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The power-conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells is increased by 26% by using energy relay dyes. The scheme aids the absorption of high-energy photons that undergo Förster resonant energy transfer to a sensitizing dye, and may offer a viable pathway for developing more efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

The performance of perovskite solar cells can be limited by light absorption loss in organic charge extraction layers, through which sun light must propagate before reaching the perovskite. Here, the authors demonstrate that efficient energy transfer to the perovskite layer from a thin organic layer is able to eliminate this parasitic loss.

Development of the bright green and red fluorescent proteins, Clover and mRuby2, creates a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) pair with the highest Förster radius among existing ratiometric FRET pairs. Substitution of this pair for current FRET pairs in several existing sensors reliably and substantially improves sensor performance.

Here, the authors investigate the interfacial charge/energy transfer dynamics in a WSe₂/graphene heterostructure. They unveil an energy transfer mechanism from WSe₂ to graphene mediated by an interfacial Meitner-Auger process, resulting in a transient hole distribution in the Dirac cone at energies larger than the photon energy of the optical excitation.

Integrated multi-omic analyses using samples from the TRACERx study highlight cross-talk between DNA hypermethylation and genomic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer.

A multi-laboratory study finds that single-molecule FRET is a reproducible and reliable approach for determining accurate distances in dye-labeled DNA duplexes.

An ensemble multicolour FRET model is introduced and used to extend multicolour barcoding to extreme FRET regimes, enabling in silico design of 580 barcode responses using common dyes and cytometer optics, and permitting fully automated decoding.

By regulating the level of accessible cholesterol on endothelial cells via OSBP/ORP-mediated transport, tetraspanin tunes the balance of Cdc42 and RhoA activities to affect vascular inflammation. Reducing accessible cholesterol by statin treatment or blocking its non-vesicular transport by OSBP/ORP inhibition can limit vascular inflammation.

The Apelin receptor (APLNR) plays a key role during cardiovascular development. Here, authors develop genetically encoded APLNR conformation biosensors, which enable the measurement of temporally and spatially resolved APLNR activity in model cell lines and living organisms.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between a small-molecule fluorophore donor and a transition metal ion acceptor, a method called 'transition metal ion FRET,' works over shorter distances than the classical FRET approach and can thus be used to monitor very small conformational changes in proteins.

The development of subunit vaccines mimicking the molecular complexity of attenuated vaccines has been limited by the difficulty in co-delivery of multiple chemically diverse payloads. Here, the authors report hierarchical hydrogels, assembled from a single homopolymer via a multi-stage process, that enable ratiometric loading of a protein antigen and four physicochemically distinct adjuvants.

Pathogenic bacteria produce cholesterol-dependent cytolysins to form pores in eukaryotic membranes. Here, the authors show that human gut bacteria use a related family of pore-forming toxins for intra- and interspecies antagonism.

Thin films of carbon nanotubes are been considered for energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices but their energy transfer pathways are largely unknown. Here, Mehlenbacher et al. use two-dimensional white-light spectroscopy to investigate the ultrafast energy redistribution in carbon nanotube films.

Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) mediates acidic neuronal necroptosis via recruiting receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1). Here authors show that auto-inhibition of ASICa prevents RIPK1 recruitment and demonstrate that targeting the auto-inhibition has therapeutic potential to prevent acidotoxicity.

The detailed mechanism of the pH-dependent quenching of semiconductor quantum-dot/dopamine conjugates, confirming quinone as the electron acceptor in the process, is now reported. This electrochemical knowledge of the bioconjugate system is used for the in vitro detection of drug-induced intracellular pH changes.

The authors report upconversion in few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides, and attribute it to a resonant exciton-exciton annihilation involving a pair of dark excitons with opposite momenta, followed by the spontaneous emission of upconverted bright excitons.

Exome sequencing of 851 trios from more than 2,500 individuals finds 187 genes with de novo mutations that contribute to meningomyelocele (spina bifida) and highlights critical pathways required for neural tube closure.

The binding and activation of HSP70 by class B J-domain proteins is subject to an autoinhibitory regulatory mechanism that controls substrate targeting to HSP70 and is required for the disaggregation of amyloid fibres.

DNA three-way junctions are branched structures formed during replication, repair, and recombination, and are involved in models of repeat expansion. Here the authors use single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer to reveal the dynamics of DNA three-way junctions containing slip-outs composed of CAG or CTG repeats.

An international blind study confirms that smFRET measurements on dynamic proteins are highly reproducible across instruments, analysis procedures and timescales, further highlighting the promise of smFRET for dynamic structural biology.

Carotenoids harvest energy from light and transfer it to chlorophylls during photosynthesis. Here, Feng et al. perform ab initio calculations on excited-state dynamics and simulated 2D electronic spectrum of carotenoids, supporting the existence of a new excited state in carotenoids.

Individual protein dynamics can be studied in live eukaryotic cells from the millisecond to nanosecond level using an integrated approach to confocal single-molecule FRET spectroscopy.

Mass cytometry can be used to scale up multiplexed serology testing, as shown for the simultaneous detection of antibody levels against multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins in hundreds of serum samples.

The transition between nonadiabatic and adiabatic electron transfer regimes has been observed in molecular donor-bridge-acceptor complexes. Here, the authors computationally show how to control this transition in colloidal quantum dot molecules and achieve coherent electron transfer at room temperature.

Macrophages possess different G protein-coupled receptors such as the orphan receptor GPRC5B. Here the authors characterise the function of GPRC5B in macrophages in knockout mice showing that in the absence of GPRC5B there is increased inflammatory responses and macrophage activation because of reduced EP2-mediated anti-inflammatory effects.

Recombination during AAV production disrupts gene delivery in vivo. We present ABCD, a codon diversification strategy that prevents recombination, enabling reliable quantitative imaging using FRET sensors and gene expression in living animals.

While neutrophils are the first line of defence against infections and inflammation, their unrestricted recruitment and constant activation might result in prolonged inflammation and sharpening of specific pathological conditions. Here the authors develop a strategy to specifically target activated, pro-inflammatory neutrophils and neutrophil–platelet complexes to deliver therapeutics in the context of a murine model of venous thrombosis.

Rudalska et al. describe a novel class of p38α inhibitors with increased target residence time. They explore the drugs’ specificity, pharmacokinetics and toxicity profile and show that they are efficacious in the context of colorectal cancer.

The combination of dynamic, energy driven folding and growth with structural stiffness and length control is difficult to achieve in synthetic polymer self-assembly. Here the authors show that highly charged, monodisperse DNA oligomers assemble via seeded growth into length-controlled supramolecular fibers during heating.

Using optical antennas in optoelectronic devices could lead to improved device performance. Photoemission from the inner core of core–shell single-walled nanotube structures where the optical bandgap of the core is smaller than that of the outer shells demonstrates that these structures channel excitons thereby acting as optical concentrators.

Nature uses out-of-equilibrium systems to control hierarchical assembly. Now, a dissipative chemical system has been shown to slowly release monomer DNA strands from a high-energy reservoir, regulating self-assembly by switching the mechanism of supramolecular polymerization at the single-molecule level. This process heals fibre defects, converting branched, heterogeneous networks into nanocable superstructures.

The nucleus accumbens integrates sleep and motivation in mice. Here, the authors show sleep induction by increasing the activity of extracellular adenosine from astrocytes and neurons at A_2A receptors with a photoactivatable allosteric modulator.

The pre-mRNA splicing factor U2AF65 recognizes 3′ splice sites in human gene transcripts, but the details are not fully understood. Here, the authors report U2AF65 structures and single molecule FRET that reveal mechanistic insights into splice site recognition.

We provide evidence that circadian plasticity has diverged through evolution of the neuropeptide gene Pdf, conferring a selective advantage for Drosophila melanogaster at elevated latitude, whereas Drosophila sechellia probably suffers fitness costs outside its range.

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.