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Chromatin topology can impact gene regulation. Here, Wu et al. show that evolutionary changes in chromatin structure, particularly CTCF loops, can drive distinct transcriptional landscapes and isoform diversity contributing to human-specific traits.

The ordering of superstructures plays a critical role in mitigating transition metal migration, voltage decay, and maintaining redox symmetry in Li-rich layered oxides. Here, this study reveals that even in the absence of such superstructure ordering, cathodes can still attain these crucial characteristics.

Translation inhibition is a strategy for organisms to overcome various environmental stresses including viral infections. Here the authors show that a tRNA/rRNA-targeting RNase Schlafen13 inhibits protein synthesis by directly digesting cytoplasmic tRNA and rRNA with the ability to restrict viral propagation.

Scavenger receptor-A (SR-A) is mostly expressed by myeloid cells and has been attributed a variety of biological functions. Here the authors assess SR-A as a biomarker for diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using large-scale training and validation cohorts and show that modulating SR-A levels can alter progression of collagen-induced arthritis in mice.

A cross-sectional study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and a longitudinal follow-up study of patients with COVID-19 suggest that SARS-CoV2-specific IgG or IgM seroconversion occurs within 20 days post symptom onset.

In this study, the authors identify and characterize distinct Salmonella Typhimurium rough colony strains, likely originating from Chinese smooth colony strains around 1977 that predominantly belong to sublineage L6.5 and carry a specific csgD promoter mutation.

Cuticular wax is crucial for plant development and environmental interaction. This study reveals the negative impact of nitrogen on cuticular wax via MdBT2–MdMYB106–MdCER2L1, thus uncovering a novel pathway for N-mediated wax biosynthesis in apple.

Here, the authors report evidence of unconventional correlated insulating states in bilayer graphene/CrOCl heterostructures over wide doping ranges and demonstrate their application for the realization of low-temperature logic inverters.

USP9X is a deubiquitinating enzyme with many known substrates and functions; it has been linked to cancer but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here Liet al. report that USP9X stabilizes the centrosomal protein CEP131 leading to centrosome amplification and breast cancer development.

A quantum microsatellite, with a payload weighing only 23 kilograms, in combination with portable ground stations that weigh merely 100 kilograms, is capable of performing space-to-ground real-time quantum key distribution.

Electrocatalysts are often dynamic and their surface structure changes under working conditions. Now the dynamic evolution of MoS₂ edges is monitored with nanometre-resolution via electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy during the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Holmium doping endows upconversion nanoparticles with a dual-reservoir-level mechanism for parallel photon avalanche emission, enabling tunable chromaticity at room temperature, nonlinearity index up to 22 and spatial resolution for multicolour biological imaging down to 78 nm.

Xue-Jun Zhang, Jun Wang and colleagues identify mutations in MVK in disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis, a disorder characterized by defects in epidermal keratinization. MVK encodes mevalonate kinase, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of cholesterol and isoprenoids.

Polynary perovskite oxides are promising air electrodes for rSOCs, with configuration entropy (S_config) often linked to reactivity. However, high S_config alone does not strongly correlate with performance. This study develops a model identifying key descriptors to guide high-activity oxide discovery.

Accurate nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) is crucial for studying excited-state dynamics in solids but is computationally expensive. Here, authors use machine learning to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of NAMD simulations in solids.

Iron pnictide superconductors represent a suggestive alternative to cuprate superconductors for achieving high transition temperatures. Using in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, the electronic properties of FeSe are examined as a function of film thickness, providing valuable insights into the mechanism driving the superconductivity in this material.

For bioinspired structural materials, integral preparation of multiscale structures remains challenging. The authors report a hierarchical strategy to assemble multiple micro-nano units to complex multiscale structures integrally synchronously.

A draft genome sequence of the hornwort Anthoceros augustus confirms the phylogenetic relationships among the three clades of bryophytes and provides insight into the unique characteristics of hornworts and their adaptations to live on land.

Cell free DNA is produced through a non-random process. Here, the authors use orientation-aware fragmentation analysis to identify DNA methylation as a regulator of nuclease function.

The gut microbiota bacterium Ruminococcus gnavus is implicated in the development of cirrhotic liver encephalopathy through the production of neurotoxins.

How excitatory neurons (EN) acquire senescence is unclear. Here, the authors show that GDF11 in ENs slows EN senescence, brain ageing, cognitive decline and maintains lifespan, revealing a mechanism underlying EN senescence and brain ageing.

Using cryo-electron microscopy, the authors report the structures of G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor–G_s complexes and reveal the structural basis of bile acid recognition.

Characterization of dynamic conformational changes in membrane protein complexes by NMR spectroscopy remains challenging. Here authors report the site-specific incorporation of 4-trimethylsilyl phenylalanine (TMSiPhe) into proteins, which enabled the characterization of multiple conformational states of a phospho-β2 adrenergic receptor/β-arrestin-1 complex in response to different receptor ligands.

Quantum interference effects remain elusive in halide perovskite materials. Here Zheng et al. reveal the atomic origin of the conductance features in the single perovskite quantum dot junctions, and present direct evidence of the room-temperature quantum interference effects.

During liver damage repair, the circadian clock in the liver is shown to act together with HIF-1α signalling to regulate pentose phosphate pathway activity and nucleotide availability.

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response is shown to inhibit pluripotency during somatic cell reprogramming and to inhibit the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition through c-Jun-mediated histone acetylation.

Monolayer graphene, with its highly centrosymmetric hexagonal lattice, is typically not considered ferroelectric. Here, the authors observe ferroelectricity in monolayer graphene by introducing asymmetric moiré superlattices, where polarization arises from electron-hole dipoles.

While heat modification is ubiquitous in biologic systems, it remains a significant challenge in artificial systems. Here the authors demonstrate thermal regulation of conversion between different rigid macrocycle atropisomers and related self-assemblies.

Yinghao Sun and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for prostate cancer in Han Chinese men. They identify two new risk-associated loci at chromosomes 9q31 and 19q13.

The FarmGTEx Project aims to understand genetic control of gene activity under diverse biological and environmental contexts in domestic animals, providing a foundation for improving animal precision breeding, adaptation and human health.

Dongxin Lin, Philip Taylor, Li-Dong Wang and colleagues have now pooled three genome-wide association analyses of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, finding two new risk loci at genome-wide significance and an HLA class II locus of significance in high-risk populations. They reanalyze the strength of evidence for previously published risk loci.

Metabolic reprogramming is crucial for cancer progression. Here, the authors show that the high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) in a AOM/DSS-induced mouse model, by enhancing lipid synthesis via upregulation of fatty acid synthase (FASN), and inhibiting FASN reduces tumor growth, suggesting potential therapeutic avenues.

A machine learning framework is proposed to accurately predict electron–phonon coupling (EPC) strengths while reducing computational costs compared with first-principles methods. This approach facilitates EPC calculations with advanced functionals, allowing the accurate determination of real-world material properties such as carrier mobility and superconductivity.

A controllable magnetoelectric phase based on symmetry engineering is challenge in natural bulk crystals. Here, via engineering of interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, the authors design a magnetoelectric phase transition in oxide superlattices of correlated electron systems.

Catalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into high-value oxygenated products is a fascinating process, yet it remains challenging. Here, the authors present a one-step tandem strategy to realize the thermal catalytic oxidation upcycling of PET to terephthalic acid and high-value glycolic acid.

Evidence for a quantum magnetic analogue of a supersolid appears in a recently synthesized antiferromagnet showing a strong magnetocaloric effect of the spin supersolid phase with potential for applications in sub-kelvin refrigeration.

The interactions between tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) and tumor cell aggregates remain to be investigated. Here, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal the cellular composition, formation, and function of TLS during tumour progression and immunotherapy response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Xuejun Zhang, Jun Wang, Liangdan Sun, Lennart Hammarström and colleagues sequence the MHC region in 20,635 Han Chinese individuals. Their Han-MHC database allows identification of new susceptibility loci for psoriasis and could serve as a tool for investigating the role of the MHC region in other complex diseases.

Chiral interaction of molecular ensembles with confined light fields is elusive. Here, the authors report collective chiroptical effects through coupling of exciton and charge-transfer mixed molecular assemblies with plasmonic nanoparticles.