iScience

Journal: iScience

Publisher

Cell Press

ISSN

2589-0042

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Publications 1 - 10 of 59

Understanding the distributional effects of recurrent floods in the Philippines
Sauer, Inga; Walsh, Brian; Frieler, Katja; et al. (2025)
iScience
Successful recovery from extreme weather events is key to avoid long-term poverty implications. Yet, in disaster prone regions, there may not always be enough time to recover between events. There is a common narrative that the resulting incomplete recoveries aggravate adverse impacts, but approaches allowing for a systematic quantitative assessment are missing. Here, we extend an agent-based model to study welfare effects in the Philippines depending on household exposure and income. We find that incomplete recoveries increase cumulative consumption and well-being losses across the study period 2000–2018 by 40%. While low-income households suffer the highest well-being losses, the effect of incomplete recoveries is most relevant for middle-income households. Consequently, losses can be critically underestimated when drawing conclusions about the impacts of recurrent events based on the impacts of individual events. Accounting for incomplete recoveries may help to better prepare for an intensification of extreme events under climate change.
Immune Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Editing Adaptive Immunity
Csepregi, Lucia; Ehling, Roy A.; Wagner, Bastian; et al. (2020)
iScience
Advances in reading, writing, and editing DNA are providing unprecedented insights into the complexity of immunological systems. This combination of systems and synthetic biology methods is enabling the quantitative and precise understanding of molecular recognition in adaptive immunity, thus providing a framework for reprogramming immune responses for translational medicine. In this review, we will highlight state-of-the-art methods such as immune repertoire sequencing, immunoinformatics, and immunogenomic engineering and their application toward adaptive immunity. We showcase novel and interdisciplinary approaches that have the promise of transforming the design and breadth of molecular and cellular immunotherapies.
Regulation of purine metabolism connects KCTD13 to a metabolic disorder with autistic features
Madison, Jon M.; Duong, Karen; Vieux, Ellen F.; et al. (2021)
iScience
Genetic variation of the 16p11.2 deletion locus containing the KCTD13 gene and of CUL3 is linked with autism. This genetic connection suggested that substrates of a CUL3-KCTD13 ubiquitin ligase may be involved in disease pathogenesis. Comparison of Kctd13 mutant (Kctd13(-/-)) and wild-type neuronal ubiquitylomes identified adenylosuccinate synthetase (ADSS), an enzyme that catalyzes the first step in adenosine monophosphate (AMP) synthesis, as a KCTD13 ligase substrate. In Kctd13(-/-) neurons, there were increased levels of succinyl-adenosine (S-Ado), a metabolite downstream of ADSS. Notably, S-Ado levels are elevated in adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency, a metabolic disorder with autism and epilepsy phenotypes. The increased S-Ado levels in Kctd13(-/-)neurons were decreased by treatment with an ADSS inhibitor. Lastly, functional analysis of human KCTD13 variants suggests that KCTD13 variationmay alter ubiquitination of ADSS. These data suggest that succinyl-AMP metabolites accumulate in Kctd13(-/-) neurons, and this observation may have implications for our understanding of 16p11.2 deletion syndrome.
Evolution of Subgenomic RNA Shapes Dengue Virus Adaptation and Epidemiological Fitness
Finol, Esteban; Ooi, Eng E. (2019)
iScience
Changes in dengue virus (DENV) genome affect viral fitness both clinically and epidemiologically. Even in the 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR), mutations could affect subgenomic flaviviral RNA (sfRNA) production and its affinity for host proteins, which are necessary for successful viral replication. Indeed, we recently showed that mutations in DENV2 3′ UTR of epidemic strains increased sfRNA ability to bind host proteins and reduce interferon expression. However, whether 3′ UTR differences shape the overall DENV evolution remains incompletely understood. Herein, we combined RNA phylogeny with phylogenetics to gain insights on sfRNA evolution. We found that sfRNA structures are under purifying selection and highly conserved despite sequence divergence. Only the second flaviviral nuclease-resistant RNA (fNR2) structure of DENV2 sfRNA has undergone strong positive selection. Epidemiological reports suggest that substitutions in fNR2 may drive DENV2 epidemiological fitness, possibly through sfRNA-protein interactions. Collectively, our findings indicate that 3′ UTRs are important determinants of DENV fitness in human-mosquito cycles.
Ultra-high throughput manufacturing method for composite solid-state electrolytes
Baade, Paul; Wood, Vanessa (2021)
iScience
The transition from liquid organic electrolytes to solid-state electrolytes promises safer and more energy-dense lithium ion batteries. Although this technology has been demonstrated, the question of how to manufacture solid-state batteries at the cost and scales needed to be competitive remains. Here we propose and demonstrate curtain coating as a method for manufacturing composite solid-state electrolytes in roll-to-roll processes at web-speeds of over 80 m/min. The method is compatible with existing lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing lines and is able to produce uniform electrolyte films with thicknesses below 15 micrometers.
Reserve Flux Capacity in the Pentose Phosphate Pathway by NADPH Binding Is Conserved across Kingdoms
Christodoulou, Dimitris; Kuehne, Andreas; Estermann, Alexandra; et al. (2019)
iScience
All organisms evolved defense mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress and buildup of reactive oxygen species (ROS). To test whether a potentially conserved mechanism exists for the rapid response, we investigated immediate metabolic dynamics of Escherichia coli, yeast, and human dermal fibroblasts to oxidative stress that we found to be conserved between species. To elucidate the regulatory mechanisms that implement this metabolic response, we developed mechanistic kinetic models for each organism's central metabolism and systematically tested activation and inactivation of each irreversible reaction by each metabolite. This ensemble modeling predicts in vivo relevant metabolite-enzyme interactions based on their ability to quantitatively describe metabolite dynamics. All three species appear to inhibit their oxidative pentose phosphate pathway during normal growth by the redox cofactor NADPH and relieve this inhibition to increase the pathway flux for detoxification of ROS during stress, with the sole exception of yeast when exposed to high levels of stress.
Detection of electrical signals in fungal mycelia in response to external stimuli
Buffi , Matteo; Giangaspero , Silvia; Foiada, Valerio; et al. (2025)
iScience
Electrical signaling is a crucial mechanism for intercellular communication across diverse biological systems. Despite evidence of electrical activity in fungal mycelia, a standardized, reproducible method for detecting these signals is lacking. In this study, we developed a novel approach using printed circuit boards with embedded differential electrodes to record extracellular voltage fluctuations in mycelium. By incorporating a Faraday cage and short-time Fourier transform analysis, we minimized noise and extracted relevant frequency patterns. Our findings revealed electrical activity correlated with fungal growth that varied with biocide treatments. The results support the biological origin of these signals, suggesting a role in environmental adaptation. This study provides a robust framework for further exploration of fungal electrophysiology, with implications for understanding signaling mechanisms in mycelial networks.
Environmental impacts of restructuring the EU's natural gas supply and consumption: Learnings from the 2022 energy crisis
Santos, Lucas F.; Istrate, Robert; Mac Dowell, Niall; et al. (2025)
iScience
In 2022, the European Union put forward the REPowerEU plan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, aiming at enhancing short-term energy security by diversifying imports and reducing natural gas demand while accelerating the deployment of renewable alternatives in the long term. Here, we quantify the life cycle environmental impacts of both REPowerEU's short-term measures, including the controversial extended coal-fired power plant operations, and how the first year of the crisis was managed in practice. We find that the policy measures’ impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be negligible, although they could have detrimental effects on other environmental categories. In practice, GHG emissions dropped by 8.6% driven by energy savings, yet other environmental burdens worsened, primarily due to coal and oil use. Our results could support the development and analysis of long-term policies to enhance energy security via natural gas demand reduction while considering multiple environmental sustainability indicators to avoid collateral damage.
Multisensory stimulation decreases phantom limb distortions and is optimally integrated
Risso, Gaia; Preatoni, Greta; Valle, Giacomo; et al. (2022)
iScience
The multisensory integration of signals from different senses is crucial to develop an unambiguous percept of the environment and our body. Losing a limb causes drastic changes in the body, sometimes causing pain and distorted phantom limb perception. Despite the debate over why these phenomena arise, some researchers suggested that they might be linked to an impairment of multisensory signals inflow and integration. Therefore, reestablishing optimally integrated sensory feedback could be crucial. The related benefits on sensory performance and body self-representation are still to be demonstrated, particularly in lower-limb amputees. We present a multisensory framework combining Virtual reality and electro-cutaneous stimulation that allows the optimal integration of visuo-tactile stimuli in lower-limb amputees even if nonspatially matching. We also showed that this multisensory stimulation allowed faster sensory processing, higher embodiment, and reductions in phantom limb distortions. Our findings support the development of multisensory rehabilitation approaches, restoring a correct body representation.
The internationalization of renewable energy finance
Eberhart, Sara; Schmidt, Tobias; Steffen, Bjarne; et al. (2025)
iScience
Mitigating climate change necessitates vast investments in clean energy technologies globally, requiring internationalization not only of knowledge, production, and policies but also finance. This article examines 42,291 renewable energy investment deals across OECD countries from 2004 to 2022, revealing highly international capital flows. Results show that $US 45.4B annually (45%) is invested across borders, with varying degrees between countries. Further, renewable energy investments increasingly mirror general foreign direct investment (89% correlation), indicating financial mainstreaming, which can contribute to rapid deployment. These results are primarily driven by onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV). While all technologies experienced increased international capital mobility, offshore wind leads with 76% of capital exiting borders, whereas biomass is largely financed domestically (36% international). In sum, while international capital mobility has been crucial for growth in RE deployment, substantial country and technology differences exist. Our findings offer insights for novel low-carbon technologies and inform future research.

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