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It is unclear whether the harsh abiotic conditions of drylands hinder biological invasions. This global analysis shows that drylands are vulnerable to non-native plants and are likely to become more so as native plant diversity declines and grazing pressure intensifies.

Polyamides (PAs) or nylons are types of plastics with wide applications, but due to their accumulation in the environment, strategies for their deconstruction are of interest. Here, the authors screen 40 potential nylon-hydrolyzing enzymes (nylonases) using a mass spectrometry-based approach and identify a thermostabilized N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase as the most promising for further development, as well as crucial targets for progressing PA6 enzymatic depolymerization.

Ribosomes drive protein synthesis, but their dynamics are hard to visualize. Here, authors introduce RiboBright, a fluorescent probe that illuminates ribosomes in live and fixed cells, revealing cell-type-specific content, organization, and movement.

Proteomic data from natural isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae provide insight into how these cells tolerate aneuploidy (an imbalance in the number of chromosomes), and reveal differences between lab-engineered aneuploids and diverse natural yeasts.

Chlorine electrosynthesis from seawater is limited by poor selectivity and stability under industrial-scale conditions. Here atomic-step-enriched ultrafine high-entropy alloy nanowires enable highly efficient chlorine evolution at 10 kA m⁻² for over 5,500 h through dynamic Pt–O active sites, reducing electricity consumption and feedstock costs for next-generation chlor-alkali processes.

Energy deposition inside silicon with ultrashort laser pulses is intrinsically restricted. Here, authors demonstrate that this filamentation-driven ceiling is universal in semiconductors. Extreme nonlinearities are quantified to predict and optimize involume laser-semiconductor interaction.

Greenwald, Nederlof and colleagues developed a computational pipeline analyzing multiplex imaging data and established spatial patterns within breast cancer microenvironment that are predictive of immune checkpoint blockade response across treatment time course.

A graph-based pangenome constructed from 39 reference-quality genomes of wild and cultivated cucumber accessions, including 27 newly assembled, highlights the dynamics of structural variants during cucumber domestication and range expansion.

Cytosolic ScURA uncouples de novo pyrimidine synthesis from mitochondrial electron transport, and rescues pyrimidine production and cell proliferation under pharmacological or genetic mETC disruption.

The transcription factor CarD facilitates the activation of transcription in many bacteria and in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, CarD compensates for suboptimal promoter DNA sequences. Here, the authors show CarD function is tied to promoter DNA topology.

Werner et al. present the results of the 201 Trial, a 12-week randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled phase 2a study of risvodetinib, in patients with early untreated Parkinson’s disease. Risvodetinib was found to be safe and well tolerated.

KRAS is an oncogene that switches between a GDP-bound inactive state and a GTP-bound active state. Recently developed KRAS G12C inhibitors are specific to the GDP-bound inactive state. Here, the authors develop a class of covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors capable of targeting both states for the treatment of KRAS-driven cancer.

mGWAS reveals ZmICE1 as a key hub for integrating amino acid metabolic pathways and cold tolerance in maize. Natural variation in ZmICE1 promoter regulates the binding affinity of ZmMYB39, which confers the diverse cold tolerance in maize.

Crystalline materials for optical applications are synthesized in living dinoflagellates.

Biocatalysis of the chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin, relies on the cytochrome P450 DoxA, which is inefficient. Here, the authors ameliorated the biosynthetic limitations by identifying DoxA redox partners and DnrV, which prevents product inhibition, helping improve microbial production.

Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are declining quickly. By integrating global environmental, socioeconomic, and biological data, this study identifies the key conditions associated with imperilment of freshwater fishes.

Population-based studies from Sweden with replication in Norway identify associations between host genetic variants and gut microbial composition and implicate short-chain fatty acid chemosensors as modulators of gut microbial richness.

De novo designed proteins that target the transmembrane domain of G-protein-coupled receptors, created using iterative structural predictions, are able to act as agonist-positive, negative or biased allosteric modulators of downstream activity.

Mucosal administration of a multivalent, adjuvanted vaccine against Clostridioides difficile promoted bacterial clearance and protected against morbidity, mortality, tissue damage and recurrence in mice.

Decadal-scale observations reveal that plant diversity stabilizes ecosystem productivity over time. Phylogenetic diversity is the key driver of long-term stability, whereas plant height shapes short-term productivity dynamics.

Mouse models show that lymphoedema caused by impaired lymphatic drainage is ameliorated by removal of cholesterol deposits, which promotes the regeneration of lymphatic vessels.

Solid-state quantum emitters in the telecom C-band hold promise for quantum communication applications, but achieving high photon indistinguishability remains challenging. Here, the authors deterministically generate highly indistinguishable single photons in the telecom C-band from InAs/InAlGaAs quantum dots.

Boosting mitochondrial metabolism in neurons in central memory circuits by enhancing Ca²⁺ retention in the mitochondrial matrix is shown to improve long-term memory formation in flies and mice.

The authors find that distinct radial glia subtypes generate and support midbrain dopaminergic neurons, revealing specialized function and lineage relationships among the diverse cell types that shape dopamine neuron development.

Natural Killer cells are key mediators of anti-tumour immunosurveillance and anti-viral immunity. Here, the authors map regulatory genetic variation in primary Natural Killer cells, providing new insights into their role in human health and disease.

GDF15 has been associated with cancer-associated cachexia. Here, the authors show that STK11/LKB1 loss-of-function mutations in non-small cell lung cancer result in an exaggerated integrated stress response culminating in the tumor cell secretion of the cytokine GDF15 promoting cachexia.

This study utilized a longitudinal cohort of adolescents to identify distinct brain signatures linked to ADHD symptom trajectories, revealing that specific cortical and subcortical changes correlate with symptom persistence, remission and emergence, enhancing predictive capabilities for ADHD outcomes.

Donahue et al. show that ageing is associated with changes in ER morphology. ER-phagy drives age-associated ER remodelling through tissue-specific factors.

HIV-1 integrase forms an RNA-binding module on the luminal side of the mature capsid lattice.

The combination of within-species variation in pathogen load, the shape of the relationship between pathogen load and infectiousness, and vector feeding preferences shape transmission of multi-host vector-borne pathogens. Here, the authors use experimental and wild bird infection data to characterize the role of 17 host bird species in avian malaria transmission in Hawaii.

Biogenic–anthropogenic interactions increase the formation and prevalence of secondary organic aerosol coatings on urban black carbon in Nanjing, China. These coatings amplify radiative effects, according to a model–data analysis for 2023.

Langstein-Skora, Schmid, Huth et al. propose that intrinsically disordered region functionality can be driven by the interplay between linear binding motifs and contextual chemical characteristics such as charge and hydrophobicity.

The authors show that plasma AT(N) biomarkers can distinguish Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration in diverse Latin American populations. Using machine learning and integrating neuroimaging, significant diagnostic accuracy was achieved, enhancing clinical assessments of these conditions in Latin America.

Interactions between long RNA molecules play essential roles in shaping gene regulation. Here, the authors show that low-complexity repeats drive stable contacts between RNAs and present RIME, a deep learning model that improves the prediction of these interactions using sequence information.

Aperiodic composite crystals were discovered that emulate 2D moiré materials, demonstrating a potentially scalable approach for producing moiré materials for next-generation electronics and a generalizable approach for realizing theoretical predictions of higher-dimensional quantum phenomena.

This study presents MAOSS, a multimodal AI model that repurposes non-contrast CT scans and leverages clinical features to detect and stage liver steatosis and fibrosis. Here the authors show MAOSS accurately stratifies cirrhosis progression risk when embedded into the standard clinical workflow, enabling scalable, opportunistic screening for early intervention of steatotic liver disease.

The depiction of crop exposure to heat stress is fundamental for reliably quantifying extreme-heat-induced yield loss and crop failure. Using more than 130,000 subnational yield records, this study estimated spatially explicit extreme degree day thresholds for maize and soybean across major Northern Hemisphere breadbaskets, revealing strong geographic heterogeneity.

Thermal imaging lenses are typically made from expensive materials such as germanium and silicon. Here, the authors synthesise a sulfur-based polymer with high mid-wave infrared and long-wave infrared transparencies, presenting a high-performing, low-cost alternative to traditional thermal imaging lens materials.

Rak et al. report the visualisation of internal domain boundaries in perovskite single crystals, revealing that electric fields produced by localised flexoelectricity separate electric charges, reducing recombination of charge carriers, and leading to long-lived photocurrent under zero bias.

2D transition metal nitrides (TMNs) exhibit various interesting physical properties, such as tunable magnetism, but their synthesis remains challenging. Here, the authors report the growth of 15 different types of 2D TMN crystals with tunable magnetic properties by using metastable metal chlorides as transient templates.

The phase 2/3 DEVOTE trial demonstrated that high-dose nusinersen significantly improved motor function and was safe in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, compared with a matched sham control.

Chang et al. found that nuclear reactive electrophile stress suppresses translation through HNEylation at C436 of NCBP1, triggering alternative splicing of S6K1, a key regulator of translation.

Exposure to inflammation drives hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) aging, limiting their self-renewal capacity and differentiation. Here, the authors explore the mechanistic link between inflammation and HSC aging. Using mouse models, they identify the innate immune RNA sensor MDA5 as a key mediator of HSC aging and show that MDA5 loss ameliorates the aging phenotype by improving proteostasis in aged HSCs.

Tests of the predictions of the renormalization group in biological experiments have not yet been decisive. Now, a study on the collective dynamics of insect swarms provides a long-sought match between experiment and theory.

Hepatic glycogenolysis is essential for protein glycosylation and rhythmic secretion by the liver. Disruptions to hepatic glycogenolysis, caused by congenital diseases or physiological factors such as obesity, caloric restriction and changes to meal timing, alter hepatic protein secretion.

This study uncovers genetic links between plant roots and their microbiome in Brassica napus, identifying microbe-associated loci and a beneficial bacterium, Sphingopyxis, that promotes nitrogen uptake.

Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with retrotransposon-rich centromeres and that long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons are the genetic substrate.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence surveys provide estimates of the extent of prior infection in a population. In this nationally representative survey from Mexico, the authors estimate seroprevalence after the first epidemic wave at ~25%, with variation by region, age, socioeconomic status, and education level.

In a phase 1 trial, personalized mRNA vaccines tailored to individual tumour mutations in triple-negative breast cancer induced robust, long-lasting T cell responses and improved prognosis.

Immunopeptidomics identify CD4⁺ T cell epitopes from the conserved bacterial Hup protein that confer protection against multiple bacterial infections in mice suggesting potential for development of broader-spectrum vaccines against staphylococci and streptococci.