@inproceedings{21719,
  abstract     = {We develop a new algorithmic framework for designing approximation algorithms for cut-based optimization problems on capacitated undirected graphs that undergo edge insertions and deletions. Specifically, our framework dynamically maintains a variant of the hierarchical 𝑗-tree decomposition of [Madry FOCS’10], achieving a poly-logarithmic approximation factor to the graph’s cut structure and supporting edge updates in 𝑂⁡(𝑛𝜀) amortized update time, for any arbitrarily small constant 𝜀 ∈(0,1).
Consequently, we obtain new trade-offs between approximation and update/query time for fundamental cut-based optimization problems in the fully dynamic setting, including all-pairs minimum cuts, sparsest cut, multi-way cut, and multi-cut. For the last three problems, these trade-offs give the first fully-dynamic algorithms achieving poly-logarithmic approximation in sub-linear time per operation.
The main technical ingredient behind our dynamic hierarchy is a dynamic cut-sparsifier algorithm that can handle vertex splits with low recourse. This is achieved by white-boxing the dynamic cut sparsifier construction of [Abraham et al. FOCS’16], based on forest packing, together with new structural insights about the maintenance of these forests under vertex splits. Given the versatility of cut sparsification in both the static and dynamic graph algorithms literature, we believe this construction may be of independent interest.},
  author       = {Goranci, Gramoz and Henzinger, Monika H and Kiss, Peter and Momeni, Ali and Zöcklein, Gernot},
  booktitle    = {Proceedings of the 2026 Annual ACM SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms},
  isbn         = {9781611978971},
  issn         = {15579468},
  pages        = {1128--1180},
  publisher    = {Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics},
  title        = {{Dynamic hierarchical j-tree decomposition and its applications}},
  doi          = {10.1137/1.9781611978971.45},
  volume       = {2026-January},
  year         = {2026},
}

@inproceedings{21722,
  abstract     = {Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) are a central model for uncertainty in sequential decision making. The most basic objective is the reachability objective, where a target set must be eventually visited, and the more general parity objectives can model all omega-regular specifications. For such objectives, the computational analysis problems are the following: (a) qualitative analysis that asks whether the objective can be satisfied with probability 1 (almost-sure winning) or probability arbitrarily close to 1 (limit-sure winning); and (b) quantitative analysis that asks for the approximation of the optimal probability of satisfying the objective. For general POMDPs, almost-sure analysis for reachability objectives is EXPTIME-complete, but limit-sure and quantitative analyses for reachability objectives are undecidable; almost-sure, limit-sure, and quantitative analyses for parity objectives are all undecidable. A special class of POMDPs, called revealing POMDPs, has been studied recently in several works, and for this subclass the almost-sure analysis for parity objectives was shown to be EXPTIME-complete. In this work, we show that for revealing POMDPs the limit-sure analysis for parity objectives is EXPTIME-complete, and even the quantitative analysis for parity objectives can be achieved in EXPTIME.},
  author       = {Asadi, Ali and Chatterjee, Krishnendu and Lurie, David and Saona Urmeneta, Raimundo J},
  booktitle    = {Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence},
  issn         = {2374-3468},
  location     = {Singapore, Singapore},
  number       = {43},
  pages        = {36146--36154},
  publisher    = {Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence},
  title        = {{Revealing POMDPs: Qualitative and quantitative analysis for parity objectives}},
  doi          = {10.1609/aaai.v40i43.40932},
  volume       = {40},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21725,
  abstract     = {The initial–final mass relation (IFMR) links a star’s birth mass to the mass of its white dwarf (WD) remnant, providing key constraints on stellar evolution. Open clusters offer the most straightforward way to empirically determine the IFMR, as their well-defined ages allow for direct progenitor lifetime estimates. We construct the most comprehensive open cluster WD IFMR to date by combining new spectroscopy of 22 WDs with an extensive literature review of WDs with strong cluster associations. To minimize systematics, we restrict our analysis to spectroscopically confirmed hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) WDs consistent with single-stellar origins. We separately analyze a subset with reliable Gaia-based astrometric membership assessments, as well as a full sample that adds WDs with strong cluster associations whose membership cannot be reliably assessed with Gaia. The Gaia-based sample includes 69 spectroscopically confirmed DA WDs, more than doubling the sample size of previous Gaia-based open cluster IFMRs. The full sample, which includes 53 additional literature WDs,
increases the total number of cluster WDs by over 50% relative to earlier works. We provide functional forms for both the Gaia-based and full-sample IFMRs. The Gaia-based result useful for Mi � 2.67 M⊙ is Mf = [0.179 0.100H (Mi 3.84 M )] × (Mi 3.84 M ) + 0.628 M , where H(x) is the Heaviside step function. Comparing our IFMR to recent literature, we identify significant deviations from best-fit IFMRs derived from both Gaia-based volume-limited samples of field WDs and double WD binaries, with the largest discrepancy occurring for initial masses of about 5 M⊙.},
  author       = {Miller, David R. and Caiazzo, Ilaria and Heyl, Jeremy and Richer, Harvey B. and Hollands, Mark A. and Tremblay, Pier Emmanuel and El-Badry, Kareem and Rodriguez, Antonio C. and Vanderbosch, Zachary P.},
  issn         = {1538-4357},
  journal      = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  keywords     = {White dwarf stars, Open star clusters, Compact objects, Stellar evolution},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {IOP Publishing},
  title        = {{The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation from open clusters in Gaia DR3}},
  doi          = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8},
  volume       = {996},
  year         = {2026},
}

@unpublished{21737,
  abstract     = {In calculus, l'Hopital's rule provides a simple way to evaluate the limits of quotient functions when both the numerator and denominator vanish. But what happens when we move beyond real functions on a real interval? In this article, we study when the quotient of two complex-valued functions in higher dimension can be defined continuously at the points where both functions vanish. Surprisingly, the answer is far subtler than in the real-valued setting. We provide a complete characterization for the continuity of the quotient function. We also point out why extending this result to smoother quotients remains an intriguing challenge.},
  author       = {Chern, Albert and Ishida, Sadashige},
  booktitle    = {arXiv},
  keywords     = {l’Hopital theorem, complex functions},
  title        = {{L'Hopital rules for complex-valued functions in higher dimensions}},
  doi          = {10.48550/ARXIV.2602.09958},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21743,
  abstract     = {We present symplectic structures on the shape space of unparameterized space curves that generalize the classical Marsden–Weinstein structure. Our method integrates the Liouville 1-form of the Marsden–Weinstein structure with Riemannian structures that have been introduced in mathematical shape analysis. We also derive Hamiltonian vector fields for several classical Hamiltonian functions with respect to these new symplectic structures.},
  author       = {Bauer, Martin and Ishida, Sadashige and Michor, Peter W.},
  issn         = {1432-1467},
  journal      = {Journal of Nonlinear Science},
  number       = {2},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Symplectic structures on the space of space curves}},
  doi          = {10.1007/s00332-026-10266-8},
  volume       = {36},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21744,
  abstract     = {The paraventricular hypothalamus (PVH) controls behavioral and physiologic processes, including appetite, social behavior, autonomic outflow, and pituitary hormone secretion. However, molecular markers for centrally projecting PVH neuron populations remain largely undefined, and a complete census of PVH cell types has not been established. Therefore, we performed extensive single-cell/nucleus RNA sequencing to catalog PVH neuron subtypes and multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH) to map them spatially. Our spatial transcriptomic atlas resolves 26 Sim1+ and 29 GABAergic neuron populations from the PVH and surrounding areas. Additionally, projection-based profiling identified neurons that project to the parabrachial region (PB) and spinal cord, helping to determine PVH populations that regulate satiety and sympathetic nervous system activity, respectively. Notably, activation of PB-projecting PVH neurons expressing Brs3 reduces food intake, and silencing them causes obesity. Together, this atlas contributes high-resolution PVH spatial and circuit-based gene expression profiles, representing a valuable resource for the field of homeostasis.},
  author       = {Li, Yuxi and Butler, Trevor C. and Nardone, Stefano and Jacobs, Christopher L. and Douglass, Amelia May Barnett and Madara, Joseph C. and McDonough, Miriam C. and Tao, Jenkang and Lowenstein, Elijah D. and Wang, Luhong and Pant, Deepti and Walker, Samuel J. and Wang, Annette and Srinivasan, Harini and Yang, Zongfang and Campbell, John N. and Tsai, Linus T. and Lowell, Bradford B. and Resch, Jon M.},
  issn         = {2211-1247},
  journal      = {Cell Reports},
  number       = {2},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{A spatial and projection-based transcriptomic atlas of paraventricular hypothalamic cell types}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116904},
  volume       = {45},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21745,
  abstract     = {The small DAHe and DAe spectral classes comprise isolated, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere white dwarfs that exhibit variable photometric flux and Balmer line emission. These mysterious systems offer unique insight into the complex interplay between magnetic fields, stellar rotation and atmospheric activity in single white dwarfs. DAHe stars have detectable magnetic fields through Zeeman-split spectral lines, whereas DAe stars lack such splitting. We report the first discovery and characterization of magnetism in the DAe white dwarf WD J165335.21−100116.33 with new time-resolved spectropolarimetry from FORS2. We detect a weak but variable longitudinal magnetic field with values Bz > −9.2 ± 2.4 kG and Bz < −2.2 ± 1.0 kG. Independent ZTF and ATLAS photometry reveal a consistent period of P = 80.3070 ± 0.0007 h. Time-resolved optical spectroscopy obtained with six ground-based instruments demonstrates strong modulation in the strength of the Hα and Hβ Balmer line emission with P = 80.2922 ± 0.0108 h. The photometric flux and Balmer emission strength vary in antiphase, with the strongest magnetic detections coinciding with phases of low photometric flux and strong line emission. These characteristicssupport the theory that a magnetically active, temperature-inverted spot/region is producing an optically thin chromospheric emission region. Comparison with other DAe and DAHe white dwarfsreveals all systems have a strikingly similar antiphase phenomenology, reinforcing the theory that they are subject to a unified physical mechanism. With the detection of a weak magnetic field, we reclassify WD J165335.21−100116.33 as a low-field DAHe white dwarf. },
  author       = {Elms, Abbigail K. and Bagnulo, Stefano and Tremblay, Pier Emmanuel and Cunningham, Tim and Munday, James and Landstreet, John and El-Badry, Kareem and Caiazzo, Ilaria and Melis, Carl and Pinter, Viktoria and Weinberger, Alycia},
  issn         = {1365-2966},
  journal      = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {Oxford University Press},
  title        = {{Detection of a weak magnetic field in the Balmer emission line white dwarf WDJ1653−1001}},
  doi          = {10.1093/mnras/stag505},
  volume       = {548},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21746,
  abstract     = {As vertebrates transitioned from water to land, locomotion shifted from undulatory swimming to limb-based movement. How spinal circuits and their cell types evolved to support this transition remains unclear. We leverage frog metamorphosis, which recapitulates this transition within a single organism, to define how spinal circuits generate aquatic versus terrestrial motor patterns. At swim stages, spinal architecture is uniform, with a transcriptionally and anatomically homogeneous motor and interneurons. As limbs develop and their movement complexifies, spinal circuits expand in neuron number and subtype diversity. This expansion is most pronounced for V1 inhibitory neurons, which increase ∼70-fold and diversify into transcriptionally distinct subtypes. Disrupting transcription factors defining emerging motor and V1 populations reveals molecular segregation between swim and limb circuits, highlighting the role of subtype diversity in motor coordination. A multifold increase in inhibitory neuron diversity thus underlies the tail-to-limb locomotor transition, providing a framework for spinal circuit adaptation during vertebrate evolution.},
  author       = {Vijatovic, David and Toma, Florina Alexandra  and Ignatyev, Y and Harrington, Zoe P and Sommer, Christoph M and Hauschild, Robert and Smits, Matthijs Geert and Dalla Vecchia, Marco and Trevisan, Alexandra J. and Chapman, Phillip and Julseth, Mara and Brenner-Morton, Susan and Gabitto, Mariano I. and Dasen, Jeremy S. and Bikoff, Jay B. and Sweeney, Lora Beatrice Jaeger},
  issn         = {2211-1247},
  journal      = {Cell Reports},
  number       = {4},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Multifold increase in spinal inhibitory cell types with emergence of limb movement}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117227},
  volume       = {45},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21747,
  abstract     = {Entanglement does not always require one particle per party. It was predicted some 30 years ago that a single photon traversing a beam splitter could violate a Bell inequality. Although initially debated, single-photon nonlocality was eventually demonstrated via homodyne measurements. Here, we present an alternate realization that avoids the complexity of homodyne measurements and potential loopholes in their implementation. We violate a Bell inequality by performing joint measurements on two copies of the same single-photon entangled state, where one photon acts as a phase reference for the other, making it self-referential. We observe CHSH parameters of 2.71 = 0.09 and 2.23 = 0.07, depending on the joint measurements implemented. This offers a perspective on single-photon nonlocality and a more accessible experimental route, potentially applicable to general mode-entangled states in diverse platforms.},
  author       = {Kun, Daniel and Strömberg, Karl T and Dakić, Borivoje and Walther, Philip and Rozema, Lee A.},
  issn         = {2334-2536},
  journal      = {Optica},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {745--751},
  publisher    = {Optica Publishing Group},
  title        = {{Testing single-photon entanglement using self-referential measurements}},
  doi          = {10.1364/OPTICA.586172},
  volume       = {13},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21748,
  abstract     = {Cells are defined by lipid membranes that differ in their structure across the tree of life. While the membranes of most bacteria and eukaryotes consist of single-headed bilayer lipids, the membranes of archaea are composed of mixtures of single-headed bilayer lipids and double-headed bolalipids. Archaeal bolalipids can adopt straight or u-shaped conformations, enabling them—together with bilayer lipids—to control whether membranes form bilayer or monolayer structures. Yet, the physical principles governing archaeal membranes remain largely unexplored, especially how membrane structure couples to externally imposed curvature during membrane remodeling. Here, we perform coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of toroidal vesicles to systematically probe the effects of all relevant combinations of mean and Gaussian curvatures on shape stability and lipid organization. We find that soft bilayer membranes can sustain all curvatures induced, whereas rigid bolalipid monolayer membranes either transition to different vesicle shapes or rupture. Bilayer-mimicking u-shaped bolalipids and bilayer lipids are spatially accumulated in regions of high mean membrane curvature independent of Gaussian curvature. Our work identifies curvature–composition coupling as a physical signature of archaeal membrane remodeling.},
  author       = {Frey, Felix F and Santana de Freitas Amaral, Miguel and Šarić, Anđela},
  issn         = {1089-7690},
  journal      = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
  number       = {14},
  publisher    = {AIP Publishing},
  title        = {{Cracking donuts and sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization}},
  doi          = {10.1063/5.0325170},
  volume       = {164},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21749,
  abstract     = {The collagen triple helix assembles hierarchically into bundled oligomers, solvated networks, and fibers. Synthetic peptide assemblies, driven by supramolecular interactions, can form single triple helices through intrahelical amino acid pairs; however, the principles guiding interhelical associations into higher-order structures remain unclear. Here, we incorporate cation−π and electrostatic charge pairs to probe interhelical interactions and elucidate the mechanisms driving triple helix assembly into fibrils, nanotubes, and nanosheets. Introducing cation−π pairs into a fibrillating collagen mimetic resulted in D-periodic fibrils with pH-sensitive gelation. By alternating the presentation of electrostatic and cation−π pairs, the assembly of another D-periodic fibril featuring inner and outer triple-helical layers was resolved by cryo electron microscopy to a resolution of 8 Å. At physiological pH, antiparallel association of these triple helices leads to the formation of nanotubes. The packing behavior of triple helices correlates with the interhelical interactions, where parallel associations favor fibril formation and antiparallel interactions drive nanotube and nanosheet assembly. These self-assembling triple-helical peptides demonstrate how packing of higher-order structures can be tailored with supramolecular interactions and establish the relationship of different hierarchical collagen-mimetic assemblies as pH-dependent.},
  author       = {Cole, Carson C. and Kreutzberger, Mark A.B. and Klein, Kevin and Cahue, Kiana A. and Pogostin, Brett H. and Farsheed, Adam C. and Swain, Joseph W.R. and Bui, Thi H. and Dey, Arghadip and Makhoul, Jonathan T. and Dubackic, Marija and Pal, Antara and Olsson, Ulf and Šarić, Anđela and Egelman, Edward H. and Hartgerink, Jeffrey D.},
  issn         = {1526-4602},
  journal      = {Biomacromolecules},
  number       = {4},
  pages        = {2956--2965},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Supramolecular assembly of collagen-mimetic eptide D-periodic fibrils and nanoassemblies}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acs.biomac.6c00345},
  volume       = {27},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21750,
  abstract     = {Liquid-like superionic conductors, with highly mobile ions in a rigid framework, offer intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity without compromising electronic transport. Argyrodite-type Ag8SnSe6 exhibits a melt-like Ag sublattice that drives lattice thermal conductivity (κL) below 0.2 watts per meter per kelvin, yet its low carrier concentration limits the power factor. Here, interstitial Ag atoms raise the Fermi level into the conduction band, substantially increasing the electron concentration. Simultaneously, the formation of a secondary Ag2Se phase generates lattice distortions that enhance phonon scattering. A pronounced mismatch between electronic (~200 nanometers) and phononic (~0.22 nanometers) mean free paths decouples charge and heat transport, enabling concurrent suppression of κL and retention of high electrical conductivity. This coupled electronic-phononic modulation yields a record ZT of 0.72 at ambient temperature and a peak ZT of 1.1 at 735 kelvins, with an average ZTavg of 0.72 over 320 to 735 kelvins. A unicouple device achieves 6.3% efficiency under a 357-kelvin gradient, highlighting a practical strategy for high-performance midtemperature thermoelectrics.},
  author       = {Li, Mengyao and Zhao, Xueke and Zhang, Yu and Yu, Jing and Liu, Xuyang and Jia, Mochen and Song, Hongzhang and Wang, Dongyang and Arbiol, Jordi and Ibáñez, Maria and Shan, Chongxin and Cabot, Andreu and Wang, Ziyu},
  issn         = {2375-2548},
  journal      = {Science Advances},
  number       = {15},
  publisher    = {AAAS},
  title        = {{Electronic-phononic decoupling and Fermi-level tuning enable high thermoelectric performance in Ag8SnSe6}},
  doi          = {10.1126/sciadv.aec9073},
  volume       = {12},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21751,
  abstract     = {We define a certain class of simple varieties over a field k by a constructive recipe and show how to control their (equivariant) truncating invariants. Consequently, we prove that on simple varieties: (i) if k = k and char k = p, the p-adic cyclotomic trace is an equivalence; (ii) if k = Q, the Goodwillie–Jones trace is an isomorphism in degree zero; (iii) we can control homotopy invariant K-theory KH, which is equivariantly formal and determined by its topological counterparts. Simple varieties are quite special, but encompass important singular examples appearing in geometric representation theory. We, in particular, show that both finite and affine Schubert varieties for GLn lie in this class, so all the above results hold for them. },
  author       = {Löwit, Jakub},
  issn         = {1687-0247},
  journal      = {International Mathematics Research Notices},
  number       = {7},
  publisher    = {Oxford University Press},
  title        = {{Equivariant localizing invariants of simple varieties}},
  doi          = {10.1093/imrn/rnag058},
  volume       = {2026},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21752,
  abstract     = {Epithelial tissues function as multicellular communities that preserve tissue integrity while adapting to diverse environmental stresses by altering cell behaviors. A striking manifestation of such adaptability is cell plasticity, the ability of differentiated cells to revert to stem-like states or adopt alternative fates. Once considered rare and confined to highly regenerative species, cell plasticity is now recognized across the metazoan tree. In early-branching animals such as sponges and cnidarians, transdifferentiation and dedifferentiation are integral to life-cycle transitions and regeneration, whereas in more complex organisms, these processes typically emerge under stress, including stem cell loss or environmental perturbations. Here, we examine epithelial cell plasticity through evolutionary, cellular, and molecular perspectives. Focusing on the intestinal epithelium, we explore findings from mammalian and Drosophila models showing that progenitors and even terminally differentiated cells can dedifferentiate in response to external stimuli that disrupt homeostasis, such as pathogen infection and nutrient fluctuations. We further discuss conserved mechanisms involving intercellular signaling (e.g., Notch, EGFR, and JAK-STAT) and chromatin states primed for reprogramming, modulated by metabolic cues. Together, these insights position cell plasticity as an ancient environmental adaptation strategy, shaped by conserved molecular toolkits and refined by species- and cell lineage-specific innovations.},
  author       = {Nagai, Hiroki and Nakajima, Yu Ichiro},
  issn         = {1096-3634},
  journal      = {Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Epithelial cell plasticity in metazoans: Evolutionary insights into roles and mechanisms}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.semcdb.2026.103670},
  volume       = {179-180},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21755,
  abstract     = {Tropical shallow clouds are a major source of uncertainty in Earth's climate sensitivity, especially through their spatial arrangement, which global climate models do not represent. Efforts to understand their organization have partly relied on classifying observed scenes, identifying four patterns as archetypal regimes. Here we analyze geostationary satellite imagery of the western tropical Atlantic using the L‐function, a tool based on point pattern theory that quantifies cloud organization across spatial scales. Classical examples of the four patterns show distinct L‐function fingerprints, revealing their characteristic clustering and regularity scales and aiding physical interpretation. Yet, when evaluating many scenes at fixed spatial scales, the L‐function distribution lacks the distinct modes expected from discrete regimes. This is corroborated by analyses of other organization indices employing diverse approaches, from inter‐cloud nearest‐neighbor distances to fractal analysis. Implications for the parameterization of mesoscale cloud organization in climate models are discussed.},
  author       = {Biagioli, Giovanni and Mandorli, Giulio and Freischem, Lilli Johanna and Casallas Garcia, Alejandro and Tompkins, Adrian Mark},
  issn         = {1944-8007},
  journal      = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  number       = {8},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Spatial patterns of shallow clouds: Challenging the concept of defined regimes}},
  doi          = {10.1029/2025gl119921},
  volume       = {53},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21760,
  abstract     = {3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object discovered to date, following 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Its unusually high excess velocity and active cometary nature make it a key probe of the Galactic population of icy planetesimals. Understanding its origin requires its past trajectory through the Galaxy to be traced and the possible role of stellar encounters to be assessed, both as a potential origin and a perturber to its orbit. We integrated the orbit of 3I/ATLAS backward in time for 10 Myr, together with a sample of Gaia DR3 stars with high-quality astrometry and radial velocities, to identify close passages within 2 pc. We identify 93 nominal encounters, 62 of which are significant at the 2σ level. However, none of these encounters produced any meaningful perturbation. The strongest perturber Gaia DR3 6863591389529611264 at 0.30 pc and with a relative velocity of 35 km s−1, imparted only a velocity change of ∣Δv∣  ≃  5  ×  10−4 km s−1 to the orbit of 3I/ATLAS. Our results indicate that no stellar flybys within the past 10 Myr and 500 pc contained in Gaia DR3 can account for the present trajectory of 3I/ATLAS or be associated with its origin. We further show that 3I/ATLAS is kinematically consistent with a thin-disk population, despite its large peculiar velocity.},
  author       = {Pérez-Couto, X. and Torres Rodriguez, Santiago and Villaver, E. and Mustill, A. J. and Manteiga, M.},
  issn         = {1538-4357},
  journal      = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  number       = {2},
  publisher    = {IOP Publishing},
  title        = {{3I/ATLAS: In search of the witnesses to its voyage}},
  doi          = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae56ff},
  volume       = {1001},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21761,
  abstract     = {Neural tube closure is a critical morphogenetic process in vertebrate development, and failure to close cranial regions such as the hindbrain neuropore (HNP) leads to severe congenital malformations. While mechanical forces such as actomyosin purse-string contraction and directional cell crawling have been implicated in driving HNP closure, how these forces organize local cell shape and motion to produce large-scale tissue remodeling remains poorly understood. Using live and fixed imaging of mouse embryos combined with cell-based biophysical modeling, we show that these force-generating mechanisms are insufficient to explain the reproducible patterns of cell elongation and nematic alignment observed at the HNP border. Instead, we show that local anisotropic stress and cytoskeletal organization are required to generate these patterns and promote midline cell motion. Our model captures key features of cell shape dynamics and emergent nematic order, which we confirm experimentally, including the alignment of actin fibers with cell shape and enhanced midline cell speed. Comparative analysis with chick embryos, which lack supracellular purse strings, supports a conserved link between tension generation and cellular patterning. These findings establish a physical framework connecting force generation, cell shape anisotropy, and tissue morphodynamics during epithelial gap closure.},
  author       = {Perez Verdugo, Fernanda L and Maniou, Eirini and Galea, Gabriel L. and Banerjee, Shiladitya},
  issn         = {1879-0445},
  journal      = {Current Biology},
  number       = {8},
  pages        = {1903--1917.e5},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Mechanosensitive feedback organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068},
  volume       = {36},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21762,
  abstract     = {Bacteria, like eukaryotes, use conserved cytoskeletal systems for intracellular organization. The plasmid-encoded ParMRC system forms actin-like filaments that segregate low–copy number plasmids. In multicellular cyanobacteria such as Anabaena sp., we found that a chromosomally encoded ParMR system has evolved into a cytoskeletal system named CorMR with a function in cell shape control rather than DNA segregation. Live-cell imaging, in vitro reconstitution, and cryo–electron microscopy revealed that CorM formed dynamically unstable, antiparallel double-stranded filaments that were recruited to the membrane by CorR through an amphipathic helix conserved in multicellular cyanobacteria. CorMR filaments were regulated by MinC, which excluded them from the poles and division plane. Comparative genomics indicated that the repurposing of ParMR and Min systems coevolved with cyanobacterial multicellularity, highlighting the evolutionary plasticity of cytoskeletal systems in bacteria.},
  author       = {Springstein, Benjamin L and Javoor, Manjunath and Megrian, Daniela and Hajdu, Roman and Hanke, Dustin M. and Zens, Bettina and Weiss, Gregor L. and Schur, Florian Km and Loose, Martin},
  issn         = {1095-9203},
  journal      = {Science},
  number       = {6795},
  publisher    = {AAAS},
  title        = {{Repurposing of a DNA segregation machinery into a cytoskeletal system controlling cell shape}},
  doi          = {10.1126/science.aea6343},
  volume       = {392},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21763,
  abstract     = {Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in multiple signaling processes in plants, but the underlying mechanisms and roles remain enigmatic. In this study, we developed a method of live imaging of apoplastic ROS at the root surface. Distinct signals, including auxin, extracellular adenosine triphosphate, and rapid alkalinization factor 1 peptide, induce cytosolic calcium transients and apoplastic ROS bursts. Genetic and optogenetic manipulations of Arabidopsis identified calcium transients as necessary and sufficient for ROS bursts through activation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases RBOHC and RBOHF. Apoplastic ROS bursts are not required, but they do limit gravity-induced root bending. Root bending is sensed by the stretch-activated calcium channel MCA1, leading to NADPH oxidase activation. The resulting ROS production stiffens cell walls to facilitate soil penetration. Apoplastic ROS thus provides a means to balance tissue flexibility and stiffness to navigate soil.},
  author       = {Kulich, Ivan and Vladimirtsev, Dmitrii and Randuch, Marek and Gao, Shiqiang and Citterico, Matteo and Konrad, Kai R. and Nagel, Georg and Wrzaczek, Michael and Cascaro, Léa and Vinet, Pauline and Durand, Pauline and Asnacios, Atef and Verma, Lokesh and Bennett, Malcolm J. and Pandey, Bipin K. and Friml, Jiří},
  issn         = {1095-9203},
  journal      = {Science},
  number       = {6795},
  pages        = {296--300},
  publisher    = {AAAS},
  title        = {{Calcium-triggered apoplastic ROS bursts balance gravity and mechanical signals for soil navigation}},
  doi          = {10.1126/science.adu8197},
  volume       = {392},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21764,
  abstract     = {Colloidal fluids can exhibit complex phase behavior and determining phase diagrams via experiments or computer simulations can be laborious. We demonstrate that the dispersion relation ω(k), obtained from dynamical density functional theory for the uniform density system, is a highly versatile tool for predicting where in the phase diagram complex crystals form. The sign of ω(k) determines whether density modes with wave number k grow or decay over time. We demonstrate the predictive power by investigating the complex phase behavior of particles interacting via core-shoulder pair potentials. With complementary Monte Carlo simulations, we show that regions of the phase diagram where ωðkÞ has one or several unstable (growing) wave numbers are also where crystalline phases occur. Going further, by tuning these
unstable wave numbers via the interaction-potential and state-point parameters, we design systems with quasicrystals in the phase diagram. We identify a system with a certain shoulder range exhibiting at least ten different phases. Our general approach accelerates considerably the mapping of complex phase diagrams, crucial for the design of new materials.},
  author       = {Wassermair, Michael and Kahl, Gerhard and Roth, Roland and Archer, Andrew J.},
  issn         = {1079-7114},
  journal      = {Physical Review Letters},
  number       = {14},
  publisher    = {American Physical Society},
  title        = {{Navigating complex phase diagrams in soft matter systems}},
  doi          = {10.1103/nbvt-fgjy},
  volume       = {136},
  year         = {2026},
}