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How musical expertise impacts the brain’s processing of complex musical information remains unclear. Using generative music models, this study reveals that musicians display enhanced disentangled and contextual neural encoding of music.

A large bulk photovoltaic effect is observed in the type-I Weyl semimetal TaAs, and attributed to the diverging Berry curvature of the Weyl nodes.

Dynamic nanodomains in lead halide perovskites, dictated by A-site cations, crucially affect the optoelectronic properties by modulating electronic disorder and consequently enabling better solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

A possible kilonova associated with a nearby, long-duration gamma-ray burst suggests that gamma-ray bursts with long and complex light curves can be spawned from the merger of two compact objects, contrary to the established gamma-ray burst paradigm.

Early emission from gamma-ray burst GRB 211211A comes entirely from charged particles accelerating in strong magnetic fields. The fast-evolving spectrum may be the key to understanding unusually long-lived GRBs from neutron star mergers.

Two ‘outrigger’ telescopes were added to CHIME, leading to the localization at detection of FRB 20210603A. The burst originated from deep within the star-forming disk of its host galaxy.

Using viral barcode tracing to detect interactions between glioblastoma cells and non-malignant astrocytes in patient samples, investigators discovered a pathway that reduces tumour-specific immunity and identified potential therapeutic targets.

JWST reveals the chemistry of the disk of a young star in the Orion nebula, showing that it has water and CO in its inner regions that are shielded from UV radiation, whereas UV-processed molecules such as CH₃⁺ and PAHs are detected in surface layers.

Single-photon emitters (SPEs) in 2D semiconductors are usually affected by complex spectral profiles that limit their understanding and applications. Here, the authors combine a noncovalent surface functionalization method with localized mechanical strain to simplify the spectra and enhance the purity of SPEs in monolayer WSe₂.

The authors show that the cell-penetrating peptide DG9 enhances PMO delivery to skeletal and cardiac muscles via multiple endocytic pathways. DG9-PMO significantly boosts dystrophin restoration and cardioprotection, addressing a key challenge in the therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Monolayer graphene in the quantum Hall regime exhibits a third-order nonlinear Hall response, which is robust against variations in magnetic field and temperature and provides insights into the interaction of chiral edge states.

Slow cooling of hot charge carriers in lead halide perovskite could be used in photovoltaics devices. Here, Yanget al. study hot carrier dynamics by transient absorption spectroscopy. They relate the phonon bottleneck to the up-conversion of low-energy phonons, facilitated by the presence of organic cations.

Despite an increase in solar output, the Earth’s climate has apparently remained relatively stable over geological time. Here, the authors compile atmospheric CO₂data for the past 420 million years and show that this climatic response is due to the long-term decline in this powerful greenhouse gas.

Why brain-like feature extraction emerges in large language models (LLMs) remains elusive. Mischler, Li and colleagues demonstrate that high-performing LLMs not only predict neural responses more accurately than other LLMs but also align more closely with the hierarchical language processing pathway in the brain, revealing parallels between these models and human cognitive mechanisms.

Tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters use an extra substrate binding protein to transport a variety of substrates in bacteria and archaea. Here the authors use a disulfide engineering approach to lock the TRAP transporter HiSiaPQM from H. influenzae in different conformational states for characterisation.

Observations from the JWST of the second brightest GRB ever detected, GRB 230307A, indicate that it belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs resulting from compact object mergers, with the decay of lanthanides powering the longlasting optical and infrared emission.

Mi et al. report epitaxial surface coverage of single CsPbBr3 quantum dots with size ranging from 3.6 nm to 14 nm using low steric ligand tails with attractive π-π stacking, leading to nearly non-blinking single photon emission with high purity of 98% and photostability over 12-hour irradiation.

Here, the authors use cryo-EM and biochemical analysis to investigate how the CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 interrogates DNA to locate its RNA-matching target sequence.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

Dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses normally display as smooth spherical particles, while DENV can also become bumpy-surfaced, resulting in immune evasion. Here, Morrone et al. report DENV and ZIKV infectious club-shaped particles (clubSP) that display distinct antibody binding properties.

Previously, superradiance was observed from sizeable crystals or close to liquid-helium temperatures. Here, Bradec et al. report the observation of room-temperature superradiance from single, highly luminescent diamond nanocrystals with spatial dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of light.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are involved in many physiological processes and are targets of intense drug discovery research. Here, the authors describe llama-derived nanobodies that allosterically modulate rhodopsin, a prototypical GPCR.

Graphene has a centrosymmetric crystal symmetry, which prohibits second-order effects in transport experiments. Yet, giant second-order nonlinear transports can emerge in graphene moiré superlattices at zero magnetic field, originating from the skew scattering of chiral Bloch electrons in the superlattice and giving rise to both longitudinal and transverse nonlinear conductivities under time-reversal symmetry.

Porosity in metal–organic materials typically relies on highly ordered crystalline networks, which hinders material processing and morphological control. Here, the authors use metal–organic polyhedra as porous monomers in supramolecular polymerization to produce colloidal spheres and gels with intrinsic microporosity.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the Bezold–Jarisch reflex and syncope (fainting) involve vagal sensory neurons that express neuropeptide Y receptor Y2, the deletion of which in animal models abolishes the Bezold–Jarisch reflex.

The safety and efficacy of ribonucleoproteins for genome editing can be enhanced by formulations of lipid nanoparticles optimized for enhanced stability, delivery efficiency and editing potency of the protein complexes.

This paper presents evidence for dynamical interactions in the very dense regions in the core of galaxies causing two compact objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, to merge, leading to a gamma-ray burst.

Motile and non-motile cilia have distinct functions and protein complexes associated with them. Here, the authors show the conserved protein CFAP20 is important for both motile and non-motile cilia and is distinct from other ciliopathy-associated domains or macromolecular complexes.

Hot carrier solar cells require mechanisms to dramatically reduce the rate at which carriers thermalize in semiconductors. Now, side-valley trapping of hot carriers with long decay lifetimes is shown to increase the chance of extraction of carriers while they are still hot.

The radial-velocity technique could detect a small gas giant orbiting a binary star and determine its mass: 65.2 ± 11.8 Earth masses. The system also hosts a smaller inner planet, making it one of the few known multiplanetary circumbinary systems.

An inhibitor of NAPE-PLD involved in lipid biosynthesis lowers levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide and other N-acylethanolamines in cells and mouse brain and activates the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis and impaired fear extinction.

Doudna and colleagues determine the mechanisms used by type V anti-CRISPR proteins. AcrVA1 is a multiple-turnover inhibitor that triggers cleavage of the Cas12a-bound guide RNA, while AcrVA4 and AcrVA5 inhibit recognition of dsDNA.

Pulsed electron-electron double resonance spectroscopy (PELDOR/DEER) and single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer spectroscopy (smFRET) are used to determine conformational changes and probe distances in biological macromolecules. Here the authors compare the methods on a large set of samples.

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.

This preclinical study demonstrates the potential of a drug repurposing strategy using the coadministration of tamsulosin, metoprolol, and bromocriptine to provide a mutation-agnostic therapy for inherited retinal degeneration.

Subretinal viral delivery, in mice, of an adenine base editor and a single-guide RNA targeting a nonsense mutation in the Rpe65 gene restores near-normal levels of retinal and visual functions.

Whether and how highly penetrant NDD (neurodevelopmental disorder) genes such as Syngap1 regulate sensorimotor integration are not fully understood. This study shows that Syngap1 expression in cortical projection neurons promotes cognitive abilities in mice through forming distributed networks that integrate sensory information with motor signals, a dynamic process required for perception and attention.

CRISPR–CasX represents a distinct RNA-guided platform that is functionally separate from Cas9 and Cas12a and is active for bacterial and human genome modification.

Protein-lipid interactions can be systematically analyzed using a quantitative, multiplexed liposome microarray–based assay (LiMA).

By harnessing the charge transfer that takes place at the interface between a metal and a layer of molecules, the usually non-magnetic materials copper and manganese are made magnetic at room temperature.

Crystal structures of unprocessed and mature crRNA-bound LbaCas13a shed light upon catalytic residues involved in crRNA maturation and mechanisms blocking Cas13a nuclease activity before target-RNA binding.

This study describes a new method that improves the sensitivity of viral detection compared with next-generation sequencing and enables the detection of emerging flaviviruses not specifically targeted a priori. Metagenomic sequencing with spiked primer enrichment is simple, low cost, fast and deployable on either benchtop or portable nanopore sequencers, making it applicable for diagnostic laboratory and field use.

In an experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model in mice, a subset of astrocytes retains an epigenetically regulated memory of past inflammation, causing exacerbated inflammation upon subsequent rechallenge.

A combination of atomistic imaging and spectroscopy reveals that metal substitution into a sulfur vacancy is the underlying mechanism for resistive switching in transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers.