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Dimetallocenes are a narrow class of compounds represented by the homobimetallic examples dizincocene and diberyllocene. Now a heterobimetallic dimetallocene featuring lithium and aluminium centres has been synthesized. The Al–Li bond is shown to cleave upon reaction with N-heterocyclic carbenes and heteroallenes.

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.

EGFR is one of the most studied targets in oncology, and several inhibitors have shown promising results in selected patient populations. However, intrinsic and acquired resistance to these targeted therapies is increasingly recognized. The authors of this Review describe the successful translation of EGFR inhibitors to the clinic, and highlight the mechanisms of resistance to these agents that limit their long-term efficacy. Understanding these processes will allow researchers to develop therapies that overcome resistance and ultimately lead to more successful outcomes.

Plasma from individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 exhibits 22-fold less neutralization capacity against Omicron (B.1.1.529) than against an ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain but residual neutralization is maintained in those with high levels of neutralization of ancestral virus.

Cryo-EM structures of CRISPR–CasΦ, a small RNA-guided enzyme unique to bacteriophages, reveal how CasΦ binds to and cleaves DNA, paving the way for engineering of improved CasΦ variants for diagnostics and genome-editing applications.

Circular RNAs are widely expressed in eukaryotic cells but their functions and mechanisms of action are still being elucidated. Here the authors show that circANRILmodulates rRNA maturation and confers protection again atherosclerosis.

In the standard model of terrestrial planet formation, interstellar grains of typical size ∼0.1 μm are expected to grow to millimetre, centimetre or even-metre sized objects rather quickly. Unfortunately, such evolved disks are hard to observe. This paper reports observations of grains that have grown to about millimetre-size or larger in the terrestrial zone of a 3 Myr old star.

Construction of yeast libraries is time-consuming, costly and limited to the genetic background of the chosen strain. Here the authors present CASTLING which uses CRISPR-Cas12a and oligonucleotide pools to rapidly generate pooled libraries with large insertions such as fluorescent protein tags.

A study quantifying the neutralization of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants in individuals infected with Omicron/BA.1 shows that vaccinated individuals previously infected with Omicron have enhanced protection against reinfection with current variants, \including Omicron/BA.2, while Omicron/BA.1 infected unvaccinated individuals have limited protection.

Profiling of 53,193 individual epithelial cells from the mouse small intestine identifies previously unknown cell subtypes and corresponding gene markers, providing insight into gut homeostasis and response to pathogens.

Mutant KRAS (KM) is associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer and reported to promote lipid metabolism. Here, the authors show that fatty acid synthesis, which provides lipids to repair oxidized phospholipids through the FASN-Lands cycle axis, is a specific vulnerability for KM lung cancer.

Certain neuropeptides, in addition to their neuromodulatory functions, display antibacterial activities of unclear significance. Here, the authors show that a secreted neuropeptide modulates the distribution of bacterial communities on the body surface during development of the model organism Hydra.

Classifiers trained on a large microarray gene expression dataset can assess pluripotency in query samples of human cells.

Photosystem II is the biosynthetic machinery that allows the conversion of water to oxygen using light. Here, the authors combine X-ray emission and diffraction data to probe the structural changes that take place during photosystem II catalysis.

Inactivating the CLP1 RNA kinase in mice leads to a progressive loss of motor neurons, through a mechanism related to the accumulation of a novel set of small RNA fragments derived from aberrant processing of tyrosine pre-transfer RNA.

The crystal structure and cryo-electron microscopy of the loading/condensing region of a nonreducing polyketide synthase reveals the insertion of a starter-unit acyltransferase into the condensing region and an asymmetrical post-loading state.

ATAC-seq allows for the investigation of chromatin accessibility, a feature which can have important implications for gene regulation. Here the authors present ATAC-array to assess accessibility in human tumours and based on this predict disease prognosis.

A hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus is the production of type I interferons in response to immunocomplexes containing self DNA from dead cells and DNA-specific IgG. Sanjuan and colleagues find that IgE specific for self DNA also exacerbates this disease.

Spermidine, a naturally occurring polyamine, extends the lifespan of mice and is cardioprotective in both aged mice and hypertensive rats. In humans, high dietary spermidine intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease.

The production of fuels from sunlight is crucial to the development of a sustainable energy system. Although noble metals are efficient catalysts for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution, earth-abundant alternatives are needed for large-scale use. Bioinspired molecular clusters based on molybdenum and sulphur are now shown to produce hydrogen at rates comparable to platinum.

Disease signatures in high-dimensional biomedical data are detected with a visualization algorithm.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) only induces tumour response in a subset of non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC). Here the authors do whole genome sequencing and multiplexed quantitative immunofluorescence on patient samples and identify a “dormant” T-cell signature associated with sensitivity to ICB.

Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes involves co-activator complexes, including TFIID and SAGA. A new study has determined the first high-resolution cryo-EM structure of the human SAGA complex, and has implications for defining SAGA function during multiple stages of eukaryotic transcription.

Many clinical trials of targeted therapies have produced disappointing results, indicating that many challenges must be addressed to advance this field. The authors discuss the importance of novel statistical designs, the need for biopsy sampling in clinical trials and appropriate biomarker identification for improving treatment outcomes.

Observations of emission and absorption lines of the deuterated trihydrogen cation (H₂D⁺) from a dense interstellar cloud core, combined with chemical modelling, reveal that the core needed at least one million years to form Sun-like stars.

Field photographs are essential for research and conservation, but are difficult to access since there is no central database or connection between archives. The 25 leading databases hold only 53% of the plant species of the Americas, illustrating the need for increased work on collecting and standardizing this valuable data.

New tumor epitopes are discovered by ribosome profiling and immunopeptidome mass spectrometry.