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Although river protection is core to social and environmental well-being, the extent to which river conservation policies are effective is difficult to assess. This study reveals that, under all relevant protection mechanisms in the contiguous USA, only 12% of rivers are adequately protected.

In maize, ZmDapF1 suppresses the activity of ZmMDH6 in chloroplasts, exacerbating oxidative damage under drought. Knocking out ZmDapF1 or using its favourable allele with lower gene expression enhances drought resilience without yield penalty.

Most kiwifruit species are vulnerable to high levels of heat stress. Here, the authors report natural variation at the GATA transcription factor binding site of EGY3 gene mediates chloroplastic ROS homeostasis to confer kiwifruit thermotolerance.

This Commission aims to resolve the current dialysis policy challenges in Thailand and generate lessons for the global kidney community by drawing on empirical evidence, systems thinking and multidisciplinary expertise to generate policy goals and recommendations.

Japonica subspecies has a lower nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) than that of indica rice. Here, the authors show that natural variations in the NIN-like protein 4 (OsNLP4) encoding gene are responsible for the divergence and introgression of the indica OsNLP4 allele into elite japonica cultivar can increase NUE and grain yield.

Millions of urban commuters experience daily exposure to subway air. This study characterizes the microscopic properties and formation mechanisms of airborne iron-oxide nanoparticles in subway air, detects their presence in human lungs and confirms their role in mouse pulmonary injury.

Grignard reagents face challenges in synthesizing complex architectures, and quaternary carbon centres remain difficult targets. Now it has been shown that a nickel-catalysed alkene carbomagnesiation strategy, employing a rare contra-electronegativity transmetallation, efficiently synthesizes β-quaternary Grignard reagents with high regio- and enantiocontrol, offering new possibilities for cross-coupling chemistry.

Introgression shapes eukaryotic genomes, yet its prevalence in nature remains unclear. Sequencing 216 Neotropical S. cerevisiae genomes reveals that recurrent introgression is widespread and a major driver of lineage evolution within a structured population.

Mediterranean ecosystems are at risk of invasive weeds. Here, the authors assess fitness-related traits in common dandelions with culling experiments, finding that plants with intact microbiomes exhibit increased competitiveness in comparison to local species.

Brief ultrasound to human frontal eye fields, but not motor cortex, rapidly biases eye movement contralaterally in a perceptual choice task. The size of this effect scales with individual baseline FEF inhibitory tone.

Researchers report a solid that is amorphous in two dimensions but crystalline in the third, made of stacked disordered atomic layers. This shows that crystalline and amorphous order can coexist within a single material depending on direction.

Cobalt-based catalysts are regarded as a potentially cheaper alternative to platinum and chromium systems for the non-oxidative dehydrogenation of propane, although they often feature lower performance. Now mixed-valence Co^0/IIO_x clusters supported on silicalite-1 are identified as a competitive system for this reaction.

Tissue resident donor CD4 T cells contribute to chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). To date, how these cells are maintained and the mechanism of pathogenesis remain undefined. Here, the authors perform transcriptomics and epigenomic analyses, they analyze memory CD4 T cell heterogeneity and differentiation pathways in tissues of mice with chronic GVHD and propose the selective targeting of stem-like memory T cell stemness or differentiation as a strategy to alleviate chronic tissue inflammation

The operational stability of perovskite solar cells remains a challenge. Zhang et al. incorporate photoswitchable isomers at grain boundaries to improve their resilience and the stability of the solar cells under light cycling and ultraviolet exposure.

The transformations for aragonite precursors in coral are not fully understood but have implications in bio, biogenic and geological mineralization. Here, the authors use high-resolution mapping and observe exponential decay from the edge of four precursors to coral aragonite skeleton in Stylophora pistillata.

Symbioses can form heritable partnerships, yet assessing partner fidelity remains difficult owing to limited symbiont exchange. This study shows how genetic compatibility, transmission fidelity, and local adaptation stabilize co-diversified symbioses.

A shift in organic carbon to total phosphorus (C_org/P_total) ratios in marine siliciclastic strata from approximately 455 million years ago suggests an earlier-than-previously-thought spread of land plants and their impact on the Earth system, based on analogy with extant C/P ratios of terrestrial and marine organic matter.

R-loops cause genome instability by creating conflicts with transcription and replication. Here the authors show that SFPQ binds R-loops at repetitive elements, recruits DAXX and maintains H3.3 deposition. Loss of SFPQ leads to genome instability and cGAS–STING activation, correlating with improved sarcoma patient survival.

Survey-based indicators of wellbeing are often available for only large administrative units, like provinces. The authors use satellite-based machine learning models trained on such coarse data to make finer resolution estimates.

This study mapped normative growth trajectories of 28 fetal brain phenotypes derived from 4,205 3D ultrasound scans collected across 7 international sites. The low variance between sites reinforces the principle that the brain develops similarly when environmental constraints are minimal.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has improved breast cancer patient outcomes but residual disease limits success. Here, the authors report a phase II clinical trial investigating talimogene laherparepvec (oncolytic virus engineered to express GM-CSF) combined with atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1) in HER2-negative breast cancer patients with residual disease following NAC.

How embryonic hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells proliferate while maintaining multipotency remains unclear. Here they show that Bnip3lb-regulated mitophagy reduces ROS levels, enabling sustained HSPC proliferation.

Tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells are a promising next-generation photovoltaic technology. Yang et al. engineer the front and back contact, further increasing the power conversion efficiency to 26.66%.

The S44 locus is a unique quadripartite (RID, RIR, RIA and RIS) distorter–restorer system governing reproductive isolation between O. longistaminata and other rice lineages, and knockout of RID can universally overcome S44-mediated reproductive barriers in the AA genome.

Here, the authors show that myoferlin is a crucial host factor that helps move viral genetic cargo to the cell surface, boosting influenza, RSV and Sendai virus spread, highlighting a common weak spot for future antivirals.

Neuropathic pain is commonly treated with opioids due to limited alternatives. Here, authors determine cryo-EM structures of the neuronal glycine transporter GlyT2 and develop a reversible inhibitor that provides analgesia in vivo without side effects.

Wang et al. show that promyelocytic leukaemia protein (PML) reduces polyG inclusions via chaperone-mediated disaggregation and proteasome-dependent degradation. This suggests a possible role for PML in various neurodegenerative diseases.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of three large ornate natural bacterial RNA molecules reveal their quaternary structures and intra- and intermolecular interactions that stabilize them.

An Earth system model estimates that natural halogens, of marine biotic and abiotic origin, remove about 13% of present-day global tropospheric O₃. Projections suggest this ratio is stable through 2100, with high spatial heterogeneity, despite increasing natural halogens.

[n.1.1]Propellanes are versatile precursors to bicyclo[n.1.1]alkane benzene bioisosteres, but heterocyclic variants have eluded synthesis. Now, a unified synthetic strategy has been developed to access hetero[3.1.1]propellanes on multigram scale. Their ring-opening under radical conditions affords a variety of heterobicyclo[3.1.1]heptanes, which are important motifs in drug design.

Dynamos can generate magnetic fields, which are present across various scales in space plasmas. Here, the authors show evidence for a turbulent dynamo in the terrestrial magnetosheath, indicating that Earth’s magnetosheath may be used as a natural laboratory for testing dynamo theories and simulations.

The mediobasal hypothalamus plays a central role in integrating nutritional and sex-related signals to regulate energy homeostasis. Here, through snRNA-seq of the mediobasal hypothalamus in female and male mice across nutritional states, authors show that Agrp neurons are nutrition-sensitive, DA neurons exhibit transcriptional differences in a sex-dependent manner, and KNDy neurons are responsive to both sex and nutrition.

While the benefits of crop diversity are known, doubts remain as to whether replacing cereals in rotations reduces nutrient production. A comparison of 16 long-term field experiments across Europe shows no trade-off between functionally rich rotations and food productivity.

Mouse models show that lymphoedema caused by impaired lymphatic drainage is ameliorated by removal of cholesterol deposits, which promotes the regeneration of lymphatic vessels.

Biomolecular insights into significant cultural changes during the Central European Late Bronze Age (1300–800 BCE) have been limited by cremation. Here, the authors examine available inhumation burials with ancient DNA, stable isotopes, and osteoarchaeology to identify regional traditions and interconnectedness.

Stratospheric biomass burning aerosols can impact ozone through multiple pathways. This work shows that the 2019 fire aerosols caused a net increase in Arctic ozone, primarily through stratospheric heating and enhanced poleward ozone transport.

Crystalline materials for optical applications are synthesized in living dinoflagellates.

Here the authors present a compendium of avirulence genotypes for epidemiologically significant strains of wheat stem rust based on nuclear phased genome assemblies and functional assays to inform resistance gene deployment and pathogen surveillance.

Skin-targeted siRNA therapies require optimized delivery to achieve therapeutic efficacy. Here, authors show that increasing conjugate hydrophobicity enhances siRNA skin retention and gene silencing in porcine and human models while limiting systemic tissue exposure.