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Aminopalladation is a key step in a number of carbon–nitrogen bond-forming processes, but carrying out this step with intermolecular anti-Markovnikov selectivity has remained difficult. Such a process has now been developed by using an anionic palladium catalyst to generate terminal carbon–nitrogen bonds from alkenes.

Restoration of sight by subretinal photovoltaic prosthesis could be improved with next generation devices with smaller pixels. Here, the authors demonstrate safe removal and replacement of implants in rats, retinal integrity preservation and improved grating acuity with 22 μm pixel devices.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Structure-guided design and component-based synthesis are used to produce iboxamycin, a novel ribosome-binding antibiotic with potent activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

hTA1 is a drug target for several neuropsychiatric disorders. Using cryo-EM and pharmacological assays, the authors illuminate hTA1’s similarity to neurotransmitter receptors and discover that the antipsychotic asenapine potently activates the receptor.

Detailed analyses of the serotonin receptor 5-HT_1A and the psychedelic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine reveal the differences in receptor structural pharmacology that mediate signalling specificity, efficacy and potency, findings that may facilitate the development of new neuropsychiatric therapeutics.

Analyses of 475 ancient horse genomes show modern horses emerged around 2200 bce, coinciding with sudden expansion across Eurasia, refuting the narrative of large horse herds accompanying earlier migrations of steppe peoples across Europe.

A new method for catalysing the cross-coupling of two different aryl electrophiles is described; the principle of this method, which involves cooperation between two metal catalysts that are selective towards different substrates, should be generally useful in catalysis.

Capper et al. uncover how bicarbonate binds to the anion exchanger 1 (AE1), elucidate how drugs inhibit AE1 via distinct mechanisms, and generate a series of AE1 inhibitors using structure-based drug discovery.

There is a growing interest in performing time-resolved cryo-EM studies. Here, the authors present a time-resolved sample preparation method for cryo-EM called trEM, which uses a microfluidic device to initiate the biochemical reaction by rapid mixing of the components and then spraying the sample onto a cryo-EM grid to snap-freeze it in a blot-free, automated manner within several milliseconds.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) onsets in COVID-19 patients with manifestations similar to Kawasaki disease (KD). Here the author probe the peripheral blood transcriptome of MIS-C patients to find signatures related to natural killer (NK) cell activation and CD8+ T cell exhaustion that are shared with KD patients.

Four crystal structures of the human serotonin receptor 5-HT_2BR in complex with chemically and pharmacologically diverse drugs elucidate the structural bases for receptor activation, agonist-mediated biased signaling and β-arrestin2 translocation.

Serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography permits the use of very small protein crystals; however, a continuous flow of sample is required. Weierstall et al. design and demonstrate an injector system that can supply microcrystals in the lipidic cubic phase, dramatically reducing the quantities of protein required.

In this study, Wilson et al. find that dendritic spines on neurons in the visual cortex cluster according to orientation preference. The degree of clustering on single neurons strongly predicts somatic orientation selectivity and the prevalence of local dendritic signals in the dendritic field, suggesting a role for dendritic computation in shaping orientation selectivity.

Two extreme solar energetic particle events have been found by carbon isotopes measured in ancient tree rings in 7176 and 5259 BCE. The recorded ~2% increases of atmospheric 14 C for both events exceeds in amplitude of all previously observed events.

G-protein-coupled receptors activate different G-protein types to trigger divergent signalling pathways. Four structures of receptor–G-protein complexes shed light on this selectivity.

SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell epitopes are found in both convalescent patients and virus-naive volunteers and are indicative of heterologous recognition shared with seasonal cold viruses.

Implantation of a multielectrode paddle that allows personalized electrical stimulation to all regions of the spinal cord involved in leg and trunk movements rapidly restores motor function in patients with spinal cord injury with complete paralysis.

Transcriptomic analyses of acute phase whole blood from a large cohort of patients with COVID-19 identify molecular determinants of post-infection long-term sequelae.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder with no present cure. Here the authors perform an in vitro screening leading to the identification of a small molecule that alters the conformational dynamics of the TSL2 RNA structure and acts as a modulator of SMN exon 7 splicing.

The crystal structure of the human κ-opioid receptor in complex with an antagonist, JDTic, is determined, with potential importance for the design of new therapeutic agents.

The X-ray crystal structure of the human glucagon receptor, a potential drug target for type 2 diabetes, offers a structural basis for molecular recognition by class B G-protein-coupled receptors.

A revised date for the Laacher See eruption using measurements of subfossil trees shifts the chronology of European varved lakes relative to the Greenland ice core record, synchronizing the onset of the Younger Dryas across the North Atlantic–European sector.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of human neurotensin receptor 1 in complex with G_i1 protein and the agonist JMV449 reveal a non-canonical state that may represent an intermediate form in G-protein activation.

Structures of the human orexin receptor 1 (hOX₁R) bound to a selective drug and the dual (hOX₁R- and hOX₂R-targeting) antagonist suvorexant reveal molecular mechanisms of selectivity in orexin-receptor subtypes.

Recent studies revealed that G protein-coupled receptors rapidly interconvert between multiple states. Here, authors use the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) and show how two state-dependent nanobodies provide real-time reporting of ligand stabilized states with KOR and other GPCRs.

Particulate black carbon in rivers can have ages of up to 17,000 ¹⁴C years before it is sequestered in the oceans, according to an inventory of particulate black carbon in 18 rivers across the globe.

The assessment of soil sustainability in prehistoric times requires comparing millennium-scale erosion rates with geological background rates. Here, the authors apply in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C, ¹⁰Be, and ²⁶Al to reveal rapid soil erosion on the Andean Altiplano in response to Late Holocene climate change and the onset of agropastoralism.

A cryo-electron structure of the µ-opioid receptor in complex with the peptide agonist DAMGO and the inhibitory G protein G_i reveals structural determinants of its G protein-binding specificity.

The authors built a simple optical module that generates axially extended Bessel foci, optimized for in vivo brain imaging. Easily incorporated into existing two-photon fluorescence microscopes, this module allowed 30-Hz volumetric functional imaging of sparsely labeled brains at synaptic resolution in a variety of model organisms in vivo.

Black carbon produced by the burning of biomass and fuels is the most stable carbon compound in nature, yet its path from land to the deep ocean where it persists for thousands of years remains mysterious. Here Coppola and colleagues characterize the black carbon exported by the Amazon River, the largest river in the world.

An X-ray structure of the D2 dopamine receptor bound to the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone reveals an extended binding pocket and indicates structural features that could be used to design drugs that specifically target the D2 receptor.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films were doped with 1% perfluoroether to lower the surface energy. Although the surface energy was lowered, the peel force did not decrease. It was found that peel force was linearly related to adhesive energy of films, and adhesive energy was inversely related to Young’s modulus. Films with low Young’s moduli evened out against surfaces easily and made good contact, which increased the adhesive forces, making the release hard. Comparatively, films with higher Young’s moduli had low peel force.