for Novel Target and Therapeutic Intervention (Ministry of Education), Department of Urology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Pharmacy, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinafDepartment of Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, ChinagDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The University-Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401331, ChinahInnovation Centre of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinaiDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinajDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, ChinakWestern Institute of Digital-Intelligent Medicine, Chongqing 401329, ChinaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceAcute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are life-threatening clinical conditions for which no effective pharmacotherapies are currently available. This study reveals that the probioticLactobacillusjohnsonii(L. …
- by Hyun Seung JungHengzhou LiuZeyan LiuTaehee KimJi-Yoon SongGuangcan SuJaerim KimHuajie ZeKe XieEdward H. SargentaDepartment of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208bDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceElectrochemical methods that directly release CO2from direct-air-capture liquids offer a promising route toward low-carbon industrial cycles but are often hindered by high energy demand and complex gas separation. We report a two-stage …
- by Lei ShiMĂ©riem SenissarKirsten LeistnerCarsten JersIvan MijakovicaSystems and Synthetic Biology Division, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg 41296, SwedenbThe Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby 2800, DenmarkcThe MathWorks Aktiebolag, Gothenburg 41755, SwedenProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceOur understanding of the transition from prebiotic to biotic evolution and the formation of living cells is incomplete. Some theories propose that RNA molecules with catalytic properties were the key in this transition, ensuring that early …
- by Bingkai ChengYanan LiYi ZhaoYuting ZhangXia ZhangLishuang ChenHao YangXiaoxuan SongZhiyun RenCong LiuJingdong XueBing LiChao LiuWei LiBo SunaSchool of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, ChinabSchool of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinacCenter for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, ChinadCollege of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaeInterdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201210, ChinafDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, ChinagGuangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510623, ChinaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceDuring meiosis, cells must accurately find matching DNA sequences to repair breaks. How this “homology search” works has been unclear. Using optical tweezers-based single-molecule imaging, we show that the recombination protein DMC1, when …
- by Prajwal B. PrakashFernando A. EscobedoaRobert Fredrick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceCrystallization from a disordered particle suspension often proceeds through complex kinetic pathways involving transient metastable states that facilitate hierarchal structural organization. This work quantitatively tests a nanoparticle …
- by Madison LoveRichard C. DangJian XiePengwei ZhangaDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198bDepartment of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceAfter endocytosis, newly formed early endosomes fuse to generate larger early endosomes, which subsequently mature into late endosomes. Many viruses exploit this pathway to hijack the endosomal network and reach intracellular replication …
- by Alexander F. GazmararianNathan M. JensenDustin TingleyaDepartment of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109bDepartment of Government, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712cDepartment of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceThe Biden Administration enacted over $198 billion in clean energy and manufacturing incentives, with the expectation that delivering material economic benefits could yield political dividends. This nationwide study examines whether these …
- by Yufeng ZhangYanzheng DuXiao WanMeng AnAoran FanFengyi LiWeigang MaXing ZhangaKey Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceThe miniaturization of electronics has enabled the development of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructures as fundamental components for post-Moore nanoelectronics. However, their practical application can be limited by a critical …
- by Andrej VilfanLeila AbbaspourStefano VillaVahid NasirimarekaniaDepartment of Condensed Matter Physics, JoĹľef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana 1000, SloveniabLaboratory for Fluid Physics, Pattern Formation and Biocomplexity (LFPB), Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen 37077, GermanyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceFilamentous cyanobacteria use gliding motility to move along solid surfaces. They can respond to environmental stimuli by reversing the direction of motion. Our study reveals an additional mechanism by which gliding cyanobacteria can steer …
- by Lukas J. EvansRuqiang ZhangMaria Camila MedinaElizabeth A. FitzgeraldAnne W. SylvesterGeorge ChuckSamuel LeiboffMichael J. ScanlonaPlant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853bDepartment of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvalis, OR 97331cMarine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 03543dDepartment of Plant Biology/Gene Expression Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceDevelopmental boundaries are conserved features of plant and animal morphogenesis, comprising cellular borders separating two tissue-types that eventually acquire distinct cell fates. In grass leaves, specialized tissues form at the boundary …
- by Chethan K. KrishnaStefan GaussmannHirak DasMartin JungSilke OeljeklausMichael SattlerBettina WarscheidVishal C. KalelRalf ErdmannaDepartment of Systems Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum 44780, GermanybInstitute of Structural Biology, Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg 85764, GermanycBavarian Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center and Department of Bioscience, Technical University Munich School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching 85748, GermanydBiochemistry II, Theodor Boveri-Institute, Biocenter Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of WĂĽrzburg, WĂĽrzburg 97074, GermanyeDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saarland University, Homburg 66421, GermanyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceNeglected tropical diseases affect over 1.5 billion people worldwide, with trypanosomatid parasites responsible for three major diseases: African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis. These parasites rely on glycosomes, …
- by Guobin WenHaiqi LiangShuxuan LiuNingce ZhangShuai ChenGuoqiang ShenTehua WangRu ChenLi TaoBohua RenShuangyin WangaState Key Laboratory of Chemo and Biosensing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, ChinabCollege of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, ChinaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. SignificanceHeavy water is crucial for next-generation nuclear fusion energy and fundamental research, while current methods for producing it are energy-intensive. Electrochemical hydrogen isotope separation technology offers a scalable and clean route; …
- by Jasmin Abdel GhanyAasli A. NurKerry L. D. MacQuarrieJoshua WildeElizabeth A. SullyMahesh KarraUrsula GazeleyBen M. JohnLivia MontanaaNuffield Department of Population Health, Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1JD, United KingdombNuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1NF, United KingdomcDepartment of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1JD, United KingdomdIndependent contributor, Falls Church, Virginia, VA 22046eMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, GermanyfPopulation Research Center, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201gIZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn 53113, GermanyhGuttmacher Institute, New York, NY 10038iHeilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032jDepartment of Sociology and Population Studies, University of Malawi, Zomba, MalawikHubert Department of Global Health, Emory Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA 30329lCenter for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Washington, DC 20036Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026.
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