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Social media has opened up a new tactical front for political campaigns, and the 2017 General Election showed how citizens – armed with smartphones, computers, and tablets – actively enlisted their support in the online electoral battleground. In this report, we look at how Labour supporters leveraged the platform-specific features of different social media to widely promote their favored candidat
Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) is dispensable for mitotic cell cycle progression and Cdk2 knockout mice are viable due to the compensatory functions of other Cdks. In order to assess the role of Cdk2 under limiting conditions, we used Skp2 knockout mice that exhibit increased levels of Cdk inhibitor, p27Kip1, which is able to inhibit Cdk2 and Cdk1. Knockdown of Cdk2 abrogated proliferation of Sk
Macrophages play an important role in asthma pathogenesis both in the inflammatory and resolution phase of the disease. Macrophages can acquire different polarisation states dependent on their microenvironment. It is yet unclear through which mechanism the microenvironment affects the anti-viral response in macrophages. We hypothesized that the macrophage microenvironment regulates rhinovirus-indu
The ability of men to remain fertile throughout their lives depends upon establishment of a spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) pool from gonocyte progenitors, and thereafter balancing SSC renewal vs terminal differentiation. Here, we report that precise regulation of the cell cycle is crucial for this balance. Whereas cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) is unnecessary for mouse viability or gametogenesis
Temperature sums are widely used to predict the seasonal timing of yearly recurring biological events, such as flowering, budburst, and hatching. We use a classic energy allocation model for annual plants to compare a strategy for reproductive timing that follows a temperature sum rule (TSR) with a strategy that follows an optimal control rule (OCR) maximizing reproductive output. We show that the
The addition of polyelectrolytes (PEs) to suspensions of charged colloids, such as nanoplatelets (NPs), is of great interest due to their specific feature of being either a stabilizing or a destabilizing agent. Here, the complexation between a PE and oppositely charged NPs is studied utilizing coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations based on the continuum model. The complex formation is eval
The volume of credit to Swedish households has grown twice as fast as incomes since the mid-1990s. This has resulted in both rising house prices and rising household debt. This column argues that these trends expose Sweden to important economic vulnerabilities. Curbing these vulnerabilities will require prompt action by the authorities.
DEXD/H-box RNA helicases couple ATP hydrolysis to RNA remodeling by an unknown mechanism. We used x-ray crystallography and biochemical analysis of the human DEXD/H-box protein DDX19 to investigate its regulatory mechanism. The crystal structures of DDX19, in its RNA-bound prehydrolysis and free posthydrolysis state, reveal an alpha-helix that inserts between the conserved domains of the free prot
More than 12,000 South Korean doctors have gone on strike in a months-long protest against medical reforms. It may be the wrong position to take, but the government has much to account for too, say Erik Mobrand from Seoul National University and Hyejin Kim from National University of Singapore.
Turkish President Erdogan is a faithful Muslim and strongly objects to getting/paying interest. To reduce the (high) inflation rate, he declared in a speech at Parliament: “As long as I am in office, I will fight interest. The NAS is there.” The primary purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the nature of this concept and to find out whether there is indeed a NAS with the specific aim of curb
Generation Z (Gen Z) will soon become the biggest living generation and the most dominant in terms of population and economic power, making them one of the tourism industry’s fastest-growing segments and a crucial market to target. There is growing evidence that Gen Z is concerned about the environmental and social effects of their consumption and is guided by strong ethical and environmental idea
Articial intelligence (AI) is widely discussed across policy sectors, including global environmental politics. At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023 (COP28), national governments decided to explore AI’s role in climate solutions and its associated challenges and risks through the #AI4ClimateAction Initiative. In March 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to “se
Nervous system function relies on the establishment of complex gene expression programs that provide neuron-type-specific and core pan-neuronal features. These complementary regulatory paradigms are controlled by terminal selector and parallel-acting transcription factors (TFs), respectively. Here, we identify the nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) TF as a pervasive direct and indirect regulator of both neur
Background: Over the past years, it has become clear that the microbial ecosystem in the gut has a profound capacity to interact with the host through the production of a wide range of bioactive metabolites. The microbially produced metabolite imidazole propionate (ImP) is clinically and mechanistically linked with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but it is unclear how ImP is associated wit
Multiconfigurational pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) is a promising way to describe both strong and dynamic correlations in an inexpensive way. The functionals in MC-PDFT are often “translated” from standard spin density functionals. However, these translated functionals can in principle lead to “translated spin densities” with a nonzero imaginary component. Current developments so far ne
The genomic conflict between the sexes is caused by differences in the optimal male and female reproductive strategies, and is a major contributor to genetic, phenotypic, and life history variation. While early experimental work appeared to strongly support predictions from sexual conflict, recent work has produced more ambiguous results. Recent advances in experimental evolution studies combined
