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Plasmodesmata act as unconventional membrane contact sites regulating intercellular molecular exchange in plants
No full textMembrane contact sites (MCSs) are fundamental for intracellular communication, but their role in intercellular communication remains unexplored. We show that in plants, plasmodesmata communication bridges function as atypical endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-plasma membrane (PM) tubular MCSs, operating at cell-cell interfaces. Similar to other MCSs, ER-PM apposition is controlled by a protein-lipid tethering complex, but uniquely, this serves intercellular communication. Combining high-resolution microscopy, molecular dynamics, and pharmacological and genetic approaches, we show that cell-cell trafficking is modulated through the combined action of multiple C2 domains transmembrane domain proteins (MCTPs) 3, 4, and 6 ER-PM tethers and phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P) lipid. Graded PI4P amounts regulate MCTP docking to the PM, their plasmodesmata localization, and cell-cell permeability. SAC7, an ER-localized PI4P-phosphatase, regulates MCTP4 accumulation at plasmodesmata and modulates cell-cell trafficking capacity in a cell-type-specific manner. Our findings expand MCS functions in information transmission from intracellular to intercellular cellular activities.</p
Museums at the forefront of cultural, digital and ecological diplomacy
No full textRecommendations from the Qatar Museums expert panel and conference on“The Future of Museums
The politics of international norms:a rhetorical approach
No full textNorm contestation is prevalent in international affairs: Legal ambiguities and tensions generate debate, even when established international norms are applied to concrete situations. This book introduces a rhetorical approach to the politics of international norms to better understand what influences the duration and outcome of norm contestation. In doing so, it shows that actors can agree or disagree on the norm frame (norm-based justification) and/or claim (implementing action) when applying international law. Thus, norm contestation can have four "alternate endings": norm impasse, norm neglect, norm recognition, and norm clarification. These alternate endings affect the clarity and strength of the contested norms, as well as subsequent debate, differently. Norms are collectively held standards of appropriate behavior, and thus other states’ reactions to proposed norm interpretations matter. The book explains how three classical elements of rhetoric—speakers (including delegation to agents), audience reactions, and argumentation—influence the duration and outcome of norm contestation. This rhetorical approach is applied to eight norm disputes, ranging from military interventions to contestation over the human rights of terror suspects
The wind parks distorted development in Greek Islands:lessons learned and proposals toward rational planning
No full textThe Greek islands have been blessed with excellent wind potential, with hundreds of sites featuring annual average wind velocity higher than 8–10 m/s. Due to specific regulations in the legal framework, some GWs of wind parks have been submitted since the late 2000s by a small number of large investors in the Greek islands, favoring the creation of energy monopolies and imposing serious impacts on natural ecosystems and existing human activities. These projects have caused serious public reactions against renewables, considerably decelerating the energy transition. This article aims to summarize the legal points in the Greek framework that caused this distorted approach and present the imposed potential social and environmental impacts. Energy monopolies distort the electricity wholesale market and lead to energy poverty and a low standard of living by imposing higher electricity procurement prices on the final users. The occupation of entire insular geographical territories by large wind park projects causes important deterioration of the natural environment, which, in turn, leads to loss of local occupations, urbanization, and migration by affecting negatively the countryside life. Serious concerns from the local population are clearly revealed through an accomplished statistical survey as well as a clear intention to be engaged in future wind park projects initiated by local stakeholders. The article is integrated with specific proposed measures and actions toward the rational development of renewable energy projects. These refer mainly on the formulation of a truly supportive and just legal framework aiming at remedying the currently formulated situation and the strengthening of the energy communities’ role, such as through licensing priorities, funding mechanisms, and tools, as well as additional initiatives such as capacity-building activities, pilot projects, and extensive activation of local citizens. Energy communities and local stakeholders should be involved in the overall process, from the planning to the construction and operation phase
Emerging topics and new directions in statistical ecology
No full textEcological science relies on robust estimates of the abundance, diversity, and spatial distribution of individuals and species, but these quantities are notoriously difficult to observe directly. Data collected on these quantities not only reflect the ecological processes giving rise to them but also the observation process, which is often biased by factors such as uneven sampling effort or imperfect detection. Furthermore, collecting data according to standard sampling designs is often not possible. Statistical ecology as a research field specialises in developing statistical methods for analysing such complex ecological data. Here, we apply text analysis tools to the abstracts submitted to eight International Statistical Ecology Conferences between 2008 and 2022 to guide a review of recent topics in statistical ecology. Results show that estimating various aspects of demography (including survival, recruitment, abundance, density and movement) and spatial distribution remain key areas of research. The field has benefited from and embraced new data collection methods such as automated recorders and rapidly developing remote sensing techniques. How to integrate data from different sources is a central challenge that spans multiple areas of statistical ecology. The statistical ecology community strives to be more inclusive, and to promote rigorous data analysis practices that support reproducible research and transparent conservation decisions. As human pressures on nature intensify, statistical ecology is becoming an increasingly vital area of research
The UK’s plan to genetically test all newborns sounds smart — until it creates patients who aren’t sick
No full textUltra-small Mode Volume Polariton Condensation via Precision Ion Implantation
No full textWe present a novel method for generating potential landscapes in GaAs microcavities through focused implantation. The ion beam imprints micron-scale patterns of non-radiative centers that deplete the exciton reservoir and form a loss-defined potential minimum. Under non-resonant pumping, the resulting traps have a lateral size and a three-dimensional mode volume of only , small enough to to support a single polariton condensate mode. The implantation process maintains strong coupling and provides lithographic ( < 300 ~ \mathrm{nm}) resolution. These loss-engineered traps effectively overcome the micrometer-scale limitations of conventional microcavity patterning techniques, opening new avenues for device development and polariton research within the quantum regime
Enhanced phosphorus regeneration linked to Ediacaran ocean oxygenation
No full textSeveral pulses of ocean oxygenation events were recognized in the Ediacaran period. However, the intrinsic triggers behind them remain ambiguous. Here we report phosphorus speciation data from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China, to elucidate the role of recycled phosphorus in driving ocean oxygenation. High ratios of organic carbon to organic phosphorus in all samples relative to the Redfield ratio generally imply preferential release of phosphorus during the remineralization of organic matter. Notably, ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus exceed the Redfield ratio during purported oxygenation intervals, but fall mostly below or close to the Redfield ratio in the rest of the section. Quantitative calculations suggest that enhanced benthic and water-column recycling created a phosphorus influx into the ocean that was comparable to or outpaced that of weathering input. Our study provides empirical evidence for untangling the mechanisms of the Ediacaran oxygenation
The Global AI Race and Infrastructure Weaponization
No full textThe scramble for ever-more efficient Large Language Models (LLMs) is today’s new arms race. In the wake of the Washington’s abandonment of global leadership and the rules-based international order, this race blurs the line between cold and hot confrontation in the new 21st-centry world of the coalescing three continental blocs. That race is a sign of the ongoing weaponization of all extant and new infrastructure, increasingly harnessed for warfare, be it hot, cold or hybrid. As a result, it is harder than ever to ascertain what peace means nowadays
Precise mass in action:assessing Ukraine’s one-way attack drone campaign against Russia
No full textThe study of drones in interstate war is rapidly evolving. Much of the existing scholarship focuses on the impact of a few types of drones, despite growth in new types. Such scholarship also makes assumptions that drones can be shot down with ease. This approach limits our understanding of their strategic value. Marcel Plichta analyses Ukraine’s use of one-way attack drones to target Russian military and industrial facilities between June 2022 and January 2025. The study finds that Ukraine’s one-way attack drones imposed severe costs on Russia, despite their vulnerability to air defence. The findings call for further research into the utility of drones and drone countermeasures in interstate wars