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Biocompatible and stretchy organic field-effect transistors can be created using a vulcanized blend film of semiconducting nanofibres and a medical-grade elastomer.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

This study demonstrates that SMURF1-mediated K63-linked ubiquitination of RIPK3 suppresses necroptosis by blocking necrosome formation, while USP5 removes these ubiquitin chains to promote necroptosis. Their antagonistic regulation precisely controls necroptosis.

The mechanisms for disease progression in alcohol-related steatohepatitis are incompletely understood. Here the authors report that binge drinking on top of chronic alcohol consumption in mice triggers the release of glutamate by hepatocytes, leading to liver inflammation via mGluR5/NOX2 -mediated reactive oxygen species production in Kupffer cells.

Traditional non-volatile memories suffer from poor scalability in the vertical direction due to the use of a bulky oxide layer. Here, the authors develop a tunnelling random access memory using a vertical heterostructure composed of atomically thin molybdenum disulfide, boron nitride and graphene.

Oh et al. modeled age-dependent onset of Huntington’s disease by comparing reprogrammed neurons from pre-symptomatic and symptomatic patients. They found that an age-associated miRNA led to autophagy impairment and neurodegeneration.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has abundant mitochondria with the unique capability of generating heat via uncoupled respiration. Here, Park et al. identify LETMD1 as a mitochondrial matrix protein enriched in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and reveal a crucial role for it in maintaining brown adipocyte mitochondrial OXPHOS and thermogenesis upon cold stimulus.

Analysis of 2,096 single-cell clones from three tissues of 31 healthy donors characterizes mitochondrial DNA mosaicism and highlights the following two origins of mtDNA variants: heteroplasmy in the fertilized egg and postzygotic mutations.

Dominance behavior can influence social hierarchy. Here the authors show that cortical astrocytes can enhance excitatory and reduce inhibitory transmission via release of glutamate and ATP, which modulate dominance behavior, affecting the establishment of social hierarchy, among adult male mice.

A fundamental understanding of electron–phonon interactions in graphene is crucial to developing graphene-based electronic and photonic devices. Here, the authors control the properties of phonons in graphene by tuning the interaction strength between graphene and an underlying platinum substrate.

Phosphatases are key components in cellular signalling networks. Here, the authors present a systematic functional analysis of phosphatases of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, revealing roles in virulence, stress responses, O-mannosylation, retromer function and other processes.

The arthropod head is complex and its evolution has been difficult to reconstruct. Here, Park et al. describe new specimens of the Cambrian stem-group euarthropod Kerygmachela that preserve evidence of primitive compound eyes and a unipartite brain, providing insight into the structure of the early arthropod head.

Conventional platforms for electrophysiological recording of organoids have limited recording site density. Here, the authors present the magnetically reshapable 3D liquid metal-based electrode array for high-resolution analysis on neural activities of brain organoids.

Ca2+ overload-induced mitochondrial dysfunction is considered a contributing factor alcohol-associated liver disease pathogenesis. Here the authors report that PDK4 promotes Ca2 + -channelling complex formation at the endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites, which contributes to the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated liver disease in studies with male mouse and hepatocyte models.

Quantum-mechanical band-to-band tunnelling can be used to create an energy-efficient ternary logic technology that can be fabricated on the wafer scale using complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) processes.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal pathogen that causes meningoencephalitis. Here the authors describe the production of a gene-deletion mutant collection representing most C. neoformansnon-essential transcription factors, providing insight into the signalling networks that govern the biology and pathogenicity of this fungus.

Optogenetic tools allow fine spatial control of signalling pathways using light. Chang et al. present a strategy for constructing light-sensitive receptor tyrosine kinases and demonstrate that optogenetic stimulation of Trk receptors in neurons promotes neurite outgrowth.

This study illustrates long interspersed nuclear element-1 retrotransposition-induced somatic mosaicism in normal cells and provides insights into the genomic and epigenomic regulation of transposable elements over the human lifetime.

Doil Choi and colleagues report the genome sequence of the hot pepper, Capsicum annuum, as well as the resequencing of two cultivated peppers and a wild species, Capsicum chinense. Comparative genomic analysis across Solanaceae provides insights into genome expansion, pungency, ripening and disease resistance in hot peppers.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Cryptococcus neoformans is the leading cause of death by fungal meningoencephalitis. Here, the authors study the roles played by 129 putative kinases in the growth and virulence of C. neoformans, identifying potential targets for development of anticryptococcal drugs.

Metal-elastomer nanophases are critical for stretchable electronics but face mixing challenges. This study introduces a kinetic method for precise mixing, yielding gyrified nanophases with improved durability and strain-invariant conductivity, which holds promise for resilient stretchable devices.

Biotech is no longer the exclusive domain of Western economies. A group of experts from around the world discuss emerging trends and opportunities for biotech in territories outside the United States and Europe.

Using a genome-wide association studies approach and patient brain tissue, Kim, Hwang et al. link Ebp1 to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). They show that a conditional Ebp1 knockout mouse model mimics phenotypes of sporadic AD and find that EBP1 reduces amyloid β production by inhibiting γ-secretase.

Animals detect microbiomes through smell, aiding communication, group recognition, and behavior. Here with Drosophila model, the authors show that airway and gut cells can sense microbiome-emitted scents independently of smell, promoting host growth.

IgE is a critical component of the allergic response and therapeutic targeting can alleviate symptomology. Here the authors propose the combined use of Bifidobacterium longum and a FcεRIα extracellular domain linked to a IgD/IgG4 hybrid Fc domain fusion protein called IgE_TRAP and show reduction of mast cell and IgE levels in models of food allergy.

Heavy pnictogen-based compounds are promising nontoxic and stable alternatives to lead-halide perovskites, but are limited by carrier localization. Here, by investigating CuSbSe₂, the authors identify how this limitation could be avoided.

Design of electrocatalyst in lithium sulfur batteries is important to improve electrochemical performance. Here, authors use protective carbon layer to modulate the metal p-band center and prevent undesirable phase change of electrocatalyst for realizing 1 A h level lithium sulfur pouch cell.

Chiral plasmonic nanoparticles are of great interest in nanotechnology. Here, the authors demonstrate chiral shape guidance by single-stranded oligonucleotides during particle growth based on sequence-specific hydrogen bonding within the strand.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death mechanism that is emerging as a target for cancer therapy. Here, the authors find that lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 modulates ferroptosis resistance by controlling phospholipid metabolism.