Science - USA (2022-02-25)

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ET AL.

832 25 FEBRUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6583 science.org SCIENCE

properties make them suitable

for bioelectronic membranes

that can monitor and amplify

a range of electrophysiological

signals, including demonstra-

tions of electrocardiography

and electroencephalography.

—MSL

Science, abl8941, this issue p. 852

PROTEIN TARGETING

NAC acts as a gatekeeper

on the ribosome

In eukaryotes, signal recognition

particle (SRP) targets mem-

brane and secretory proteins to

the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

while they are being synthesized

on the ribosome. To prevent

erroneous targeting of proteins

to the ER, access of SRP is

OPTICS

An exceptional

laser cavity

Laser cavities are typically

simple structures in the sense

that the pump light oscillates

between the cavity walls sym-

metrically, ideally with a single

resonant output mode. More

complex cavity designs exploit-

ing materials exhibiting gain and

loss can be realized that result

in an exceptional point at which

the output mode can effec-

tively be tuned. Schumer et al.

designed a cavity in which the

pump light encircles the excep-

tional point as it propagates

back and forth within the cavity.

The result is a laser capable

of simultaneously emitting in

two different, but topologically

linked, transverse profiles, each

from a different facet of the

cavity. The approach provides

flexibility in designing topologi-

cally robust laser cavities. —ISO

Science, abl6571, this issue p. 884

NANOMATERIALS

Weaker interfaces enable

conformal films

Rigid materials become more

flexible when cast as thin

sheets, but they will still bump

and buckle when subjected

to in-plane rotation or twist-

ing motions and thus cannot

conformally cover a curved and

mobile surface. Yan et al. formed

roughly 10-nanometer-thick

freestanding sheets by spin

coating films containing flakes

of semiconducting materi-

als. The flakes attract each

other through bond-free van

der Waals interfaces to enable

mechanical stretchability and

malleability as well as perme-

ability and breathability. These

Edited byMichael Funk

IN SCIENCE JOURNALS

RESEARCH

A fl exible, wearable  lm

containing semiconducting fl akes is

well suited for application to skin.

False-color scanning electron microscope image of a human natural killer cell

CANCER

Naturally killing leukemia

N

atural killer (NK) cells are innate immune

cells that are under investigation as a

cell therapy for multiple types of cancer.

A challenge for NK cell–based therapies

is ensuring that the cells persist and remain

functional long-term. Berrien-Elliott et al. generated

cytokine-induced memory-like NK (ML NK) cells

as a therapeutic for leukemia and investigated their

functional capacity and persistence in patients

receiving human leukocyte antigen–haploidentical

hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The authors

showed that ML NK cells derived from the same

donor as the HCT persisted for at least 2 months after

HCT and were highly functional ex vivo. Together, these

findings support the use of ML NK cells as a component of

HCT for leukemia. —CSM Sci. Transl. Med. 14 , eabm1375 (2022).