Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 15 October 2026 · From issue 52

Synthetic reconstitution of planar polarity initiation reveals principles of symmetry breaking across scales

In lab-grown cells, moving together as a group triggers cells to line up and face the same direction.

Leah A. Wallach, Connor Thomas et al.

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Also in issue 52 15 papers

In mice and human cells, blocking one protein protected brain blood vessels and preserved memory.
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Pest-rich hotspots overlap with valuable timber, carbon storage, and diverse forests worldwide.
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A reactive air molecule, not ozone alone, mainly breaks down oily skin residue indoors.
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A plant-based device turns seawater into fresh water using only sunlight.
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In mice, early ALS muscle already shows gene patterns that look like old age muscle.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
In mice, one brain cell part tracks rules while another tracks sounds, working together.
Science
In computer simulations, falling cosmic gas did not create swirling motion on its own.
The Astrophysical Journal
A gut germ in young babies may weaken the rotavirus vaccine's effect.
Nature Communications
Rare mid-event weather pattern shifts make droughts and heat waves last longer and hit harder.
Geophysical Research Letters
In a math model of curved space, particle interaction formulas follow a simple hidden pattern.
Physical Review Letters
A metal catalyst sorts mirror-image molecules to build one pure strained ring shape.
Science
In a lab material, voltage controls a new spin-flipping signal between electrons.
Science
An old fault deep in a Martian canyon slipped again, causing a quake InSight detected far away.
Nature Communications
A lab material turns nitrate into ammonia with 93.20% efficiency, beating most rivals.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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