Search

The acetyl-CoA pathway is the most ancient CO₂ fixation pathway in nature. Here, the authors show that metals selectively reduce CO₂ to the intermediates and end-products of the acetyl-CoA pathway, which is consistent with a prebiotic origin of this pathway.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses are of global concern. This study shows that a low-dose H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b Alum/CpG-adjuvanted vaccine elicits broad, durable antibody and T cell responses and protects female mice against lethal homologous and heterologous H5N1 challenges.

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) reversibly modifies low molecular weight and protein thiols to form persulfides (RSS⁻) and polysulfides (RS(S)nS⁻) for antioxidant defence and regulation of activity. Here, the authors report a sensitive LC-MS/MS procedure that separately traps and quantifies the sulfur atom of H₂S, the terminal sulfur atom of RSS and RS(S)nS-, and the internal sulfur atoms of RS(S)nS ⁻ as diagnostic products in biological samples.

In the phase 1/2 TRIDENT-1 trial, treatment of patients with NTRK fusion–positive advanced solid tumors with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor repotrectinib—selective for ROS1, TRKA−C and ALK—was safe and resulted in durable systemic and intracranial clinical response.

Jacquemyn et al. identify key lipid determinants controlling ectosome shedding from neurons. They find that ectosomes are a major route for the intercellular transport of misfolded α-synuclein, with relevance to Parkinson’s disease pathology.

Taking advantage of the abundant renewable energy sources along seashores, this work describes a three-chamber electrolyser that combines electrolysis and desalination to produce both freshwater and green hydrogen.

The phase 2/3 DEVOTE trial demonstrated that high-dose nusinersen significantly improved motor function and was safe in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, compared with a matched sham control.

Combining high-resolution mapping of foliar and herbivore faecal sodium concentrations across Africa, the authors show that plant-derived sodium availability constrains megaherbivore densities at a continental scale.

Biochemical and structural studies show that the bacterial dGTPase CloA is activated by virally produced dTTP and inhibited by 5′-triphosphothymidyl-3′5′-thymidine produced by its regulatory partner CloB, and thereby balances antiviral defence and immune-mediated toxicity.

Astrocytes in the basolateral amygdala dynamically track fear state and support fear memory retrieval and extinction.

Polyamides (PAs) or nylons are types of plastics with wide applications, but due to their accumulation in the environment, strategies for their deconstruction are of interest. Here, the authors screen 40 potential nylon-hydrolyzing enzymes (nylonases) using a mass spectrometry-based approach and identify a thermostabilized N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase as the most promising for further development, as well as crucial targets for progressing PA6 enzymatic depolymerization.

A bottleneck in high-throughput chemical synthesis is analyzing reaction products. This protocol describes a direct mass spectrometry approach where the loss of a characteristic neutral fragment from a starting material defines product analysis.

The coronavirus proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN) is a major cause of viral resistance to nucleotide analog (NA) antivirals. Here, the authors reveal how different NAs are recognized by ExoN, shedding light on improved anticoronavirus drug design.

Using two newly developed immunoassays tested in three clinical cohorts, this study highlights CSF DOPA decarboxylase as a promising biomarker for differentiating dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease from Alzheimer’s disease and controls.

Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are declining quickly. By integrating global environmental, socioeconomic, and biological data, this study identifies the key conditions associated with imperilment of freshwater fishes.

Carnitine uptake by OCTN2 supports fatty acid metabolism. Here, authors report cryo-EM structures of human OCTN2, revealing the mechanism of sodium ion-dependent carnitine transport and providing insight into disease-associated variants.

Lazarevic et al. reveal a shared loss of a TBX5-dependent atrial gene network in cardiomyocytes and a disease-specific network gain in activated fibroblasts across atrial fibrillation and heart failure models.

Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.

HORBEC are protein complexes involved in the regulation of redox balance and energy conservation. The authors develop a bioinformatic tool for HORBEC annotation in bacterial and archaeal genomes and reconstruct the evolutionary history of these fundamental enzymes.

FACED 2.0 builds on and expands the capabilities of the free-space angular-chirp-enhanced delay microscopy approach. Its high speed, large field of view and volumetric coverage enable two-photon voltage imaging of hundreds of neurons or calcium imaging of thousands of neurons in the mouse or zebrafish brain.

Improved vaccines and antivirals are needed for many enveloped viruses. Here, the authors identify sulfur-based small molecules that disrupt viral membrane properties, inhibiting fusion and entry, and safely inactivate influenza virus. The resulting inactivated influenza vaccine is protective in mice.

Self-DNA has been implicated in the activation of cGAS/STING/IFN-I responses in autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases. Here the authors show that macrophage uses a process termed ‘nucleocytosis’ to extract nuclear DNA from lysosome-impaired, dying target cells, thereby activating downstream cGAS-STING signaling and IFN-I production.

The systemic discovery of metal–small-molecule complexes from biological samples is a difficult challenge. Now, a method based on liquid chromatography and native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry has been developed. The approach uses post-column pH adjustment and metal infusion combined with ion identity molecular networking, and a rule-based informatics workflow, to interrogate small-molecule–metal binding.

Rearrangement of the B cell receptor is sequential, and pairing of the successfully assembled heavy chain with the surrogate light chain proteins VpreB and λ5 to form the pre-B cell receptor is an important checkpoint signal for continued B cell development. Here, the authors show that λ5 plays a key role in the multi-step assembly process involving association-induced folding reactions.

A generative AI approach is developed for predicting materials synthesis recipes—a complex challenge in materials science. Using this approach, the authors experimentally synthesized a material using AI-generated synthesis recipes.

Concrete durability is crucial for infrastructure longevity. Here the authors use atomistic simulations to show how aluminum alters the bonding and surface energetics of cement hydrates, explaining its paradoxical dual role in durability.

This multicenter study demonstrates use of dried and capillary blood as a minimally invasive, scalable approach for Alzheimer’s biomarker testing in research, with potential as a widely scalable population-based research approach, especially in resource-limited settings.

Electrochemical acid-base production has attractive applications in mineral recovery and CO₂ removal, but current membrane-based designs are plagued by resistive losses. The authors report a membrane-less system generating useful acid and base solutions at high rates with less energy.

Genes encoding key epigenetic regulators, including Lysine Demethylase 6A (KDM6A), are frequently mutated in bladder cancer. Here, the authors show that loss of KDM6A promotes formation of extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA), genomic instability, and metabolic reprogramming, driving resistance to cisplatin chemotherapy while simultaneously enhancing sensitivity to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Huang, Rigau and colleagues observe major changes in how DNA is organized in early germ cells before they start developing into sperm or eggs. These results show that germline removes structural ‘memory’ of DNA folding to start fresh for the next generation.

Avian influenza jumped from wild birds into dairy cattle. Here, the authors report that two mutations in the viral polymerase helped the virus to quickly adapt to cattle. Mutations increased the polymerase activity and made the virus better at replicating in human cells.

JWST imaged three of the gas giants orbiting the star HR 8799 to study their atmospheres. The uniform enrichment of heavy elements, including sulfur, indicates that they formed like Jupiter and Saturn by accreting a lot of icy and rocky solids.

Functional studies of O-GlcNAcylation have often focused on individual modifications. Now, a systems-level approach has identified simultaneous O-GlcNAcylation events that coordinate cellular activities and tissue-specific functions.

This study develops and validates a prognostic staging framework for Alzheimer’s disease by integrating cognitive status with blood-based biomarkers, and neuroimaging data, to improve risk stratification across the disease continuum.

Vigilance involves the activation of orexinergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamus (LH-ox). Here the authors report the functional role of a monosynaptically connected circuit with orexinergic neurons connected to noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus which target lateral amygdala neurons and enhance fear expression and generalization.

Here, the authors study ion transport mechanisms by introducing mutations to convert an electroneutral proton/potassium pump into a prototypical electrogenic sodium/potassium pump, explaining their selectivity and phosphorylation mechanisms.

This study shows how the bacterial retron Eco2 defends against viruses. Phage nucleases trigger activation of Eco2, which cuts RNAs, shuts down protein production and stops phage replication.

A Gifsy-1 prophage–encoded higher eukaryotes and prokaryotes nucleotide-binding protein, HepS, senses Siphoviridae infection, activates abortive defence by cleaving host transfer RNAs, blocks rival phages and avoids self-targeting via tail-tip variation.

Recurrent features in human antibodies targeting the influenza neuraminidase active site reveal a convergent strategy of receptor mimicry, providing structural insights that could guide the design of broad and effective influenza vaccines.

Nitrate sensing by NLP7 engages a MEKK–MAPK cascade to phosphorylate the circadian clock protein CCA1, establishing a positive-feedback loop that stimulates auxin signalling to drive root foraging for nitrate.

Taniuchi and colleagues show that differential phosphorylation of the terminal Y residue in Runx proteins connect MHC restriction with the helper versus cytotoxic T cell lineage choice.

Heart failure is characterised by a detrimental rise in the intracellular sodium concentration. Here the authors show that this reversibly reprogrammes energy metabolism in the heart making this a possible therapeutic target for the development of new drugs.

Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with retrotransposon-rich centromeres and that long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons are the genetic substrate.

HIV-1 integrase forms an RNA-binding module on the luminal side of the mature capsid lattice.

A photochemical regeneration strategy achieves repeated capture and release of diverse precious metals by integrating a phenol–quinone redox cycle into a nanocarbon aerogel scaffold, offering a practical and sustainable pathway for metal recovery.