Search

Noise is a fundamental obstacle to the stability of atomic optical clocks. An experiment now realizes the design of a spin-squeezed clock that improves interrogation times and enables direct comparisons of performance between different clocks.

This protocol describes the establishment of a reversible replication barrier using plasmid templates containing a lacO array bound by LacR repressor. The method allows fine control of replication fork movement and replication fork encounter with DNA lesions.

Co-design of energy transition pathways with policymakers and the public lead to more significant demand-side reductions than current supply-side-focused policy. When policymakers work directly with academics to re-consider how and why we use energy in our everyday lives, politically feasible, significantly cheaper options with 45% less energy demand are possible.

Using HDX-MS, X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and MD simulations, the authors examined the conformational dynamics of GAD65 in its apo- and holo- states and its interaction with the autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2-associated autoantibody b96.11.

Methods to study conformational changes in biomolecules are limited in resolution and require labelling or other modifications of target analytes. Here the authors present a label-free, microwave microfluidic approach to detect conformational changes of DNA nanostructures based on ionic conductivity.

Moiré patterns and flat bands usually occur in multilayer materials with a small interlayer twist angle, but this can cause detrimental lattice reconstruction. Now, flat bands are shown in a bilayer with large twist angle and structural rigidity.

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.

Discotic liquid crystals are materials with high charge-carrier mobility, which are promising for molecular electronics. They self-organize into stacks, usually with a twist of 30^∘, but the shape and periphery of the molecules can now be altered to produce materials with a twist of 60^∘. Defect-limited mobilities of these materials reach 0.2 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, but the potential defect-free mobility could be up to 10 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

The authors study tunneling junctions in rhombohedral MoS₂ bilayers and correlate their performance with the local domain layout. They show that the switching behavior in sliding ferroelectrics is strongly dependent on the pre-existing domain structure.

The term ‘holobiont’ refers to a multicellular organism and its microbial symbionts. Whether and how symbionts react to host injury and how cellular responses are integrated across species remain unexplored. Here, the authors report a deeply conserved animal regeneration regulatory program that links molecular networks across species in an animal-algal holobiont.

Producing individual cannabinoids by metabolically engineered microbes has proven challenging. Here, the authors develop a cell-free enzymatic prenylating system to generate isoprenyl pyrophosphate substrates directly from glucose and produce both common and rare cannabinoids at >1 g/L.

ABACUS2 Förster resonance energy transfer biosensors allow an unparalleled view of abscisic acid accumulations and depletions in living plants. Well-watered roots accumulate abscisic acid in growing cells upon shoot dehydration and this is essential to maintain root growth under low humidity.

This study revealed that targeting H3K4me3 via the H3K4 methyltransferase SDG2 activates gene expression and removes DNA methylation by recruiting DNA demethylases. Conversely, the removal of H3K4me3 synergistically enhances targeted DNA methylation.

Partially unfolded alpha-lactalbumin forms an oleic acid complex with antitumorigenic properties. Here, the authors define a structurally flexible, peptide-based oleate complex and report a phase I/II clinical trial where this complex is used to treat patients with bladder cancer.

Australian archaeological finds of 12,000-year-old fireplaces and artefacts match nineteenth-century GunaiKurnai ritual practices. They represent approximately 500 generations of cultural transmission of this ritual.

The apparent electronic confinement at nanographene boundaries in scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy is often misinterpreted. Here, the authors explain this phenomenon in terms of the decay of frontier orbitals and confinement at the edges of graphene nanoribbons and pores in nanoporous graphene.

A screening approach finds VH-domain antibodies that bind the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein receptor-binding domain at its interface with host ACE2. Bi-paratopic and multivalent binders have high affinity and potency.

Transcription factor Foxp3 is essential for the development and function of regulatory T cells, but it does not act in isolation. Benoist and colleagues identify a quintet of factors that facilitate transcriptional regulation by Foxp3.

Photopharmacology manipulates the biological activity of small molecules by light. Using an X-ray laser, the authors follow the release of the drug azo-combretastatin A4 from tubulin and the concomitant structural changes over nine orders of magnitude in time.

In a phase Ib trial, neoadjuvant nivolumab or nivolumab/relatlimab prior to chemoradiotherapy were well tolerated and liquid biopsy analyses show that undetectable ctDNA was associated with longer survival.

The use of two, rather than one, donor polymers in an organic solar cell is shown to enhance charge separation, transport and recombination.

Mode locking, which is a common technique to produce short laser pulses, is demonstrated in a topological laser.

Confident molecular identification is key for studying complex biochemistry. Here, the authors employ Quantum-Cascade Laser-based Mid-infrared imaging for rapid identification of ROIs, followed by MALDI imaging prm-PASEF for in-depth lipid identifications directly on complex tissues.

In a 15-year whole-ecosystem, single-factor experiment, stopping experimental mercury loading results in rapid decreases in methylmercury contamination of fish populations and almost complete recovery within the timeframe of the study.

Highly potent neutralizing nanobodies (Nbs) are of great interest as potential COVID-19 therapeutics. Here, the authors show that potent neutralizing Nbs targeting the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are also effective against convergent variants of concern of the virus. They determine eight Nb-bound spike protein cryo-EM structures, classify the binding epitopes of the Nbs and discuss their neutralization mechanisms.

A potent and selective inhibitor of KRAS^G12D, the most common mutant form of the KRAS oncoprotein, has anti-tumor efficacy in multiple pre-clinical cancer models, opening the possibility to therapeutically target this highly prevalent oncogenic driver.

The dynamical phases of out-of-equilibrium Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superconductors have been simulated using cold atoms levitated inside an optical cavity.

The authors show a hysteretic behaviour of superconductivity as a function of electric field in bilayer Td-MoTe₂, representing observations of coupled ferroelectricity and superconductivity.

Replicative sliding clamp loading is critical for DNA replication and repair. Here, authors report structures of major clamp loading intermediates in a bacterial system, revealing how the clamp is opened and loaded onto DNA.

The sound envelope is important for speech perception. Here, the authors look at mechanisms by which the sound envelope is encoded, finding that it arises from distortion produced by mechanoelectrical transduction channels. Surprisingly, the envelope is not present in basilar membrane vibrations.

The growth factor NELL-1 induces bone formation during development, but its role in osteoporosis is unknown. This study shows that NELL-1 binding to integrin ß1 induces Wnt/ß-catenin signalling in the bone and restores bone mineral density in osteoporotic mice and sheep, suggesting the therapeutic potential of NELL-1 for the treatment of bone loss.

The authors demonstrate broadband terahertz emission from a two-dimensional van der Waals ferroelectric semiconductor, NbOI₂, that originates from its efficient optical rectification and apply it to realize in situ near-field terahertz spectroscopy.

Hydrogels with faster stress relaxation enhance the spreading, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of embedded mesenchymal stem cells.

Modest weight gain leads to greater adverse metabolic consequences in South Asian compared to European men, in part driven by differences in adipocyte morphology.

There is a limited endogenous subventricular zone (SVZ)-derived neurogenic response for brain repair. Here, the authors report that cortical stroke-evoked environmental changes in the SVZ alter microglia-neural stem/precursor cells cross-communication, limiting the neurogenic repair response.

Using a combination of methods, the mechanism of the antibiotic teixobactin is revealed.

A Brillouin laser-driven terahertz oscillator is developed. The phase noise level of the generated terahertz waves is less than –100 dBc Hz^–1, translating to timing noise below 10 as Hz^–1/2 at 10 kHz Fourier frequency, over a carrier frequency range from 300 GHz to 3 THz.

The authors demonstrate a graphene/CrSBr heterostructure exhibiting anisotropic surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation in the mid-infrared and terahertz range. Charge transfer at the interface directs SPPs along the quasi-1D chains that compose each CrSBr layer, with propagation lengths varying by an order of magnitude between the two in-plane crystallographic axes.

Far-field mid-infrared spectroscopy reveals both the electroluminescence of hyperbolic phonon polaritons of hexagonal boron nitride excited by strongly biased graphene, and the associated radiative energy transfer through the material.

Single-cell metabolomics can offer deep insights into the metabolic reprogramming that accompanies disease states. Here, the authors use Raman spectro-microscopy for non-invasive metabolite analysis and identification of druggable metabolic susceptibilities in single live melanoma cells.

The GntR superfamily is one of the largest families of transcription factors in prokaryotes. Here the authors combine biophysical analysis and structural biology to dissect the mechanism by which NanR — a GntR-family regulator — binds to its promoter to repress the transcription of genes necessary for sialic acid metabolism.

Nie et al. describe a mechanism underlying the degradation of the histone methyltransferase NSD2 through the recruitment of FBXO22 E3 ligase, providing a chemical probe for NSD2 function study and targeted protein degradation.

The war on Ukraine has reduced Russia’s ability to export its natural gas, notably to the European market. Under any future strategy, Russia struggles to regain pre-crisis gas export levels, with its success partly contingent on China’s gas supply strategy.

Approach versus avoidance responses are driven by D1 and D2 neurons in the ventral hippocampus.

The development of electronic flying qubits requires the ability to generate and control single-electron excitations. Here the authors demonstrate quantum coherence of ultrashort single-electron plasmonic pulses in an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, revealing a non-adiabatic regime at high frequencies.

A two-dimensional crystalline polymer of C₆₀, termed graphullerene, is synthesized by chemical vapour transport, and mechanically exfoliated to produce molecularly thin flakes with clean interfaces for potential optoelectronic applications.