| 31. |
- Aplin, Lucy M., et al.
(författare)
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Experimentally induced innovations lead to persistent culture via conformity in wild birds
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7540, s. 538-541
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In human societies, cultural norms arise when behaviours are transmitted through social networks via high-fidelity social learning'. However, a paucity of experimental studies has meant that there is no comparable understanding of the process by which socially transmitted behaviours might spread and persist in animal populations'''. Here we show experimental evidence of the establishment of foraging traditions in a wild bird population. We introduced alternative novel foraging techniques into replicated wild sub-populations of great tits (Parus major) and used automated tracking to map the diffusion, establishment and long-term persistence of the seeded innovations. Furthermore, we used social network analysis to examine the social factors that influenced diffusion dynamics. From only two trained birds in each sub-population, the information spread rapidly through social network ties, to reach an average of 75% of individuals, with a total of 414 knowledgeable individuals performing 57,909 solutions over all replicates. The sub-populations were heavily biased towards using the technique that was originally introduced, resulting in established local traditions that were stable over two generations, despite a high population turnover. Finally, we demonstrate a strong effect of social conformity, with individuals disproportionately adopting the most frequent local variant when first acquiring an innovation, and continuing to favour social information over personal information. Cultural conformity is thought to be a key factor in the evolution of complex culture in humans''. In providing the first experimental demonstration of conformity in a wild non-primate, and of cultural norms in foraging techniques in any wild animal, our results suggest a much broader taxonomic occurrence of such an apparently complex cultural behaviour.
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| 32. |
- Aprile, E., et al.
(författare)
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Observation of two-neutrino double electron capture in 124Xe with XENON1T
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 568:7753, s. 532-535
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two-neutrino double electron capture (2νECEC) is a second-order weak-interaction process with a predicted half-life that surpasses the age of the Universe by many orders of magnitude. Until now, indications of 2νECEC decays have only been seen for two isotopes, 78Kr and 130Ba, and instruments with very low background levels are needed to detect them directly with high statistical significance. The 2νECEC half-life is an important observable for nuclear structure models and its measurement represents a meaningful step in the search for neutrinoless double electron capture—the detection of which would establish the Majorana nature of the neutrino and would give access to the absolute neutrino mass. Here we report the direct observation of 2νECEC in 124Xe with the XENON1T dark-matter detector. The significance of the signal is 4.4 standard deviations and the corresponding half-life of 1.8 × 1022 years (statistical uncertainty, 0.5 × 1022 years; systematic uncertainty, 0.1 × 1022 years) is the longest measured directly so far. This study demonstrates that the low background and large target mass of xenon-based dark-matter detectors make them well suited for measuring rare processes and highlights the broad physics reach of larger next-generation experiments.
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| 33. |
- Arcavi, Iair, et al.
(författare)
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Energetic eruptions leading to a peculiar hydrogen-rich explosion of a massive star
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 551:7679, s. 210-213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Every supernova so far observed has been considered to be the terminal explosion of a star. Moreover, all supernovae with absorption lines in their spectra show those lines decreasing in velocity over time, as the ejecta expand and thin, revealing slower-moving material that was previously hidden. In addition, every supernova that exhibits the absorption lines of hydrogen has one main light-curve peak, or a plateau in luminosity, lasting approximately 100 days before declining(1). Here we report observations of iPTF14hls, an event that has spectra identical to a hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova, but characteristics that differ extensively from those of known supernovae. The light curve has at least five peaks and remains bright for more than 600 days; the absorption lines show little to no decrease in velocity; and the radius of the line-forming region is more than an order of magnitude bigger than the radius of the photosphere derived from the continuum emission. These characteristics are consistent with a shell of several tens of solar masses ejected by the progenitor star at supernova-level energies a few hundred days before a terminal explosion. Another possible eruption was recorded at the same position in 1954. Multiple energetic pre-supernova eruptions are expected to occur in stars of 95 to 130 solar masses, which experience the pulsational pair instability(2-5). That model, however, does not account for the continued presence of hydrogen, or the energetics observed here. Another mechanism for the violent ejection of mass in massive stars may be required.
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| 34. |
- Armulik, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Pericytes regulate the blood-brain barrier
- 2010
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Ingår i: NATURE. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 468:7323, s. 557-U231
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 35. |
- Arnegard, Matthew E., et al.
(författare)
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Genetics of ecological divergence during speciation
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 511:7509, s. 307-311
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecological differences often evolve early in speciation as divergent natural selection drives adaptation to distinct ecological niches, leading ultimately to reproductive isolation. Although this process is a major generator of biodiversity, its genetic basis is still poorly understood. Here we investigate the genetic architecture of niche differentiation in a sympatric species pair of threespine stickleback fish by mapping the environment-dependent effects of phenotypic traits on hybrid feeding and performance under semi-natural conditions. We show that multiple, unlinked loci act largely additively to determine position along the major niche axis separating these recently diverged species. We also find that functional mismatch between phenotypic traits reduces the growth of some stickleback hybrids beyond that expected from an intermediate phenotype, suggesting a role for epistasis between the underlying genes. This functional mismatch might lead to hybrid incompatibilities that are analogous to those underlying intrinsic reproductive isolation but depend on the ecological context.
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| 36. |
- Arner, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Dynamics of human adipose lipid turnover in health and metabolic disease
- 2011
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 478:7367, s. 110-113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adipose tissue mass is determined by the storage and removal of triglycerides in adipocytes(1). Little is known, however, about adipose lipid turnover in humans in health and pathology. To study this in vivo, here we determined lipid age by measuring (14)C derived from above ground nuclear bomb tests in adipocyte lipids. We report that during the average ten-year lifespan of human adipocytes, triglycerides are renewed six times. Lipid age is independent of adipocyte size, is very stable across a wide range of adult ages and does not differ between genders. Adipocyte lipid turnover, however, is strongly related to conditions with disturbed lipid metabolism. In obesity, triglyceride removal rate (lipolysis followed by oxidation) is decreased and the amount of triglycerides stored each year is increased. In contrast, both lipid removal and storage rates are decreased in non-obese patients diagnosed with the most common hereditary form of dyslipidaemia, familial combined hyperlipidaemia. Lipid removal rate is positively correlated with the capacity of adipocytes to break down triglycerides, as assessed through lipolysis, and is inversely related to insulin resistance. Our data support a mechanism in which adipocyte lipid storage and removal have different roles in health and pathology. High storage but low triglyceride removal promotes fat tissue accumulation and obesity. Reduction of both triglyceride storage and removal decreases lipid shunting through adipose tissue and thus promotes dyslipidaemia. We identify adipocyte lipid turnover as a novel target for prevention and treatment of metabolic disease.
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| 37. |
- Askarieh, Glareh, et al.
(författare)
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Self-assembly of spider silk proteins is controlled by a pH-sensitive relay
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 465:7295, s. 236-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nature's high-performance polymer, spider silk, consists of specific proteins, spidroins, with repetitive segments flanked by conserved non-repetitive domains. Spidroins are stored as a highly concentrated fluid dope. On silk formation, intermolecular interactions between repeat regions are established that provide strength and elasticity. How spiders manage to avoid premature spidroin aggregation before self-assembly is not yet established. A pH drop to 6.3 along the spider's spinning apparatus, altered salt composition and shear forces are believed to trigger the conversion to solid silk, but no molecular details are known. Miniature spidroins consisting of a few repetitive spidroin segments capped by the carboxy-terminal domain form metre-long silk-like fibres irrespective of pH. We discovered that incorporation of the amino-terminal domain of major ampullate spidroin 1 from the dragline of the nursery web spider Euprosthenops australis (NT) into mini-spidroins enables immediate, charge-dependent self-assembly at pH values around 6.3, but delays aggregation above pH 7. The X-ray structure of NT, determined to 1.7 A resolution, shows a homodimer of dipolar, antiparallel five-helix bundle subunits that lack homologues. The overall dimeric structure and observed charge distribution of NT is expected to be conserved through spider evolution and in all types of spidroins. Our results indicate a relay-like mechanism through which the N-terminal domain regulates spidroin assembly by inhibiting precocious aggregation during storage, and accelerating and directing self-assembly as the pH is lowered along the spider's silk extrusion duct.
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| 38. |
- Axelsson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 495:7441, s. 360-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The domestication of dogs. was an important episode in the development of human civilization. The precise timing and location of this event is debated(1-5) and little is known about the genetic changes that accompanied the transformation of ancient wolves into domestic dogs. Here we conduct whole-genome resequencimg of dogs and wolves to identify 3.8 million genetic variants used to identify 36 genomic regions that probably represent targets for selection during dog domestication. Nineteen of these regions contain genes important in brain function, eight of which belong to nervous system development pathways and potentially underlie behavioural changes central to dog domestication(6). Ten genes with key roles in starch digestion and fat metabolism also show signals of selection. We identify candidate mutations in key genes and provide functional support for an increased starch digestion in dogs relative to wolves. Our results indicate that novel adaptations allowing the early ancestors of modern dogs to thrive on a diet rich in starch, relative to the carnivorous diet of wolves, constituted a crucial step in the early domestication of dogs.
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| 39. |
- Azim, Eiman, et al.
(författare)
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Skilled reaching relies on a V2a propriospinal internal copy circuit
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 508:7496, s. 357-363
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The precision of skilled forelimb movement has long been presumed to rely on rapid feedback corrections triggered by internally directed copies of outgoing motor commands, but the functional relevance of inferred internal copy circuits has remained unclear. One class of spinal interneurons implicated in the control of mammalian forelimb movement, cervical propriospinal neurons (PNs), has the potential to convey an internal copy of premotor signals through dual innervation of forelimb-innervating motor neurons and precerebellar neurons of the lateral reticular nucleus. Here we examine whether the PN internal copy pathway functions in the control of goal-directed reaching. In mice, PNs include a genetically accessible subpopulation of cervical V2a interneurons, and their targeted ablation perturbs reaching while leaving intact other elements of forelimb movement. Moreover, optogenetic activation of the PN internal copy branch recruits a rapid cerebellar feedback loop that modulates forelimb motor neuron activity and severely disrupts reaching kinematics. Our findings implicate V2a PNs as the focus of an internal copy pathway assigned to the rapid updating of motor output during reaching behaviour.
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| 40. |
- Bader, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of proliferative and mature beta-cells in the islets of Langerhans
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 535:7612, s. 430-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insulin-dependent diabetes is a complex multifactorial disorder characterized by loss or dysfunction of beta-cells. Pancreatic beta-cells differ in size, glucose responsiveness, insulin secretion and precursor cell potential(1-5); understanding the mechanisms that underlie this functional heterogeneity might make it possible to develop new regenerative approaches. Here we show that Fltp (also known as Flattop and Cfap126), a Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) effector and reporter gene(6), acts as a marker gene that subdivides endocrine cells into two subpopulations and distinguishes proliferation-competent from mature beta-cells with distinct molecular, physiological and ultrastructural features. Genetic lineage tracing revealed that endocrine subpopulations from Fltp-negative and -positive lineages react differently to physiological and pathological changes. The expression of Fltp increases when endocrine cells cluster together to form polarized and mature 3D islet mini-organs(7-9). We show that 3D architecture and Wnt/PCP ligands are sufficient to trigger beta-cell maturation. By contrast, the Wnt/PCP effector Fltp is not necessary for beta-cell development, proliferation or maturation. We conclude that 3D architecture and Wnt/PCP signalling underlie functional beta-cell heterogeneity and induce beta-cell maturation. The identification of Fltp as a marker for endocrine subpopulations sheds light on the molecular underpinnings of islet cell heterogeneity and plasticity and might enable targeting of endocrine subpopulations for the regeneration of functional beta-cell mass in diabetic patients.
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