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A number of mechanisms are known to mediate bacterial antibiotic resistance. Here, Arad et al show that amyloid fibrils produced by Staphylococcus aureus rapidly degrade common antibiotic molecules.

Materials for the selective transport of K⁺ have application in a variety of fields including water desalination and separation processes. Here the authors report charged porous subnanometer cages that are inspired in biological KcsA channels; high K⁺ transport rates and high K⁺/Li⁺ and K⁺/Na⁺ selectivity ratios are obtained, showing great potential in advanced sieving processes and efficient water treatments.

The authors reveal that, in fruit fly ovaries, the protein Rhino is guided to specific regions of the genome by a combination of two histone modifications, enhancing understanding of how cells protect their DNA from harmful virus-like elements.

The conversion of atmospheric N₂ into NH₃ under ambient pressure is highly interesting but very challenging. In this study, the authors present a tandem air-NO_x and NO_x-NH₃ system that combines non-thermal plasma-enabled N₂ oxidation with Ni(OH)_x/Cu-catalyzed electrochemical NO_x⁻reduction, resulting in a high NH₃ yield from N₂ under ambient pressure conditions.

A general and selective palladium-catalysed cross-coupling of aryl- and alkenyl-bromides with a wide range of alkyl-, aryl- and heteroaryl-lithium reagents is reported. The process proceeds quickly at room temperature, and avoids the notorious lithium–halogen exchange and homocoupling side-reactions commonly associated with these extremely reactive organometallic compounds.

Authors use a high-entropy engineering approach to produce fully amorphous BiTO films by exfoliation and annealing, creating crystalline regions, leading to flexible ceramics with dielectric properties.

Carty et al. identify the H3K9 methyltransferases that restrict the size and position of the centromere protein A chromatin domain, maintaining functional centromeres.

Unidirectional rotation in a synthetic molecular motor is typically driven by intrinsic asymmetry or sequences of chemical transformations. Here, the authors control the direction of a molecule’s rotation through supramolecular binding of a chiral guest and subsequent transfer of its chiral information.

Gold samples can be heated to more than 14 times their melting point while retaining their crystalline structure, far surpassing the predicted entropy catastrophe threshold and suggesting a substantially higher or potentially no limit for superheating.

Shapiro, Chang, et al. identify a conserved role for the iron-binding histone demethylase KDM3B in sensing iron levels and regulating mTORC1 through transcriptional repression of key mTORC1 pathway components.

Overcrowded alkene-derived molecular motors convert light and heat into chirality-directed unidirectional rotary motion, but the efficiency of their photochemical isomerization remains limited. Now formylation of the motor core has been shown to boost all aspects of motor photochemistry by improving photochemical efficiency, diminishing competing processes and redshifting absorption.

A Cenozoic reconstruction of the δ³⁴S of marine sulfate suggests a shift in the locus of pyrite burial from shallow seas to the open ocean during the early Eocene.

The many phases of water ice continue to be fertile ground for surprising discoveries. This latest study reveals that ice II vanishes from the phase diagram of water upon the addition of small amounts of ammonium fluoride.

Anode-free Li metal batteries suffer from irreversible Li plating/stripping and interfacial side reactions. Here, authors propose a dual-gradient metal layer on Cu current collector to promote uniform Li deposition and the in situ formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase.

The SART3 gene encodes an RNA-binding protein critical for spliceosome function. Here, the authors find that bi-allelic variants in SART3 underlie a congenital condition characterised by neuro-developmental defects and 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis.

Fine tuning of mechanical properties in elastomers is important for application of elastomers in flexible devices and biomedical field. Here, the authors prepare a nacre inspired PDMS-montmorrillonite composite with good mechanical properties and demonstrate crack tracing using aggregation-induced emission luminogens.

A chemical method for site-selective deuterium exchange at protein backbone α-carbons, involving conversion of cysteine to dehydroalanine and then to deuterated cysteine, is used to explore the mechanism of a model protein bioconjugation reaction.

Here, analyzing data from a six-month clinical trial in pre-diabetes, the authors found 166 of 2,803 measured features, including oral and gut microbiome, metabolites and cytokines, significantly changed in response to dietary interventions; highlighting the microbiome’s role in cardiometabolic health and revealing potential therapeutic avenues.

A wide range of side chains are installed into proteins by addition of photogenerated alkyl or difluroalkyl radicals, providing access to new functionality and reactivity in proteins.

The utility of wet-tissue adhesives has been impeded by the suboptimal adhesive strength. Here the authors report a composite patch integrated with BP nanosheets that improve the wet-tissue adhesion by enhancing the water absorption and mechanical properties of the patch and demonstrate the uses of the patch in hemostasis, physical-activity monitoring and tumour-recurrence prevention.

Regulation of aggregation by light is a useful phenomenon, but the role of the solvent is not often considered. Here, the authors report the development of photoinduced hydrous organic aggregates, emissive in the presence of both water and photoirradiation.

Ming, Yang, Huang et al. design a chimeric matchmaker peptide, which targets a senescent cell-specific surface marker and modifies the cell surface with polyglutamic acid. This promotes interactions with natural killer cells and senescent cell clearance in liver fibrosis, lung injury, cancer and natural aging.

Overcrowded alkene-based motors are made part of the crystalline structure of a metal–organic framework. It is shown that they retain the same rotatory speed and unidirectionality as in solution.

Selective electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) in strong acids remains challenging due to competition with the hydrogen evolution reaction. Now it is reported that peripheral functionalization of immobilized molecular complexes with quaternary ammonium groups can regulate the mass distribution surrounding the active sites, enabling selective CO₂RR in strong acids.

Disturbing the redox balance in anaerobic bacteria presents a promising but underdeveloped strategy for the treatment of difficult-to-cure diseases caused by anaerobic bacteria. Here, the authors report a photocatalytic system to perturb the redox balance in oxygen-free conditions, achieving photocatalytic therapy to treat periodontitis.

The utility of photosensitizers for cancer therapies is often hindered by a single photosensitizing mechanism, the need of multiple irradiations, and limited tumor penetration and retention. Here, the authors address these issues by developing an aggregation-induced emission luminogen bacteria hybrid bionic robot that enables multimodal imaging and therapy and activates anti-tumor immunity.

Here, the authors used electronic healthcare records to analyse the genetic basis of variation in 42 routinely-acquired quantitative blood tests among up to 40,000 British South Asian volunteers from the Genes and Health study. By combining their results with genetic findings from UK Biobank, they explore similarities and differences between ancestries in the genetic basis of these traits.

Cascade reactions are a powerful route to rapidly increase molecular complexity. Here, the authors show how a C–H activation step can lead to intermediates capable of partaking in cascade reactions, giving easy access to a number of heterocyclic products.

Stomatal guard cells regulate CO₂ entry to the leaf for photosynthesis but respond slowly to fluctuating light, thus reducing carbon assimilation and water use efficiencies. Substantial efficiency gains are realized by engineering the gating of a K⁺ channel native to the guard cells.

Li-ion cathode active materials are transitioning from poly- to single-crystal structures. However, the performance of high Ni-content single-crystal cathodes remains below expectations. Here, via Al/Zr co-doping, the authors propose a strategy to mitigate structural degradation in this class of materials.

Developing high-performance and mechanically robust active-layer systems is crucial to commercializing flexible organic solar cells. Here, authors design small molecule acceptors with ethyl ester side chains and achieve certified efficiency of over 19% for mechanically robust devices.

The activation of bacterial mechanosensitive channels is still not fully understood. Here, Bavi et al. show that the N-terminal helix of MscL dynamically couples membrane tension to channel gating, suggesting a conserved mechanism underlying the mechanosensitivity of ion channels of higher organisms.