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Transcription factors must retain specificity despite recognising a variety of DNA sequences. Here, the authors find that the transcription factor AflR does this by using its structured and disordered regions together to recognise DNA sequences.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

Here, Ni-anchored Ru/RuO₂ heterostructure nanosheets serve as CO-tolerant hydrogen oxidation catalyst delivering a peak power density of 1.76 W cm^-2, along with long-term stability in an alkaline exchange membrane fuel cell operating under H₂/Air conditions.

Insights to elucidate the composition–behaviour relationship in organic photovoltaic materials are required. Here the phase behaviour of disordered polymer:small-molecule acceptor blends is studied and an extended model is invoked to understand the temperature–composition diagrams.

RNA splicing is an important mechanism for gene regulation. Here, the authors present a core logic that links sequence variation and splice-site choice across eukaryotes.

Robots benefit from touch perception, but sensing multi-directional forces is challenging. Here, the authors introduce a theory using taxel value isolines for superresolution sensing, improving sensor design and performance under shear forces.

In three dimensions, it is possible to have more complicated spin textures, one such example is a hybrid chiral skyrmion tube, where each end of the tube has skyrmions of opposite chirality. Here, Dohi, Bhukta, Kammerbauer and coauthors find that these skyrmion tubes exhibit a non-reciprocal skyrmion Hall effect.

Cas9 in type II-C CRISPR–Cas systems functions independently of its RNA partners to regulate spacer acquisition, dynamically adjusting the process on the basis of crRNA abundance to maintain a sufficient CRISPR array size and immune memory.

The Einstein Probe has discovered a fast X-ray transient, EP240414a, associated with a broad-lined type Ic supernova. Its unusually soft spectrum and weak jet add to the diversity of stellar deaths and suggest a previously unknown Wolf–Rayet star explosion mechanism.

This study identifies TriDTCs as a family of terpene cyclases responsible for harzianol I and wickerol A biosynthesis in Trichoderma fungi and are found to regulate Trichoderma’s chlamydospore and Aspergillus oryzae’s sclerotia formation through producing harzianol I.

An NNMT inhibitor reduces tumour burden and metastasis in multiple mouse cancer models and restores immune checkpoint blockade efficacy by decreasing cancer-associated-fibroblast-mediated recruitment of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and reinvigorating CD8⁺ T cell activation.

Although IWS1 has been implicated in transcription-coupled processes, its direct role in RNA polymerase II function remained undefined. Here, the authors demonstrate that IWS1 enhances Pol II elongation velocity by acting as a structural scaffold and promoting co-transcriptional H3K36me3 deposition.

China’s rapid e-commerce growth has driven a 12-fold surge in express delivery, yet cross-regional emissions and health impacts remain poorly quantified. Road transport emitted 23.9-Mt CO₂-equivalent and caused approximately 5,100 premature deaths in 2021, revealing stark transit-region health inequities and guiding sustainable logistics pathways.

The immune checkpoint B7-H4 is regulated through post-translational modifications. Here, the authors identify that in breast cancer cells ZDHHC3-catalyzed B7-H4 palmitoylation prevents its lysosomal degradation and maintains immune suppression, which can be targeted by Abemaciclib to enhance lysosome activation independently of CDK4/6 inhibition.

Bottom-up, seeded epitaxial assembly using twisted DNA origami seeds directs the formation of 2D DNA lattices to create moiré superlattices, enabling a design space for programmable materials that combine molecular precision with mesoscale complexity.

We developed PRINT, a computational method that identifies footprints of DNA–protein interactions from bulk and single-cell chromatin accessibility data across multiple scales of protein size.

Phosphorus (P) limitation is pervasive in tropical forests. Here the authors analyse the dependence of photosynthesis on leaf N and P in tropical forests, and show that incorporating leaf P constraints in a terrestrial biosphere model enhances its predictive power.

A real-time in situ magnetization reprogramming method for magnetic soft robots enables dynamic shape control, cooperative multi-tool manipulation and expanded actuation abilities.

Monoterpene indole alkaloids are formed via a 3S stereoselective condensation between secologanin and tryptamine. Here the authors uncover the mechanism of epimerization behind uncommon 3R-containing alkaloids in Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) and study their inclusion in downstream biosynthesis.

The shape of biological matter is central to their function and interaction with other cellular components. A combination of DNA origami nanorafts with biogenic pores reversibly controls the shape and permeability of lipid vesicles at the microscale.

Meiotic crossovers enhance genetic diversity in sexually reproducing organisms. Here, the authors propose that the higher-order spatial organization of the meiotic chromosomes shapes sexual dimorphism in Arabidopsis thaliana.

One of the key challenges in dielectric ceramics for energy storage lies in the comprehensive optimization of their properties. Here, the authors establish an equitable system considering performance and structure evolution in a lead-free ceramic capacitor, achieving a broad-high temperature performance.

High-resolution FAST observations of a very-high-velocity cloud in the warm neutral medium reveal a network of hierarchical filaments formed by shock compression. These findings suggest a viable mechanism for early structure formation in the interstellar medium.

Theory predicts that phonons—quanta of lattice vibrations—can carry finite angular momentum and thus influence physical properties of materials. Now phonons with angular momentum have been seen in tellurium with a chiral crystal structure.

Inter-particle reactions in weakly bound systems are often difficult to pinpoint by detecting exclusively the kinetic energy of the produced ions. Here the authors present a full-coincidence experiment, where inter-particle reaction channels are determined by the measurement of all outgoing particles.

Materials which simultaneously exhibit superconductivity and topologically non-trivial electronic band structure possess potential applications in quantum computing but have yet to be found. Here, the authors find superconductivity in MoTe₂, a material predicted to be topologically non-trivial.

Microbiomes in connected aquifers are more vulnerable to surface disturbances but highly resilient, while those in hydrologically more isolated aquifers resist short-term change yet lose stability under prolonged stress, according to a decade-long study in the Hainich CZE, Germany.

Targeting a non-natural micropeptide ‘killswitch’ to several biomolecular condensates altered condensate compositions and revealed condensate functions in human cells

The magnetoresistance suggests an exotic topological phase in LaBi, but the evidence is still missing. Here, Nayaket al. report the existence of surface states of LaBi through the observation of three Dirac cones, confirming it a topological semimetal.

This study reports an adsorption-independent O₂ activation pathway for superior ¹O₂ electrosynthesis via an O₂ mono-hydrogenation process on compressive-strained rutile TiO₂. The compressive-strained TiO₂ suppresses the formation of reductive unsaturated sites for O₂ adsorption and enhances the reductive ability of atomic hydrogen, thereby enabling direct O₂ hydrogenation into free ^•OOH without the O₂ adsorption.

Sadhu et al. identify and functionally validate ferredoxin-1 (FDX1) as a determinant of cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular risk in Asian populations.

Cancers evolve as they progress under differing selective pressures. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, the authors present the method TrackSig the estimates evolutionary trajectories of somatic mutational processes from single bulk tumour data.

Analysis of cancer genome sequencing data has enabled the discovery of driver mutations. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium the authors present DriverPower, a software package that identifies coding and non-coding driver mutations within cancer whole genomes via consideration of mutational burden and functional impact evidence.

An unconventional machine learning-based inverse design framework enables the generation of ultrabroadband and band-selective thermal meta-emitters with complex 3D architectures and diverse material compositions.

Electrochemistry has emerged as an increasingly viable tool in molecular synthesis. Here the authors realize electrocatalyzed C−H activations, with the aid of data science and artificial intelligence, towards selective alkenylations for late-stage drug diversifications.

This study maps the single-axon projections of 7,180 hypothalamic peptidergic neurons in male mice and uncovers extensive collateralization, topographic target innervation and modular intra-hypothalamic organization.

Synaptic loss contributes to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, but its spatial distribution remains poorly understood. Here, the authors show that synaptic loss is partially shaped by network connectivity and modulated by phosphorylated tau.

Periodic laser light can modify the electronic properties of solids and offers a path to create new material phases. In a topological antiferromagnet, periodic driving with opposite light helicities is now shown to produce distinct Dirac mass gaps.

The Strecker synthesis is an established method for the production of α-amino acids. Here, a scalable catalytic asymmetric Strecker reaction is reported that allows one-pot synthesis of enantiomerically pure α-amino acids.

Cross-coupling reactions between aryl halides and alcohols using copper are challenging due to the energetically demanding oxidative addition of copper into aryl halides. Now, this high-barrier step is bypassed using an energy transfer or direct excitation strategy for copper-mediated cross-coupling reactions. This process enables the use of aryl chlorides as electrophiles and alcohols, amines and fluoride as nucleophilic coupling partners.

This study integrates a nitrite-adsorbing ionophore into a copper/carbon nanotube electrified membrane, enabling ultrafast and highly selective ammonia production from low-concentration nitrate in real water sources. This cooperative adsorption approach tunes the local catalyst environment to achieve high activity, selectivity and stability without using precious metals or complex synthesis methods.

The authors summarize the data produced by phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, a resource for better understanding of the human and mouse genomes.