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Hehlert et al. report that the gating spring that pulls open mechanosensitive NOMPC channels is not their helical ankyrin tether, but instead an elastic hinge that suspends that tether on the channel gate.

Fine-scale geospatial mapping of overweight and wasting (two components of the double burden of malnutrition) in 105 LMICs shows that overweight has increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 6.0% in children under 5 in 2017. Although overall wasting decreased over the same period, most countries are not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025.

An integrated structural biology approach uncovers the structural complexity of the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) within the TRPV4 ion channel. Multiple stimulatory and inhibitory elements were identified within the IDR that modulate channel activity in a lipid-dependent manner.

Meso–meso linked porphyrin arrays have been described as rod-like photonic wires. Now it has been shown that they can be bent into rings using template-directed synthesis. These rings of porphyrins mimic the light-harvesting arrays of chlorophyll molecules responsible for photosynthesis.

Roy-Chowdhury et al. report structures of the human leak channel K_2P13.1 that identify a hydrophilic pore restriction and a polyunsaturated-fatty-acid-binding site corresponding to a small-molecule agonist site in the K_2P family.

Complexes that form between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes may be solid or liquid. Here, Perry et al.show that chirality in polypeptides can determine the state of those complexes based on a propensity for hydrogen-bond formation.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the preeminent drug delivery vehicle for mRNA therapies, partially due to the ionizable lipid (IL) components that facilitate endosomal escape. Here, authors devise terminally branched ILs that enhance endosome escape, resulting in increased liver and T cell delivery.

This study demonstrates 3D printing of hierarchically ordered, porous transition metal oxides and nitrides directed by block copolymer self-assembly, with record surface areas and nanoconfinement-induced critical fields in the nitride superconductors

Triacylglycerols (TG) are synthesized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) bilayer and packaged into monolayer lipid droplets (LDs), but how proteins partition between ER and LDs is poorly understood. Here authors use synthetic model systems and find that proteins containing hydrophobic membrane association domains strongly prefer monolayers and that returning to the bilayer is unfavorable.

Structural analysis of the human choline and ethanolamine transporters FLVCR1 and FLVCR2 clarifies the mechanisms of transport, the conformational dynamics of these proteins and the disease-associated mutations that interfere with these processes.

Channelrhodopsins’ mechanism of light-gated ion conductance could be engineered for use in optogenetic tools. Here, structures of the slow-cycling mutant of HcKCR1, including an open state structure, provide insight into channel gating and selectivity.

A regulated stress response is essential for healthy child growth and development. Here, the authors show that a nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene intervention enhanced adaptive responses of the physiological stress system in early childhood.

System xc- is a cystine transporter that is expressed in the plasma membrane and imports cystine in exchange for intracellular glutamate. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structure of human system xc- both in the apo form and the glutamate bound state, and further supported by molecular dynamics and cell-based assays they discuss its cystine transport mechanism.

Many neurotransmitters act on receptors coupled to GTP-binding G proteins. Here authors report the structure and activity of a mutant that locks the nucleotide-free and receptor-bound state of the G protein, leading to a rare neurological disorder.

The ability to change the degree of hybridization of a donor electron state between the coulombic potential of its donor atom and that of a nearby quantum well in a silicon transistor has now been achieved. This is a promising step in the development of atomic-scale quantum control.

SPNS2 exports S1P and FTY720-P to control immune cell migration. Here, the authors use cryo-EM, immunofluorescence, in vitro binding and in vivo S1P export, and MD simulations to uncover the mechanisms of SPNS2’s transport and inhibition.

Material from the Hokioi crater on asteroid Bennu experienced space weathering and suggests microcratering plays a more active role on carbonaceous bodies than initially thought, according to a study of OSIRIS-REx asteroid return samples.

Surface charge patchiness has a great impact on the aggregation and solution stability of colloidal particles and globular proteins. Here, the authors report the solution behaviours of computationally designed peptide coiled-coil ‘bundlemer’ nanoparticles with controlled surface charge patchiness where only a single type of surface charge is allowed.

During fasting, hepatocytes selectively remodel the translatome while global translation is downregulated, showing a new signalling property of fatty acids and that, on a ketogenic diet, treatment with eFT508 (also known as tomivosertib; a P-eIF4E inhibitor) restrains pancreatic tumour growth.

Enzymes are viscoelastic, deformable machines. Mutating high-strain regions in these machines affect their catalytic function.

Amine headgroups in ionizable lipids drive the immunogenicity of lipid nanoparticles by binding to Toll-like receptor 4 and CD1d and by promoting lipid-raft formation.

The multidomain scaffold protein SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domain 3 (SHANK3) can bind GTP-bound Ras and Rap small GTPases. Here the authors show that, by binding active KRAS, SHANK3 maintains oncogenic KRAS/MAPK/ERK signaling at an optimal level while its depletion in KRAS-mutant cancer cell lines results in ERK signalling overdose and impaired cell proliferation.

The valley degree of freedom has been proposed as a means to encode information in a number of condensed-matter systems. Now, detailed scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements are used to spatially resolve the valleys associated with a single donor qubit in silicon.

A combination of structural and biochemical analyses of MlaC, the soluble periplasmic component of the Mla pathway, elucidate how this protein assists phospholipid movement between the bacterial inner and outer membranes.

This study expands the molecular grammar of FUS, identifying tyrosine, arginine and glutamine as key drivers of phase separation and showing that flexibility from glycine enhances phase separation. Sequence and position affect the contributions of specific residues to phase separation and aggregation.

While dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 1 (DDAH1) is known to metabolize the endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthases, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), the function of DDAH2 has remained controversial. Here, the authors present several lines of evidence that DDAH2 does not hydrolyze ADMA.

The sequence of specific differentiation signals determines the fate of a pluripotent cell. Here pluripotency was introduced into synthetic cells by loading them with three dormant apo-metalloenzymes, which were activated through selective metal ion transport by one of three ionophores. Depending on the sequence of metal ion intake, the synthetic cells differentiated towards five distinct fates.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the bacterial O-antigen ligase WaaL, combined with genetics, biochemistry and molecular dynamics simulations, provide insight into the mechanism by which WaaL catalyses the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide.

Serum MMP8 is increased in stress-susceptible mice following chronic stress and leads to brain structure and behavioural changes in mice.

The model archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius produces several protein filaments with specialised functions, including flagellum-like archaella, Aap pili, and adhesive threads. Here, the authors describe high-resolution structures and distinct glycosylation patterns for the three filaments, and present an integrated model of the filaments in the context of the S-layer.

John ‘JJ’ Joannopoulos, a pioneering condensed-matter theorist who contributed to the launch of modern nanophotonics and mentored a plethora of scientists and engineers, passed away on 17 August 2025, aged 78. In his five decades at MIT, JJ combined first-principles insights with a gift for nurturing people, shaping fields from ab initio materials theory to photonic crystals and their applications.

In eukaryotes the SLC35 family of solute carriers mediate the selective uptake of nucleotide sugars from the cytoplasm into the Endoplasmic Reticulum or Golgi. Here authors report the crystal structure of the yeast GDP-mannose transporter, Vrg4, bound to guanine monophosphate (GMP) revealing the molecular basis for GMP recognition and transport.

Deep learning holds a great promise for the discovery and design of bioactive peptides, but experimental approaches to validate candidates in high throughput and at low cost are needed. Here, the authors combine deep learning and cell free biosynthesis for antimicrobial peptide (AMP) development and identify 30 functional AMPs, of which six with broad-spectrum activity against drug-resistant pathogens.

The evolutionarily conserved SARS-CoV-2 spike’s S2 subunit provides the foundation for its usage as an immunogen in vaccines. Here, the authors use a simulation-driven approach to design S2-only immunogens stabilized in the closed prefusion conformation.

Understanding how small molecules bind to pathological aggregates is of importance for therapeutic and diagnostic development in diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease. Here, the authors reveal a binding site of anle138b to lipid-induced α-synuclein fibrils.

Kwak et al. report that adherens junctions organize membrane microdomains, leading to lipid-dependent γ-secretase recruitment and size-dependent protein segregation, excluding full-length Notch receptor.

Ca²⁺ activated BK channels are important for neural and muscle function. Here authors use a compound, BC5, to show that the interface between the cytosolic and voltage sensing domains is a major allosteric pathway for Ca²⁺ binding to open the channel.

Cryo-EM structures of nick forming complexes of the mouse RAG recombinase with DNA substrates demonstrate how the RAG active site is reconfigured for two consecutive DNA cleavage reactions.

M. tuberculosis cytochrome bd oxidase is of interest as a TB drug target. Here, the authors present the 2.5 Å cryo-EM structure of M. tuberculosis cytochrome bd oxidase and identify a disulfide bond within the canonical quinol binding and oxidation domain (Q-loop) and a menaquinone-9 binding site at heme b₅₉₅.

Non-addictive treatments for pain are much needed. Here, the authors identify in vivo active leads for inflammatory pain using large library docking against the EP4 prostaglandin receptor.

Bhattacharjee and Schaeffer et al. map exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in 94 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), finding increased EBF practice and reduced subnational variation across the majority of LMICs from 2000 to 2018. However, only six LMICs will meet WHO’s target of ≥70% EBF by 2030 nationally, and only three will achieve this in all districts.

The membrane-proximal external region of HIV-1 spike protein is a broadly neutralizing antibody target. Here, cryo-electron microscopy and molecular dynamics reveal spontaneous ectodomain tilting, a vulnerability exploitable for vaccine design.

Incorporating polar residues into hydrophobic protein channel pores facilitates selective proton transport. Now, classical and multiscale reactive molecular dynamics simulations of designed channels reveal dynamic water wires within the channel lumen that are proton conductive according to structural and functional validation. These results provide some guiding principles for biological and engineered proton conduction.

Editor summary: A native-mass-spectrometry-based approach analyzes integral membrane protein–lipid complexes directly from near-physiological membrane conditions, providing information about protein oligomeric states, lipid identities, and membrane properties.

A major earthquake 2500 years ago caused one of the largest rivers on Earth to abruptly change its course. A recurrent event would pose the risk of such cascading hazards to the densely populated floodplains of present-day Bangladesh.

Keratinicyclins are recently discovered glycopeptide antibiotics. Now, the mechanism of action of keratinicyclin B has been uncovered. Keratinicyclin B displays narrow-spectrum inhibitory activity against Clostridioides difficile by binding a species-specific wall teichoic acid, disrupting cell wall protein localization and peptidoglycan remodeling.