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Conscious awareness, sensory integration, and evidence accumulation in bodily self-perception

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceHow is conscious awareness related to our sense of bodily self? Researchers have long believed that many sensory signals from one’s body are processed without reaching conscious awareness, with studies on consciousness mainly focusing on how …

Machine learning enables de novo multiepitope design of Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein to target trimeric L9 antibody

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceIn this study, we present a machine learning–driven, structure-guided protein design pipeline built specifically for the design of multiepitope vaccine antigens. We employ the pipeline here to design and solve the cryo-EM structure of a de …

Structural insights into the role of eIF3 in translation mediated by the HCV IRES

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceVarious RNA viruses utilize RNA elements called internal ribosomal entry sites (IRESs) to hijack host ribosomes. The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) IRES binds to eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3), the multisubunit complex that acts as a versatile …

The LFR-SWI/SNF complex: A chromatin wrench safeguarding cellular quiescence in the Arabidopsis root stem cell organizer

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceThe quiescent center (QC) is a group of mitotically inactive stem cells that maintains root stem cell niches and preserves genomic integrity via precise control of cell division. Here, we show LFR, a SWI/SNF complex component, is indispensable …

Structure of human green cone opsin yields insights into mechanisms underlying the rapid decay of its active, signaling state

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceOur daylight vision uses cone opsins. Unfortunately, we know less about these light-sensitive GPCRs, in part because their active state is unstable and decays within seconds (~100× faster than rhodopsin). We studied wild-type human green cone …

Intercellular diffusion of cyclic nucleotides followed by gap junction closure restarts meiosis in mouse preovulatory follicles

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceContinuous time-lapse imaging of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP in mouse ovarian follicles elucidates how luteinizing hormone (LH) regulation of cyclic GMP and gap junctions in the somatic cells surrounding the oocyte transmits a signal that lowers …

Large role of anthropogenic climate change in driving smoke concentrations across the western United States from 1992 to 2020

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceWildfire activity has increased dramatically in the western United States over the last three decades, leading to a significant impact on air quality and human health. This study highlights the substantial role of anthropogenic climate change (…

Nitric oxide promotes rapid development of motility to accelerate biofilm dispersal in Vibrio cholerae

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceBiofilm dispersal is a critical but poorly understood step in the lifecycle of bacterial pathogens. We identify nitric oxide (NO), a host immune signal, as a rapid and specific trigger for biofilm dispersal inVibrio cholerae. Unlike …

Erasable serum markers

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceWe introduce a paradigm whereby incorporating an editable handle into a secreted serum marker, one can modify it on demand for improved detection. For example, cleaving a marker with an injection to accelerate its clearance from the blood can “…

S-cone-specific circuitry in the outer plexiform layer of a cone-dominant mammal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceRetinal circuitry that detects and encodes blue light in the visual field holds importance for color perception, myopia, and mood disorders that depend upon light exposure. Few animal models are ideally situated for the study of human S-cone …

Genome of venomous caterpillar Doratifera vulnerans reveals recruitment of immune peptides and their adaptation as pain-inducing toxins

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceThe modes by which venom toxins evolve is debated, but sparse detailed genomic data are available for venomous animal groups other than snakes to inform this debate. The high-quality genome data reported in this study allows a precise …

Control of renal calcium permeability via a tight junctional claudin switch

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceRegulation of calcium transport in the kidney is critical to maintain a systemic calcium balance in the human body. Claudin (CLDN) proteins are found in tight junctions between epithelial cells and form highly polymerized structures. In the …

Volcanic forcing of the Lomagundi–Jatuli carbon isotope excursion

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceThe Lomagundi–Jatuli Event (LJE), more than 2 billion years ago, marks a major shift in Earth’s carbon cycle, following the rise of atmospheric oxygen. Its cause, however, remains unresolved. We dated black shales from Gabon to 2.194 billion …

Prebiotic organic compounds in samples of asteroid Bennu indicate heterogeneous aqueous alteration

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceSamples of asteroid Bennu obtained by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission preserve a record of the chemical evolution of the early Solar System. The organic compounds detected in laboratory analyses of these samples include various building blocks of …

Stochastically evolving graphs via edit semigroups

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 49, December 2025. SignificanceMany real-world networks change dynamically but can be notoriously difficult to study. We introduce a graph edit process that, at each step, randomly selects and applies an edit (e.g., adding or deleting an edge, or several edges in tandem) to …