PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are one of three main classes of recently discovered small non-coding RNAs, alongside microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs. PiRNAs are transcribed from transposable elements and piRNA clusters. They play an important role in silencing these elements in germline and stem cells to maintain genomic stability, regulate gene expression, and support male germ cell development. Dysregulation of piRNAs has been linked to diseases such as cancer and male infertility. Despite their importance, piRNA biosynthesis remains poorly understood, especially the regulatory factors crafting their biogenesis. To study piRNA biosynthesis, we will use the C.Elegans model, since piRNAs are best characterized in C.Elegans and Drosophila, and many of their functions and genetic makeup is similar to that of humans. To learn about piRNA biosynthesis, it is essential to learn about CMTR-1 and CMTR-2, cap-methyltransferases involved in RNA capping process which will contribute in discovering a more detailed pathway of piRNNA biosynthesis. Our technique revolves around inserting Degron system tags into C.Elegans using CRISPR-Cas9, which will create a partially knockout CMTR-1 or CMTR-2 mutant strains These mutants will only be fully depleted of CMTR-1 or CMTR-2 when C. elegans is grown under KNAA conditions. After screening for homologous mutant-tagged CMTR-1 or CMTR-2, we will extract the piRNA population and use next-generation sequencing to compare piRNA levels in CMTR-1 and CMTR-2 mutants with those in wild-type CMTR-1 and CMTR-2. By comparing piRNA abundants between CMTR-1 and CMTR-2 mutants and wild-type worms, we aim to unravel how RNA capping enzymes contribute to the control of biosynthesis of C.Elegans.

Nanotube encapsulation is a powerful technique for coaxing solids into unconventional configurations. By synthesizing materials within the interior confines of hollow nanotubes, lower dimensional morphologies, such as one-dimensional chains or nanoribbons, are favored. We have used carbon nanotube encapsulation to realize ultranarrow, atomically precise HfTe2 nanoribbons. A local, electron-beam-stimulated transition from the metallic 1T phase to the previously unreported semiconducting 1H phase is observed. We study computationally how charging can drive the phase transition and the stability of the different atomic configurations.

Managing ecosystems to maintain biodiversity may be one approach to ensuring their dynamic stability, productivity, and delivery of vital services. The applicability of this approach to industrial ecosystems that harness the metabolic activities of microbes has been proposed but has never been tested at relevant scales. We used a tag-sequencing approach with bacterial small subunit rRNA (16S) genes and eukaryotic internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) to measuring the taxonomic composition and diversity of bacteria and eukaryotes in an open pond managed for bioenergy production by microalgae over a year. Periods of high eukaryotic diversity were associated with high and more-stable biomass productivity. In addition, bacterial diversity and eukaryotic diversity were inversely correlated over time, possibly due to their opposite responses to temperature. The results indicate that maintaining diverse communities may be essential to engineering stable and productive bioenergy ecosystems using microorganisms.