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In divergent carbonylative transformations using identical starting substrates, ligand-assisted transition metal catalysis has dominated selectively controllable transformations, but achieving precise control of CO insertion in transition-metal-free systems remains a challenge. Here, the authors disclose a divergent radical tandem carbonylation of multisubstituted homoallylic alcohols for the synthesis of γ-lactones and 1,4-diones.

Calorimetry is a powerful tool for precise heat measurement at the nanowatt and picowatt scale but is often constrained by high cost and complexity. Here, the authors introduce a flexible printed circuit-based microcalorimeter that enables high-resolution thermal analysis at a lower cost than conventional systems.

Anti-TNF CAR macrophages show anti-inflammatory efficacy in both acute and chronic inflammatory disease mouse models.

The use of biomarkers of ageing is crucial for investigating age-related processes. This Review discusses biomarkers of ageing and of ageing-associated physiological changes, at the cellular, tissue and organism levels in humans and non-human primates.

An interface nanostructuring design via plasma assisted ball milling (PABM) was proposed to fabricate disordered multilayer graphene (DMGr)/Cu composites that are strong yet plastic, achieving a compressive strength of 1.56 GPa and plastic strain of exceeding 0.6.

Lithocholic acid is one of the metabolites upregulated during calorie restriction, and treatment of mice, worms and flies with this bile acid alone can reproduce the health benefits of calorie restriction.

Self-assemblies of polymers to form polymersomes in solution can be used as carriers for drug delivery, but it is challenging to control polymer crystallization to improve their mechanical stability. Here, Wang et al.show the formation of nanosized crystalsomes composed of polymer lamellar single crystals.

Implantable supercapacitors are promising for the use as energy supply devices within the body, but their utility is hindered by coagulation and thrombosis. Here, the authors report an implantable supercapacitor that exhibits good anticoagulant properties and cycling stability.

Traditional lithographic techniques could damage organic semiconductor crystals due to high-energy beams or solvents. Here, authors employ a chemical-free nanoimprint crystallography method for fabrication of independent complex 2D patterns that exhibit good lasing performance and reproducibility.

Rapid warming of the global ocean and amplified Arctic warming will alter the ocean biogeochemistry. Here the authors show that Atlantic water inflow, and the subsequent subduction and circulation, is reducing dissolved oxygen in the Arctic due to reduced solubility with increased temperatures.

Visualizing mechanical stress distribution in soft and live biomaterials is key to understand biological processes and improve material design. Here, the authors design a biosensor to visualize the stress distribution in soft biomaterials and living tissues.

The vulnerability of barley production and beer supply to future weather extremes remains unknown. A study using modelling finds that weather extremes associated with climate change would threaten the availability and economic accessibility of beer.

The semileptonic decay channels of the Λc baryon can give important insights into weak interaction, but decay into a neutron, positron and electron neutrino has not been reported so far, due to difficulties in the final products’ identification. Here, the BESIII Collaboration reports its observation in e+e- collision data, exploiting machine-learning-based identification techniques.

Chiral α-quaternary amino and glycolic acids have found use in medicinal applications. Although their synthesis through α-alkylation is well known, synthesis via α-arylation remains challenging. Now, palladium-catalysed methods for the enantioselective α-arylation of amino acid- and glycolic acid-derived heterocycles, azlactones and 5H-oxazol-4-ones, using aryl bromides, are reported.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is used to treat various neuropsychiatric but its considerable power consumption and large size limit its potential for broader utility. Here, the authors successfully developed a battery-powered wearable rTMS device.

Advancements in proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers rely on developing oxygen evolution reaction catalysts with high activity and stability. Here, the authors report a method to enhance the spatiotemporal coordination of oxygen radicals in a Ru-based catalyst for improved performance.

The role of IgG glycosylation in the immune response has been studied, but less is known about IgM glycosylation. Here the authors characterize glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgM and show that it correlates with COVID-19 severity and affects complement deposition.

The commercialization of light-emitting diodes based on emissive quantum dots (e.g. QLEDs) is hindered by their inherent poor operational lifetime. Using an intelligent energy-level design strategy, Qian et al. demonstrate QLEDs with operational lifetime that meets industrial display standards.

The development of robust catalysts that could work under industrial-scale current densities bring promise but also a challenge for hydrogen production. Here, the authors report an in situ activation method to produce ferromagnetic ruthenium clusters that can catalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction at high current densities.

The controlled functionalization of multihydrosilanes is challenging. Now, using a hydrogen-atom-transfer photocatalyst based on neutral eosin Y, a method for the diverse functionalization of hydrosilanes has been developed, enabling the stepwise on-demand decoration of silicon atoms. This approach is distinguished by its atom-, step-, redox- and catalyst-economy, metal-free nature, its versatility (>150 examples), modularity, selectivity and scalability.

Hydrogen production from seawater is an appealing process. Here the authors report electrochemical seawater splitting coupled with sulfion oxidation, using a bifunctional Co3S4.

Low rate and limited duration are major challenges in photobiological hydrogen production. Here, the authors coat algal cells with a concentrically arranged shell comprising an ultra-thin Fe(III)-doped polypyrrole inner layer and outer exoskeleton of CaCO₃, and achieve sustainable H2 production for over 200 days.

Here, the authors fabricate hybrid van der Waals heterostructures based on 2D tessellations of DNA origami thin films, graphene and boron nitride, showing that the DNA films can induce periodic superlattices at the interface and modulate the electronic properties of the samples.

Understanding protein function is vital for biomedicine. Here, authors develop a method using statistics-informed graph networks to predict functions from sequences. The method integrates evolutionary couplings and residue communities to improve the accuracy of function annotations for proteins.

A facile light-triggered doping strategy involving a series of inactive photoactivable dopants is described that facilitates tunable regionally controlled n-doping of organic semiconductors, resulting in stable patterning of the doping profile at record high resolutions.

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.

Laminin-coated branched electronic scaffolds injected into hydrogel-filled lesions and spanning deeper regions in the brains of mice promote and track the migration of host brain cells into the lesions.

A machine-learning-potential framework achieves an optimal balance of accuracy and efficiency through monomeric decomposition. Systematic evaluations highlight its potential in large-scale simulations of complex molecular systems.

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription factories play a central role in gene expression and 3D chromatin organization. Here, the authors demonstrate that RUVBL2 directly regulates Pol II clustering at active gene promoters.

Stretchable electronics are attractive for a range of biomedical applications, but are challenging to prepare with suitable mechanical properties. Here, the authors report the use of a soft interlayer that allows the development of stretchable electronics with tissue-like material properties.

The performance of hybrid perovskite solar cells is diminished by charge recombination, which commonly occurs at grain boundaries. Here, the authors employ a non-wetting hole transport layer which promotes the growth of highly crystalline films with fewer grain boundaries, leading to improved device efficiencies.

The authors identify one emerging H2N2 AIV, reveal the molecular basis of human-type receptor binding of the H2N2 AIV and pandemic strains, and evaluate the public risk of H2N2 AIV by its infection, transmission and mammalian-adaptation features.

The polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is a histone methyltransferase regulating cell differentiation and identity. Here, the authors show that the vertebrate-specific PRC2 accessory subunit PALI1 facilitates substrate binding by the complex and elucidate the allosteric mechanism of PALI1- mediated PRC2 activation.

The poor conductivity of passivators often impacts the charge carrier transport in perovskite solar cells. Here, the authors report a binary and synergistical post-treatment method to form the passivation layer, achieving certified quasi-steady power conversion efficiency of 26% for stable devices.

Directed activation of C–H bonds usually occurs through 5-membered metallacycles, which poses limitations of regiochemistry. Herein, the authors use a phosphine oxide-ligated Ni−Al bimetallic catalyst to enable β-C−H bond-involved hydroarylations of alkynes via a rare 7-membered nickelacycle.

Heterogeneous geminal-atom catalysts, which pair single-atom sites in specific coordination and spatial proximity, offer a new avenue for the sustainable manufacture of fine chemicals.

Lithium-oxygen batteries can deliver high-energy densities, but capacity, rate performance and cycle life are still critical issues. Oh et al.report biologically templated synthesis of manganese oxide nanowires, which exhibit excellent electrochemical performance and cost-efficiency.

Selective defluorinative functionalization is a synthetic route to pharmaceutically important fluorine-containing compounds but activation of inert C–F bonds remains challenging. Here the authors report activation of di-or trifluoromethylated arenes for radical C–N coupling with carbazoles and aromatic amines using photoexcited copper catalysis.

A stereotaxic atlas of the whole mouse brain, based on a Nissl-stained cytoarchitecture dataset with isotropic 1-μm resolution, achieved through continuous micro-optical sectioning tomography, promises to be a versatile brainsmatics tool for studying the whole brain at single-cell level.

Despite many advantages of vat photopolymerization in microfluidic device fabrication, well-controlled μm-sized (< 100 μm) channels in the layer building direction remains a challenge. Here, authors present a general high resolution and low-cost 3D printing process that can produce devices within the 10 μm scale.

Drawing from historical tradition, “groove & tongue” sliding assembled devices were created in a one-pot microfluidic fabrication system, enabling the production of complex-shaped microparticles with high precision.

Fan, Shang, Song, Chen et al. identify the Integrator–PP2A complex (INTAC) as a key regulator of cancer cell sensitivity to BET inhibitors through directly interacting with the RACK7–KDM5 complex to orchestrate epigenetic silencing in a catalytic-independent manner.

Changes in lipidome profiles, as reflected by improvements in dietary fat quality from saturated to unsaturated fats, were associated with reduced cardiometabolic disease risk, and high-risk populations with unhealthy lipidome profiles would most benefit from an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet.

The evolution of superconductivity in LiFeAs with respect to pressure or strain remains elusive. Here, the authors observe different response of superconducting states due to different orientations of local wrinkles on the surface of LiFeAs.

Understanding the role of active sites in electrooxidation reactions is important yet challenging. Here, the authors use operando spectroscopies to monitor the effect of methanol concentration on Ni₃B/Ni heterostructures during formate production.

Electrocatalytic urea formation most commonly involves the co-reduction of NO_x species with CO₂. This limits overall energy efficiency as commodity-scale NO_x is produced from N₂ via NH₃. The swings in nitrogen oxidation state can be minimized through direct oxidative electrocatalytic reaction of CO and NH₃ to urea, as shown in this study.

Here the authors present the crystal structure of a bacterial STING. The structure shows that bacterial STING can modulate immune responses by forming anti-parallel dimers or, in certain species, through the presence of a long lid.