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The article presents some results of a joint interdisciplinary researchproject, The Stora Förvar Cave and Gotlands peopling, faunal history and subsistence economy/diet development from the Boreal to the Subatlantic, initiated by Christian Lindqvist in 1991. Its objectives include investigations of a number of crucial issues in a long-term perspective, such as the initial settlement, the early faunal history, the early subsistence economy and diet, but also the character of the Mesolithic-Neolithic shift on Gotland, by means of human and zooosteological, carbon isotope and ancient DNA analyses. The article presents and discusses artefact, osteological, and 13C and 14C data and interpretations concerning the duration and character of the Mesolithic occupation —temporary kill/butchering site, seasonal hunting station, semi-sedentary base camp or burial cave —as well as osteobiographical data on the identified human individuals and their burial customs.

Introduction. The territory of the Northern Caspian region plays an important role in the study of the Neolithic of Eastern Europe. The main criterion of this period is clay pottery. One of the difficult issues is the time of the ceramic technology appearance. Methods and materials. The study of the pottery technology of the Neolithic population of the Northern Caspian region is carried out in the framework of the historical and cultural approach to the study of ceramics, according to the method of A. Bobrinsky. The technique is based on binocular microscopy, tracology and experiment in the form of physical modeling. The basis for identifying technological traces on ceramics is the comparative analysis of the vessels under study with the base of standards. It is made by means of physical modeling in field and laboratory conditions. The age of the Neolithic monuments was determined using traditional methods in radiocarbon laboratories in Russia and Ukraine, as well as using AMS at universities in Sweden and Finland. Analysis. Over the past 10 years, more than 68 radiocarbon dates on different materials such as charcoal, bones, organics from ceramics, charred crusts, humus have been obtained. They give the possibility to determine the time of appearance and spread of the earliest pottery in the Northern Caspian region. This is the middle 7th millennium BC. The chronological framework for the development of the Neolithic in the Northern Caspian region is ca. 6600–5500 BC. The paper establishes the main and specific features of ceramic traditions. Results.The technical and technological analysis allows to reveal the genesis, the features of dynamics and further development of pottery in this region. The complex of results obtained allows to attribute the Neolithic sites of the Caspian region to the earliest pottery areal in Eastern Europe.

Understanding the transport and deposition of the cosmogenic isotope 10Be is vital for the application of the isotope data to infer past changes of solar activity, to reconstruct past Earth’s magnetic field intensity and climate change. Here, we use data of the cosmogenic isotope 10Be from the Greenland ice cores, namely the NEEM and GRIP ice cores, to identify factors controlling its distribution. After removing the effects of the geomagnetic field on the cosmogenic radionuclide production rate, the results expose imprints of the 20–22 ka precession cycle on the Greenland 10Be records of the last glacial period. This finding can further improve the understanding of 10Be variability in ice sheets and has the prospect of providing better reconstructions of geomagnetic and solar activity based on cosmogenic radionuclide records.

The Asian Summer Monsoons (ASM) represent the main source of precipitation in China and East Asia with about one third of the world population and a region of widespread civilizations. Identifying the temporal and spatial patterns (pathways) of these monsoonal events during the Late Holocene to today has been a matter of debate amongst the scientific community. Here we show that the distribution patterns of the cosmogenic isotope 10 Be and oceanic 127 I in the topsoil across China exhibit imprints of the main ASM pathways. Our results indicate the monsoon pathway pattern persisted for several millennia or more and suggest a strong bond between 10 Be and water vapor transport patterns. Our data also reveal a 127 I distribution pattern controlled by the ASM pathways, rather than proximity to the sea or bedrock weathering. The persistent pathway of the ASM during the late Holocene, together with higher than average global soil iodine concentration, may have further strengthened the development of civilizations in this region of the world through reduction of iodine deficiency related diseases.

The magnitude of soil and sediment erosion and accumulation processes can profoundly affect landscape development and hamper efficient management of natural resources. Consequently, estimating the rates and causes of these processes is essential, particularly in remote regions, for prediction of changes in landform and river evolution and protection of local ecosystem. We here present the results of a soil and sediment erosion investigation in the Source Area of the Yellow River (SAYR), northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on a combined analysis of 10Be cosmogenic isotope and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) simulation modelling. The data reveal variable soil erosion trends that range between 103 and 830 t km−2 a−1. The low values occur in the western part of the basin that are associated with low sediment yield, while the high values appear in the dominant sediment export part of the basin along the main stream of the Yellow River in the east. Generally, soil and sediment accumulation is characterized by high 10Be concentration in the western part and the northwest of Ngoring Lake. The style of landform development by the erosion/accumulation processes is closely linked to the distribution and degradation extent of the permafrost in the study region. Soil surface erosion increases with more permafrost degradation from the western to the eastern part of the basin, and surface soil particles are dominantly removed from the surface rather than deeper layers.

Physiological liver cell replacement is central to maintaining the organ's high metabolic activity, although its characteristics are difficult to study in humans. Using retrospective radiocarbon (C-14) birth dating of cells, we report that human hepatocytes show continuous and lifelong turnover, allowing the liver to remain a young organ (average age

An essential aspect of studying the Neolithic is the identification of its early phase. The research is constrained by scarce source base of the study. Until recently, the early Neolithic in the Lower Volga region has not been identified by the experts. The situation has changed due to the excavation of the settlement Oroshayemoye I on the river B. Uzen. This paper focuses on the received materials. The monument is multi-layered. During the field work in 2018, the lower cultural layer was investigated. Ceramic, stone and osteological equipment was found in it. The pottery and set of tools are typologically similar to the materials of the lower layer of the Varfolomeyevskaya site, which belong to the Orlovskaya culture. The technological analysis of the ceramics of the Oroshayemoye settlement showed its proximity to the pottery making technology of Orlovskaya culture. The study of osteological remains revealed the presence of bones of aurochs, saiga, tarpan and other wild species on the monument, as well as a domestic dog. According to radiocarbon analysis, the age of the lower layer of the monument is determined by the last quarter of VII the beginning of the VI millennium BC. Paleoclimatic studies conducted on the monument showed that during this period the climate was warm and humid.

By analysing the two long-lived anthropogenic Uranium (U) isotopes U-233 and U-236 in different compartments of the environment affected by releases of nuclear power production or by global fallout from nuclear weapons tests, we showed that the corresponding isotopic ratios U-233/U-236 differ by one order of magnitude. Based on these experimental results which were obtained with the ultra-sensitive detection method Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, we suggested a representative ratio for nuclear weapons fallout of U-233/U-236 = (1.40 ± 0.15) ·10-2 and (0.12 ± 0.01) ·10-2 for releases from nuclear power production. Consequently, the U-233/U-236 ratio not only has the potential to become a novel sensitive fingerprint for releases from nuclear industry, but could also serve as a powerful oceanographic tracer due to the conservative behaviour of U in ocean water which does not suffer from chemical fractionation. As a first application of this paired tracer, we studied the distribution of U-233 and U-236 concentrations in addition to I-129 in the Baltic Sea which is known to have received inputs of radionuclides from various contamination sources including the two European reprocessing plants, global fallout from weapons testings and fallout from the Chernobyl accident. Our data indicate an additional unidentified source of reactor U-236 in the Baltic Sea demonstrating the high sensitivity of the U-233/U-236 ratio to distinguish different emission sources in water mixing processes.

Multiple proxy records have been used for the understanding of environmental and climate changes during the Holocene. For the first time, we here measure meteoric 10Be isotope of sediments from a drill core collected at the Kunlun Pass (KP) on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (NETP) to investigate mositure and atmospheric circulation changes during the Holocene. The 10Be flux suggests relative low levels in the Early Holocene, followed by a sharp increase to high values at around 4 ka BP (4 ka BP = 4000 years before present). Afterwards, the 10Be flux remains on a high level during the Late Holocene, but decreases slightly towards today. These 10Be deposition patterns are compared to moisture changes in regions dominated by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM), and the Westerlies. Different from the gradual changes in monsoon patterns, the 10Be data reveal low levels during the Early Holocene until ~4 ka BP when an obvious increase was indicated and a relative high level continues to this day, which is relatively more in agreement with patterns of the Westerlies. This finding provides a new evidence for a shift in the dominant pattern of atmospheric circulation at the KP region from a more monsoonal one to one dominated by the Westerlies. Our results improve the understanding of non-stationary interactions and spatial relevance of the EASM, the ISM and the Westerlies on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Differences between 10Be records from Greenland and Antarctica over the last 100 years have led to different conclusions about past changes in solar activity. The reasons for this disagreement remain unresolved. We analyze a seasonally resolved 10Be record from a firn core (NEEM ice core project) in Northwestern Greenland for 1887-2002. By comparing the NEEM data to 10Be data from the NGRIP and Dye3 ice cores, we find that the Dye3 data after 1958 are significantly lower. These low values lead to a normalization problem in solar reconstructions when connecting 10Be variations to modern observations. Excluding these data strongly reduces the differences between solar reconstructions over the last 2000 years based on Greenland and Antarctic 10Be data. Furthermore, 10Be records from polar regions and group sunspot numbers do not support a substantial increase in solar activity for the 1937-1950 period as proposed by previous extensions of the neutron monitor data.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

We present an application of multi-isotopic fingerprints (i.e., 236U/238U, 233U/236U, 236U/129I and 129I/127I) for the discovery of previously unrecognized sources of anthropogenic radioactivity. Our data indicate a source of reactor 236U in the Baltic Sea in addition to inputs from the two European reprocessing plants and global fallout. This additional reactor 236U may come from unreported discharges from Swedish nuclear research facilities as supported by high 236U levels in sediment nearby Studsvik, or from accidental leakages of spent nuclear fuel disposed on the Baltic seafloor, either reported or unreported. Such leakages would indicate problems with the radiological safety of seafloor disposal, and may be accompanied by releases of other radionuclides. The results demonstrate the high sensitivity of multi-isotopic tracer systems, especially the 233U/236U signature, to distinguish environmental emissions of unrevealed radioactive releases for nuclear safeguards, emergency preparedness and environmental tracer studies., Anthropogenic activities lead to the accumulation of radioactive substances in the environment. Here the authors use multi-isotopic fingerprints of uranium and iodine to discover a previously unknown source of reactor uranium in the Baltic Sea, likely sourced from a Swedish nuclear facility.

Various proxy records have been used for the understanding of environmental and climate variations during the Holocene. Here, for the first time, we use meteoric 10Be isotope measurements performed on sediments from a drill core collected at the Kunlun Pass (KP) on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (NETP) to investigate hydroclimate changes during the Holocene. The 10Be flux suggests relative low levels in the Early Holocene, followed by a sharp increase to high values at around 4 ka BP (4 ka BP = 4000 years before present). Afterwards, the 10Be flux remains on a high level during the Late Holocene, but decreases slightly towards today. These 10Be deposition patterns are compared to moisture changes in regions dominated by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM), and the Westerlies. Different from the gradual changes in monsoon patterns, the 10Be data reveal low levels during the Early Holocene until ~4 ka BP when an obvious increase is indicated and a relative high level continues to this day, which is relatively more in agreement with patterns of the Westerlies. This finding provides a new evidence for a shift in the dominant pattern of atmospheric circulation at the KP region from a more monsoonal one to one dominated by the Westerlies. Our results improve the understanding of non-stationary interactions and spatial relevance of the EASM, the ISM and the Westerlies on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

We present the first application of multi-isotopic fingerprints (i.e., 236U/238U, 233U/236U, 236U/129I and 129I/127I) for the discovery of unrevealed radioactive sources. Our data indicate that, besides the reactor signature from the two European reprocessing plants and global fallout signature, there must be a previously undiscovered additional reactor 236U source in the Baltic Sea. This reactor 236U may come from unreported discharges from nuclear research facilities in Sweden, or it may come from accidental leakage from disposal of spent nuclear fuel on the Baltic seafloor, either reported or unreported. Such leakage would indicate potential problems with the safety of seafloor disposal, and may be accompanied by leakage of other radionuclides. The results demonstrate the high sensitivity of the multi-isotopic tracer systems, especially the newly accessible 233U/236U signature, to distinguish environmental emissions of unrevealed historical or present radioactive releases for nuclear safeguard and emergency preparedness, as well as tracing environmental processes from the releasing sites.

Several climate oscillations have been reported from the early Holocene superepoch, the best known of which is the Preboreal oscillation (PBO). It is still unclear how the PBO and the number of climate oscillations observed in Greenland ice cores and European terrestrial records are related to one another. This is mainly due to uncertainties in the chronologies of the records. Here, we present new, high-resolution 10Be concentration data from the varved Meerfelder Maar sediment record in Germany, spanning the period 11 310–11 000 years BP. These new data allow us to synchronize this well-studied record, as well as Greenland ice core records, with the IntCal13 timescale via radionuclide wiggle matching. In doing so, we show that the climate oscillations identified in Greenland and Europe between 11 450 and 11 000 years BP were not synchronous but terminated and began, respectively, with the onset of a grand solar minimum. A similar spatial anomaly pattern is found in a number of modeling studies on solar forcing of climate in the North Atlantic region. We further postulate that freshwater delivery to the North Atlantic would have had the potential to amplify solar forcing through a slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) reinforcing surface air temperature anomalies in the region.

Assessing the transport of natural radionuclides in the atmosphere provides a powerful tool to study air mass circulation. Here, we investigated the seasonal atmospheric distribution of the naturally produced

Geomagnetic dipole moment variations, for example associated with polarity reversals and excursions, are linked to changes in cosmogenic radionuclide production rates. Therefore, it is possible to reconstruct past changes in the dipole moment based on cosmogenic radionuclide records from natural archives such as ice cores. Here we present a geomagnetic dipole moment reconstruction based on 10Be and 36Cl data from two Greenland ice cores over the period from 11.7 ka to 108 ka BP (before present AD 1950). We find significant correlations between the cosmogenic radionuclides and climate proxies which may be due to the common transport and deposition processes of these species. In an attempt to minimize climate-related variations in our dipole moment reconstruction, we apply a multi-linear correction method by removing common variability between 10Be and 36Cl and climate parameters (accumulation, δ18O and aerosol data) from the radionuclide records. The comparison of the resulting cosmogenic radionuclide-based dipole reconstruction with independent geomagnetic field records shows good agreement. This validates the use of cosmogenic radionuclides in ice cores to reconstruct past geomagnetic dipole moment variations after correction for the climate effect.

Be-10 in ice cores has been instrumental for reconstructing past changes in solar activity prior to direct observations. For a robust use of these records, it is pivotal to understand the Be-10 transport and deposition. However, there are only few high-resolution seasonal Be-10 data longer than one full solar cycle (11 years) that could enable a quantification of the influences of atmospheric circulation and deposition processes on the Be-10 signal in ice. Here we present a seasonally resolved Be-10 data set covering the neutron monitor period (1951-2002) from a firn core connected to the NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) project. The results suggest that both summer and winter Be-10 reflect the production signal induced by solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays. However, superimposed on this solar signal we find additional meteorologically driven influences on Be-10 transport and deposition. We found that the tropopause pressure over 30 degrees N represents an important factor influencing NEEM Be-10 concentrations on seasonal and annual scales. Be-10 deposited in summer also correlates significantly with the tropopause pressure over Greenland suggesting a direct contribution of stratospheric intrusions during summer to the Be-10 deposition in Greenland. To correct for these transport/deposition influences, we apply a first-order correction to the Be-10 data using a multi-linear regression model. The "climate-corrected" Be-10 data shows a comparable skill for reconstructing production rate changes as the Be-10 composite record from five different ice cores in Greenland. The results suggest that the correction approach can be a complementary method to the stacking to better isolate the production rate signal from the Be-10 data when only limited data are available.

Physiological liver cell replacement is central to maintaining the organ's high metabolic activity, although its characteristics are difficult to study in humans. Using retrospective 14 C birth dating of cells, we report that human hepatocytes show continuous and lifelong turnover, maintaining the liver a young organ (average age < 3 years ). Hepatocyte renewal is highly dependent on the ploidy level. Diploid hepatocytes show an seven-fold higher annual exchange rate than polyploid hepatocytes. These observations support the view that physiological liver cell renewal in humans is mainly dependent on diploid hepatocytes, whereas polyploid cells are compromised in their ability to divide. Moreover, cellular transitions between these two subpopulations are limited, with minimal contribution to the respective other ploidy class under homeostatic conditions. With these findings, we present a new integrated model of liver cell generation in humans that provides fundamental insights into liver cell turnover dynamics.

The long-lived anthropogenic 129I released from human nuclear activities has been widely employed as an effective oceanographic tracer to investigate circulation of water masses in marine environment. Depth profiles of seawater collected from the Amundsen Sea Polynya, Antarctica were analyzed for total 129I and 127I, as well as their species of iodide and iodate. The measured 129I concentrations ((1.15–3.43) × 106 atoms/L) and 129I/127I atomic ratios ((0.53–1.19) × 10−11) indicate that anthropogenic 129I has not only reached the Antarctic surface marine environment but also the deep water due to a strong vertical mixing of water masses. The Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) flowed southward along continental shelf towards the ice shelf zone (74.25°S) at a depth of 1025 m and then migrated upward and northward to the polynya and finally to the sea ice zone (71.95°S). The maximum upwelling depth of the CDW was around 200 m in the polynya. The source of 129I− in the polynya is predominantly the intrusion of source waters rather than the in-situ reduction of iodate by phytoplankton, implying a considerably slow reduction process of iodate to iodide in this region.

Several climate events have been reported from the Early Holocene superepoch, the best known of these being the Preboreal oscillation (PBO). It is still unclear how the PBO and the number of climate events observed in Greenland ice cores and European terrestrial records are related to one another. This is mainly due to uncertainties in the chronologies of the records. Here, we present new high resolution 10Be concentration data from the varved Meerfelder Maar sediment record in Germany, spanning the period 11310–11000 years BP. These new data allow us to synchronize this well-studied record as well as Greenland ice-core records to the IntCal13 time-scale via radionuclide wiggle-matching. In doing so, we show that the climate oscillations identified in Greenland and Europe between 11450 and 11000 years BP were not synchronous but terminated and began, respectively, with the onset of a grand solar minimum. A similar spatial anomaly pattern is found in a number of modeling studies on solar forcing of climate in the North Atlantic region. We further postulate that freshwater delivery to the North Atlantic would have had the potential to amplify solar forcing through a slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) reinforcing surface air temperature anomalies in the region.

Information on the Holocene vegetation history of the Central Rila Mountains for the last 10,000 years was obtained by means of pollen and fossil stomata analyses of a 500 cm core retrieved from peat bog Vodniza (2113 m a.s.l.), and supported by radiocarbon chronology. The early Holocene afforestation started with an initial Betula phase with stands of Juniperus and Pinus which occupied barren soils (10,000–8300 cal. yrs. BP) while deciduous oak forests with abundant Tilia , Ulmus , Acer , and later on Corylus , spread at lower elevations. During the Holocene climatic optimum (8300–6000 cal. yrs. BP) the conifers Pinus ( Pinus sylvestris , Pinus mugo , Pinus peuce ) and Abies expanded at the expense of the birch and oak forests. The tree line was running above 2100 m comparable to the present-day situation and started to descend after ca. 3200 cal. yrs. BP mostly due to human impact. The last tree which penetrated into the coniferous belt after 3400 cal. yrs. BP and reached altitudes of 2000–2100 m, confirmed by the find of fossil stomata, was Picea abies . Its maximal distribution was achieved between 2250 and 1100 cal. yrs. BP, alongside with some enlargement of beech communities. The first indications of stock-breeding and other human activities in the Central Rila Mountains were recorded since 3400–3200 cal. yrs. BP (Late Bronze Age). The vegetation reconstruction during the Holocene followed a pattern coherent with the information from the Northern Pirin and partly from the Western Rhodopes Mountains. The palaeoecological evidence from the Rila Mountains could be compared in broad lines with the high quality data obtained from the Romanian Carpathians by the application of multi-proxy research approach.

The summed probability distribution of 162 radiocarbon dates from Gotland was analysed with reference to archaeological and environmental data in order to evaluate possible variations in settlement intensity on the island. The data indicated variations in demographic development on the island, with probably several different colonization events and external influences; the pioneer settlement reached the island around 9200 cal. BP. After the initial colonization, the radiocarbon dates were rather evenly distributed until around 7700–7600 cal. BP, then there was a drop in the number of dates between 8300 and 8000 cal. BP that may be associated with the 8200 cold event. A marked decline in the number of dates between 7600 and 6000 cal. BP may be associated initially with the Littorina I transgression, but this transgression cannot explain why the Late Mesolithic period is not well represented on Gotland: the climatic development was favourable but did not result in increased human activity. The number of radiocarbon dates indicated that the population size remained low until around 6000 cal. BP, after which there was a gradual increase that reached a first ‘threshold’ after 5600 cal. BP and a second ‘threshold’ after 4500 cal. BP. The first apparent population increase was associated with the appearance of the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) and the second with Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) complexes. A decline in the number of dates occurred after 4300 cal. BP, i.e. towards the Late Neolithic. There was an association between the frequency distributions of the radiocarbon dates and the number of stray finds from different time periods but any correlation was not straightforward.

Soils are among the major terrestrial reservoirs of atmospheric 10Be isotope and provide information of landscape evolution history. Despite this importance, there is no overview of the global soil 10Be fluxes in topsoil that is linked with atmospheric flux models. A comparison between measured (in topsoil) and atmospherically modeled 10Be fluxes is presented here. The data show relatively good agreement in the latitudinal trends. This feature demonstrates the potential to use the modeling data in estimating soil development/erosion rates in large scale basins where extensive 10Be measurements can be limited.

This study provides a definite answer to the long-standing question concerning the longevity of the secretory antibody response. Landsverk et al. show that antigenic attrition affects a minor plasma cell subset and that distinct plasma cells are likely maintained for life in the human small intestine., Plasma cells (PCs) produce antibodies that mediate immunity after infection or vaccination. In contrast to PCs in the bone marrow, PCs in the gut have been considered short lived. In this study, we studied PC dynamics in the human small intestine by cell-turnover analysis in organ transplants and by retrospective cell birth dating measuring carbon-14 in genomic DNA. We identified three distinct PC subsets: a CD19+ PC subset was dynamically exchanged, whereas of two CD19− PC subsets, CD45+ PCs exhibited little and CD45− PCs no replacement and had a median age of 11 and 22 yr, respectively. Accumulation of CD45− PCs during ageing and the presence of rotavirus-specific clones entirely within the CD19− PC subsets support selection and maintenance of protective PCs for life in human intestine.

Three 6-m-long cores of sediments were collected in the northern, middle and southern part of the Bothnian Bay. The sediments were dated by paleomagnetic dating techniques, constrained by magnetic properties and geochemical data. The results indicate the ages of the sediments in the bottom part of the cores in the northern, middle and southern parts of the Bothnian Bay to be approximately 5300 years BP, 5350 years BP and 3500 years BP, respectively. The deposition rate calculated from the estimated ages at various depths show that the deposition rate was generally in the range 0.5–1.5 mm/year but it was higher in the southern part than in the middle and northern parts of the bay. There was a significant increase in the deposition rate at ca 2200 years BP, recorded in all three cores, a rate varying between 2.47 and 3.07 mm/year and lasting until ca 1840 years BP. A proposed constant uplift rate of the crust during the period ca 5500 years BP to present is thus not reflected by a constant deposition rate. The peaks in deposition rates at ca 2200–1840 years BP were followed by a decrease in salinity. This phenomenon is suggested to be caused by crustal uplift, with a threshold being formed in the southern part of the bay, thereby increasing the reactivation of bottom sediments and reducing the inflow of brackish water from the Bothnian Sea. The 14C ages of the sediments reveal differences in age compared with the paleomagnetic ages. In the southern core, the 14C ages are ca 1350 years older, and in the north, the age offset is mixed. The reactivation and re-deposition of sediments is argued to be the reason for the apparent 14C age differences. This finding demonstrates that 14C cannot be used for the dating of Bothnian Bay sediments unless the radiocarbon age offset has been determined.

Thymic involution and proliferation of naive T cells both contribute to shaping the naive T-cell repertoire as humans age, but a clear understanding of the roles of each throughout a human life span has been difficult to determine. By measuring nuclear bomb test–derived 14C in genomic DNA, we determined the turnover rates of CD4+ and CD8+ naive T-cell populations and defined their dynamics in healthy individuals ranging from 20 to 65 years of age. We demonstrate that naive T-cell generation decreases with age because of a combination of declining peripheral division and thymic production during adulthood. Concomitant decline in T-cell loss compensates for decreased generation rates. We investigated putative mechanisms underlying age-related changes in homeostatic regulation of CD4+ naive T-cell turnover, using mass cytometry to profile candidate signaling pathways involved in T-cell activation and proliferation relative to CD31 expression, a marker of thymic proximity for the CD4+ naive T-cell population. We show that basal nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) phosphorylation positively correlated with CD31 expression and thus is decreased in peripherally expanded naive T-cell clones. Functionally, we found that NF-κB signaling was essential for naive T-cell proliferation to the homeostatic growth factor interleukin (IL)-7, and reduced NF-κB phosphorylation in CD4+CD31− naive T cells is linked to reduced homeostatic proliferation potential. Our results reveal an age-related decline in naive T-cell turnover as a putative regulator of naive T-cell diversity and identify a molecular pathway that restricts proliferation of peripherally expanded naive T-cell clones that accumulate with age., Our pool of naive T cells is critical for protection against new infections and cancers. By measuring remnant 14C from 1960s nuclear bomb blasts that has been incorporated into cellular DNA, this study defines the average age of the naive T-cell pool in healthy adults, revealing the slow, regulated turnover of the naive T-cell pool, supporting its maintenance for a human lifetime.

Significance This study provides evidence of an enormous solar storm around 2,610 B.P. It is only the third such event reliably documented and is comparable with the strongest event detected at AD 774/775. The event of 2,610 years B.P. stands out because of its particular signature in the radionuclide data [i.e., carbon-14 (14C) data alone does not allow for an unequivocal detection of the event]. It illustrates that present efforts to find such events based solely on 14C data likely lead to an underestimated number of such potentially devastating events for our society. In addition to 14C data, high-resolution records of beryllium-10 and chlorine-36 are crucial for reliable estimates of the occurrence rate and the properties of past solar proton events., Recently, it has been confirmed that extreme solar proton events can lead to significantly increased atmospheric production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides. Evidence of such events is recorded in annually resolved natural archives, such as tree rings [carbon-14 (14C)] and ice cores [beryllium-10 (10Be), chlorine-36 (36Cl)]. Here, we show evidence for an extreme solar event around 2,610 years B.P. (∼660 BC) based on high-resolution 10Be data from two Greenland ice cores. Our conclusions are supported by modeled 14C production rates for the same period. Using existing 36Cl ice core data in conjunction with 10Be, we further show that this solar event was characterized by a very hard energy spectrum. These results indicate that the 2,610-years B.P. event was an order of magnitude stronger than any solar event recorded during the instrumental period and comparable with the solar proton event of AD 774/775, the largest solar event known to date. The results illustrate the importance of multiple ice core radionuclide measurements for the reliable identification of short-term production rate increases and the assessment of their origins.

In this Letter, the vertical error bars were missing from Fig. 3b and 3c. This figure has been corrected online.

International audience; Oligodendrocytes wrap nerve fibres in the central nervous system with layers of specialized cell membrane to form myelin sheaths1. Myelin is destroyed by the immune system in multiple sclerosis, but myelin is thought to regenerate and neurological function can be recovered. In animal models of demyelinating disease, myelin is regenerated by newly generated oligodendrocytes, and remaining mature oligodendrocytes do not seem to contribute to this process2,3,4. Given the major differences in the dynamics of oligodendrocyte generation and adaptive myelination between rodents and humans5,6,7,8,9, it is not clear how well experimental animal models reflect the situation in multiple sclerosis. Here, by measuring the integration of 14C derived from nuclear testing in genomic DNA10, we assess the dynamics of oligodendrocyte generation in patients with multiple sclerosis. The generation of new oligodendrocytes was increased several-fold in normal-appearing white matter in a subset of individuals with very aggressive multiple sclerosis, but not in most subjects with the disease, demonstrating an inherent potential to substantially increase oligodendrocyte generation that fails in most patients. Oligodendrocytes in shadow plaques—thinly myelinated lesions that are thought to represent remyelinated areas—were old in patients with multiple sclerosis. The absence of new oligodendrocytes in shadow plaques suggests that remyelination of lesions occurs transiently or not at all, or that myelin is regenerated by pre-existing, and not new, oligodendrocytes in multiple sclerosis. We report unexpected oligodendrocyte generation dynamics in multiple sclerosis, and this should guide the use of current, and the development of new, therapies.