Scientific Reports即将截止的特刊征稿六月辑 | 寻找更匹配您的投稿方向

客座编辑：Chun-Hua Hsu, Alka Rao & Yutaka Saito

Proteins have a remarkable ability to carry out complex molecular processes with high efficiency and precision, characteristics that make them ideal for use in medicine and industry. Protein engineering involves modifying a protein sequence by altering nucleotides in the encoding genes to achieve desired functions or specific properties. Strategic harnessing of protein engineering methods has enabled better enzymatic activity, stability, and wide-range applicability of proteins. The main protein engineering approaches include rational design, directed evolution, and de novo design. Advances in structural bioinformatics, new protein design algorithms, and increased information on 3D protein structure have ushered in the use of computational approaches for engineering new proteins. Recently, machine learning models and in silico screening processes have been recruited to improve protein re-design, and helped narrow down suitable candidates for further engineering.

This Collection invites submissions that present protein engineering for therapeutic or industrial applications, as well as improvements to existing tools.

客座编辑：Anne M. Landau, Kyung-Han Lee &  Mukesh K Pandey

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging modality to better understand the pathophysiology of a disease at molecular level and typically referred to as molecular imaging. It reveals the variability in a biochemical process of organs and tissues under pathological condition with respect to the normal condition. A radioactive tracer is injected into the patient to show areas in the body with an increased uptake, which is often indicative of a pathological condition. PET imaging can be more sensitive compared to other imaging modalities, like Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

This Collection seeks submissions from researchers and clinicians applying PET imaging with novel biological targets, novel radiotracers, and the evaluation of these techniques in preclinical and clinical studies to better understand the disease pathology.

客座编辑：Theresa M. Geiman,  Mojgan Rastegar &  Michael K. Skinner

Gametes can transmit not only genetic but also epigenetic information to the next generation. Such epigenetic inheritance can occur via several mechanisms, including DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, histone modifications, and the transfer of small RNAs. These epigenetic traits, whether spontaneous or environmentally induced, result in the transmission of gene expression patterns from parent to offspring. This transmission may last for only one or two generations (intergenerational epigenetic inheritance) or may persist for many generations (transgenerational epigenetic inheritance). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance has been most convincingly demonstrated in plants, nematodes, and fruit flies. While there is also support for stable epigenetic transmission in mammals, separating this phenomenon from parental and shared environmental effects has proved challenging.

This Collection will feature articles on the molecular underpinnings of all types of epigenetic inheritance, their phenotypic effects, and their evolutionary implications.

客座编辑：Thimios Mitsiadis,  Pamela Stanley,  Natascia Tiso  &  Maliha Zahid

Notch signalling is a highly conserved cellular interaction pathway fundamental to metazoan development and homeostasis. When notch, a cell-surface receptor, binds to a ligand on a neighboring cell, the Notch intracellular domain is released and enters the nucleus, where it activates target gene transcription. Despite its simplicity, Notch signalling underlies a wide diversity of processes related to cell fate, differentiation, and death. These include many aspects of embryonic development, particularly in the nervous, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems. It is also critical to homeostatic processes in a range of adult organs and tissues, such as the liver, skin, lungs, intestine, skeletal muscle, vasculature, and the hematopoietic system. Meanwhile, malfunctions in the Notch pathway can lead to cancer progression by promoting tumor vasculature, cancer cell stemness, and cell migration. This diversity of function is enabled by the nuclear context of the cell receiving the signal, as well as the expression patterns of the ligands and receptors.

Articles in this Collection will explore this conserved yet varied pathway and its many roles in development, homeostasis, and pathology.

客座编辑：Ahmedullah Aziz, Bhagwati Prasad & J. Joshua Yang

Neuromorphic computing is an area of engineering that seeks to emulate the biophysical architecture of our nervous system. Such models can take a variety of forms including hardware chips composed of ‘silicon neurons’, as well as software implementations of neural systems. Artificial neural systems have been previously successfully demonstrated, and are now inspiring a new generation of computing technologies that exploit the physics of computation present in biological neural systems.

This Collection brings together the latest results in the topic of neuromorphic engineering, spanning from the design of artificial neural systems to their experimental realisations.

客座编辑：Nicolas G. Bazan, Artur Fedorowski, Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain, Roxana Moslehi & Annette Regan

Infection with the SARS CoV-2 virus can lead to symptoms that persist for weeks, months, or even years after the acute phase of infection has passed. These symptoms may include fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, loss of taste and smell, heart palpitations, headache, and muscle pain, among others. While estimates vary on the prevalence of long COVID – also known as post-COVID, long-haul COVID, chronic COVID, post-acute COVID-19, and post-acute sequelae COVID-19, or PASC – it is increasingly clear that a substantial proportion of COVID-19 survivors will experience at least one lingering COVID-related symptom. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood; leading hypotheses include a prolonged inflammatory response, the triggering of autoimmunity, and the presence of viral reservoirs in the body.

This Collection invites research on the causes, risk factors, and frequency of long COVID, as well as on the development of diagnostic tools and treatments.

客座编辑：Valentina Agostini, Naomichi Ogihara, Morgan Sangeux & Amy R. Wu

Abnormalities in gait, an individual’s pattern of walking, can result in pain and motion reduction and are associated with a range of conditions, including neurological and degenerative disease and orthopaedic problems. Gait changes also occur as a normal part of the ageing process. Kinematic gait analysis is the study of joint angles and body segment orientation during walking. Kinetic analysis concerns the forces that produce movement. Taken together these analytical techniques can be used to diagnose gait deviations to aid development of an appropriate treatment or management plan.

This Collection brings together manuscripts that explore novel techniques or applications of technology for the analysis of gait changes.

客座编辑：Abdelhafid Bendahmane & Yinghua Huang

Climate change and an accelerated population growth impose a major threat to crop production around the world. In order to ensure food availability and minimise the environmental impact associated with agriculture, it is imperative to increase production, while simultaneously reducing the use of pesticides and fertilisers, as well as water consumption. In addition, in order to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity, these goals should be achieved without expanding the area of farmed land, which already exceeds 35% of the global land area. Crop genetic engineering allows for the generation of new plant varieties within a significantly shorter time frame than traditional breeding. Studies have shown that it can be used for the targeted manipulation of specific features, whether directly associated with increased production, or through the generation of plants more resistant to pests and highly variable climate conditions, thus making it an attractive strategy to ensure food security for future generations.

This Collection invites original research on plant genetic engineering as a tool towards a more sustainable agriculture, from the generation of new plant varieties, to more complex field trials.

客座编辑：Denilson da Silva Bezerra, Rouhi Farajzadeh, Jianwei Li & Salman Qureshi

Climate change is a critical global concern, with wide-ranging effects across multiple areas. Scientists and policymakers are looking for implementable solutions to mitigate these effects. Nature-based solutions are attractive tools in climate change mitigation as they work with the natural environment, and often come with co-benefits like cleaner air and improved biodiversity. Simply letting forests regrow and restoring coastal wetlands contribute to removing CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering it in plants and soils. Improved agricultural practices develop better soils. However, there are limitations and we do not yet know how significant these solutions can be. This Collection will bring together the latest research on Nature-based solutions for climate change.