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The authors use atomistic calculations with machine-learned interatomic potentials to show that dislocation motion in metals like iron and tungsten involves a nearly constant activation entropy, challenging prior models and improving strength predictions.

Some bacterial species display gliding motility associated with slime secretion through nozzle-like structures at the cell poles. Here, Zuckerman, So & Hoiczyk show that the nozzles are composed of PilQ/GspD proteins usually associated with protein secretion, thus suggesting that secretins may be required for the secretion of non-proteinaceous polymers in these bacteria.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence surveys provide estimates of the extent of prior infection in a population. In this nationally representative survey from Mexico, the authors estimate seroprevalence after the first epidemic wave at ~25%, with variation by region, age, socioeconomic status, and education level.

CORAL can infer the occurrence of rare species based on common species, using DNA metabarcoding data or other high-dimensional biodiversity data. The approach is illustrated on a large-scale biodiversity survey from Madagascar.

Context counts, and not just for social and economic aspects of urban life. This study finds that, for 16 cities in the United Kingdom, the landcover of the rural surroundings is a better predictor of ticks and environmental Lyme disease hazard than the landcover within the cities themselves.

The number of individuals in a given space influences animal interactions and network dynamics. Here the authors identify general rules underlying density dependence in animal networks and reveal some fundamental differences between spatial and social dynamics.

The discovery of new gold deposits has declined by 45% over the past 10 years. Lintern et al.present new evidence for the occurrence of particulate gold in trees growing above buried mineral deposits, and propose vegetation sampling as a mineral exploration method.

Understanding charge storage in supercapacitors remains a challenge. Here, authors use operando X-ray scattering to show that selective anion immobilization in MOF-based electrodes leads to a cation-driven charge storage mechanism.

The authors report a meta-analysis of methylome-wide association studies, identifying 15 significant CpG sites linked to major depression, revealing associations with inflammatory markers and suggesting potential causal relationships through Mendelian randomization analysis.

This work introduces a solvent-free method to directly synthesise MOF glasses without needing a crystalline precursor, enabling device integration, magnetic studies, and functional tuning.

DNA hybridisation thermodynamics parameters underlie rational design of oligonucleotides for diagnostics and nanotechnology. Here, the authors present an accurate method to measure the free energy of a given DNA structure at specific temperature and buffer conditions.

Polygenic risk scores can help identify individuals at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Here, the authors characterise a multi-ancestry score across nearly 900,000 people, showing that its predictive value depends on demographic and clinical context and extends to related traits and complications.

FlexConsensus is a multi-autoencoder-based algorithm for merging different conformational landscapes from cryogenic electron microscopy heterogeneity analysis into a common latent space for the identification of similarities and differences among various methods. This helps in the validation of estimated conformational landscape and provides tools to streamline the heterogeneity workflow.

Electrochemical CO_x reduction to multi-carbon products is hindered by low energy efficiency, in part due to sluggish ion transport across charge-selective membranes used in electrolysers. Here the authors use a porous, non-charge-selective separator that enhances ion transport and improves performance for CO electrolysis.

Researchers developed a programmable metamaterial that enables real-time shaping of low-frequency vibrations. Using simple, off-the-shelf components, it unlocks applications ranging from refreshable multi-touch tactile displays to analog computing.

The functional organization of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) for guiding eye movements has remained unknown. Here, the authors use functional ultrasound neuroimaging to reveal small, tuned clusters in PPC that reliably encode where we look over months to years.

Here the authors use a range of approaches to examine the interplay between genetic variants linked to risk for polygenic skin diseases and transcription factors (TFs) important for skin homeostasis. The findings implicate dysregulated binding of specific TF families in risk for diverse skin diseases.

The treatment potential of psilocybin for postpartum depression was investigated in a preclinical mouse model. Here the authors show both acute and long-term effects of psilocybin in mothers and their offspring who were exposed via lactation.

Capsule-specific human monoclonal antibodies are protective against bloodstream infection by Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type 147 in a mouse model of septicaemia, and could provide a useful strategy against pathogens with antimicrobial resistance.

Polymer thin films that emit and absorb circularly polarised light are promising in achieving important technological advances, but the origin of the large chiroptical effects in such films has remained elusive. Here the authors demonstrate that in non-aligned polymer thin films, large chiroptical effects are caused by magneto-electric coupling, not structural chirality as previously assumed.

Comparative genomics and high-resolution mass spectrometry reveal the biosynthetic gene clusters, and vast chemical diversity of natural products that they encode, in Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus, bacteria that interact with hosts as symbionts and entomopathogens.

The author demonstrates that laser-driven ultracold Fermi gases can exhibit color-orbit-like coupling with SU(3) symmetry. This leads to color-like oscillations and other quantum-chromodyamics-like phenomena in an atomic physics laboratory.

Haptotaxis was traditionally seen as migration up protein gradients. It is now shown that cells can also oscillate or migrate down the gradient.

Broad-spectrum vaccines have been proposed as a tool for rapid response to emerging infectious disease threats and are in pre-clinical development. Here, the authors use mathematical modelling to assess the potential impacts of broadly protective sarbecovirus vaccines for a hypothetical “SARS-X” outbreak.

In a randomized trial of patients with a previous myocardial infarction and with residual inflammation, a monoclonal antibody targeting the LOX-1 receptor, thought to contribute to atherosclerotic plaque progression and inflammation, reduced soluble LOX-1 and interleukin-6 levels but did not lead to a substantial reduction in coronary plaque volume.

The underlying physics of the strange metal phase observed in many strongly correlated materials is not well understood. Now, evidence emerges that antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations play an important role.

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.

Cavity phonon-polaritons are a potential platform for controlling phonons. Here, the authors demonstrate multimode ultrastrong coupling between two optical phonon modes embedded in terahertz nanoslot cavities.

The Macaque Biobank initiated by Zhang et al. provides a comprehensive genetic and phenotypic characterization of Chinese rhesus macaques (CRMs). This resource enhances our understanding of the genetic diversity of CRMs and holds potential for biomedical research.

The location of EGFR exon 20 loop insertions (EGFRex20ins) has been shown to alter sensitivity to lung cancer therapy. Here, the authors report the results of the ZENITH20 clinical trial investigating poziotinib (EGFR TKI) in lung cancer patients and, combining with a similar trial, investigate how structural differences due to location of EGGFRex20ins alters sensitivity to EGFR TKI.

Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus encodes ORF74, a GPCR driving oncogenesis through high basal signaling. Here, authors present cryoEM structures of both inactive and active states, revealing the structural basis for its ligand promiscuity and spontaneous activation.

The authors develop a computational method to design small DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) that target specific sequences. Designed DBPs show structural accuracy and function in both bacterial and mammalian cells for transcriptional regulation.

Head motion is an artifact in structural and functional MRI signals, and some traits or groups are more strongly correlated with motion than others. Here the authors describe a method to attribute a motion impact score to specific trait-functional connectivity relationships.

Phaeocystales are ecologically significant nanoplankton whose evolutionary history and functional diversity remain incompletely characterized. Here, the authors integrate genomic and transcriptomic data to reveal their lineage diversification, metabolic plasticity, and adaptation to polar and temperate regimes.

The identification of cellular targets for natural products that potently inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines implicates oxysterol-binding proteins in the growth of cancer cells. These natural products, termed ORPphilins, also affect sphingomyelin biosynthesis.

Border and colleagues present FUSION, an open-source, web-based platform designed to integrate spatial omics with histological context. FUSION enables intuitive, interactive exploration of cellular and tissue-level features across diverse organs and assay types.

The evolutionary history of barley is analysed using ancient and modern DNA.

Gut bacteria digest dietary fiber and release molecules as energy for the host. Here, Yu et al. find that the ability of certain gut bacteria to digest different fibers influences host consumption of food containing these fibers.

The microstructure of natural materials such as bone and wood makes them strong and tough. Chemists are also good at crystallizing fine particles, but a flexible adhesive is needed to bind them together. Daedalus thinks he has the answer.

Bone marrow adipose tissue accounts for almost 10% of human fat mass, but its roles remain unclear. Here, Xu et al. identify more than 45 diseases linked to marrow adiposity in over 48,000 people, including causal roles in musculoskeletal disease.

Chapman, Klaourakis and colleagues reveal that a lymphatic vasculature with poor clearance capacity in perinatal, regeneration-competent mouse hearts is required to retain pro-reparative macrophages and allow cardiac regeneration.

The authors study a disordered β-Ta film, finding that quasiparticle recombination is governed by the phonon scattering time, which is faster than conventional recombination in ordered superconductors. The authors interpret the results in terms of quasiparticle localization, which helps to understand the quasiparticle relaxation in disordered superconducting circuits.

Aging drives distinct molecular changes in the brain. Here, the authors use scRNAseq and MERFISH and find that in mice, aging induces subtype-specific, regionally biased changes in striatal astrocytes, marked by transcriptional repression, inflammation, and impaired neuronal interactions.

Enfortumab vedotin (EV) is the current standard treatment for advanced bladder cancer, but resistance typically develops within a year, highlighting the need for new therapies. This study demonstrates that NECTIN4-targeting CAR T cells are effective against bladder cancer, including EV-resistant cells, and their potency can be further enhanced by using rosiglitazone to boost NECTIN4 expression.

What we eat, as well as where and how it is grown, impacts species extinction risks through agricultural land use. Using a new global biodiversity impact data product, this study estimates how many species extinctions may potentially be caused by the production and consumption of different food types on a country-by-country basis.