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By combining one-photon ultraviolet excitation with X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the nitrogen K-edge with advanced quantum-chemical calculations, researchers unveiled the fascinating and mysterious electronic dynamics of pyrazine at conical intersections. Here, electrons and nuclei dance in harmony until water steps in to disrupt the rhythm.

Here, with the state-of-the-state electron microscope, the authors report three-dimensional atomic-scale observation of LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ from various directions, revealing unprecedented insight into the evolution of both atomic and electronic structures during delithiation.

Controlling ferroelectric polarization is conventionally achieved by applying electric fields, mechanical force or similar. Here reversible switching of the bulk polarization of a BiFeO₃ thin film is demonstrated by pattering aqueous solution on to the surface enabling large-scale switching.

Zika virus poses a potential threat to male reproductive health but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. To address this question, the study by Yang et al performs single-cell RNA sequencing with ZIKV-infected mice testes. The authors find that spermatogenic cells are fragile to ZIKV infection and the complement system components produced by infiltrated S100A4 + monocytes/macrophages are crucial for the injury of spermatogenic cells.

Cyclases that are able to build medium-sized rings are rare and mechanistic insights are sparse. Now, computational and experimental studies reveal how SoBcmB enables the construction of an eight-membered O-heterocycle over the intrinsically more favourable five-membered tetrahydrofuran in bicyclomycin biosynthesis.

Treg cells can be functionally altered by epigenetic modulators. Here the authors show that the histone H3K36 methyltransferase Setd2 is important for the survival of Treg cells and for the regulation of IL-33 mediated Th2 responses in mice and SETD2 expression is increased in Treg cells from human colorectal cancer tissue.

The use of rigid linkers to control the relative position and interaction of donor and acceptor units in exciplex emitters leads to the realization of organic light-emitting devices with enhanced external quantum efficiency.

Nitric oxide delivered and released by a nanoscale carrier improves the therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapeutics and immunotherapy by normalizing tumour vasculature.

TRPCs, nonselective cation channels, are involved in cardiac contraction and conduction. Here, the authors show that Trpc1/6 deficiency or pharmacological inhibition improves endotoxemic cardiac dysfunction and prolongs survival by prominently suppressing cardiac inflammation and ER Ca²⁺ release.

Potassium is essential for plant growth and development. Here the authors present evidence that plants respond to low potassium availability by modulating the abundance and phosphorylation status of proteins in CBL-CIPK-channel modules.

The laminar organization of macaque V1 cortex is similar to that seen in humans. Here the authors describe a single-cell RNA sequencing dataset of macaque V1 cortex cells.

Analysis of age of onset and disease duration in a large, international cohort of people with SOD1-ALS shows that there is a distinct phenotype and that onset and progression are decoupled.

Addition of a multifunctional ionic additive in mixed two-dimensional–three-dimensional bromide/chloride perovskites enables efficient blue perovskite LEDs with external quantum efficiency of up to 21.4% and half-lifetime of 129 min at an initial luminance of 100 cd m^–2.

Glucose metabolism is crucial for cellular energy regulation and affects the immune response. Here the authors show that nutritional supplementation of mannose may be beneficial during virus infections by rewiring glucose metabolic dysregulation and alleviating inflammatory tissue damage.

Efficient storage of crude hydrogen, through toluene hydrogenation to methylcyclohexane, is often inhibited by CO impurities. Here, the authors develop a RuNi/TiO₂ catalyst which avoids deactivation through promoting simultaneous CO methanation.

Understanding incipient plasticity has been experimentally limited by spatial and temporal resolution. Here the authors report ultra-fast, in situ electron diffraction measurement of dislocation defect dynamics in the early stage of plastic deformation in Al under laser-driven compression.

While material defect sites are active for chemical reactions, it is important to understand how different defect types impact reactivity. Here, authors prepare Frenkel-defected MoS₂ monolayers and demonstrate improved performances for H₂ evolution electrocatalysis than pristine or doped MoS₂.

Simultaneous neural activation and inhibition in the same brain region of animals is highly desirable. Here the authors report a wireless, dual-colour optogenetic probe with the co-expression of two spectrally distinct opsins to allow for bidirectional neuronal activity manipulation in a rodent model.

Presequence protease (PreP) is essential to mitochondrial proteostasis. This study leverages advanced vitrification techniques to solve cryoEM structures of apo- and substrate-bound PreP and integrates these data with other analysis to reveal key stages and mechanistic insights of the PreP catalytic cycle.

Electric contacts of semimetallic bismuth on monolayer semiconductors are shown to suppress metal-induced gap states and thus have very low contact resistance and a zero Schottky barrier height.

Chronic insomnia is associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Here, in two clinical cohorts (n = 7,931), authors show that gut microbiota-bile acid axis may be an intervention target to attenuate the impact of chronic insomnia on cardiometabolic health.

Youwen Zhou and Xue-Jun Zhang and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of generalized vitiligo, a common autoimmune disorder characterized by loss of melanocytes and depigmentation. The authors identify two independent associations within the MHC region and one new susceptibility locus on chromosome 6q27, which contains the genes RNASET2, FGFR1OP and CCR6.

The genomic landscape of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has mostly been characterised for Western populations. Here, the authors identify potential driver alterations in Chinese pediatric AML, which differ from Western populations, and propose a prognostic risk classification model.

In patients with locally advanced resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), the risk of recurrence and metastasis following treatment is high. Here, a phase I clinical trial reports safety and pathological response of neoadjuvant camrelizumab and apatinib in patients with locally advanced resectable OSCC.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can be used for the development of prognostic signatures to predict tumour metastasis. Here the authors identify an immune-associated nine-lncRNA signature for predicting metastasis in a multicentre cohort of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer patients.

The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues Network aims to create a reference catalogue of somatic mosaicism across different tissues and cells within individuals.

The severe volume expansion during the lithiation of micron-sized Si in Li-ion batteries requires a solid electrolyte interphase with reinforced mechanical stability. Here, the authors propose a solvent-induced selective dissolution strategy to regulate the mechanical properties of the interphase.

The authors systematically and unambiguously correlate the electrocatalytic activity of binary metal oxyhydroxides supported FeOxHy with active oxygen species, and show when and how the active oxygen species are involved during the oxygen evolution reaction process

Xue-Jun Zhang, Zhi-Rong Yao and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for atopic dermatitis in the Chinese Han population. They identified two new susceptibility loci at 5q22 and 20q13.

Interesting properties of carbon nanotubes prompt a search for diverse inorganic nanotubes. Here, the authors report a supertetrahedral chalcogenide cluster-based semiconducting nanotube array that exhibits high electric conductivity and oriented photoconductive behavior.

Brain ischemia has been associated with deficits in neural oscillations. Here in an animal model, the authors show that modulation of low-gamma oscillations using a light flicker can restore low gamma oscillations and protect ischemic neurons.

Human motions often contain information that is useful for orthopedic/neural disease diagnosis, rehabilitation, and prevention. Here, the authors show a badge-reel-like stretch sensing device with a grating-structured triboelectric nanogenerator for joints/spine bending or stretching sensing.

How hair follicle regeneration arises readily in some species ie. spiny rather than laboratory mice, is unclear. Here, authors compare them, showing an optimal stiffness is needed for placode formation and the difference in hair follicle regenerative behaviour after wounding is linked to Twist1.

Mouse genetic studies and single-cell transcriptome analysis demonstrate that TIM-3 on dendritic cells has a key role in regulating antitumour immunity via inflammasome activation and is a potential target for anticancer therapy.

The biosynthesis of the antitumour antibiotic CC-1065 includes formation of a cyclopropane. Here, the authors identify the two enzymes that work together to catalyze this reaction, a radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine enzyme and a methyltransferase, and propose a mechanism for the cyclopropanation.

Ubiquitination is a prevalent post translational modification. Here, the authors show a pivotal role for Nedd4l in the regulation of antiviral immunity via promotion of ubiquitination of TRAF3 and go on to show disruption of Nedd4l both in vitro and in vivo perturbs the antiviral immune response.

The presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus has been known to differ by ancestry, but the underlying genetic factors remain unclear. Here, the authors report ancestry-specific susceptibility loci and better risk prediction when using data from matched ancestral groups.