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The authors demonstrate Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) behavior with assistance of engineered metamaterial surface plasmons. Deep subwavelength microwave regime was explored by the comparison with the perfect electric conductor case, showing the strong influence of the excitation of surface waves on both local density of optical states and FRET.

A fresh approach to protein design that incorporates excited intermediate states enables precise control over the lifetime of protein interactions, with potential applications in cell-signalling modulation and in biosensors and synthetic circuits.

Tracers are fluorescent protein ligands required for various displacement assays. Here, the authors announce a curated database named tracerDB, which will make essential tracer data, contributed by the worldwide research community, easily available and searchable.

Metal-organic frameworks are typically characterized by a variety of techniques, but most only provide information on properties as an average of a bulk sample. Here, Wuttke and colleagues demonstrate that fluorescence imaging and lifetime analysis allows access to local information on defects and functional groups.

The authors uncover a mechano-metabolic adaptation where confinement induces rapid mitochondrial relocalization to the nuclear periphery, generating localized nuclear ATP surges that support chromatin remodeling, DNA repair, and cell cycle progression.

Isabel Ernst et al. use single-molecule FRET measurements and in silico analyses to show the conformational changes of bacterial SecA. They show that the Preprotein Binding Domain is highly dynamic in the absence of ATP and moves toward the Helical Wing Domain when ATP is bound into the “wide open” position.

Macrophages possess different G protein-coupled receptors such as the orphan receptor GPRC5B. Here the authors characterise the function of GPRC5B in macrophages in knockout mice showing that in the absence of GPRC5B there is increased inflammatory responses and macrophage activation because of reduced EP2-mediated anti-inflammatory effects.

Hsp90 is a molecular chaperone important for protein homeostasis. Here, the authors show that the conformational transitions during the Hsp90 ATPase cycle are conserved from yeast to humans, but a few mutations alter cycle timing and dynamics.

Ribosome biogenesis is crucially dependent on proper rRNA folding, a process assisted by chaperones. Here the authors reveal how Puf6 promotes correct rRNA folding at low temperature, a condition where mis-paired RNA folding intermediates frequently accumulate.

This study proposes an unreported molecular mechanism of substrate inhibition in enzymes. It shows that a competitive inhibitor reduces substrate inhibition and identifies unique enzyme-substrate complexes, suggesting an unreported paradigm for enzyme regulation.

UM171 promotes corepressor degradation by acting as a molecular glue to induce KBTBD4–HDAC1/2 interactions with the help of inositol hexakisphosphate.

We show that gain-of-function cancer mutations in the KBTBD4 E3 ligase promote neodegradation of substrates via a shape-complementarity-based mechanism, which converges with the mechanism of action of the UM171 molecular glue degrader and can be blocked by HDAC1/2 inhibitors.

The first experimental demonstration of saturable absorption in core-electron transitions in aluminium paves the way for investigating warm dense matter, which potentially has an important role in planetary science and the realization of inertial confinement fusion.

An extreme Einstein ring ~10,000 times as bright as the Milky Way in the infrared is studied with VLT/ERIS and ALMA, and the authors find that the lensed galaxy is a starburst with a fast-rotating disk, rather than being driven by a major merger.

Multidimensional spectroscopic tools are important to explore the details of molecular dynamics. Here the authors use shaped pulses to demonstrate a 3D fluorescence spectroscopy method to extract the fourth and higher-order nonlinear responses in light-molecule interaction.

The assembly of branched actin networks depends on the heterodimeric capping protein CP/CapZ. Combining cryoEM, in vitro reconstitution and cell biological assays, the authors show that CP not only prevents actin filament elongation but also selectively masks actin filament ends to promote nucleation.

Sulfonylureas are widely used anti-diabetic drugs, which promote insulin release by blocking a pancreatic ion channel. Here the authors create a photoswitchable sulfonylurea derivative and use it to control insulin release from cultured cells and isolated pancreatic islets by illumination with blue light.

Kuhm et al. reveal how human guanylate-binding protein 1 (GBP1) dimers self-associate to coat bacterial pathogens and uncover a guanosine triphosphate hydrolase-dependent membrane-remodeling activity of GBP1 that is crucial for intracellular immunity

Protein-tag degree of labeling (ProDOL) is a versatile reference-based approach for experimentally determining the degree of target labeling for improved protein counting and quantification and for optimizing labeling protocols in fixed and live cells.

Protein-induced fluorescence enhancement (PIFE) is a popular tool for characterizing protein-DNA interactions. Here, authors provide a perspective on understanding the general phenomenon of induced fluorescence modulation

Clustering of proteins in the plasma membrane plays an important role in the regulation of both cellular signalling and membrane remodelling. Milovanovic et al.demonstrate that mismatch between transmembrane domain length and the lipid bilayer thickness is sufficient to drive clustering of SNARE proteins.

Photoconversion of popular organic dyes results in blue-shifted emission and altered fluorescence lifetimes that can cause artifacts in quantitative microscopy. These can be avoided through proper labeling strategies such as using exchangeable dyes.

Singlet oxygen is a highly useful reagent for organic synthesis, disinfection and photodynamic therapy, but its high reactivity calls for systems where its photochemical generation can be switched on and off on demand. Here, the authors report porphyrin-decorated pH-switchable [2]rotaxanes for singlet oxygen photoproduction, finding that molecular folding of the rotaxanes influences the on/off switching in an unforeseen way.

It has been commonly believed that the driving force at the donor-acceptor heterojunction is vital to efficient charge separation in organic solar cells. Here Zhong et al. show that the driving force can be as small as 0.05 eV without compromising the charge transfer rate and efficiency.

Brakemann et al. present a reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein, called Dreiklang, that can be turned on and off at wavelengths distinct from those used for imaging. They show that the protein is advantageous for studying protein dynamics in living cells and for super-resolution imaging.

In this work, Blair and co-authors used cryo-EM and in vitro assays to show that human Ligase 1 (Lig1) and Flap Endonuclease 1 (FEN1) form a toolbelt with the sliding clamp PCNA coordinating the sealing of Okazaki fragments.

CHD4 is an essential chromatin remodelling enzyme in complex organisms. Here the authors demonstrate that CHD4 activity is regulated both positively and negatively by distinct auxiliary domains, revealing parallels with other chromatin remodellers.

The optoelectronic properties of semiconducting polymers are controlled by altering chemical structure and/or inter-chain order. Perevedentsev et al. propose a nanopatterning approach whereby the geometry of polymer chain segments is modified to engineer metamaterial structures for visible light.

Proteins that are translocated across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane may be subject to glycosylation during transport. Using cryoelectron microscopy of native ER membranes, Pfeffer et al.map the location of oligosaccharyl-transferase within the translocon, providing insight into how these processes are coupled.

The temporal regulation of intracellular insulin signaling is not well studied. Here the authors conducted a time-resolved analysis of the global insulin-regulated phosphoproteome in human muscle cells, revealing synchronized signaling pathways for propagating information to insulin effector sites.

Bacterial divisome protein FtsA, which is an actin homologue, forms double filaments following binding to FtsN, and like MreB, an actin homologue in the elongasome, the curvature-sensing double filaments guide peptidoglycan insertion for cell division.

Mutations in the RNA-binding proteins Roquin-1 or Regnase-1 cause systemic autoimmunity. Heissmeyer and colleagues show that Roquin-1 and Regnase-1 physically interact and thereby regulate CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell metabolism and functionality.

A theoretical framework to optimize photonic structure designs for upconversion enhancement is lacking. Here, the authors present a comprehensive theoretical model and confirm the model’s predictions by experimental realisation of 1D-photonic upconverter devices with large statistics and parameter scans.

Tuning polymorphism of conjugated polymers, though a promising method for studying and controlling the structure-property relations in these materials remains a challenge. Here, the authors identify two aggregated semi-crystalline polymorphs of a low-bandgap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer.

GPCRs are versatile cellular sensors for chemical stimuli but the molecular mechanisms underlying mechanically induced GPCR activation have remained elusive. Here authors identify the C-terminal helix 8 (H8) as the essential structural motif endowing H₁R and other GPCRs with mechanosensitivity.

Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have changed the course of the COVID-19 pandemics, but waning immunity necessitates repeated immunization. Authors here show that immunity declines faster following two doses of vector-based vaccine compared to a first dose of vector-based vaccine followed by boosting with an mRNA vaccine, but application of an mRNA vaccine as a third dose minimises the difference between the two groups.

Sensitive protein sensors of calcium have been created; these new tools are shown to report neural activity in cultured neurons, flies and zebrafish and can detect single action potentials and synaptic activation in the mouse visual cortex in vivo.

Combinatorial high-throughput methodologies can accelerate screening and discovery in biochemistry and biomedical sciences, but they often rely on large-scale analyses, making them time-consuming and expensive. Now, DNA-mediated fusion of single liposomes has been shown to enable the spatially resolved and parallel cargo delivery of subattolitre volumes in a stochastic order of succession.

Here, subdiffraction-resolution STED fluorescence microscopy is used to detect the diffusion of single lipids or GPI-anchored proteins on the plasma membrane of a living cell. Tuning the probing spot area ∼70-fold below that of a confocal microscope reveals that unlike phosphoglycerolipids, sphingolipids and GPI-anchored proteins are trapped for ∼10 ms in cholesterol-mediated complexes within <20 nm space.

Individual double-walled tubular aggregates are immobilized on a solid substrate out of solution using a drop-flow technique. Using near-field scanning optical microscopy, these aggregates are shown to have a remarkably uniform supramolecular structure.

Schneeberger, Kim, Geesdorf, Rajewsky, Heppner et al. tease IL-12 and IL-23 signaling apart in mouse models and human brain tissue to define a role for oligodendroglial and neuronal IL-12 signaling in neuroimmune crosstalk in Alzheimer’s disease.

High-speed atomic force imaging allows for the visualisation of molecular‐level activity in real-time. Here, the authors use HS-AFM to image the activity of an antimicrobial peptide on a membrane and are able to detect previously unknown molecular mechanisms behind its action.

A method for producing multiprotein complexes engineered with site–specifically introduced noncanonical amino acids is described, enabling applications in biochemical and biophysical analysis, as well as in biotechnology.

A collection of improved FRET-based calcium biosensors, called Twitch sensors, is described. Twitches have a reduced number of calcium binding sites per sensor and display high sensitivity in in vivo imaging experiments in mouse brain and lymph node.

Frizzled 6 (FZD₆) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) involved in several cellular processes. Here, the authors use live cell imaging and spectroscopy to show that FZD₆ forms dimers, whose association is regulated by WNT proteins and that dimer dissociation is crucial for FZD₆ signaling.

Brain tumours are difficult to treat because of their propensity to infiltrate brain tissue; here long processes, or tumour microtubes, extended by astrocytomas are shown to promote brain infiltration and to create an interconnected network that enables multicellular communication and that protects the tumours from radiotherapy-induced cell death, suggesting that disruption of the network could be a new therapeutic approach.

Quasicrystals are perfectly ordered crystals lacking translational symmetry. Here the authors unravel the formation mechanism of two-dimensional dodecagonal quasicrystals that arise from systematic modifications of a hexagonal honeycomb structure.