Search

Crystalline materials that undergo large structural changes in response to external stimuli remain rare. Here the authors report a Zinc(II) complex that undergoes a two-step reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation via thermal removal of ethylene glycol chelating ligands; this results in large volume changes.

Defects in the homologous recombination repair of DNA can result in gene mutation and cancer. In this study, Peng et al.identify a gene signature associated with homologous recombination repair deficiency and show that this can be used both to predict repair defects and clinical outcome in cancer patients.

Perovskite manganites exhibit intriguing but poorly understood properties, including multiferroicity. Here, the authors synthesize a Ce₃Mn₈ cluster that structurally resembles a perovskite repeat unit, and use this molecular analogue to elucidate mechanisms driving bulk perovskite properties.

This Resource presents a scalable method to build a connectome from light-microscopy-based reconstructions of mouse neurons and inferred synaptic connections that were derived from the overlap of axonal and dendritic arbors or boutons and dendritic arbors. The inferred connectome has been validated with additional multi-modal datasets.

Nanomaterials are effective catalysts for many chemical reactions, however, their catalytic properties are most often determined by ensembles of nanoparticles, and so far only averaged results have been measured. Now, the heterogeneous reactivity and the surface structure dynamics of individual gold nanoparticles are revealed by monitoring single fluorogenic reactions.

The feasibility of satellite-assisted quantum communication is demonstrated by a field test on the ground. To supress noise due to sunlight the wavelength of 1,550 nm is chosen, and spectrum and spatial filtering technology developed.

Here the authors analyzed 3.7 petavoxels of 3D imaging data from 204 mouse brains, aiming to comprehensively characterize diverse morphological and modular patterns conserved across six spatial scales of mouse brain anatomy, ranging from the whole-brain scale to synaptic levels.

The Tibetan Plateau is the largest plateau in the world and hosts a variety of aquatic ecosystems. Here, the authors present a gene and genome catalogue of Tibetan Plateau aquatic microbiomes, greatly expanding known taxonomic and functional diversity for the region and giving insights into its microbial biogeography.

Cr³⁺-sensitized lanthanide-doped nanoparticles afford high-brightness luminescence in the near-infrared region for applications in in vivo non-invasive bioimaging.

Soybean accessions display a variable number of nodules when colonized by rhizobia. The authors identify one locus controlling this trait, a typical TIR–NBS–LRR disease resistance gene called NNL1, and the corresponding bacterial effector called NopP.

Chinese breast cancer patients have not been well represented in clinical sequencing studies. Here the authors analyse the mutational landscape of 1,134 Chinese breast cancer patients, finding actionable targets and a higher prevalence of p53 and Hippo pathway mutations compared to Western cohorts.

Systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study reported that, despite global improvements from 1990 to 2021, dietary iron deficiency-associated disease burden remains high in women, children and residents in low socio-demographic index countries.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly relevant to assist with oncology imaging, but diagnosing rare tumours remains challenging. Here, the authors develop an AI approach to detect rare thyroid cancer subtypes by integrating clinical knowledge with image generation based on ultrasound imaging data from large patient cohorts.

An acceptor–donor–acceptor organic semiconductor enables near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes with reduced efficiency roll-off over six orders of magnitude of excitation current density, enabling a maximum luminance of 2,000 W sr⁻¹ m⁻².

Mpox virus has spread globally since 2022 with cases in many previously non-endemic countries including China. Here, the authors describe the genomic epidemiology of the first local outbreak in Shenzhen, China, including 92 cases reported from June–Oct 2023.

A gene-edited pig liver transplanted into a human recipient remains functional after 10 days and indicates that porcine organs could help meet the growing demand for liver transplants.

This study reports the horizontal gene transfer of CSP genes from bacteria to Triticeae, promoting the adaptation and spread of wheat through enhanced drought tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency.

T cell mediated therapies have proven largely unsuccessful in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here, the authors show that autophagy is reduced in TNBC, which results in an increase in Tenascin C and reduced activation of tumour infiltrating lymphocytes.

A study on steppe grasslands found that nitrogen addition alters arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial networks but does not promote phosphorus mineralization.

Reconstructing the full shape of neurons is a major informatics challenge as it requires handling huge whole-brain imaging datasets. Here the authors present an open-source virtual reality annotation system for precise and efficient data production of neuronal shapes reconstructed from whole brains.

Architected materials can have enhanced properties compared to bulk but are difficult to design. Here the authors propose a machine-learning-based pipeline to design architected materials with predetermined elastic modulus and enhanced yield strength and test it in additive manufacturing.

Viruses exploit host cell machinery for replication, but their spatial cues remain elusive. Using nanochip-enabled membrane shaping, the authors discover saddle curvature association of viral proteins, revealing a new spatial regulation mechanism.

Membrane fouling during electrodialysis, nanofiltration and ultrafiltration processes results in a reduction in the dye/salt fractionation efficacy. Here, authors devise an electro-driven filtration process using tight ion-conductive ultrafiltration membrane for one-step, stable dye/salt fractionation.

Analysis of pre- and post-chemotherapy samples collected from 22 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma using single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing and spatial omics characterizes therapy-related changes in cell composition and the tumor microenvironment.

Active cell contraction drives hole nucleation, fracture and crack propagation in a tissue monolayer through a process reminiscent of dewetting thin films.

Nutrient resorption is crucial for evaluating plant nutrient status and ecosystem carbon dynamics, but direct measurements in permafrost ecosystems are very limited. Here, the authors explore large-scale pattern of plant nutrient resorption and its relationship with soil nutrient supply across Tibetan alpine permafrost region.

Multi-modal analysis is used to generate a 3D atlas of the upper limb area of the mouse primary motor cortex, providing a framework for future studies of motor control circuitry.

This study maps proteomic changes in Alzheimer’s mouse models, identifying shared pathways with humans, amyloid-driven protein turnover, and proteome-transcriptome differences, offering insights into disease mechanisms and potential targets.

A deep learning system able to identify the most common skin conditions may help clinicians in making more accurate diagnoses in routine clinical practice

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has quickly become the predominant circulating variant, due to the high transmissibility and immune escape. Here, the authors develop a trimeric protein vaccine candidate and show a sustained humoral immune response, and protection from challenge (Omicron and Delta) in various animal models.

Zhang et al. identify a nuclear role for the glycolytic enzyme TPI1 in connecting nutrient status and cell cycle status to global histone acetylation.

A meta-transcriptomic analysis of the viromes of 2,438 mosquitoes of 81 species from across China identifies geographic hotspots of mosquito virus diversity, links between mosquito virome composition and host phylogeny, and a suggestion of long-distance mosquito dispersal.

P2X3 activation requires tightening the inner pocket of the head domain (IP-HD) following ATP binding. Here the authors demonstrate that targeting the IP-HD with allosteric small molecules presents a potential strategy for the development of therapeutics for refractory chronic cough without taste abnormalities.

Estimating health burden of air pollution against the background of population aging is of significance for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.9. Here, the authors show that population aging is expected to be the leading contributor to increased deaths attributable to PM2.5 in China by 2035, which will counter the positive gains achieved by improvements in air pollution and healthcare.

A representation-learning strategy for machine-learning models applied to medical-imaging tasks improves model robustness and training efficiency and mitigates suboptimal out-of-distribution performance.

Gas hydrates have promising energy storage applications, a main bottleneck being their slow formation kinetics. Here, the authors demonstrate that by dispersing kinetic promoters in porous ice as active ice for gas hydrate formation, a minute-level formation process can be achieved for hydrate-based technologies.

One-dimensional materials have interesting physiochemical properties, but control over porosity is still a significant challenge. Here, the authors report a self-assembly method for the fabrication of 1D materials with an ordered mesostructure.

The origin of homochirality in nature is an important but open question. Here, the authors provide insight into the physicochemical origin of homochirality through surface adsorption on the model of adlayers of achiral carbon monoxide molecules on an achiral Au(111) surface.

Obesity is a significant health risk, and current treatments are inadequate. This study reveals that AA005, an annonaceous acetogenin mimic, targets mitochondrial HADHA in adipose tissue to boost thermogenesis via the UCP1 pathway, providing a promising new strategy for obesity treatment.