资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

A process that reduces the risk of metallic glasses failing under stress.

Metallic glasses are much stronger than conventional metals, but form certain instabilities under stress that lead to fracture. A process known as rejuvenation has been shown to solve this problem.

Metastasis requires cancer cells to undergo metabolic changes that are poorly understood(1-3). Here we show that metabolic differences among melanoma cells confer differences in metastatic potential as a result of differences in the function of the MCT1 transporter. In vivo isotope tracing analysis in patient-derived xenografts revealed differences in nutrient handling between efficiently and inefficiently metastasizing melanomas, with circulating lactate being a more prominent source of tumour lactate in efficient metastasizers. Efficient metastasizers had higher levels of MCT1, and inhibition of MCT1 reduced lactate uptake. MCT1 inhibition had little effect on the growth of primary subcutaneous tumours, but resulted in depletion of circulating melanoma cells and reduced the metastatic disease burden in patient-derived xenografts and in mouse melanomas. In addition, inhibition of MCT1 suppressed the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and increased levels of reactive oxygen species. Antioxidants blocked the effects of MCT1 inhibition on metastasis. MCT1(high) and MCT1(-/low) cells from the same melanomas had similar capacities to form subcutaneous tumours, but MCT1(high) cells formed more metastases after intravenous injection. Metabolic differences among cancer cells thus confer differences in metastatic potential as metastasizing cells depend on MCT1 to manage oxidative stress.

Characterization of 22-nucleotide short interfering RNAs in plants finds that they accumulate in response to environmental stress, causing translational repression, inhibition of plant growth and enhanced stress responses.

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are essential for proper development and immunity in eukaryotes(1). Plants produce siRNAs with lengths of 21, 22 or 24 nucleotides. The 21- and 24-nucleotide species mediate cleavage of messenger RNAs and DNA methylation(2,3), respectively, but the biological functions of the 22-nucleotide siRNAs remain unknown. Here we report the identification and characterization of a group of endogenous 22-nucleotide siRNAs that are generated by the DICER-LIKE 2 (DCL2) protein in plants. When cytoplasmic RNA decay and DCL4 are deficient, the resulting massive accumulation of 22-nucleotide siRNAs causes pleiotropic growth disorders, including severe dwarfism, meristem defects and pigmentation. Notably, two genes that encode nitrate reductases-NIA1 and NIA2-produce nearly half of the 22-nucleotide siRNAs. Production of 22-nucleotide siRNAs triggers the amplification of gene silencing and induces translational repression both gene specifically and globally. Moreover, these 22-nucleotide siRNAs preferentially accumulate upon environmental stress, especially those siRNAs derived from NIA1/2, which act to restrain translation, inhibit plant growth and enhance stress responses. Thus, our research uncovers the unique properties of 22-nucleotide siRNAs, and reveals their importance in plant adaptation to environmental stresses.