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A fresh approach to protein design that incorporates excited intermediate states enables precise control over the lifetime of protein interactions, with potential applications in cell-signalling modulation and in biosensors and synthetic circuits.

The quark structure of the f₀(980) hadron is still unknown after 50 years of its discovery. Here, the CMS Collaboration reports a measurement of the elliptic flow of the f₀(980) state in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 8.16 TeV, providing strong evidence that the state is an ordinary meson.

Supersonic turbulence is relevant to astrophysical plasmas with their study mostly limited to numerical simulations. Here the authors demonstrate supersonic turbulence in collisional high Mach number plasma jets generated in laboratory by using high power lasers.

Bioplastics are desirable materials for the replacement of petrochemical-derived plastics, but achieving the desired properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report a bioplastic formed from a combination of polysaccharide sources and DNA from living organism waste, with biodegradability and recyclability.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

How chromosomes, which are polymers with nearly billion base pairs, are packaged in the restricted nuclear volume is not well understood. Here, the authors combine polymer physics, nonequilibrium fluctuation theorem, and simulations to quantitatively predict the force-dependent velocity and step-size distribution of condensin, which facilitates the folding of chromosomes by loop extrusion.

In preclinical studies, the FDA approved TSP-1 antagonist gabapentin has been shown to disrupt neuronal-glioma interactions, slowing glioblastoma progression. Here, authors report a retrospective cohort study demonstrating a survival benefit associated with gabapentin in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Single-molecular microscopy shows that GAGA multimeric zinc finger transcription factor searches chromatin for cognate sites through rapid one-dimensional sliding on free DNA (which can be blocked by nucleosomes) and three-dimensional diffusion for nucleosomal targets.

A DNA matrix material potentiates humoral response through multiple administration routes, generating neutralizing antibodies and conferring robust protection against infection.

MORC2, a chromatin remodeler involved in epigenetic silencing and DNA repair, is linked to cancer and neurological disorders when dysregulated. Here, the authors show that MORC2 binds DNA at multiple sites, clamps onto it, and induces compaction, a process regulated by its phosphorylation.

Acquiring subcellular-level three-dimensional (3D) tissue structures efficiently without damaging the tissue remains challenging in histopathology. Here, the authors integrate holotomography with deep learning to generate 3D virtual H&E staining images from label-free thick cancer tissues, and apply this approach to colon and gastric cancer samples.

The skin has emerged as a regulator of blood pressure, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, the authors show that skin RAS activity, controlled by ATRAP in keratinocytes, modulates hypertension through effects on vasoconstriction and water loss.

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions, where electrical transport occurs across two electrodes separated by a ferroelectric layer, could be used for future non-volatile computer memories. Here, the authors employ graphene as an electrode in tunnel junctions for interface-facilitated enhancement of device performance.

What happens to correlated electronic phases—superconductivity and charge density wave ordering—as a material is thinned? Experiments show that both can remain intact in just a single layer of niobium diselenide.

Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) is a cellular second messenger involved in many processes including regulation of neuronal excitability and vascular tone. Gao, Nagpalet al., employ a fungal rhodopsin to optogenetically control cGMP levels in multiple systems including C. eleganssensory neurons.

Superlattices, with a length scale and structure that differs from the parent lattice of the host material, are well-known to allow for remarkable new electronic and magnetic properties. Here, Xie et al. synthesize Cr_1/4TaS₂, and find that it exhibits an unusual anomalous Hall effect below the Néel temperature even in stoichiometric high-quality crystals.

The spatial context of epitranscriptomic features in the tumour microenvironment remains poorly understood. Here, a method for transcriptomic and epitranscriptomic analysis of immunofluorescence-stained tissue, Select-seq, is applied to stem cell-like microniches in triple negative breast cancer.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

A general method is proposed to calculate the out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) in one-dimensional systems. Motivated by the results obtained from its application to various systems, a universal form for the dynamics of OTOCs is conjectured.

Therapies and vaccines for COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 viral pandemic, are urgently needed. Here the authors establish and screen an antibody library from a convalescent COVID-19 patient to isolate a neutralizing antibody with the ability to reduce viral titer and alleviate symptoms in ferret, hamster, and rhesus monkey infection models.

Excited state dynamics of alloyed quantum dots differ from that of binary quantum dots. Here, the authors use femtosecond spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to show that alloying tunes relaxation dynamics separately from traditional optical properties of quantum dots.

Natural biomolecules including heme-like porphyrins can be applied as sustainable chemical catalysts in lithium-oxygen batteries. Here, the authors show that the heme molecule can function as a soluble redox catalyst and oxygen shuttle for efficient oxygen evolution in non-aqueous lithium-oxygen cells.

Synthesis of heterostructures of magnetic intercalation compounds in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) via directed topotactic reactions enables the creation of multi-component magnetic architectures, overcoming limitations of crystallographic incommensurability

The mechanisms that allow some species to adjust to changing environmental conditions across generations are poorly understood. This study reveals the molecular processes underlying transgenerational acclimation in a common reef fish.

RNA fragments derived from cleaved transfer RNAs play roles in gene regulation and cell proliferation. Here, the authors report that upon ER stress, an ER ribonuclease produces a specific tRNA fragment that promotes cancer cell proliferation and modulates mRNA alternative splicing.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Analysis of the FLUXNET2015 dataset provides observational evidence for widespread thermal acclimation of canopy-scale photosynthesis and its timescales across diverse biomes, improving its representation in land surface models.

The leaf epidermis is sealed by a lipid-rich cuticle to prevent water loss and interspersed with stomatal pores to allow gas exchange. Here the authors provide evidence that two barley proteins, HvYDA1 and HvBRX-Solo, regulate both processes linking epidermal patterning with cuticular properties in a cereal crop.

The activation of drugs within cellular systems may provide targeted therapies for cancer. Here, the authors make a drug delivery system that is activated within the cell and exploits XIAP expression to cleave a linker region, resulting in the self-assembly of the system and drug release within cancer cells.

Different functional variants in ADH1B (and elsewhere) in Europeans and Africans strongly affect risk for alcohol dependence. Dependence only partly genetically correlates with consumption, with strong correlations to other psychiatric disorders.

Transgenerational acclimation to warmer oceans has been seen for some marine species. This study shows that the coral reef fish has 193 genes correlated to such acclimation traits, suggesting an epigenetic basis of acclimation.

Using the game Gran Turismo, an agent was trained with a combination of deep reinforcement learning algorithms and specialized training scenarios, demonstrating success against championship-level human racers.

Here, the authors utilise NMR and MD simulations to reveal how transcription factor Meis1 distinguishes target DNA sequences through non-specific binding.

Neuropixels 1.0 NHP is a 45-mm, high-density silicon probe capable of recording large numbers of neurons with single-neuron resolution from most areas in a macaque’s brain.

Exploratory analyses of the DESTINY-Gastric01 trial show that baseline HER2-associated biomarkers in circulating tumor DNA or tissue samples were associated with therapeutic response in patients with HER2-positive tumors, and these analyses identify potential drivers of resistance.