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Spatiotemporal insight into photoactivation of the prototypical B₁₂ photoreceptor CarH is revealed across nine orders of magnitude in time, identifying a transient adduct that distinguishes it from thermally activated B₁₂ enzymes.

Lasing with multi-pass gain is achieved in a diamond-based X-ray cavity at the European XFEL, opening a path to next-generation X-ray science.

Cytokinesis progression depends on the precise regulation of phosphoinositide synthesis. Here, the authors show that septin-associated PIPKIγ isoforms control late midbody organization by local PI(4,5)P2 synthesis at the ingressed cleavage furrow.

The structure of a spontaneously activated immune protein is determined by cryo-electron microscopy. This reveals the passage of an entire domain through a transient opening. The authors investigate the mechanism by multiple biophysical approaches.

This study forecasts intra-annual forest growth towards the end of the 21st century under different scenarios of climate change. It predicts that the extension of the growing season will not be sufficient to compensate for the future drought-induced summer growth limitation.

Single-particle tracking experiments in intact cells reveal dynamic co- and post-translational interactions of the TRiC–PFD chaperonin complex with client proteins during in vivo protein folding.

Thermal imaging lenses are typically made from expensive materials such as germanium and silicon. Here, the authors synthesise a sulfur-based polymer with high mid-wave infrared and long-wave infrared transparencies, presenting a high-performing, low-cost alternative to traditional thermal imaging lens materials.

Spatially resolved images of M87 obtained at a wavelength of 3.5 mm in 2018 show a ring-like accretion structure, the inner (outer) edge of which connects the black hole (jet).

Treadmilling of cytoskeletal filaments is crucial for their functional self-organization. Now the mechanism underpinning this collective organization is shown to be the dissolution of misaligned filaments.

A large sulfur-bearing carbon ring molecule has been detected in space, 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-thione, using laboratory spectroscopy and a radio telescope. Found near the Galactic Centre, it opens the door to a new family of interstellar molecules.

Climate change is altering how plants balance carbon gain and water loss. This study maps global leaf-level water-use efficiency over the past two decades, showing it is highest in regions that are cold or dry, increasing worldwide, and strongly influenced by atmospheric dryness.

Programmable self-assembly can help construct complex nanostructures. Now a mathematical framework can identify if and how a particular structure can be assembled.

Kathiriya et al. identify a cardiac progenitor lineage with expression of Tbx5 and anterior heart field-specific expression of Mef2c that bisects the intraventricular septum during development and show that alterations in this lineage lead to congenital heart defects in mice.

Here the authors show that antibody-dependent phagocytosis of ring-stage P. falciparum parasites is mediated by merozoite antigens and is a strong predictor of protection following challenge in a controlled human malaria infection study in semi-immune Kenyan adults.

Revealing the structural features governing ergodicity breaking is critical to understanding glass formation. Here, the authors synthesise a family of hybrid metal halide glasses, and show that the molecular shape and polarity determine rotational disorder, enabling diverse glass-forming abilities.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography capture how aromatic side chains can flip within the core of a protein via the generation of a local void volume.

The sugar d-apiose is important in plant cell wall polysaccharides. Here the authors elucidate the complex, multistep biosynthetic pathway for its production using enzyme crystal structures and computational analysis.

Observations and stellar evolution models of a blue ring nebula and its central star (TYC 2597-735-1) suggest that the remnant star merged with a lower-mass companion several thousand years ago.

An extreme Einstein ring ~10,000 times as bright as the Milky Way in the infrared is studied with VLT/ERIS and ALMA, and the authors find that the lensed galaxy is a starburst with a fast-rotating disk, rather than being driven by a major merger.

Identifying jets originating from heavy quarks plays a fundamental role in hadronic collider experiments. In this work, the ATLAS Collaboration describes and tests a transformer-based neural network architecture for jet flavour tagging based on low-level input and physics-inspired constraints.

The plasma absorption effect is demonstrated to enhance the performance of silicon ring modulators.

As a blueprint for high-precision quantum simulation, an 18-qubit algorithm that consists of more than 1,400 two-qubit gates is demonstrated, and reconstructs the energy eigenvalues of the simulated one-dimensional wire to a precision of 1 per cent.

A ring-cavity quantum cascade laser is demonstrated to generate soliton microcombs in the mid-infrared regime.

De novo and inherited dominant variants in genes encoding U4 and U6 small nuclear RNAs are identified in individuals with retinitis pigmentosa. The variants cluster at nucleotide positions distinct from those implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Baculoviruses are large DNA virus widely used as biotechnological tools. Here, authors present the complete cryoEM structure of a circulating nucleocapsid, including the DNA packaging and exiting hub termed the apical cap.

Lithium tantalate is heterogeneously integrated with silicon photonic integrated circuits via a micro-transfer printing process in a manner fully compatible with existing workflows. A Mach–Zehnder modulator with an insertion loss of 2.9 dB and 70 GHz operation is demonstrated.

The mechanisms of Z-ring assembly and regulation in bacteria are poorly understood, particularly in non-model organisms. Here, Sogues et al. study the interaction between FtsZ and SepF in Corynebacterium glutamicum, showing an essential interdependence of these proteins for formation of a functional Z-ring.

The [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement of allylic ethers is traditionally considered to proceed via formation and recombination of radical pairs. Now it has been shown that an alternative reaction cascade, involving initial enantioselective [2,3]-rearrangement followed by base-promoted anionic fragmentation–recombination that proceeds with high enantiospecificity, allows a catalytic enantioselective [1,2]-Wittig process.

Does aromaticity have a size limit? Evidence is presented for global aromaticity in porphyrin nanorings with circuits of up to 162 π-electrons. The conformation of the nanoring can be altered by changing the template, which in turn controls the aromaticity. Whenever a ring current is observed, its direction is correctly predicted by Hückel’s rule.

A five-membered carbon ring molecule, cyanocyclopentadiene, has been detected in a molecular cloud at a higher abundance than expected. This result from the GOTHAM survey indicates a rich aromatic chemistry in molecular clouds that is not fully understood theoretically.

The COP9 signalosome (CSN) regulates Cullin-RING Ligase 2 (CRL2) but the molecular basis for their interaction is unknown. Here the authors use structural mass spectrometry and cryo-EM approaches to assess the structures and dynamics of CSN-CRL2 complexes.

Spiro compounds contain two or more rings linked together through one common atom. Here the authors provide a method to backfold both rings, producing spiro quasi[1]catenanes, via a strategy of temporarily linking the linear intermediates with covalent bonds.

Metamaterials, based on split-ring resonators, for example, enable complete control over electromagnetic waves in terms of both the electric and magnetic vector components. Measuring the absolute extinction cross-section of a single split-ring resonator advances our understanding of these useful materials.

Using advanced imaging techniques and computer modelling, the authors were able to create a detailed structural model of a nuclear pore complex from a seed plant.

The authors use time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy to reveal the interactions of the redox-active cofactor TXNL1 with the human 26S proteasome and detect ATPase motor states that indicate burst-like mechanisms for hand-over-hand substrate translocation.

The development of active solids based on centimetre-scale building blocks incorporating odd elasticity shows that they can spontaneously undergo limit cycles of shape changes, leading to adaptive locomotion such as rolling and crawling.

In this work, fragments identified by 19F-NMR are optimized into submicromolar binders of the MITF transcription factor. These results support direct targeting of bHLH-LZ DNA binding domains and provide a foundation for the development of new melanoma therapies.

Risk associated with genetically defined forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can propagate by means of transcriptional regulation to affect convergently dysregulated pathways, providing insight into the convergent impact of ASD genetic risk on human neurodevelopment.

Achieving high resolution with optical neural interfaces is challenging. Here, the authors developed and chronically implanted 100-pixel microLED arrays on the surface of the mouse auditory cortex for optogenetic behavioural experiements.

Liquid crystal elastomers have potential as 4D-printing actuators, but it is difficult to achieve complex shape changes in structures. Here, the authors report a 4D-printing strategy that combines vat polymerization-based 3D printing with a two-stage UV-curable resin.

The Leo ring is a massive, 200-kpc-wide structure orbiting the galaxies M105 and NGC3384 with a 4-Gyr period. This paper reports ultraviolet light originating from gaseous substructures, which is attributed to recent massive star formation. If structures like the Leo ring were common in the early Universe, they may have produced a large, yet undetected population of faint, metal-poor, halo-lacking dwarf galaxies.

The detection of eight new propellers in Saturn's A ring is reported, indicating embedded moonlets with radii between 30–70m. The moonlets found are concentrated in a narrow 3,000 km wide annulus at 130,000km distance from Saturn.

DNA origami enables precise nanoscale self-assembly. Authors here show how programmable control of interactions and binding angles yields curved surfaces of diverse geometries, broadening the design space for synthetic nanostructures.

Fire hydrants can create stagnant zones in drinking water systems that degrade water quality. This study shows that stagnant water has much higher metal and microbial levels than flowing water, revealing distinct chemical and microbial shifts that may pose health risks.

The heteromeric insect TRPV channel, Nanchung-Inactive, is a previously structurally uncharacterized insecticide target. Here, Fedor et al. provide insights into how an insecticide and a natural agonist modulate channel behavior, paving the way for future insecticide development.

Photoexcited nitroarenes are traditionally consumed as reactive intermediates in transformations. Now, it is shown that simple and cheap nitroarenes can be used as energy transfer photocatalysts in reactions such as E-to-Z alkene isomerization and [2 + 2] intramolecular cycloadditions.