Science - USA (2022-02-25)

834-C 25 FEBRUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6583 science.org SCIENCE

RESEARCH | IN SCIENCE JOURNALS

Instead, IFN-a decreased the

expression of genes involved in

platelet formation and function

in megakaryocytes, the bone

marrow cells that generate

platelets. Infected mice pro-

duced fewer platelets, and those

that were produced were less

functional. —WW

Sci. Signal. 15 , eabb0384 (2022).

ALLERGY

Stress leads

to IL-9 danger

Interleukin-9 (IL-9) can promote

type 2 lung inflammation during

allergic responses to inhaled

allergens, but the direct cel-

lular targets of IL-9 are not well

characterized. Fu et al. showed

that pulmonary macrophages

are a major population of

immune cells responding to IL-9

produced in mouse models of

allergic airway disease. Mice

deficient in the IL-9 receptor

had impaired expansion of

monocyte-derived interstitial

macrophages that promoted

airway inflammation depen-

dent on arginase expression.

IL-9 signaling also promoted

macrophage production of the

eosinophil-attracting chemokine

CCL5, which was elevated in the

serum of patients with asthma

and correlated with IL-9 levels.

These results identify lung mac-

rophages as key cellular targets

of IL-9 during allergic disease

that subsequently amplify type 2

inflammatory responses. —CO

Sci. Immunol. 7 , eabi9768 (2022).

SOLAR CELLS

Optimizing

perovskite A sites

In the organic-inorganic lead

halide perovskites (OLHPs)

used in optoelectronics, the

monovalent A site was thought

initially to have little effect on

band edge states compared with

the divalent lead or tin cations

and halide anions. However, the

recent improvement perfor-

mance breakthroughs for OLHP

solar cells have largely come

from modifications of A site

cations. Lee et al. reviewed their

expanded roles and versatility in

three-dimensional OLHPs, espe-

cially for structural stabilization,

mitigation of ion migration, and

surface functionalization for

interface modification and trap

passivation. —PDS

Science, abj1186, this issue p. 835

HUMAN EVOLUTION

Genomics and human

ancestral genealogy

Hundreds of thousands of

modern human genomes and

thousands of ancient human

genomes have been gener-

ated to date. However, different

methods and data quality can

make comparisons among them

difficult. Furthermore, every

human genome contains seg-

ments from ancestries of varying

ages. Wohns et al. applied a tree

recording method to ancient

and modern human genomes to

generate a unified human gene-

alogy (see the Perspective by

Rees and Andrés). This method

allows for missing and erroneous

data and uses ancient genomes

to calibrate genomic coalescent

times. This permits us to deter-

mine how our genomes have

changed over time and between

populations, informing upon the

evolution of our species. —LMZ

Science, abi8264, this issue p. 836;

see also abo0498, p. 817

NANOPHOTONICS

Scintillating

nanophotonics

When a high-energy particle

collides with a material, the

energy is transferred to atoms

in the material, and light can

be emitted. This scintillation

process is used in many detec-

tor applications ranging from

medical imaging to high-energy

particle physics. Roques-Carmes

et al. integrated scintillating

materials with nanophotonic

structures to enhance and con-

trol their light emission (see the

Perspective by Yu and Fan). The

authors show how nanophotonic

structures enable the ability

to shape the spectral, angular,

and polarization characteristics

of scintillation. This approach

should enable the development

of brighter, faster, and higher-

resolution scintillators. —ISO

Science, abm9293, this issue p. 836;

see also abn8478, p. 822

0225ISIO_15096744.indd 836 2/18/22 5:51 PM