Search

Despite pressure to improve the circularity of polysulfone plastic waste, upcycling polysulfones remains technically challenging. This study presents a photocatalytic method that can upcycle various polysulfones into valuable chemicals at ambient conditions.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common cause of female infertility linked to metabolic and hormonal imbalances. Here, the authors show that androgen driven SLC1A5 upregulation increases glutamine uptake, leading to abnormal follicular development in PCOS via histone deacetylation.

The implementation of Li metal anode with high-voltage Ni/Co rich cathode is plagued by low coulombic efficiency and inferior cycling stability. Here authors propose an anion-enriched interface to facilitate the columnar-structure of Li deposits to solve this issue.

Solution-based methods exist to upcycle waste polyolefins, although these resort to the use of co-reactants and require non-negligible energy inputs. Here the authors show how a solar thermal catalytic system based on copper particles encapsulated within a 2D Si material can strongly alleviate such issues.

Inspired by the idea of mimicking virus entry to host cells and macrophage-mediated virus clearance, the authors developed a lysosomal “TRAP”, which could efficiently capture, internalize, and degrade viruses and variants.

Efficient CO₂ photoreduction in pure water remains challenging. Here, the authors propose to use van der Waals gaps-rich BiOCl atomic layers with low exciton binding energy and abundant surface oxygen vacancies for CO₂ to CO conversion.

Organic batteries, incorporating more abundant materials, are possible alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. This Review examines the fundamentals, practical metrics and applications of organic batteries and proposes future development guidelines to help achieve commercialization.

Accurate separation of radioactive ⁹⁰Sr from groundwater or seawater remains a challenge in environmental radioactivity remediation. Here, the authors mimic the complexation behavior of molecular crown-ether carboxylic acids to construct a supramolecular trap in an anionic crown ether-based metal-organic framework for precisely catching Sr²⁺.

High-performance organic solar cells call for novel designs of acceptor molecules. Here, He et al. design and synthesize a non-fullerene acceptor with an asymmetric structure for diverse donor:acceptor interfacial conformations and report a certificated power conversion efficiency of 18.2%.

Yang and colleagues present a small-molecule inhibitor for ADAR1 and show that its use is therapeutically beneficial in the context of prostate cancer.

The inactivation of natural enzymes by radiation hinders their utility for radiotherapy. Here the authors report a single-atom copper nanozyme that can be utilized for enhanced radio-enzymatic therapy to resolve the crucial issues for the applications of natural enzymes.

Ultrahigh electromechanical response is accomplished by inducing extreme structural instability from competing antiferroelectric and ferroelectric orders.

Developing an efficient photocatalyst for CO₂ reduction is appealing. Here, the authors report a core-shell c-TiO₂@a-TiO_2-x(OH)_y heterostructure with surface frustrated Lewis pairs on amorphous shells which enables a new genre of chemical reactivity.

Light-driven approaches could lower the carbon footprint of chemical production. Here the authors use the perovskite oxide LaMn_1−xCu_xO₃ as a photocatalyst to convert ethane to ethylene and hydrogen.

This study correlates the structure and the CO₂ photohydrogenation performance of a series of isostructural Ni-based MOFs. Comparative characterization reveals the occurrence of an in situ restructuring, yielding different surface active sites.

Harsh reaction conditions are generally required for CO2 hydrogenation to shift the thermodynamic equilibrium towards methanol synthesis. Here, a new black indium oxide with two types of active sites, frustrated Lewis pairs and oxygen vacancies, is prepared, and facilitates a tandem synthesis of methanol at a low hydrogen concentration (50%) and ambient pressure.

The kinase DYRK2 is a known oncogene but its role in prostate cancer is unexplored. Here, the authors identify DYRK2 as a target for prostate cancer with a role in invasion and they discover a specific DYRK2 inhibitor that has good pharmacokinetics and efficacy in vivo.

Short-read sequencing has inherent limitations in the characterisation of long repeat elements. Shi and Guo et al.combine single-molecule real-time sequencing and IrysChip to construct a Chinese reference genome that fills many gaps in the reference genome, and identify novel spliced genes.

The spread of many infectious diseases substantially relies on aerosol transmission to the respiratory tract. Here, the authors design an intranasal mask with the ability to intercept viral aerosols, entrap and inactivate virus, thus preventing respiratory tract infection.

Understanding correlations between molecular structures and macroscopic properties is critical in realising highly efficient organic photovoltaics. Here, the authors conduct a comprehensive study based on four non-fullerene acceptors revealing how the extended conjugation, asymmetric terminals and alkyl chain length can affect device performance.

Targeting cancer-associated metabolism is evolving as a promising approach for cancer therapy. Here, the authors generate cancer cell-membrane encapsulated nanoparticles to induce cell cycle arrest and cytotoxicity in lactate-high cancer cells, reducing tumourigensis in glioblastoma cell-line and patient-derived models.

Direct removal of ⁹⁹TcO₄⁻ from highly radioactive and acidic nuclear waste solutions is beneficial for uranium and plutonium recovery and radioactive pollution control but this represents a huge challenge. Here the authors show a cationic polymeric network with high ⁹⁹TcO₄⁻ sorption capability and stability.

Separation of ⁹⁹TcO₄⁻ from nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site is hampered by the extreme conditions. Here, the authors propose a solution by developing an alkaline-resistant metal organic framework material featuring unique recognition sites for selective incorporation of ⁹⁹TcO₄⁻ anions.

The authors report the cryogenic electron microscopy structures of human GSDMB in complex with Shigella IpaH7.8 and the GSDMB pore, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms of Shigella IpaH7.8 recognition and targeting of GSDMs and GSDMB pore formation.

Non-fullerene acceptors have contributed hugely to the best-performing organic solar cells, yet the photo-degradation remains a hurdle preventing the practical application. In this work, research group from Zhejiang University discovers non-fused acceptors with excellent photochemical tolerance in aerobic condition, and identify the main degradation pathway.

Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are released during necrotic cell death and contribute to driving inflammation. Rathinam and colleagues show that galectin-1 is a new DAMP that functions by inhibiting the receptor phosphatase CD45.

The determination of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) orders by the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) is one of the key components to the AFM-spintronics. Here the authors report enhanced AMR ~160% in Sr₂IrO₄ due to the combination of atomic scale giant-MR-like effect and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy.

Jin et al. develop a deep learning-based model for diagnosing arrhythmias based on a large-scale ECG dataset. The model demonstrates cardiologist-level accuracy and can potentially improve the efficiency and accuracy of ECG detection in remote and underdeveloped areas, offering a promising prospect for telemedicine.

Fibronectin 1 (FN-1) promotes differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts by activating the WNT/β-catenin pathway. Integrin β1 (ITGB1) acts as an indispensable signaling molecule for the interplay between FN-1 and β-catenin. Treatment with FN-1 and ITGB1 is a potential therapeutic strategy for improvement of bone formation in osteoporosis.