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The boundary between the Earth’s mantle and core (CMB), at about 2900 km depth, is a key region of our planet. It controls the heat that can be extracted from the core and transported up to the surface by convection movements in the mantle. As such, it also controls the cooling and dynamics of the core and its associated geodynamo process, which generates the Earth’s magnetic field. Using numerical simulations of mantle convection, a research team led by Dr. Frédéric Deschamps at the Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, showed that beneath regions known as large shear-wave velocity provinces (LLSVPs), which are thought to be hotter than their surroundings and enriched in iron, the amount of heat that can be extracted from the core to the mantle is lower than the amount of heat provided by the core, and that, locally, heat may even flow from the mantle to the core. By contrast, heat flux beneath slabs arriving at the CMB is high, leading to strong lateral heat flux heterogeneity. This may lead to regional stratification occurs at the top of the core and explain the onset and termination of geomagnetic superchrons. The research has been published on June 17, 2026 in Nature Geoscience.

This special issue on Social Meaning and Reality II has a total of four research articles.

The newest issue of the Journal of Social Sciences and Philosophy has just been published by the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences.

The newest issue of Academia Economic Papers has been published. Articles in this issue include

A research team led by Professor Shang-Te Danny Hsu at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, combined advanced methyl NMR, protein dynamics analysis, and molecular simulations to map, for the first time, the long-range allosteric regulatory network inside the important tumor suppressor protein BAP1 and to systematically examine the molecular effects of nearly 50 cancer-related mutations. BAP1 is closely linked to several cancers, including mesothelioma, uveal melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma, and its core structure has a rare deeply knotted fold. The team found that an amino acid in the protein core, L49, acts as a key hub for coordinating internal communication. Even a mutation that shortens its side chain by just one carbon atom can disrupt the dynamic coupling between different parts of the protein, causing its deubiquitinase activity to be lost. Further analysis showed that many cancer mutations found in patients are far from the active site, yet they can still affect protein stability and function by disturbing this regulatory network. This study provides one of the most comprehensive structure-function maps of BAP1 cancer mutations to date, offering an important molecular basis for understanding how BAP1-related cancers develop and highlighting the unique power of advanced NMR techniques for revealing protein dynamics and disease mechanisms.

Microscale neural probes are essential tools for next-generation brain-computer interfaces, but inserting them into the brain can injure tissue and blood vessels. In this study, Dr. Yu-Wei Wu’s team at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, together with collaborators at Stanford University, combined ultrasensitive force measurement with real-time live imaging to observe how probes of different diameters enter and impact the mouse brain.

Before cell division, DNA must be accurately replicated. At the same time, many genes continue to be actively transcribed. When the DNA replication machinery encounters the transcription machinery on the same genomic region, transcription–replication conflicts (TRCs) can arise, leading to replication fork stalling, DNA damage, and genome instability. How cells ensure efficient DNA replication through highly transcribed regions therefore represents a fundamental question in genome stability research.

Monolayer two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides offer strong excitonic responses and gate-tunable optical properties, making them attractive for next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, achieving wafer-scale, room-temperature operation with a high photoluminescence modulation depth remains a key challenge owing to the limited electrostatic control and inefficient light–matter coupling. To address this challenge, an international research team led by Dr. Yu-Jung Lu at the Research Center of Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, in collaboration with Prof. Vincent Tung’s team at the University of Tokyo, has successfully integrated large-area monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a two-dimensional semiconductor, with an atomically smooth hafnium nitride plasmonic back-gate electrode. This work establishes a new active tunable light-emitting platform for two-dimensional materials that operates at room temperature.

The newest issue of the Journal of Social Sciences and Philosophy has just been published by the Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences

Influenza A and B pose equal threats, yet research on type B has long lagged behind. Its dual-lineage nature frequently causes vaccine mismatches, making it a pressing public health concern. Recently, a collaborative research team led by Dr. Che Alex Ma (Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica) and Dr. Kuan-Ying Huang (National Taiwan University Hospital) has successfully isolated broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) capable of targeting both Victoria and Yamagata lineages of the influenza B virus.

Cancer cells utilize the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanism to maintain telomere length, bypass cellular senescence, and achieve replicative immortality. Researchers led by Associate Research Fellow Dr. Liuh-Yow Chen at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, discovered that orphan nuclear receptors recruit the transcriptional corepressor TRIM28 to telomeres, where it promotes H3K9me3 deposition and facilitates ALT activation. Mechanistically, orphan nuclear receptors recruit TRIM28 to telomeric chromatin through protein–protein interactions, thereby facilitating heterochromatin remodeling and functionally linking chromatin reorganization to ALT activation. These findings highlight the essential role of TRIM28-mediated heterochromatin formation in immortalized cells.

The issue contains 3 articles and 1 book review