Plasticity of the Muscle Stem Cell Microenvironment

Satellite cells (SCs) are adult muscle stem cells capable of repairing damaged and creating new muscle tissue throughout life. Their functionality is tightly controlled by a microenvironment composed of a wide variety of factors, such as numerous secreted molecules and different cell types, including blood vessels, oxygen, hormones, motor neurons, immune cells, cytokines, fibroblasts, growth factors, myofibers, myofiber metabolism, the extracellular matrix and tissue stiffness. This complex niche controls SC biology-quiescence, activation, proliferation, differentiation or renewal and return to quiescence. In this review, we attempt to give a brief overview of the most important players in the niche and their mutual interaction with SCs. We address the importance of the niche to SC behavior under physiological and pathological conditions, and finally survey the significance of an artificial niche both for basic and translational research purposes

Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located

Spin-photovoltaic effect in quantum wires due to intersubband transitions

We consider the current induced in a quantum wire by external electromagnetic radiation. The photocurrent is caused by the interplay of spin-orbit interaction (Rashba and Dresselhaus terms) and an external in-plane magnetic field. We calculate this current using a Wigner functions approach, taking into account radiation-induced transitions between transverse subbands. The magnitude and the direction of the current depends on the Dresselhaus and Rashba constants, strength of magnetic field, radiation frequency, and intensity. The current can be controlled by changing some of these parameters

Synthesis of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement in a sequence of two single-mode squeezers

We propose and implement a new scheme of generating the optical Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled state. Parametric down-conversion in two nonlinear crystals, positioned back-to-back in the waist of a pump beam, produces single-mode squeezed vacuum states in orthogonal polarization modes; a subsequent beam splitting entangles them and generates the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen state. The technique takes advantage of the strong nonlinearity associated with type-0 phase-matching configuration while, at the same time, eliminating the need for actively stabilizing the optical phase between the two single-mode squeezers. We demonstrate our method, preparing a 1.4 dB two-mode squeezed state and characterizing it via two-mode homodyne tomography

Quantum technologies in Russia

Remarkable advancements in the ability to create, manipulate, and measure quantum systems are paving the way to build next generations of devices based on quantum physics. Quantum technologies in Russia are on the list of strategically important cross-cutting directions in the framework of the National Technology Initiative programs and the Digital Economy National Program. The broad focus includes quantum computing and simulation, quantum communications, quantum metrology and sensing. This paper reviews existing research on quantum science and technologies in Russia and summarizes the main goals for the next few years that form the basis of an upcoming major national initiative