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Intestinal motility disorders that can occur following small intestine resection often require regular monitoring. This study reports a biodegradable ultrasound contrast tape (BioUCT) that adheres to the intestine for high-contrast imaging for up to two weeks for non-invasive monitoring of postoperative intestinal motility.

Efficient exchange of long-chain ligands has been challenging for high-performing perovskite quantum dot photovoltaics. Here, the authors construct alkaline environments for antisolvents to promote their hydrolysis into conductive surface capping, enabling a certified solar cell efficiency of 18.3%.

Computational analysis and pairwise assays reveal that bacterial topoisomerase IV is a target of microbially produced phenazines, which informs synthetic-community design to treat fungal crop infection.

A synthetic biology approach was used to engineer Vibrio natriegens into a strain capable of bioremediating complex organic pollutants in saline wastewater and soils, thereby addressing notable threats to marine biosecurity.

This study sheds light on the role of mental imagery in creativity via semantic memory processing and identifies key brain networks during imagery-involved creative cognition.

An implantable hydrogel-based phononic crystal that deforms with the surrounding tissues modifying the ultrasonic bandgap allows continuous and wireless monitoring of internal tissue strains.

Zhao et al. identified a novel E3 ligase RED and its E2 partner UBC32 which mediates ethylene-induced degradation of ethylene receptors ETR3 via the ERAD pathway in Rosa hybrida and Solanum lycopersicum, providing new insights into controlling ethylene response through receptor turnover.

Ultrapure water is usually used as a feedstock for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers because trace contaminants can cause failure. Here the authors show that PEM electrolysers can run on impure tap water when Brønsted acid oxides are used at the cathode to create a strongly acidic microenvironment.

Orbital torque, arising from the orbital Hall effect, allows for the manipulation of magnetic order. Crucially, many light elements have large orbital Hall effects and therefore large orbital torques. Here, Zhang, Wei, Duan, Chen, and coauthors demonstrate efficient magnetization switching of Fe3GaTe2 using orbital torque.

As China’s cities grow, getting around town must keep pace. This study finds wide disparities in public transport accessibility in villages near and within major Chinese cities, suggesting the limitations of focusing on overall commute times.

Chen, Hu, Zhao, Fang and colleagues show that the ribosomal large subunit protein Rpl12 functions as a conserved ribophagy receptor in multiple organisms.

Interfacial water consists of hydrogen-bonded water and Na·H₂O, its structure changes at hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) potentials, and when structurally ordered it aids interfacial electron transfer, resulting in higher HER rates.

Using intracranial recordings in pairs of humans cooperating in interactive games, this study shows fine-grained cooperation dynamics featured by state-dependent motives and the intrabrain and interbrain profiles of high-gamma activity in the amygdala and temporoparietal junction.

A sort-in-memory system that relies on digit reads on one-transistor–one-resistor memristor arrays can offer improved throughput, energy efficiency and area efficiency compared with conventional sorting systems.

Monitoring the early-stage healing of severe traumatic nerve injuries is essential to gather pathological information for timely interventions. Here, the authors introduce a biodegradable and restorative neural interface for wireless real-time tracking.

Exfoliation of g-C₃N₄ breaks the molecular chains, causing sluggish carrier kinetics and moderate degradation activity. Here, authors address these issues by developing an ultrathin porous g-C₃N₄ with intact molecular chains via shear repair strategy, enhancing the activity of PMS-assisted water purification.

Thyroid hormones are crucial for metabolism and development. Here, authors resolve the cryo-EM structure of MCT8, a key transporter for thyroid hormones, revealing how it interacts with substrates and inhibitors. These insights may guide future treatments for thyroid-related diseases.

TPP endows TPP₃Cu₂Br₂ with both excellent water resistance and sensitive temperature-dependent luminescence lifetime, achieving a S_r up to 12.82% K⁻¹.

MEMS gravimeters are compact and cost-effective but face challenges in achieving ultra-high sensitivity due to fabrication tolerances and size limitations. Here, authors introduce a μGal MOEMS gravimeter with locally adjustable free-form anti-springs, achieving picometer-level displacement sensitivity.

The neural underpinnings of empathy in response to the pain of others remains poorly understood. Here the authors reveal spatio-temporally specific activities and inter-regional interactions in the empathy network, suggesting a neurodynamic model of human pain empathy.

Lithium–sulfur batteries are a promising electrochemical energy storage technology; however, they are limited by the dissolution of polysulfide intermediates. Now, it has been shown that sparingly solvating electrolytes containing a phase mediator can avoid polysulfide dissolution and accelerate surface-localized solution-phase sulfur reaction to improve battery performances.

Nanoreactors, with biomimetic features and distinct catalytic functions, show promise in catalytic energy conversion. Here the authors propose the utilization of precisely engineered mesoporous carbon spheres with tunable hollow sizes as nanoreactors, leveraging their catalytic functionalities for enhanced diffusion and microenvironment modulation effects to achieve efficient hydrogen peroxide electrosynthesis.

The dynamic spatial chromosomal configurations in 3D space demonstrate cell-to-cell variation. Here, authors develop Tensor-FLAMINGO to reconstruct high-resolution single-cell specific 3D genome structures, leading to insights into chromatin folding, gene regulation and disease SNPs.

Direct bioprinting in vivo has the potential to enable new clinical strategies but is currently limited by printing techniques. Here, the authors report on the development of a ferromagnetic soft catheter for magnetic computer controlled minimally invasive bioprinting and demonstrate the printing potential in vivo.

The GEMS satellite’s hourly measurements enhance the accuracy of surface O₃ estimation, leading to lower O₃ concentrations and a reduction in O₃-related deaths, particularly in rural regions, revealing overestimated mortality in previous assessments.

MoDL, a deep learning algorithm, is developed to link mitochondrial morphology and function. Trained on extensive mitochondrial image and biochemical data, MoDL delivers high segmentation accuracy and accurate function prediction.

Diatomic actinide molecules are ideal models for studying rare multiple-bond motifs. Here, the authors report host-guest structures of metastable charged U≡N diatoms confined in fullerene cages and stabilized by coordinative electron transfer.

Moiré quasicrystals exhibit many exotic phenomena. Here, the authors report an acoustic moiré quasicrystal that not only achieves a localization-delocalization transition, but also enables wave propagation shifting from diffusion to canalization or localization.

Hand, foot and mouth disease, caused by enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) infection, is common in children in China. Here, the authors estimate EV-A71 incidence and seroprevalence using data from two longitudinal cohorts and find that, despite high infection rates, a large proportion of children under 6 are susceptible.

The authors present a reference genome for Hordeum I-genome species. This work unravels genomic features that drive adaptation to salt and alkali environments and could aid in improving crop resilience.

Jiang et al. identify Pax as a key regulator of Drosophila midgut homeostasis. Pax coordinates the Hippo and Notch pathways to control the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs), ensuring homeostasis of midgut.

The molecular classification and tumour microenvironment in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) need further characterisation. Here, the authors perform single cell RNA-sequencing from 14 pairs of iCCA tumours and non-tumour liver tissues and propose S100P and SPP1 as markers for patient classification.

Automated exploration of reaction pathways is crucial for advancing reaction mechanisms and catalyst design. Here, the authors introduce ARplorer, a Python and Fortran-based program that integrates quantum mechanics and rule-based methods, underpinned by a large language model-assisted chemical logic, enhancing efficiency in automating searches of multi-step reactions.

Scaling up genetic circuits is a longstanding challenge in synthetic biology. Here Gao et al. engineer split introns for programmable RNA-level gene regulation and integrate them with protein splicing for single-layer multi-input logic computation.

Studying the nature of actinide-actinide bonds is important for understanding the electronic structure of the 5f elements, but the synthesis of these chemical bonds remains extremely challenging. Here, the authors report a strong covalent Th-Th bond formed between two rarely accessible Th³⁺ ions, stabilized inside a fullerene cage.

Regulating reactive oxygen species and inflammation are important for treating atherosclerosis. Here, the authors create a cell membrane coated zoledronic acid ceria nanocomposite loaded with probucol for synergistic drug and scavenging nanozyme treatment of atherosclerosis demonstrating application in vivo.