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Nuclear noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression and chromatin organization. The progress in studying nuclear ncRNAs depends on the ability to identify the genome-wide spectrum of contacts of ncRNAs with chromatin. To address this question, a panel of RNA–DNA proximity ligation techniques has been developed. However, neither of these techniques examines proteins involved in RNA–chromatin interactions. Here, we introduce RedChIP, a technique combining RNA–DNA proximity ligation and chromatin immunoprecipitation for identifying RNA–chromatin interactions mediated by a particular protein. Using antibodies against architectural protein CTCF and the EZH2 subunit of the Polycomb repressive complex 2, we identify a spectrum of cis - and trans -acting ncRNAs enriched at Polycomb- and CTCF-binding sites in human cells, which may be involved in Polycomb-mediated gene repression and CTCF-dependent chromatin looping. By providing a protein-centric view of RNA–DNA interactions, RedChIP represents an important tool for studies of nuclear ncRNAs. 

Abstract Nucleic acid detection is essential for numerous biomedical applications, but often requires complex protocols and/or suffers false-positive readouts. Here, we describe SENTINEL, an approach that combines isothermal amplification with a sequence-specific degradation method to detect nucleic acids with high sensitivity and sequence-specificity. Target single-stranded RNA or double-stranded DNA molecules are amplified by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and subsequently degraded by the combined action of lambda exonuclease and a sequence-specific DNA endonuclease (e.g., Cas9). By combining the sensitivity of LAMP with the precision of DNA endonucleases, the protocol achieves attomolar limits of detection while differentiating between sequences that differ by only one or two base pairs. The protocol requires less than an hour to complete using a 65 °C heat block and fluorometer, and detects SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in human saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs with high sensitivity. 

Abstract Despite the f₀(980) hadron having been discovered half a century ago, the question about its quark content has not been settled: it might be an ordinary quark-antiquark ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}$$ $q\overline{q}$) meson, a tetraquark ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}{{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}$$ $q\overline{q}q\overline{q}$) exotic state, a kaon-antikaon ($${{\rm{K}}}\overline{{{\rm{K}}}}$$ $K\overline{K}$) molecule, or a quark-antiquark-gluon ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}{{\rm{g}}}$$ $q\overline{q}g$) hybrid. This paper reports strong evidence that the f₀(980) state is an ordinary$${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}$$ $q\overline{q}$meson, inferred from the scaling of elliptic anisotropies (v₂) with the number of constituent quarks (n_q), as empirically established using conventional hadrons in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The f₀(980) state is reconstructed via its dominant decay channel f₀(980) →π⁺π⁻, in proton-lead collisions recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, and itsv₂is measured as a function of transverse momentum (p_T). It is found that then_q= 2 ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}$$ $q\overline{q}$state) hypothesis is favored overn_q= 4 ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}{{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}$$ $q\overline{q}q\overline{q}$or$${{\rm{K}}}\overline{{{\rm{K}}}}$$ $K\overline{K}$states) by 7.7, 6.3, or 3.1 standard deviations in thep_T< 10, 8, or 6 GeV/cranges, respectively, and overn_q= 3 ($${{\rm{q}}}\overline{{{\rm{q}}}}{{\rm{g}}}$$ $q\overline{q}g$hybrid state) by 3.5 standard deviations in thep_T< 8 GeV/crange. This result represents the first determination of the quark content of the f₀(980) state, made possible by using a novel approach, and paves the way for similar studies of other exotic hadron candidates. 

A first search for beyond the standard model physics in jet multiplicity patterns of multilepton events is presented, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $138{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The search uses observed jet multiplicity distributions in one-, two-, and four-lepton events to explore possible enhancements in jet production rate in three-lepton events with and without bottom quarks. The data are found to be consistent with the standard model expectation. The results are interpreted in terms of supersymmetric production of electroweak chargino-neutralino superpartners with cascade decays terminating in prompt hadronic $R$-parity violating interactions. 

A search for the rare decay $D^0\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$is reported using proton-proton collision events at $\sqrt{s}=13.6\mathrm{TeV}$collected by the CMS detector in 2022–2023, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $64.5{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. This is the first analysis to use a newly developed inclusive dimuon trigger, expanding the scope of the CMS flavor physics program. The search uses $D^0$mesons obtained from $D^{*+}\to D^0{\pi }^{+}$decays. No significant excess is observed. A limit on the branching fraction of $\mathcal{B}(D^0\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-})<2.4\times {10}^{-9}$at 95% confidence level is set. This is the most stringent upper limit set on any flavor changing neutral current decay in the charm sector.