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In this Perspective, members of the Aging Biomarker Consortium outline the X-Age Project, an Aging Biomarker Consortium plan for building standardized aging clocks in China. The authors discuss the project roadmap and its aims of decoding aging heterogeneity, detecting accelerated aging early and evaluating geroprotective interventions.

An asymmetric self-assembled monolayer improves the efficiency of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells compared with symmetric self-assembled monolayers, resulting in a certified power conversion efficiency of up to 34.58%.

Nonlinear transport has recently been shown to allow efficient detection of the Néel vector, however, antiferromagnets hosting nonlinear transport are assumed rare, due to the required strong spin-orbit coupling. Here, Zhu, Li and coauthors find that the magnetic order itself can yield large nonlinear transport.

Examining the in-plane spin components of the noncoplanar antiferromagnet manganese ditelluride provides spectroscopic and computational evidence of materials with a new type of plaid-like spin splitting in the antiferromagnetic ground state.

The E1A binding protein p300 and its close paralogue CREB-binding protein are transcriptional coactivators with intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity. Here, the authors show that the TAZ2 domain of p300 has a HAT autoinhibitory function that is relieved upon binding of transcription factors.

SIRT5 protects against primate skeletal muscle ageing through TBK1 desuccinylation, which inhibits the downstream inflammatory and senescent phenotypes.

Interactions among spinal dorsal horn neurons and microglia contribute to the induction and maintenance of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury. The authors show that depletion of macrophages in the dorsal root ganglia prevents and reverses ongoing nerve injury-induced hypersensitivity.

Genome assemblies for the SunUp transgenic papaya and its progenitor Sunset identify three transgene-insertions in SunUp. Resequencing of 86 papaya genomes highlights the impacts of breeding and geographic origin.

The chromatin-reader protein ENL regulates oncogenic programs in acute myeloid leukaemia by binding via its YEATS domain to acetylated histones on the promoters of actively transcribed genes and recruiting the transcriptional machinery.

Inhibitor of apoptosis BIRC2 mediates cell death and survival. Tencer et al. report the molecular mechanism underlying BIRC2 cellular localization and describe the effect of BIRC2 inhibition on the death of cancer cells and HIV-1-infected T cells.

Designing superelastic materials with high critical stress, large recovery strain and temperature-independent modulus is desired but challenging. Here, the authors achieve these properties in a high-entropy alloy with multi-scale heterogeneities.

A polymer-like ultrahigh-strength TiNi alloy was fabricated by a simple three-step process to give a combination of a polymer-like ultralow elastic modulus and a steel-like ultrahigh yield strength over a wide temperature range, and such exotic properties arise from a unique strain glass state.

Spin space group theory is applied to identify more than 200 collinear magnets with unconventional magnons; high-throughput calculations with spin–orbit coupling find that most of these unconventional magnets are dictated by the Heisenberg exchange interaction.

A power conversion efficiency of 33.89% is achieved in perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells by using a bilayer passivation strategy to enhance electron extraction and suppress recombination.

Aberrant circRNAs expression in repair cells is intricately linked to deficits in wound healing. Here, the authors engineered extracellular vesicles enriched with circCDK13 and demonstrate their ability to facilitate diabetic wound repair.

Liu et al. demonstrate that human-driven soil contamination in natural areas mirrors that in nearby urban greenspaces globally, and highlight the potential influence that soil contaminants have on ecosystem functions.

A study using a copper-in-silver dilute alloy catalyst in a high-pressure gas flow reactor reports highly selective electrosynthesis of acetate from carbon monoxide.

A bioresorbable, wireless hydrogel (metagel) sensor, encompassing both biodegradable and stimulus-responsive hydrogels for ultrasonic monitoring of intracranial signals, was implanted into intracranial space with a puncture needle and deformed in response to physiological environmental changes.

Emerging in-memory computing using memristors promises better energy efficiency but often focuses on existing AI algorithms. Here, the authors report a distinct and computation-efficient AI algorithm based on memristor drift-diffusion kinetics for pattern classification, implemented on 180 nm memristor chips.

Near-ambient superconductivity and pressure-driven color changes were recently reported in nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride. Here, the authors synthesize LuH_2±xN_y and do not confirm the superconductivity. In addition, they find that the color changes likely stem from pressure-induced electron redistribution of nitrogen and vacancies.

FLAPs have recently emerged as RNA counterparts to fluorescent proteins. Here, the authors determine the crystal structure of a FLAP called RhoBAST in complex with its ligand TMR-DN and reveal the mechanisms for binding and activation.

Radiation damage causes DNA foci to form and senescence, causing ulcers. Here, the authors show that a naturally occurring adenosine analogue, cordycepin, prevents cell senescence via an increase in AMPK/NRF2, so blocking ulcers caused by radiation on skin/intestine/tongue damage in rodents.

Temperature-independent (Elinvar) soft elasticity with high strength, which is technologically desired but scientifically challenging, is achieved in a lightweight strain glass Mg alloy.

The authors make a high-density charge structure to enhance the electrostriction of pristine poly (vinylidene fluoride), improving its ferroelectric performance to nearly 10 times its traditional limit.

The reliability of memristors has always been a major obstacle in neuromorphic computing. This work reports a negative differential resistance memristor based on quantum well structure for neuron circuit implementation, which shows low performance variation (0.264%), high temperature resistance at 400 °C.

This genome-wide association study on persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among Chinese confirms previously associated genetic loci while discovering a novel protective locus at 8p21.3. The study also demonstrates the nearby gene INST10 suppresses HBV replication in vitro.

All-electrical switching of magnetization holds promise for applications in information technologies with low power consumption. Here, current-induced spin–orbit torque switches the magnetization in SrIrO₃/SrRuO₃ bilayer structures at 70 K in the absence of an external magnetic field.

Retaining high performance of perovskite solar cells over large areas is a challenge. Yang et al. use a thermotropic liquid crystal with high diffusivity that does not co-crystallize with the perovskite, suppressing defect formation and enabling large-area solar modules with improved stability and efficiency.

DJ-1 protects cells from oxidative stress-induced cell death; however its role in ferroptosis is unclear. Here, the authors show that DJ-1 suppresses ferroptosis through the transsulfuration pathway to compensate for the depletion of intracellular cysteine when cystine import is inhibited.

Yu et al. identify that STING bicondensates occur in virus-infected cells, thereby restricting TBK1 activation and innate immunity.

Few structural isomers of colloids, with identical masses but different structures, have been identified. Here, the authors observe an interesting example of structural isomerism in a pair of semiconductor magic-size clusters, which reversibly transform between one another with first-order unimolecular reaction kinetics.

Mosses support carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and plant pathogen control in soils across the globe, according to a global survey of soil attributes in ecosystems with and without mosses.

Ion exchange is a powerful method to access metastable materials for energy storage, but identifying lithium and sodium interchange in layered oxides remains challenging. Using such model materials, vacancy level and corresponding lithium preference are shown to be crucial for ion exchange pathway accessibility.

Environmental drivers of soil carbon and its sensitivity to warming are poorly understood. The authors compare soil samples of paired urban and natural ecosystems and show that under warming, the microbiome is an essential driver of soil carbon in urban greenspace compared with natural ecosystems.

In a widespread sampling campaign across urban soils, the authors find that soil biodiversity, but not plant diversity, is positively related to multiple ecosystem functions in urban environments.

The shuttling effect in Li–S batteries can be drastically suppressed by using a single-atom Co catalyst and polar ZnS nanoparticles embedded in a macroporous conductive matrix as a cathode. Using this strategy, Li–S pouch cells show stable cycling and high energy performances.

A newly identified coronavirus found in Malayan pangolins shares considerable sequence identity with SARS-CoV-2, which suggests that the latter may have originated from a recombination event involving SARS-related coronaviruses from bats and pangolins.

Shape-memory materials hold great potential for actuators and aims to improve them focus on increasing the maximum strain that they exhibit in response to a stimulus. Here the authors demonstrate a large shape-memory effect in bismuth ferrite, observing a maximum strain of up to 14%.

Recurrent sporadic mutations are important risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) but have been primarily investigated in European cohorts. Here, Eichler, Xia and colleagues analyse risk genes in a large Chinese ASD cohort and find novel recurrences of potential pathogenic significance.

Different mechanisms for generating antibody diversity have evolved since the emergence of immunoglobulin genes in jawed vertebrates. By sequencing the crocodilian immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus, Chenget al. uncover new insights into the evolutionary origins of adaptive immunity.

A global field survey that analyses samples of soil from all continents identifies hotspots for soil nature conservation, and shows that different ecological dimensions of soil are associated with different priority areas for conservation.