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Understanding the infection parameters and host responses against SARS-CoV-2 require data from large cohorts using standardized methods. Here, the authors optimize a serum ELISA protocol that has minimal cross-reactivity and flexible sample collection workflow in an attempt to standardize data generation and help inform on COVID-19 pandemic and immunity.

Bifacial solar cells can outperform monofacial cells by exploiting sunlight reflected off the ground surface. De Bastiani et al. show that bifacial perovskite/silicon tandem with an optimized bandgap can deliver a power density of 26 mW cm^–2 and compare its performance to monofacial cells under outdoor conditions.

Inflammatory monocytes in the brain meninges promote stress-induced fear behaviour, and the pathways involved can be modulated using psychedelic compounds.

Evidence suggests that fibrous aggregates of protein tau may be the proximal cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, using atomic structures of tau fibrils from brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the authors have found small-molecule drug leads that disaggregate tau fibrils in vitro.

LONP1, whose expression is downregulated in islets from donors with type 2 diabetes, is vital to mediate efficient mitochondrial protein folding, thus preventing proteotoxicity and promoting islet β cell survival and function.

Electrochemical CO₂ capture is hindered by the oxidation of redox-active organic molecules by O₂, affecting energy efficiency and capacity. Here the authors develop a flow cell in which the O₂-sensitive components are isolated from O₂, achieving 99% coulombic efficiency with low energy requirements.

Light can control neural activity but often requires genetic modification. Here, the authors present a graphene-based platform for non-genetic light controlled neuronal stimulation, enabling all-optical network analysis, stem cell derived neuron maturation, and closed-loop robotics.

Single-cell multi-omics in Drosophila testis reveals enhancer-driven gene regulatory networks and shows how Wnt signaling and key transcription factors orchestrate stem cell maintenance and lineage progression during early spermatogenesis.

Square-centimetre scale, multilayer superlattice structures based on atomically thin two-dimensional chalcogenide monolayers enable the realization of excitonic metamaterials.

A new ice core from West Antarctica shows that, during the last ice age, abrupt Northern Hemisphere climate variations were followed two centuries later by a response in Antarctica, suggesting an oceanic propagation of the climate signal to the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes.

Printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells are a promising device design, yet their efficiency is limited by charge collection. Ma et al. use hexamethylene diisocyanate to eliminate unreacted organic cations at grain boundaries, enhancing hole collection.

Observations of optical flares from AT2022tsd (the ‘Tasmanian Devil’) show that they have durations on the timescale of minutes, occur over a period of months, are highly energetic, are probably nonthermal and have supernova luminosities.

Geospatial estimates of the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age across 82 low-income and middle-income countries reveals considerable heterogeneity and inequality at national and subnational levels, with few countries on track to meet the WHO Global Nutrition Targets by 2030.

Discotic liquid crystals are materials with high charge-carrier mobility, which are promising for molecular electronics. They self-organize into stacks, usually with a twist of 30^∘, but the shape and periphery of the molecules can now be altered to produce materials with a twist of 60^∘. Defect-limited mobilities of these materials reach 0.2 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, but the potential defect-free mobility could be up to 10 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is crucial for gene regulation, yet the role of small non coding RNAs in this process was unclear. Here, the authors identify miR106a as a key XCI regulator and show its inhibition improves Rett syndrome symptoms in a mouse model.

The cryo-EM structure of Mycobacterium smegmatis arabinosyltransferase B EmbB involved in mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis provides insights into the substrate binding and reaction mechanism. Mapping of the ethambutol resistance associated mutations onto the structure suggests the location of the drug binding site.

A terahertz quantum cascade laser and diode mixer are monolithically integrated to form a simple microelectronic terahertz transceiver. The performance of this system — the transmission of a coherent carrier, heterodyne reception of an external signal, frequency locking and tuning — is as efficient as that of discrete component terahertz photonic systems.

Light sheet microscopy using a scanned Bessel beam in combination with structured illumination or two-photon excitation reduces photobleaching and phototoxicity, improves axial resolution and allows isotropic three-dimensional imaging. The authors demonstrate performance of the method via fast volumetric subcellular imaging of several dynamic processes in single living cells.

Concentrator photovoltaics achieve high efficiency but have so far been impractical for use on rooftops. Here, Price et al. develop a flat-panel concentrating photovoltaic system based on a triple-junction solar cell that operates at fixed tilt over a full day with >30% peak efficiency.

Lymphostatin is a large protein required for Escherichia coli virulence. Here, Griessmann et al. use electron cryo-microscopy to describe the structure of lymphostatin determined at different pH values, showing three conformations, six distinct domains, and long inter-domain linkers that occlude the catalytic sites of the N-terminal glycosyltransferase and protease domains.

Zangari et al. show that d-cysteine targets NFS1, thus affecting Fe–S cluster biogenesis and impairing tumour growth.

Next-generation batteries will present different risks to conventional lithium-ion cells, emphasizing the need for efforts towards characterizing the abuse tolerance and hazards associated with next-generation battery materials over their life cycle and providing the data in the context of supporting affected professionals.

Here the authors report single-cell and spatial transcriptomics of young and aged male fibrotic mouse lungs. Age-related alterations in capillary sub-populations are associated with a proangiogenic phenotype linked to regeneration of the alveolar niche.

The structure-function relationships of a β-helix, a folding motif formed by parallel β-strands arranged in a helical repetitive pattern, remain poorly understood and underexploited. Here, the authors reconstitute a protein β-helix by design from an elementary sequence of 18 amino acids, which self-assembles into a self-contained multifunctional motif exhibiting a range of biological functions.

The endocardium lines the interior of the heart chambers and has been debated as a source of hematopoietic lineages. Here they show that the endocardium may act as a source of, and resident tissue for, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in zebrafish, providing evidence for diversity in origins and residences of hematopoietic cells.

Artificial photosynthesis systems offer a sustainable solution to energy and environmental challenges, with significant improvements in efficiency. Here, the authors report a single light absorber system that achieves a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 1.7 %, with potential for future improvements.

Green and O’Dea et al. identify that the embryonic zebrafish brain is colonized by a population of early-colonizing microglia that are dependent on lymphatic vessels, placing lymphatic cells at the epicenter of microglia development.

Excitonic quantum oscillations are observed in correlated electron–hole bilayers and quantum phase transitions are identified between excitonic insulator and bilayer quantum Hall states under strong magnetic fields.

150 years ago, guanidine was found to affect muscle function via unknown mechanisms. Here, Kavita et al. provide evidence that guanine-sensing RNAs are present in many eukaryotic transcripts relevant to Ca2+ signaling and neuromuscular function.

The digestive form of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) involves damage to the nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract and problems with peristalsis. Here, Khan et al show that infection causes damage to the colon that can be reversed if it is successfully treated early in the process.

Il-13 is expressed in neurons and IL-13 ko causes memory impairment. Here, authors show that IL-13 and its receptor IL-13Ra1 are pre- and post-synaptic proteins, respectively, involved in synaptic signaling, plasticity and neuroprotection.

The rupture area of the 2014 Iquique earthquake offshore northern Chile was spatially limited to a region where the plate boundary is non-reflective in seismic images, indicative of low fluid pressure. In contrast, north and updip of the rupture area, a coherent highly reflective plate boundary indicates excess fluid pressure, which may inhibit strain accumulation, while strain release in the non-reflective rupture area occurs during large earthquakes.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the bacterial O-antigen ligase WaaL, combined with genetics, biochemistry and molecular dynamics simulations, provide insight into the mechanism by which WaaL catalyses the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide.

Self-powered graphene photodetectors based on the photothermoelectric effect (PTE) could provide low-noise operation in the telecom and mid-infrared ranges, but their bandwidth is usually limited. Here, the authors report the realization of PTE graphene photodetectors integrated with a metamaterial perfect absorber, showing a 3-dB bandwidth above 400 GHz.

The need for space between lenses in optical systems results in a trade-off between potential for miniaturisation and achieved resolution. Here, the authors demonstrate a device that propagates light longer than its thickness, a spaceplate, and can therefore replace space in optical systems.

Deep learning frameworks require large human-annotated datasets for training and the resulting ‘black box’ models are difficult to interpret. Here, the authors present Kartezio; a modular Cartesian Genetic Programming-based computational strategy that generates fully transparent and easily interpretable image processing pipelines.

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and thermosensory circuits in the flies.

Here, authors demonstrate a method for milling vitrified biological material. Using correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy images, MicroED data is collected for the adenosine receptor.

The placement of nanomaterials at predefined locations is a key requirement for their integration in nanoelectronic devices. Here, the authors devise a method allowing placement of solution-based nanomaterials by using structured graphene layers as deposition sites with the aid of an electric field.

A method termed ac⁴C-seq is introduced for the transcriptome-wide mapping of the RNA modification N⁴-acetylcytidine, revealing widespread temperature-dependent acetylation that facilitates thermoadaptation in hyperthermophilic archaea.

This manuscript describes a new cerebral spinal fluid exit route via hundreds of skull channels, with the cranial bone marrow as a destination. In meningitis, bacteria hijack this path and alert hematopoietic stem cells residing in the skull marrow.

Fano resonant optical coatings (FROCs) present an ideal platform for structural coloring from thin-film metamaterials. This platform provides full-color gamut coverage at greater than 61% of the CIE gamut, with exceptionally high purity (up to 99%) and high brightness. FROCs exhibit tunable iridescence, cost-effective and scalable manufacturing, and significant advantages over existing structural coloring schemes.

A mismatch between quasi-Fermi level splitting and open-circuit voltage is detrimental to wide bandgap perovskite pin solar cells. Here, through theoretical and experimental approaches, the authors optimize n- and p-type interfaces to achieve open-circuit voltage of 1.29 V and T80 of 3500 h at 85 °C.

Periodic changes in the tilt of the Earth’s axis alter the distribution of incoming solar radiation. Here, the authors show that the temperature response to this forcing seemingly differs in models and Antarctic ice cores, with a better agreement reached if ice cores are recording a seasonally weighted signal.

The timing and nature of the first plate tectonic processes on Earth is disputed. Here the authors present a seismic reflection image of a suture zone that extends to 60 km depth beneath the ancient Yilgarn region of western Australia, suggesting that plate subduction occurred as early as 2.8 billion years ago

The poor stability of narrow bandgap lead-tin perovskites hinders their implementation in multi junction cells. Here, the authors reveal that device performance degradation is caused by an increase in either mobile ion or background hole density, depending on the hole transport material used.

Pathology-oriented multiplexing (PathoPlex) represents a framework for widespread access to multiplexed imaging and computational image analysis of clinical specimens at a relatively high throughput and subcellular resolution.