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Artificial molecular pumps are synthetic machines capable of performing complex tasks on a molecular scale. In this Primer, Zhang et al. discuss the design features and underlying fundamental physical principles of artificial molecular pumps.

Photocatalytic water splitting on TiO₂ is a promising route to H₂ fuel production, but the mechanistic pathway at the water–TiO₂ interface remains poorly understood. Here, using liquid environmental TEM and first-principles calculations, the authors unveil the formation of a self-hydrogenated shell on the TiO₂ surface that further promotes H₂ production.

The One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining green plant evolution that comprises the transcriptomes and genomes of diverse species of green plants.

An additive manufacturing strategy is used to produce dual-phase nanolamellar high-entropy alloys that show a combination of enhanced high yield strength and high tensile ductility.

In this Review, the authors present a roadmap towards achieving consensus on development, analysis and interpretation of single-cell transcriptomics data in adipose tissue, including discussion of roadblocks, best practices and ideal cell-type markers for annotation of adipose tissue cell types in mice and humans.

Common polygenic variation at chromosome 16p and rare recurrent deletions of 16p11.2 influencing autism risk are associated with reduced expression of genes throughout the 16p region, suggesting functional convergence of rare and common variant effects.

Twin nucleation in face-centered cubic metals with high twin-fault energies should theoretically be unfavourable, but instead twinning is very often observed. Here, the authors report a new twinning route in nanocrystalline platinum that bypasses the high twin-fault energy barrier using closely spaced partial dislocations.

Relapsed disease after conventional cancer treatments is an obstacle in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-based targeted therapy. Here the authors show that tolerance to the EGFR inhibitor osimertinib in non-small-cell lung cancer is mediated by the effects of miR-147b on the tricarboxylic acid cycle and pseudohypoxia pathways, which can be manipulated with a miR-147b inhibitor.

Urban air quality remained remarkably worse than WHO recommended levels in cities during the first COVID-19 lockdown in China, despite substantial pollution reductions and the high costs of the measure.

Risk variants for ALS and FTD in the synaptic gene UNC13A increase the expression of an UNC13A cryptic exon in neurons with TDP-43 depletion.

Phagocytes can acquire lipids and this modulates their function in a variety of disease states, such as atherosclerosis. Ren and colleagues demonstrate that neutrophils accumulate lipids and deliver them to tumor cells, which supports their proliferation, survival and metastasis.

Stacking fault tetrahedra are crystalline defects known to occur in face centred cubic metals, and originate from vacancies. Wang et al. demonstrate a new variety of stacking fault tetrahedra in nanometre-scale gold nanocrystals, formed by the interaction and cross-slip of partial dislocations.

The impact of grain-scale residual stresses on the mechanical behaviour of 3D-printed metals and alloys remains unexplored. Here, the authors combine in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and computer simulations to link residual stresses in steel to its tensile behaviour.

The site specificity of m6A mRNA modification is a fundamental RNA biology question. Here, Luo et al., develop the iM6A, a deep learning method to model this process, showing that its site-specificity is determined by the primary nucleotide sequence.

Follicle-stimulating hormone acts directly on hippocampal and cortical neurons to accelerate amyloid-β and Tau deposition and impair cognition in mice displaying features of Alzheimer’s disease.

Forests are sinks for the neurotoxic mercury, but the sinks have large uncertainties. Our direct gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchange measurements show that GEM exchange includes complex patterns of multiple pathways to different ecosystem compartments varying over time

Oceanic evasion, which mainly occurs in the Marginal Ice Zone, is the main cause of the summertime maximum of gaseous elemental mercury in the central Arctic Ocean

A series of long-lived excitons in a monolayer of tungsten disulphide are found to have strong binding energy and an energy dependence on orbital momentum that significantly deviates from conventional, three-dimensional, behaviour.

The underlying regulatory mechanisms of phytoplankton assimilation and microbial oxidation of ammonium in the surface ocean are unclear. Here, using isotope labeling experiments, the authors show that ambient nitrate is a key variable bifurcating ammonium flow through assimilation or oxidation.

Systems where both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry are broken can exhibit a magneto-chiral effect; however, this is usually weak. Here, Lan et al demonstrate a significantly enhanced excitonic magnetochiral effect in twisted bilayer tungsten disulphide on a ferromagnetic substrate.

Each year, Nature Biotechnology highlights companies that have received sizeable early-stage funding in the previous year. Tome Biosciences inserts large DNA sequences into precise genomic locations, overcoming limitations of base and prime editing.

Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors that are fabricated using aligned nanotube arrays exhibit an identical sequence of random ternary bits, which can be separated and used to generate security keys for encrypted communications.

Little is known about the micromechanisms by which deformation twinning occurs in body-centred cubic crystals. An atomic-scale microscopy study now provides new insight, by the in situ testing of tungsten nanowires.

The dynamic self-assembly of a pseudo-crystal, characterized by a phononic bandgap bound to the wavelength of an external coherent driving field.

In situ transmission electron microscopy can be used to study the dynamic lithiation of single-crystal silicon with atomic resolution.

Despite recent IUCN downgrading of the giant panda’s conservation status from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’, new GIS and remote sensing data reveal panda habitats to cover less area and be more fragmented than previously.

As part of the first anniversary issue of Nature Chemical Engineering, we present a collection of opinions from 40 researchers within the field on what they think are the most exciting opportunities that lie ahead for their respective topics.

In high-entropy alloys, atomic-resolution chemical mapping shows that swapping some of the atoms for larger, more electronegative elements results in atomic-scale modulations that produce higher yield strength, excellent strain hardening and ductility.

MAX phase ceramics are known to plastically deform via kink banding, but the precise mechanism is challenging to explore experimentally. Here, molecular dynamic simulations with an accurate spectral neighbor analysis potential reveal pyramidal dislocation loops act as carriers for plasticity, causing elastic bending of atomic layers.

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is crucial for carbon storage, but its variability is difficult to capture due to inconsistent measurements and complex interactions. This perspective proposes integrating diverse data and models to improve CUE in carbon cycle models

This Resource describes genetic tools for microbial eukaryotes, providing a roadmap for developing genetically tractable organisms.

Lithium whisker growth and mechanical properties can be studied in situ using a combination of two microscopies.

Rahbani et al. show that the α₁-adrenergic receptor potentiates thermogenesis in thermogenic adipocytes, acting via Gα_q signalling, creatine kinase B and tissue-non-specific alkaline phosphatase.