sciencemag.org SCIENCEPHOTO: RADEK BOROVKA/SHUTTERSTOCKRESEARCH | IN OTHER JOURNALS
non-receptor type 6 (PTPN6)
has been linked to skin disor-
ders. In neutrophilic dermatoses,
inflammatory immune cells
called neutrophils accumulate
in the skin. PTPN6 normally
plays a role in limiting inflam-
matory responses that are
mediated through the interleu-
kin-1 (IL-1a/b) cytokine receptor.
Using mice with mutations in
the Ptpn6 gene, Speir et al.
examined IL-1a/b release from
neutrophils and asked how
PTPN6 prevents inflammatory
skin lesions. The researchers
found that PTPN6 suppresses
both apoptotic and necroptotic
cell death in neutrophils, which
in turn dampens IL-1–dependent
inflammation. Controlling the
nature and timing of neutrophil
cell death in these diseases may
therefore promote resolution of
skin inflammation. —PNK
Nat. Immunol. 21 , 54 (2020).GENE THERAPY
Correcting airways
in cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is caused by
inactivating mutations in the
cystic fibrosis transmembrane
conductance regulator (CFTR)
gene. Deletion of phenylala-
nine-508 is the most common
mutation. Vaidyanathan et al.
used CRISPR-associated protein9 (Cas9)–mediated CFTR
editing and adeno-associated
virus delivery to correct the
phenylalanine-508 deletion in
upper-airway basal stem cells
from 10 patients with cystic
fibrosis. They achieved 30
to 50% gene correction and
improved CFTR protein function.
The corrected cells success-
fully engrafted within a clinically
approved scaffold. This finding
offers possibilities for clinical
development of upper airway
implants to treat respiratory fail-
ure, which is the biggest cause
of mortality in cystic fibrosis
patients. —GKA
Cell Stem Cell 10.1016/
j.stem.2019.11.002 (2019).ORGANOMETALLICS
Subtleties of cobalt
oxidative addition
Chemical catalysis relies to a
great extent on heavy pre-
cious transition metals that
hop between oxidation states
two electrons at a time. Recent
efforts have focused on mak-
ing greater use of the lighter,
more abundant metals like iron,
cobalt, and nickel. However,
their tendency toward one-
electron chemistry complicates
the conventional mechanistic
paradigms. Sandford et al.
used a systematic combina-
tion of cyclic voltammetry
and Hammett correlations of
substituent effects to analyze
the oxidative addition of a
cobalt(I) complex to benzyl
bromides. The results pointed to
a two-step process involving a
cobalt(II)-bromine intermediate
and showcased the promising
utility of the approach. —JSY
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 141 , 18877 (2019).MATERIALS SYNTHESIS
Tracking replicate
syntheses
Many synthetic routes are
published each year for materi-
als, but for how many of these
materials is replicate synthesis
reported? Agrawal et al. studied
this question for metal-organic
frameworks (MOFs), as these
materials are often resynthe-
sized to take advantage of
the sorption properties or to
make direct comparisons with
new materials. They randomly
selected 130 MOFs from a
database of more than 4700
such materials and found that
reported replicate syntheses
were few and that the number
diminished as a power law.
Separately, they identified six
MOFs that were resynthesized
at rates far in excess of the
power law prediction (some sev-
eral hundred times). They also
tracked the variation in their
reported adsorption capacity
as a function of years since the
original publication. —PDS
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 10.1073/
pnas.1918484117 (2019).Individuals in a
mixed species shoal
of African cichlid
f shes show distinct
mate preferences that
drive speciation.262 17 JANUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6475
SPECIATIONPicky mates drive speciation
U
nderstanding how speciation occurs over small distances in the face of gene flow is a chal-
lenge. In these cases, local ecological adaptation can drive differentiation, but if gene flow
across these regions is initially high, differentiation may not occur. Sibly et al. used a theoreti-
cal approach to explore the impact of a nonadaptive bias in mate choice on the potential for
speciation in a system with local ecological differences, gene flow, and dispersal in both sexes.
They suggest that mate preferences develop that can facilitate speciation. These can be in the form
of imprinting, whereby an offspring develops a preference for mates that contain a trait like their
parent, or matchmaking, whereby an individual prefers a trait that it itself has in its potential mate.
These nonadaptive mating preferences, even in the face of dispersal, limit gene exchange among
individuals adapted to local ecological conditions. Hence, selection for those conditions drives
diversification. Such processes may be operating in habitats with concentrations of related species,
such as cichlid fishes found in the lakes of the African Rift Valley. —SNV
Ecol. Evol. 9 , 13506 (2019).Published by AAAS