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Non-contact atomic force microscopy measurements are used to probe the hydrogen bond strength of individual surface hydroxyl groups and determine their acidity with atomic precision.

Worldwide, the number of only-child families is increasing. This research examines how growing up without siblings affects adult brain structure, function and connectivity, cognition, personality and mental health.

Some cancer cells exhibit high loads of reactive iron in lysosomes, and this feature is exploited by using fentomycin-1, a newly developed small molecule, to induce ferroptosis.

Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling between (hetero)aryl (pseudo)halides and base-sensitive and Lewis-basic (hetero)arylboronic acids is challenging, owing to potential side reactions and catalyst poisoning. Now, the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling of arylthianthrenium salts with (hetero)arylboronic acids, under acidic conditions, is reported, enabling the efficient coupling of base-sensitive and Lewis-basic (hetero)arylboronic acids.

JWST observations suggest that both pebbles and planetesimals played an important role in forming the giant exoplanet WASP-121 b beyond the H₂O ice line. They also indicate that strong vertical mixing likely drives the nightside atmospheric chemistry.

Singlet fission may one day allow solar cells to produce two excited electrons with one photon. Now, by comparison of the time-resolved photoluminescence and sensitized triplet–triplet annihilation of a tetracene derivative, it has been shown that—contrary to previous reports—the excimer state is a trap, and not a necessary intermediate for singlet fission.

Enhancing the arsenal of E3 ligases is important for PROTACs development. Here, the authors identify a non-inhibitory aptameric ligand to CRL2^ZYG11B E3 ligase, and develop a general, modular, and straightforward aptamer-based PROTAC platform, termed ZATAC, providing insights for untapped E3 ligases.

Tuning ionic permeation across nanoscale pores is important for areas ranging from nanofluidic computing to drug delivery. Complex formation between crown ethers and dissolved metal ions is used to demonstrate graphene-based ion channels with high mechanosensitivity.

The Malaria parasite’s chloroquine resistance transporter is a polyspecific peptide transporter linked to multidrug resistance. The authors identify drug & substrate binding sites, and explain substrate diversity and the fitness cost of resistance.

Non covalent complexes are often considerably destabilized in the solvent. Here the authors combine vibrational Raman and NMR spectroscopy with a coupled-cluster computational investigation to show that the solvent polarity enhance the complex stability of a Me₃NBH₃ complex.

The biochemical roles and mechanisms of multiphase membraneless organelles are not yet well understood. Now, multiphase peptide droplets have been shown to sort RNA based on whether it is single- or double-stranded, as well as impact RNA duplexation through in-droplet thermodynamic equilibria. This work provides insight into possible primitive mechanisms for multicompartment intracellular condensates and can aid in the design of functional artificial membraneless organelles.

A narrow range of pressures at mid-crustal depth represents a tipping point between silica-undersaturated and silica-oversaturated compositions crystallizing from mafic melts in alkaline–silicate igneous systems, according to a thermodynamic modelling study.

Precursors for the release of phosphorus mononitride in solution under mild conditions have remained elusive. Now, an explosive anthracene-stabilized azidophosphine has shown PN transfer reactivity in the synthesis of an Fe–NP complex. The PN ligand is N-bonded, as the Fe–N interaction shows significant covalent character and a less unfavourable Pauli repulsion than its Fe–P counterpart.

Here, using single molecule FRET, the unfolding and folding of a discontinuous two-domain protein was studied. The authors find that a dynamic, intermediate population entropically limits the rate of folding while the order of domain folding is kept in a slow-folding mutant.

Targeting the electrosynthesis of valuable chemicals from biomass-based feedstocks requires understanding the phenomena at the interface and electrode surface. Here, the authors demonstrate electrolyte-driven surface reconstruction on layered CdPS3 nanosheets for the efficient hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

Whole-genome sequencing of liver microdissections from five healthy individuals and nine with cirrhosis demonstrates the effects of liver disease on the genome, including increased rates of mutation, complex structural variation and different mutational signatures.

VRN2 is a Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 subunit, best known as a regulator of vernalization that accumulates during prolonged cold. Here Gibbs et al. show that VRN2 is degraded via the N-end rule pathway, which  prevents ectopic accumulation of VRN2 in the absence of appropriate environmental stimuli.

Nature evolves diverse pathways for production of acetyl-CoA, a principal biosynthetic building block. Now, through in silico thermodynamic and kinetic analyses, this study proposes an acetyl-CoA biosynthetic route from C1 compounds and implements it in gas-fermenting bacteria for effective production of C2 metabolites.

A one-component fluid confined in a slit pore is studied by thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. The authors find that thermodynamics holds even in the limit of vanishing pore width and crosses over from that for a 3D system to that for a 2D one if the singularities in normal pressure and chemical potential are treated properly.

Metabolic tracer and free energy analysis of metabolic fluxes and pool sizes in E. coli, yeast and a mammalian cell line reveals a conservation of absolute metabolite concentrations that is constrained by thermodynamics and efficient enzyme utilization.

We report an S_NV reaction, a rare nucleophilic substitution that involves electronically unbiased vinyl electrophiles, which allows the synthesis of cross-conjugated polyenes and bioactive compounds with multi-substituted alkenes.

The semihydrogenation of acetylene is an important industrial reaction generally targeted with alloy catalysts and more recently with single-atom catalysts. Here, the authors report a MOF-supported Pd₁–Au₁ dimeric system that, by merging such approaches, results in high performance levels under simulated front-end industrial conditions.

The reaction types of photoelectrocatalytic organic synthesis (PECOS) are limited to simple oxidation and C–H activation at current stage while metal catalysis for the construction of C(sp2)–N bonds remains unexplored. Here, the authors introduce a PEC method that successfully engages Ni catalysis for the mild production of aniline derivatives.

The expansion of clones with distinct SERPINA1 somatic mutants in the livers of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1AT) patients is consistent with convergent evolution. These variants interfere with the auto-polymerization and intra-ER accumulation of the Z-A1AT protein, thus highlighting potentially targetable domains.

Medium- and branched-chain diols and amino alcohols are important industrial feedstocks, but they are biosynthetically challenging to produce. Here the authors introduce a modular polyketide synthase platform for the efficient production of these compounds.

Isolating and studying haematopoietic stem cells in young and aged mice demonstrates evolutionary processes related to blood production and provides a framework for interpreting future work using laboratory mice to study stem cell ageing.

Deciphering the reaction mechanisms of CO/CO2 electroreduction to methanol remains challenging. Here the authors report the higher electron density of single-Co-atom center, along with a different adsorption configuration of *CO, is crucial for promoting the CO electroreduction to methanol.

Experimentally constrained flow laws predict ice-sheet strain rates that differ by an order of magnitude from estimates made using previous flow laws, highlighting the need for accurate flow laws in ice-sheet modelling.

Rhodium catalysts confined in zeolite pores exhibit high regioselectivity in the hydroformylation process of propene to high-value n-butanal, surpassing the performance of all heterogeneous and most homogeneous catalysts developed so far.

Identifying peptides that can bind major histocompatibility complex II (MHC-II) is important for our understanding of T cell immunity and specificity. Here the authors present a yeast-display library screening approach that identifies more potential binders than various reported algorithms to help expand our understanding for antigen presentation.

Understanding the failure of commercial Cu/SAPO-34 selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts at an atomic level is vital for the synthesis of more robust catalysts. Here the authors unravel the mysterious failure of Cu/SAPO-34 SCR catalysts via application of model catalysts and 2-dimensional pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance

Hydrothermal vents are biogeochemically important, but their contribution to the carbon cycle is poorly constrained. Here the authors build a biogeochemical model that estimates autotrophic and heterotrophic production rates of microbial communities within hydrothermal plumes along mid-ocean ridges.

Interstitials can substantially strengthen metals. Here the authors show a massive interstitial solid solution (MISS) approach enabling a model multicomponent alloy to achieve near-theoretical strength together with large deformability.

The reactive uptake of N₂O₅ to aqueous aerosol is a major loss channel for nitrogen oxides in the troposphere. Here authors report a theoretical investigation on the N₂O₅ uptake into aqueous aerosol and determine the hydrolysis rates by numerically solving a molecularly detailed reaction–diffusion equation.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) nanozymes show mitigating effect on oxidative stress-related diseases, but are limited by their modest activity. Here, the authors report a carbon dot SOD nanozyme with catalytic activity matching natural enzymes and unveil its catalytic mechanism.