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The rational design of carbon-supported transition metal single atom catalysts with precise coordination tailoring remains challenging. Here, the authors develop a topological heteroatom-transfer strategy to precisely control the P coordination in Co single atoms for hydrogen evolution.

Lolamicin, a novel antibiotic developed from a pyridinepyrazole precursor, exhibits potent activity against a broad range of Gram-negative multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, and good efficacy in mouse models of infection without inducing gut dysbiosis.

Graphene networks have been used to reinforce polymer and ceramic composites, but connecting graphene into a three dimensional network in a metal matrix is challenging. Here the authors use a powder-metallurgy-based strategy to construct a three-dimensional graphene network reinforced copper matrix composite.

Vapour-deposited glasses show high stability compared to that of aged glasses, but a structural understanding remains elusive. Here, Reid et al. find that vapour deposited and liquid-cooled glasses show identical structures, suggesting these two classes of films lie on the same path to equilibrium.

Understanding the molecular basis of voltage-sensing is of great importance in biology. Here, the authors use computational analysis and simulations to reveal atomic level insights into the mechanism of an isolated voltage-sensing domain.

Effective anti-PD-1 immunotherapy is associated with the presence of polyclonal CD8⁺ T cells in the tumour and blood specific for a limited number of immunodominant mutations, which are recurrently recognized over time.

Melting is a classic first-order phase transition, but an accurate thermodynamic description is still lacking. Here, Pedersen et al. develop a theory, validated by simulations of the Lennard-Jones system, for the melting thermodynamics applicable to all systems characterized by hidden scale invariance.

Despite their relevance as regulators of actin severing and filament disassembly, few structural insights into the mechanism of cofilin-isoform-specific severing activity are reported. Here, the authors provide structural insights towards actin severing activity by human cofilin-2 obtained by MAS NMR and all-atom MD simulations. The results reveal an isoform-specific binding mode unique to CFL2 that may be related to its potent severing properties in-vivo.

A co-adsorbent is used to achieve a uniform self-assembled phosphonic acid monolayer on a textured substrate, leading to more efficient inverted perovskite solar cells.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction to make fuels and feedstocks often relies on metal-based catalysts. Here the authors report membrane electrode assemblies operating with relatively high current densities for CO₂-to-CH₄ conversion using organic molecular catalysts.

CO electroreduction is a promising carbonate-free approach to produce ethylene, but suffers from limited selectivity and low energy efficiency. By modifying copper with a strong electron acceptor, 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane, the water dissociation step is accelerated, leading to excellent ethylene selectivity and full-cell energy efficiency in CO electroreduction.

Batteries with solid polymer electrolytes face challenges in electrochemical stability and compatibility with high-voltage cathodes. Chunsheng Wang and colleagues have developed a polymer blend with a high Li salt concentration that enhances the stability of solid polymer electrolytes and achieves promising electrochemical performance in full-cell applications.

Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) are a powerful tool for neuroscience, but the standard DREADD ligand, CNO, has significant drawbacks. Here the authors report two novel high-potency DREADD ligands and a novel DREADD radiotracer for imaging purposes.

Whether and when a material deforms elastically or plastically depends on its microstructure. Experiments on two-dimensional colloidal systems show that in disordered materials, packing density, stress and a microstructure-related entropy govern deformations.

Quasi-2D halide perovskites are attracting increasing attention for light-emitting devices. Here, the authors demonstrated efficient and stable quasi-2D perovskite LEDs enabled by suppressed phase disproportionation with newly designed organic ligands.

Ca²⁺ activated BK channels are important for neural and muscle function. Here authors use a compound, BC5, to show that the interface between the cytosolic and voltage sensing domains is a major allosteric pathway for Ca²⁺ binding to open the channel.

A newly developed maternally selective nanobody antagonist against the angiotensin II type I receptor stabilizes the receptor in a hybrid conformation and simultaneously binds with specific small-molecule antagonists.

Skeletal ryanodine receptor controls calcium mobilization indispensable for muscle contraction. Here, authors combine cryo-EM and molecular dynamics to uncover the structural basis of the intricate regulation of this channel by calcium and magnesium.

The activation of bacterial mechanosensitive channels is still not fully understood. Here, Bavi et al. show that the N-terminal helix of MscL dynamically couples membrane tension to channel gating, suggesting a conserved mechanism underlying the mechanosensitivity of ion channels of higher organisms.

The chaperone SurA is involved in outer membrane protein (OMP) biogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria, but its mechanism of action is not fully understood. Combining mass spectrometric, biophysical and computational approaches, the authors here show how the conformational dynamics of SurA facilitate OMP binding.

Protein targets that are affected by ROS and underly impaired inotropic effects in the heart are largely unknown. Here, the authors identify the γ-subunit of IDH3 as a redox switch linking oxidative stress to impaired metabolism and heart function.

A combination of structural and biochemical analyses of MlaC, the soluble periplasmic component of the Mla pathway, elucidate how this protein assists phospholipid movement between the bacterial inner and outer membranes.

A detailed understanding of the catalytic target DNA cleavage mechanism by CRISPR–Cas9 has been lacking. Now the key modulating role of Mg²⁺ in the conformational activation of Cas9 and the influence of active site residues on the protonation state of catalytic H840 are demonstrated, ultimately unravelling the catalytic mechanism.

Despite the apparent simplicity of a H2O molecule, the mutual ferroelectric ordering of the molecules is unresolved. Here, the authors realize a macroscopic ferroelectric phase transition in a network of dipole-dipole coupled water molecules located in nanopores of gemstone.

Two-dimensional elastic membranes show great potential as functional materials, but how to engineer them with tunable mechanical properties remains challenging. Here, Yllanes et al. propose a method to induce the onset of crumpling transition in graphene-like sheets by simply altering their geometries.

Suppressing surface Cs⁺ accumulation in methylammonium-free α-FA_1−xCs_xPbI₃ perovskite with an intermediate phase-assisted strategy enables high-efficiency and thermally stable photovoltaics.

Niacin is used to treat cardiovascular disease through its activation of the GPCR HCAR2. Here, the authors present cryo-EM structures of HCAR2 bound to niacin and other drug-like small molecules, which explain the basis of HCAR2 ligand recognition.

Neutron and X-ray scattering measurements provide further insight into the anharmonic behaviour of lead halide perovskites, revealing that rotations of PbBr₆ octahedra in CsPbBr₃ crystals occur in a correlated fashion along two-dimensional planes.

The Kir potassium channels are known to operate and gate without a major conformational change. Here, the authors identify the permeation gate of Kir channels as a steric plug within the conduction pathway, describing how tightly associated anionic lipids pushing into fenestrations in the pore walls engage with the plug to operate the gate.

The design of highly selective yet robust anion exchange membranes remains a challenge. Here, the authors prepare a stable polymer membrane composed of terphenyl isomers, demonstrate roll-to-roll manufacturing, and assess its properties in redox flow batteries, water electrolyzers and fuel cells.

The use of ferroeletric materials for multi-state device applications is still challenging. Here, the authors present a mechanism to stabilize non-volatile polarization states by populating volume fractions of two domain structures in PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O₃ via kinetic control of switching pathways.

In cell membranes, lipids are ubiquitous regulators of protein function. Here, Thakur et al. observe anionic phospholipids impact the conformational dynamics of a class A human GPCR.

Graphene nanobubbles can act as enclosures for holding small volumes of substances. Here the authors find a correlation between bubble shape and the encapsulated material providing a potential method for determining the graphene bubble content by its deformation.

Reversing the thermal induced sintering phenomenon and forming high temperature stable fine dispersed metallic centers is one of the ever-lasting targets in heterogeneous catalysis. Here the authors report the dispersion of metallic Ni particles into under-coordinated two-dimensional Ni clusters over γ-Mo₂N.

Host proteins CPSF6, NUP153, and SEC24C are vital for HIV-1 infection. They bind to the viral capsid protein and contribute to shuttling of virions through the cytoplasm (SEC24C), import into the nucleus (NUP153 and CPSF6) and subsequent trafficking to preferred integration sites (CPSF6). Here, Wei et al. combine structural, biochemical and virological assays to emphasize the importance of prion-like low complexity domains surrounding short phenylalanine-glycine regions in binding and increasing the avidity when interacting with viral capsid.

Structures of HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) in tubular assemblies, determined by MAS-NMR, reveal the basis of CA’s conformational plasticity.

Bacterial type IV pili are filamentous cell surface structures and candidate targets for vaccine development. Here, authors determine how antibodies interact with pili at the structural level providing insight into immune escape mechanisms and potential countermeasures.

Liquid ribonucleoprotein condensates typically involve a dense network of multiple proteins and RNAs. Here, the authors employ a minimal system composed of Prion-like polypeptides (PLP), Arg-rich polypeptides (RRP), and RNA to form biphasic condensates with diverse morphologies tunable via mixture stoichiometry and hierarchy of intermolecular interactions.

Phosphoantigen-mediated BTN2A1 association drives BTN3A1 intracellular fluctuations outwards in a thermodynamically favourable manner, thereby enabling BTN3A1 to push off from the BTN2A1 ectodomain to initiate T cell receptor–mediated γδ T cell activation.

An aluminium–chalcogen battery operating with a molten-salt electrolyte composed of NaCl–KCl–AlCl₃ is presented, which allows rapid charging at up to 200C for hundreds of cycles, and is scalable, fire-resistant and low cost.

Human Histone Deacetylases (HDACs) regulate gene expression and are important drug targets. Here, the authors combine NMR measurements, enzymatic assays and molecular dynamics simulations and show that HDAC8 samples a catalytically active and an inactive state and further demonstrate that mutations and ligand binding alter the populations of the two states, which is of interest for inhibitor design.