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The membrane insertion of C-terminal transmembrane helices is particularly challenging. Here, the authors describe the insertion mechanism, showing that a crucial protein sequence feature enables these helices to be inserted post-translationally by insertases.

Profiling assays measure thousands of features to uncover biological insights but lack reliable methods for quality evaluation. Here, the authors develop a versatile information retrieval framework to robustly quantify sample activity and similarity in large-scale profiling data.

Single molecule investigations are often performed in fluidic environments, but molecular diffusion and limited photon counts can compromise studies of processes with fast or slow dynamics. The authors introduce a planar optofluidic antenna which enhances the fluorescence signal from molecules, applicable to a diverse range of studies.

Functionalization of carboranes, icosahedral boron−carbon molecular clusters, is of great interest as they have wide applications in medicinal and materials chemistry. Herein, the authors report an asymmetric Rh(II)-catalyzed insertion reactions of carbenes into cage B–H bonds of carboranes.

The coupling of ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic order in BiFeO₃ makes it appealing for applications however the presence of domain structure acts to undermine this potential. Here, the authors demonstrate BiFeO₃thin films with a single domain of electrical polarization and canted antiferromagnetic order.

Characterizing electrochemical behaviour on the nanometre scale is fundamental to gaining complete insight into the working mechanisms of fuel cells. The application of a new scanning probe microscopy technique can now relate local surface structure to electrochemical activity at a resolution below 10 nm.

Understanding the structural relationship and electronic states between incommensurate/commensurate phases remains an ongoing challenge. Here, the authors report incommensurate structures and electronic roughness on the surface of cleaved IrTe₂.

The surface of complex oxides can show properties very different to the bulk. Here, the authors observe unexpected surface Jahn–Teller ordering on the surface of La_5/8Ca_3/8MnO₃thin films that can be traced to the pattern of oxygen adatoms.

Helium is an atom of great scientific interest, yet much debate exists surrounding the shape its molecules form. Here Voigtsberger et al. present experimental results imaging the wavefuction of ⁴He₃ and ³He₄He₂ trimer systems, which suggest that ⁴He₃ is a random cloud while ³He₄He₂is a quantum halo state.

Voltage-modulated scanning probe microscopy may elucidate important processes at solid–liquid interfaces, but it is complicated by the presence of mobile ions. By incorporating force sensitivity into a multidimensional measurement approach, Collins et al.present a technique that overcomes these limitations.

Analysis of the mechanical properties of two-dimensional materials is important for device development. Here, the authors report a microscopic method for measuring the adhesion of graphene on top of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, which exploits atomic-scale blisters formed upon neon atom intercalation.

An often overlooked component of scanning probe microscopy involves information transfer from the tip–surface junction to a macroscopic measurement system. Here, the authors present an information–theory-based approach that relies on capturing the response at a wide-frequency band, allowing a complete and unbiased look at probing interaction.

The diffusion times of lithium ions in the cathode of a lithium-ion battery have been probed at a spatial resolution below 100 nanometres.

Ferroelectric domain switching on the surface of a lithium niobate thin film can be induced by the tip of a scanning probe microscope, and gives rise to both regular and chaotic spatiotemporal patterns. Moreover, the long-range interactions that govern these phenomena can be tuned by varying temperature, humidity, domain spacing and tip bias.

Domain walls may be important in future electronic devices, given their small size as well as the fact that their location can be controlled. In the case of insulating multiferroic oxides, domain walls are now discovered to be electrically conductive, suggesting their possible use in logic and memory applications.

Optimizing oxygen-reduction and -evolution reactions is crucial for improving fuel cell efficiency, but the reaction is poorly understood at the nanoscopic level. Now, the oxygen activity of a platinum-functionalized surface has been mapped at below 10-nm resolution using electrochemical strain microscopy.

Ferroelectric domains in multiferroic materials can be engineered through the lateral motion of a biased scanning probe tip.

Rapid particle acceleration is possible using a fixed-field alternating-gradient machine—but ‘scaling’ in its design has been necessary to avoid beam blow-up and loss. The demonstration now of acceleration in such a machine without scaling has positive implications for future particle accelerators.

Scanning probe microscopy methods can generate high-dimensional data sets that correspond to a low-dimensional sample. Here, Li et al. develop a graphical bootstrapping method to quantitatively visualize large-scale high-dimensional datasets.

Pycytominer is a user-friendly, open-source Python package that carries out key bioinformatics steps in image-based profiling.

This Resource presents the genetic subset of the 136,000 chemical and genetic perturbations tested by the Joint Undertaking for Morphological Profiling (JUMP) Cell Painting Consortium and associated analysis of phenotypic profiles.

High-throughput automated synthesis is used to investigate the crystallization behaviour of two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites (HPs) based on a bulky ligand cation, 3,3-diphenylpropylammonium. The solution-processed 2D HP flakes realize a moiré superlattice, indicating the formation of a twisted 2D stack via self-assembly action.

The authors find the electric-field-driven motion of domain walls in the improper ferroelectric ErMnO₃, showing that they readily return to their initial position after having travelled distances exceeding 250 nm.

T4 Lysozyme (T4L) is a model protein whose structure is extensively studied. Here the authors combine single-molecule and ensemble FRET measurements, FRET-positioning and screening and EPR spectroscopy to study the structural dynamics of T4L and describe its conformational landscape during the catalytic cycle by an extended Michaelis–Menten mechanism and identify an excited conformational state of the enzyme.

The tumour-targeting activity and specificity of T cells with a CAR forming a reversible covalent bond with a hapten can be regulated by a small-molecule adapter that selectively binds to the hapten and to a chosen tumour antigen.

Ferroelectricity in hafnia-based systems seems to be correlated with oxygen vacancy dynamics, but the coupling of this and ferroelectric response is rarely studied. Here it is shown that Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂ can be antiferroionic, with antiferroelectric behaviour coupled to surface electrochemistry.

Rethink electron microscopy to build quantum materials from scratch, urge Sergei V. Kalinin, Albina Borisevich and Stephen Jesse.

Build precision microscopes to map atoms, say Stephen J. Pennycook and Sergei V. Kalinin.

Conducting charged ferroelectric domain walls, as potential building blocks for future electronic devices, are unstable and uncommon in ferroelectric materials. Here, Tselev et al. show that neutral insulating domain walls in PbZrO₃ and BiFeO₃thin films are conductive under microwave excitation, allowing for non-destructive read-out.

The control of electrical charges through an electronic field is the basis of modern electronic devices such as the transistor. Here, the authors achieve charge density modulation through a ferroelectric field effect in germanium and barium titanate thin-film heterostructures.

A collection of simulation tools and workflow for single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) allows highly quantitative structural modeling. This hybrid approach yields a model of reverse-transcriptase binding to DNA at sub-angstrom accuracy when benchmarked against a crystal structure and can resolve a flexible single-stranded template overhang.

Combined multimodal atomic force microscopy, ion microscopy, ion mass spectrometry and infrared spectrometry experiments explore the chemical properties of ferroelastic twin domains in hybrid lead halide perovskites.

The switching of ferroelectric polarization is of promise for non-volatile electronic memory devices. Here, the authors show that nanodomains in a ferroelectric composite allow the arbitrary rotation of the macroscopic polarization, potentially enabling memory devices with more than two storage states.

The two-dimensional Kitaev model is a quantum spin liquid state that theory predicts should appear in some materials with a honeycomb lattice. Here, the authors use atom-resolution scanning transmission electron and scanning tunnelling microscopies to characterize one such candidate material, α-RuCl₃.

The understanding of strain effect on electronic properties of organic semiconductors is crucial for the designs of flexible electronics. Here, Wu et al.characterize the tensile and compressive strain effects on the work function of rubrene single crystals as a benchmark system.

High-resolution microscopy methods provide a rich source of information, and allow highly precise measurements of atomic coordinates. Here, the authors report a method for quantitative analysis of material structures using multivariate statistical analysis to identify and distinguish various phases, defects and symmetries.

In recent years, deep learning techniques have enhanced the possibility to extract useful, high-resolution physical information from electron and scanning probe microscopy images. AtomAI, an open-source software package, can accelerate this process by bringing deep learning and simulation tools into a single framework for a range of instruments.