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Recent experimental evidence shows a new type of intrinsic fluorescence in biomolecules void of aromatic chemical compounds whose origin is unclear. Here, the authors use non-adiabatic AIMD simulations to show a potential carbonyl-lock mechanism originating this phenomenon.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is a regulator of plant growth, development and responses to environmental stresses. Recently, the PYR/PYL/RCAR family of START proteins was found to bind ABA and mediate inactivation of downstream effectors. The crystal structures of apo and ABA-bound receptors as well as a ternary PYL2–ABA–PP2C complex is now reported and analysed, revealing a gate–latch–lock mechanism underlying ABA signalling.

Tus protein bound to Ter sites on circular bacterial chromosomes provides a way to avoid random crashes of opposing replication forks. DNA-unzipping experiments show that the Tus–Ter–induced lock during unzipping at the nonpermissive face requires only DNA-strand separation.

Gallium arsenide photocathodes inside a superconducting radio-frequency gun are a promising source of polarized electrons for future colliders. Now the operation of such a source has been demonstrated.

HIV-1 integrase forms an RNA-binding module on the luminal side of the mature capsid lattice.

Training deep neural networks by backpropagation consumes significant energy in digital hardware. Boon and Cassola et al. show that homodyne detection can be used to extract gradients directly in a physical device, enabling efficient gradient descent and offering a scalable route to material-based learning.

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing autologous mRNA-engineered BCMA-targeting CAR T cell therapy versus placebo in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis, a significantly higher percentage of patients exhibited a reduction in disease activity in the treatment arm than in the placebo arm.

Frequency comb synthesizers are important for metrology, but they have been difficult to use as frequency rulers in the terahertz region due to their low power. Consolinoet al. phase-lock a quantum cascade laser to a free-space-propagating terahertz comb, demonstrating that they can overcome this limitation.

The authors identify two coexisting incommensurate charge density waves whose interplay leads to joint commensuration and a long-period moiré structure.

Combining nonlinear optical processes and photoswitching is a challenging goal, driven by significant application potential. Here, the authors report a strategy combining T-type negative photoswitches and two-photon absorption for a four-photon-like fluorescence response.

Here the authors show that transient cell cycle arrest reprograms CD8⁺ T cells into a highly energized state, increasing proliferation and antitumor activity and boosting efficacy of immunotherapies in cancer models.

From 2014–2017, marine heatwaves caused global mass coral bleaching, where the corals lose their symbiotic algae. The authors find, this event exceeded the severity of all prior global bleaching events in recorded history, with approximately half the world’s reefs bleaching and 15% experiencing substantial mortality.

Rydberg atoms are appealing for sensing, atomic and quantum information studies, if they can be suitably integrated with optical devices. Towards this end, Epple et al. show that caesium-filled kagome-lattice hollow-core photonic crystal fibres provide a platform for fibre-based spectroscopy of Rydberg states.

The kinesin-1 motor protein accesses open active and closed autoinhibited states. These states are regulated by a flexible elbow within a complex coiled-coil architecture. Now, a conformational switch has been developed by engineering the elbow to create a closed state that can be controllably opened with a de novo designed peptide to increase kinesin transport inside cells.

The physical architectures of information storage dictate how data is encoded, organised and accessed. Here the authors use DNA with a single-strand overhang as a physical address to access specific data and do in-storage file operations in a scalable and reusuable manner.

Merlino et al. demonstrate that the cytokine Interleukin-27 contributes to innate antiviral immunity in the placenta and is an important defense against congenital Zika virus infection.

The early genetic evolution of uveal melanoma (UM) remains poorly understood. Here, the authors perform genetic profiling of 1140 primary UMs, including 131 small early-stage tumours, finding that most genetic driver aberrations have occurred by the time small tumours are biopsied; in addition, the15-gene expression profile discriminant score can predict the transition from low- to high-risk tumours.

Devices that generate electricity from electric fluctuations are promising for wireless power transmission as well as energy harvesting from environmental radio waves. Here the authors report the electric power generation from environmental fluctuations by using superconducting vortex strings in MoGe/YIG bilayer system.

Non-nutritive sensory components of high-fat diet, such as bacon flavour, are sufficient to impair metabolic health in offspring in mice.

The authors study epitaxial thin films of the pyrochlore-sublattice compound LiTi2O4 by RIXS and ARPES. They observe cooperation between strong electron correlations and strong electron-phonon coupling, giving rise to a mobile polaronic ground state in which charge motion and lattice distortions are coupled.

A platform based on complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology operating with qubits close to 100 mK can generate static and dynamic signals for the control of many qubits.

As presented at the 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer, in a multiarm phase 2 trial, perioperative immunotherapy was safe and feasible in patients with resectable diffuse pleural mesothelioma, with exploratory data suggesting that ctDNA kinetics could be informative of tumor regression and post-treatment survival.

The two-dimensional atomic layers of black phosphorus may be exfoliated to create devices with desirable electronic transport properties. Here, the authors observe two-dimensional quantum transport in black phosphorus quantum wells, protected from oxidation by encapsulation in a polymer layer.

Spin qubits based on hole states in strained germanium could offer the most scalable platform for quantum computation.

Hall resistance quantization measurements in the quantum anomalous Hall effect regime on a device based on the magnetic topological insulator V-doped (Bi,Sb)₂Te₃ show that the system can provide a zero external magnetic field quantum standard of resistance.

The dynamical axion quasiparticle, which is directly analogous to the hypothetical fundamental axion particle, is observed in two-dimensional MnBi₂Te₄, and has implications for quantum chromodynamics, cosmology and string theory.

I. Silber et al. discover a two-fold symmetry of the superconducting upper critical field in hexagonal 4Hb-TaS₂ just below T_c, a clear signature of nematic, two-component superconductivity. They further suggest a theoretical model that reconciles the nematic superconductivity with the previously-observed time-reversal-symmetry-breaking in this material.

Interfacial charge transfer states are believed to have an important role in the performance of organic solar cells. Bernardo et al.show that delocalization achieved through local fullerene order is critical to achieving long-range charge separation from these otherwise tightly bound states.

To what extent regeneration recapitulates embryonic development is a longstanding question. Here, they show that embryonic gene modules are re-used, rewired, and interconnected to specific injury-induced down-stream targets during regeneration.

The coupling of magnetism and ferroelectricity is of relevance for applications such as sensing, but occurs only rarely in bulk materials. The large magnetically induced ferroelectric polarization observed here in CaMn₇O₁₂establishes a new approach to achieve a strong magnetoelectric coupling.

Laser cooling is a powerful technique that enables precision measurements and quantum control, yet its implementation in molecules remains challenging due to their complex structures. Here, the authors apply 2D transverse laser cooling to a focused beam of cold barium monofluoride (138Ba19F) molecules to significantly increase beam brightness.

Light propagation can be controlled via passive—and ideally lossless—photonic systems, where constraints are imposed by the system linearity and Hermiticity. Here, authors describe funnelling of light in a nonlinear Hermitian photonic lattice, achieving a port-to-port funnelling efficiency of 70%.

The fractional quantum Hall state at the filling factor 5/2 has been intensively studied due to its predicted non-Abelian statistics. Petrescu et al. measure the composite fermion effective mass of this state and find that it is several times larger than that in the half-filled lowest Landau level.

A broad range of characterization techniques is used to understand the dominant electron conduction in various p-type doped π-conjugated polymers, which show p-type and n-type thermoelectric power factors depending on the dopant concentration.

There are continuous efforts in improving the stability and systematic shifts of optical clocks. Here the authors demonstrate thulium optical clock utilizing bicolor scheme involving interrogation of both hyperfine levels and they are able to cancel the quadratic Zeeman shift.

Conventional design of perovskite heterojunctions face challenges in precisely controlling interfacial phase purity at nanoscale. Here, the authors introduce dimethyl sulfide as a soft Lewis base additive in organic cation solution, achieving certified efficiency of 26.48% in stable solar cells.

As vesicles fuse to the plasma membrane, they form intermediate Ω-shaped structures followed by either closure of the pore or full merging with the plasma membrane. Here Wen et al. show that dynamic actin assembly provides membrane tension to promote Ω merging in neuroendocrine cells and synapses.

Polariton condensates provide an arena in which to study interesting non-equilibrium condensate dynamics. Tosi et al. generate stable vortex lattices in a polariton condensate and study their macroscopic wavefunction, uncovering a nonlinear regime for topological defects at high densities.

The cortex fuels essential physiological processes with glucose-derived carbon, while gliomas fuel their aggressiveness by rerouting glucose carbon pathways and scavenging alternative carbon sources such as environmental amino acids, providing a potential therapeutic target.

Researchers use a chimeric approach to reveal the first near-atomic resolution structures the yellow fever virion, showing key differences between vaccine and virulent strains that affect how antibodies recognise and neutralise the virus.

Mucosal influenza vaccines promise enhanced protection but lack defined immune correlates of protection. Here, the authors conduct a phase I trial of an intranasal recombinant influenza A/H5 vaccine with a nanoemulsion adjuvant, demonstrating successful mucosal priming and broad cross-clade immune responses, advancing the development of intranasal influenza vaccines.

Structural studies show how the PfRCR complex of Plasmodium falciparum forms a bridge between erythrocyte and parasite membranes, and how PfCyRPA-binding antibodies neutralize invasion through a steric mechanism, opening the way to new approaches in rational vaccine design.

Coherent interconversion between microwave and optical frequencies is crucial for developing quantum networks. To this end, the authors integrate piezoelectric actuators on photonic integrated circuits, enabling bidirectional transduction mediated by high-overtone bulk acoustic resonances.

Klein and colleagues characterize 04_A06, a new V_H1-2-encoded broadly neutralizing antibody that has marked breadth and potency against extended multiclade HIV-1 pseudovirus panels and can maintain full viral suppression in HIV-1-infected humanized mice.