SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.adz5323
Yuan Zhang, Yanhe Liu, Yachuang Hu, Zhenkun Zhang, Jie Du, Lele Cui, Qi Liu, Lin Zhong, Yu Xin, Ruiming Chai, Li Deng, Jingwei Pan, Jackie Schiller, Ning-long Xu
{"title":"Dendritic computation for abstract rule-based flexible decision-making","authors":"Yuan Zhang, Yanhe Liu, Yachuang Hu, Zhenkun Zhang, Jie Du, Lele Cui, Qi Liu, Lin Zhong, Yu Xin, Ruiming Chai, Li Deng, Jingwei Pan, Jackie Schiller, Ning-long Xu","doi":"10.1126/science.adz5323","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.adz5323","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Intelligent behavior involves flexible integration of sensory input and abstract rule knowledge. Dendritic computation has been shown to contribute to top-down modulation of sensory processing; however, whether and how it is involved in flexible cognitive processing remains to be elucidated. Combining a rule-based flexible decision-making task with in vivo two-photon imaging and optogenetics in mice, we found that within single layer 5 extratelencephalic neurons in the auditory cortex, apical dendrites preferentially encoded the inferred abstract rule and somata preferentially represented sensory stimuli, whereas choice signals were present in both compartments. Optogenetic dendritic inhibition impaired rule-dependent somatic choice coding, supporting a task-relevant integration across the dendritic and somatic compartments. These results indicate that dendritic computation in cortical neurons mediates flexible behavior.</div>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.aen2355
Zack Savitsky
{"title":"AI takes a bite out of math's hardest problem.","authors":"Zack Savitsky","doi":"10.1126/science.aen2355","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aen2355","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A trove of AI papers includes progress on the Riemann hypothesis, a famous puzzle about prime numbers.</p>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":"254-255"},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.aek0152
Mary Ellen Hannibal
{"title":"An elegy for the unsung world-builders","authors":"Mary Ellen Hannibal","doi":"10.1126/science.aek0152","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.aek0152","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.adz4600
Kira Gysel, Simon Boje Hansen, Henriette Rübsam, Husam M. A. B. Alsarraf, Eva Madland, Caroline Baadegaard, Ebbe Engholm, Jeryl Xin Jie Cheng, Emil Christian Poulsen, Maria Vinther, Knud Jørgen Jensen, Mikkel Boas Thygesen, Sebastien Fort, Jens Stougaard, Kasper Røjkjær Andersen
{"title":"Structural basis for size-selective perception of chitin in plants","authors":"Kira Gysel, Simon Boje Hansen, Henriette Rübsam, Husam M. A. B. Alsarraf, Eva Madland, Caroline Baadegaard, Ebbe Engholm, Jeryl Xin Jie Cheng, Emil Christian Poulsen, Maria Vinther, Knud Jørgen Jensen, Mikkel Boas Thygesen, Sebastien Fort, Jens Stougaard, Kasper Røjkjær Andersen","doi":"10.1126/science.adz4600","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.adz4600","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Plants detect microbes through pattern recognition receptors that perceive conserved microbial surface motifs known as microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Lysin motif (LysM) receptors recognize and mediate downstream responses to chitinous MAMPs. In this study, we elucidated the mechanism for the specific recognition of long-chain chitin oligomers and identified a hallmark bridge domain characteristic of the CHITIN PERCEPTION (CHIP) receptor class. Structural analysis of receptor-ligand complexes, biochemistry, and in planta functional studies of inhibitory nanobodies revealed the mechanism of size-selective, high-affinity chitin perception in <i>Lotus japonicus</i> and <i>Medicago truncatula</i>. Additionally, we identified the CHITIN ELICITOR RECEPTOR KINASE (CERK) class as low-affinity, yet essential, co-receptors and propose a mechanistic model for a ligand-induced core signaling heterocomplex. Our findings establish the structural and mechanistic basis of differential chitin perception and receptor complex assembly in chitin-elicited plant immune signaling.</div>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.aen2353
Lizzie Wade
{"title":"Redating the Inca empire.","authors":"Lizzie Wade","doi":"10.1126/science.aen2353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aen2353","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The traditional Inca chronology has collapsed. New radiocarbon dates show the empire lasted longer than was previously thought-and met more resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":"262-267"},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.ael9047
Anders Hedenström
{"title":"Winds make bird flights cheaper","authors":"Anders Hedenström","doi":"10.1126/science.ael9047","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.ael9047","url":null,"abstract":"<div >The concept of cost of transport, introduced by physiologist Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, describes the energy that an animal spends to move a unit of mass over a unit of distance (<i>1</i>). It declines across all locomotion modes (swimming, running, flying) as body size increases. For the same body size, swimming is the most energy-efficient mode of transport. Because flying is fast, its cost is lower than that of running or walking, despite requiring a much higher metabolic rate. These relationships could explain the long-distance migrations of some fliers and swimmers, which are not seen in terrestrial runners. On page 347 of this issue, Scacco <i>et al.</i> (<i>2</i>) report that many birds use vertical winds or gradual changes in wind speed or direction (wind shear) to soar, thereby reducing their cost of transport by switching from costly flapping flight to gliding flight.</div>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.aeh4015
Yuanyang Xie, Alexey V. Krasavin, Anatoly V. Zayats
{"title":"Electrically driven chiral emission from plasmonic tunnel junctions","authors":"Yuanyang Xie, Alexey V. Krasavin, Anatoly V. Zayats","doi":"10.1126/science.aeh4015","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.aeh4015","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Chirality plays a crucial role in a broad range of processes, including light-matter interactions in physics, chemistry, and biology, while quantum tunneling provides a promising mechanism for light generation at the nanoscale. By integrating tunnel junctions with chiral plasmonic nanohelicoids, we achieved electrically induced nanoscale generation of chiral light at the single-particle level. The tunneling-driven resonant excitation of chiral dipolar modes of the nanohelicoids results in emission of a vortex light beam possessing both spin angular momentum with handedness selectivity of more than 0.8 and orbital angular momentum equal in magnitude and opposite in sign. Our electrically driven approach offers a means for engineering photon spin generation at the nanoscale, highlighting its potential for next-generation optical components in display applications, as well as quantum information processing and photochemistry.</div>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SciencePub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1126/science.ael7305
Lisha Zhang, Thorsten Nürnberger
{"title":"How plants decode immunogenic glycans","authors":"Lisha Zhang, Thorsten Nürnberger","doi":"10.1126/science.ael7305","DOIUrl":"10.1126/science.ael7305","url":null,"abstract":"<div >Animals and plants use conceptually similar immune systems to detect microbes and activate defenses. In both lineages, pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) perceive pathogen- or microbe-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs or MAMPs) and host-derived damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Whereas animals rely on specialized immune cells, plants harness individual cells expressing diverse PRRs (<i>1</i>). In the apoplast, which lies outside the plasma membrane and includes the cell wall, PRRs detect immunogenic fragments released from microbial proteins by plant hydrolytic enzymes. Conversely, pathogen-secreted enzymes can degrade constituents of the apoplast, generating DAMPs that activate immunity (<i>2</i>). On pages 298, 291, and 290 of this issue, Gysel <i>et al</i>. (<i>3</i>), Huang <i>et al</i>. (<i>4</i>), and Jiménez-Sandoval <i>et al</i>. (<i>5</i>), respectively, report expansions of this surveillance, revealing receptor architectures and mechanisms that enable plants to discriminate immunogenic carbohydrates. The findings illustrate how ligand specificity and receptor assembly confine immune activation to the context of microbial challenge.</div>","PeriodicalId":21678,"journal":{"name":"Science","volume":"394 6821","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":47.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149177792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}