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Bacteria of the genus Streptomyces have complex life cycles involving cellular differentiation and multicellular structures that have never been observed in archaea. Here, the authors show that several halophilic archaea display a life cycle resembling that of Streptomyces bacteria, undergoing cellular differentiation into mycelia and spores.

Gestational exposure to ambient fine particles increases the risk of stillbirth, but the related disease burden is unknown, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Here, the authors combine state-of-the-art estimates on stillbirths, and multiple exposure–response functions to evaluate the burden in 137 countries.

In a randomized phase 3 trial, neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 plus either paclitaxel and cisplatin or nab-paclitaxel and cisplatin elicited a significantly superior pathological complete response rate versus neoadjuvant paclitaxel and cisplatin alone in patients with resectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Photoexcitation in Weyl semimetals is recently reported to induce topological phase transitions useful for ultrafast switching devices. Here, the authors predict that the symmetry of the atomic orbitals comprising the Weyl bands in response to linear light polarization allows for not only annihilation but also separation of Weyl quasiparticles.

Precise and spatio-temporal control of crystallization kinetics is important but challenging. Here, the authors propose an optical strategy called optofluidic crystallithography to steer the growth of single-crystalline halide perovskites.

This study investigates in the importance of non-fossil fuel NO_x emissions in the surface-earth-nitrogen cycle. The study shows how changes of regional human activities directly influence δ¹⁵N signatures of deposited NO_x to terrestrial environments and that emissions have largely been underestimated.

The power conversion efficiencies of thick-film perovskite solar cells lag behind those with nanometre film thickness. Here, the authors rule out the restrictions of carrier lifetime on device performance and reveal the critical role of lattice strain in micron-scale thick perovskite films.

Dual-comb spectroscopy with time–frequency dissemination and high-power frequency combs enables sensing CO₂ and H₂O over a 113 km turbulent open-air path, with a sensing precision as high as 2 parts per million of CO₂.

Achieving long-cycle-life, aqueous, dual-electrode-free Zn/MnO₂ batteries with high energy density is challenging. This work introduces a liquid crystal interphase in the electrolytes with soft templating effects, considerably enhancing performance.

Chinese breast cancer patients have not been well represented in clinical sequencing studies. Here the authors analyse the mutational landscape of 1,134 Chinese breast cancer patients, finding actionable targets and a higher prevalence of p53 and Hippo pathway mutations compared to Western cohorts.

Analysing biogeographic patterns in soil viromes based on 1,824 soil metagenomes from sites around the world, the authors show that viral diversity rarely corresponds to overall microbial diversity, with soil texture and moisture being closely associated with viral diversity.

Metastasis-associated recurrence is a major cause of poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, the authors show that expression of choroideremia-like (CHML) is elevated and associates with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, and mechanistically CHML promotes metastasis in a Rab14-dependent manner.

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are molecular clusters with diverse structures. Here authors present the synthesis of POMs by Ce-mediated molecular tailoring from gigantic {Mo₁₃₂} into half-closed {Ce₁₁Mo₉₆}, with proton conductivity nearly two orders of magnitude higher than {Mo₁₃₂}.

Here, the authors use single-molecule long-read sequencing to decipher the role of structural variations in high-altitude adaptation, finding evidence that an intergenic deletion down-regulates EPAS1 by disrupting a super-enhancer.

Proteomic profiling of ALS motor neurons reveals 110 biomarkers and identifies RPS29 as a regulator of translation and STMN2 maintenance for neuronal survival.

Noble metallic subnanometre clusters exhibit superior catalytic activities, but their stability remains a problem. Zhang et al. report that single niobium atoms can be stabilized in graphitic layers and the resulting carbide complex exhibits higher activity compared with commercial platinum nanoclusters.

Examining the interplay of environmental exposure with the airway microbiome provides insights for possible intervention in lung health.

Epitaxial growth of heterostructures composed of materials with large lattice mismatch is challenging. Here, the authors reported the epitaxy of II-VI semiconductor nanorods on plasmonic noble metal, despite a lattice mismatch of more than 40%.

Leukemia/lymphoma-related factor (LRF), a transcriptional repressor, plays key roles in cell fate decision and tumorigenesis. Here, Liu et al. show that LRF loss results in defective classical non-homologous end joining, genomic instability and hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation, revealing a transcription-independent regulation of DNA-PK complex.

Improved cytosine base editors are created by repurposing an adenine deaminase.

Direct RNA sequencing using nanopore platform can be used to detect N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications on mRNAs. Here the authors systematically compare tools used for m6A detection from nanopore direct sequencing.

Chemoselective reactions are often characterized by an activity–selectivity trade-off that renders their optimization difficult. Here gold nanoparticles equipped with a platinum monolayer are introduced that, thanks to lattice expansion and ligand effect, achieve a remarkable performance for the chemoselective hydrogenation of halonitrobenzenes

The proper axial length of the eye is crucial for achieving emmetropia. Here, authors introduce a wireless battery-free eye modulation patch designed to correct high myopia and prevent relapse.

Organic heterostructures with controlled geometry on the micro and nanoscale are important in nanotechnology, but epitaxial growth processes with high lattice mismatching are challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a visualisation process for morphology evolution on epitaxial growth.

While renewable H₂ production offers a promising route for clean energy production, there is an urgent need to improve catalyst performances. Here, authors design a Pt-containing complex oxide that utilizes atomic-scale hydrogen spillover to promote H₂ evolution electrocatalysis in acidic media.

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.

In this work, the authors demonstrate a ‘jointly modulated’ amplifying programmable metasurface (APM) for simultaneous wireless information and power transmission (SWIPT). Their technique outperforms existing methods, significantly improving power transmission and adaptability for conveying energy and data across various domains, including wireless implants, 6 G networks, and IoT systems.

Kwartler et al. show that α-smooth muscle actin functions in the nucleus by associating with chromatin remodeling complexes and the promoters of smooth muscle-specific genes, but this nuclear activity is reduced in ACTA2 p.Arg179 pathogenic variants, resulting in impaired smooth muscle differentiation and increased plasticity.

Stanene is a single sheet of tin atoms. Here, it is shown that a few stacked layers of stanene can be a superconductor. Changing the thickness of the substrate modifies the form of superconductivity and critical temperature.

Here, the authors introduce a 3D Weyl metamaterial hosting modes bound to a 1D topological lattice defect. The modes carry nonzero orbital angular momentum locked to the direction of propagation, and they experimentally demonstrate the ability to emit acoustic vortices into free space.

The online food delivery and takeaway market is growing in China, serving 406 million customers with 10.0 billion orders in 2018. Here, data from an online food delivery platform, life-cycle environmental impacts of packaging and tableware waste generated across 353 cities in China, and scenarios for paper alternatives and tableware sharing are presented.

Characterizing and quantifying food loss and waste (FLW) is key to the design of sustainable food systems. Based on field surveys and literature review, this study provides data on FLW in China for several commodities at specific stages of the food supply chain. Associated environmental footprints are also calculated under baseline conditions and for three hypothetical scenarios of FLW reduction, revealing the effectiveness of different intervention levels.

Traditional carbon accounting attributes gap between consumption- and production-based emissions to international trade. The authors develop a dynamic model that incorporates capital stock change and find it improves estimates for fast-developing countries.

SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses are identified in Malayan pangolins (Manis javanica); these pangolin-associated coronaviruses belonged to two sub-lineages of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses, including one that exhibits strong similarity in the receptor-binding domain to SARS-CoV-2.

Resistance to Trastuzumab in HER2 gastric cancer patients remains a clinical challenge. In this study, the authors demonstrate that HER2 promotes tumorigenesis in gastric cancer by regulating mitotic progression through a Shc1-SHCBP1-PLK1-MISP axis and they identify a compound, TFBG, able to disrupt SHCBP1/PLK1 interaction and to synergize with trastuzumab.

Platelet aggregation is associated with myocardial infarction and stroke. Here, the authors have conducted a whole genome sequencing association study on platelet aggregation, discovering a locus in RGS18, where enhancer assays suggest an effect on activity of haematopoeitic lineage transcription factors.

Tailoring both the core size and shell thickness of core-shell bimetallic nanocatalysts to the dedicated geometrical and electronic properties are vital for catalytic performance optimization. Here the authors demonstrate such conjugated dual particle size effects on Au@Pd catalyzed benzyl alcohol oxidation.

Multinucleated giant cells characterize granuloma formation in mycobacterial infections. Here the authors identify monocyte precursors with distinct immunological and metabolic properties as a source of the granuloma multinucleated giant cell compartment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped many human activities, which has had significant impact on emissions of greenhouse gases. Here, the authors present daily estimates of country-level CO₂ emissions for different economic sectors and show that there has been a 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions in the first half of 2020.