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The formation of 2D perovskites in inorganic perovskite solar cells is hindered by the strong binding affinity of caesium ions. Liu et al. engineer the functional groups of a large organic cation to facilitate its exchange with caesium ions and form a stable 2D perovskite.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

Whether multimorbidity accelerates brain Aβ deposition in humans remains largely unknown. Here, the authors demonstrate that higher self-reported multimorbidity burden predicts increased brain Aβ accumulation rates in the ADNI cohort.

Porous graphene integrated into graphene oxide membranes yields smart molecular sieves that switch separation based on the solvent. This allows for graded separations of different-sized molecules.

In somatic cells the mechanisms maintaining the chromosome ends are normally inactivated; however, cancer cells can re-activate these pathways to support continuous growth. Here, the authors characterize the telomeric landscapes across tumour types and identify genomic alterations associated with different telomere maintenance mechanisms.

A pan-cancer genomic analysis reports the effects of structural variations on chromatin domains (TADs). Most TAD disruptions do not result in appreciable changes in expression of nearby genes.

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) membranes are used to treat bone defects, but face challenges in regulating the immune microenvironment. Here, Yang et al. report a Janus collagen-based barrier membrane that modulates the osteoimmune microenvironment to effectively promote bone regeneration.

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

Zhang, Chen, and colleagues present Thor, a platform that turns spot-level spatial transcriptomics into single-cell gene maps using the paired histology image, without using single-cell RNA-seq data. Thor unveils fine tissue architectures, and it expands our knowledge on fibrosis and vascular-regenerative gene expression.

Continuous shape morphing for small robots can offer advantages, but it is difficult to perform tasks if they are not stiff enough. Xu et al. present here a design combining liquid crystal elastomers and shape memory polymers to lock morphable elements in place.

The synthesis of alkenes from carboxylic acids, alcohols and alkanes is a formidable challenge owing to their inherent differences in reactivity. Now the one-pot conversion of these building blocks into alkenes is reported through an integrated photochemical strategy using a phenyl vinyl ketone as the olefination reagent.

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.

Single cell analysis of histologic variant bladder tumors detects a shared CA125+ tumor cell state associated with aggressive clinical features and reveals enriched expression of TM4SF1, a membrane protein that can be targeted with CAR T cells.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of lung adenocarcinoma but known susceptibility variants explain only a small fraction of the familial risk. Here, the authors perform a two-stage GWAS and report 12 novel genetic loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians.

Single-cell data analysis is challenging due to inherent noise and sparsity. Here, authors introduce scMINER, a mutual information-based integrative tool to enhance clustering and reveal regulatory networks and hidden biological drivers by transforming scRNA-seq expression into activity profiles.

3D moiré lattices can exhibit distinct incommensurate phases depending on twist angles. Here, authors demonstrate phase-controlled emergence of fully localized, line-localized, and plane-localized states, enabling tunable 3D transport in cold atom and optical systems.

Tight junctions are crucial for maintaining intestinal barrier homeostasis. Here the authors show that PEAK1 sustains Src activity at tight junctions and facilitates its interaction with ZO-1 to preserve tight junction integrity.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are an important modulator of immunity in many tissues, including lymphoid tissues, but their spatial information is still scarce. Here, the authors use multiplexed and multispectral imaging methods to provide a spatial map of ILCs in human thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, intestinal lymphoid tissue, and lymphoma, and observe ILC/T helper cells colocalization.

Rising CO₂ and warming enhance vegetation greening, but drought, heat stress, and resource limits constrain this trend. Here, the authors show that within a year, increased early- and peak- season greenness often leads to late-season declines, highlighting water/heat stress limits on greening and the carbon sink.

Whole-genome sequencing data for 2,778 cancer samples from 2,658 unique donors across 38 cancer types is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cancer, revealing that driver mutations can precede diagnosis by several years to decades.

Radiopharmaceuticals engineered with click chemistry to selectively bind to tumour-specific proteins can be used to successfully target tumour cells, boosting the pharmacokinetics of radionuclide therapy and improving tumour regression.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.

The ability to encode and recall information about food is critical for survival. We reveal that ventral hippocampus projections to the lateral hypothalamus encode meal-related memories, and that disruption of this circuit promotes excessive eating.

The absence of catalytic asymmetric methods for synthesizing chiral (hetero)bicyclo[n.1.1]alkanes has hindered their application in new drug discovery. Herein the authors report an enantioselective formal (3 + 3) cycloaddition of bicyclobutanes with nitrones using a chiral Lewis acid catalyst for the synthesis of hetero-bicyclo[3.1.1]heptane.

Electromagnetically induced transparency—an effect in atomic physics caused by interference between transitions—has found analogues in other areas, like nanophotonics. Yang et al. exploit this effect in an all-dielectric metasurface to produce high-Q-factor resonances ideal for refractive index sensing.

This study has identified new regulators, such as RHD6 and GL2, involved in the regulation of the RAE1-STOP1-ALMT1 module, contributing to Al resistance. It has also established a complex transcriptional network that controls STOP1-dependent ALMT1 expression, offering new insights into Al resistance and signaling.

In an updated report on 70 laboratory-confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 cases in the USA between March 2024 and May 2025, the absence of human-to-human transmission to date was confirmed, with no known mutations of resistance to neuroaminidase inhibitors.

ERα^vlVMH neurons mediate the inhibitory role of 17β-oestradiol on prolactin production, and this inhibition is lifted in lactating mice to promote lactation-associated metabolic adaptations.

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.

Many tumours exhibit hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypoxic tumours often respond poorly to therapy. Here, the authors quantify hypoxia in 1188 tumours from 27 cancer types, showing elevated hypoxia links to increased mutational load, directing evolutionary trajectories.

The characterization of 4,645 whole-genome and 19,184 exome sequences, covering most types of cancer, identifies 81 single-base substitution, doublet-base substitution and small-insertion-and-deletion mutational signatures, providing a systematic overview of the mutational processes that contribute to cancer development.

Experimental systems in which non-trivial topology is driven by spontaneous symmetry breaking are rare. Now, topological gaps resulting from two excitonic condensates have been demonstrated in a three-dimensional material.

Despite several decades of research that has revealed roles in the development and progression of many solid tumours, clinical translation of research targeting epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) has thus far been limited. In this Review, the authors provide a summary of the role of EMT in cancer development and progression in the context of this lack of clinical translation, summarize the current status of direct or indirect EMT-modulating agents in clinical development, and highlight the major barriers to the development of EMT-related clinical interventions.

Using RFdiffusion, a general method for targeting intrinsically disordered proteins and regions for protein design has been developed.

Schizophrenia exhibits significant variability in brain structures, traditionally viewed as static due to heterogeneous subgroups. Here the authors use magnetic resonance imaging data from 1,792 individuals with schizophrenia to reveal that gray matter volume variability is greater in early stages and decreases over time, highlighting dynamic brain alterations with implications for understanding disease progression.

The realization of high-performance flexible perovskite/crystalline-silicon tandem solar cells requires efficient photocarrier transport and mitigation of residual stress. Here, authors reveal the critical role of perovskite phase homogeneity, achieving flexible devices with efficiency of 29.88%.

There’s an emerging body of evidence to show how biological sex impacts cancer incidence, treatment and underlying biology. Here, using a large pan-cancer dataset, the authors further highlight how sex differences shape the cancer genome.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

Whole-genome sequencing data from more than 2,500 cancers of 38 tumour types reveal 16 signatures that can be used to classify somatic structural variants, highlighting the diversity of genomic rearrangements in cancer.

This study developed a phased chromosome-level genome assembly for the African sweetpotato cultivar ‘Tanzania’, revealing the complex genome architecture of hexaploid sweetpotato and providing valuable insights into its origin.

Personalized antibacterial agents against diverse bacteria strains are promising for combating antimicrobial resistance, but a balance between strain specificity and broad-spectrum bactericidal activity is elusive. Here, the authors report an antibacterial nanoagent TiOx@C with bacterial cell wall specificity, multi-targeting and bactericidal effect against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa.

NIPBL perturbation activates long terminal repeat (LTR)-derived alternative promoters due to reorganization of chromatin’s hierarchical structure, leading to LTR co-option and oncogene activation in melanoma cell lines.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.