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Understanding the mechanism of high-temperature tolerance will help to breed crops adaptive to warming climate. Here, the authors show SLG1, a cytosolic tRNA 2-thiolation protein 2 encoding gene, is differentiated between the two Asian cultivated rice subspecies and confers high temperature tolerance of indica rice.

Achieving selective propylene epoxidation with molecular oxygen is a highly sought-after yet difficult objective. Here, the authors present a novel approach involving ligand protection and selective facet etching to synthesize internally hollow Cu₂O nanoframes, which exhibit outstanding catalytic activity for the reaction.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are used for iron supplementation and as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Here, Kaittanis et al. show that these nanoparticles can also be used as pH-sensitive drug delivery vehicles, and that drug loading and release can be monitored in vivoby magnetic resonance imaging.

The Jahn-Teller effect is the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the molecular structure caused by the coupling of electrons and nuclei. Here the authors use ultrafast Coulomb explosion imaging to map the evolution of the fundamental symmetry lowering process in photoionized methane within around 20fs.

There lacks a comprehensive analysis on the large-scale deployment of solar photovoltaic projects and its impact on poverty alleviation. Here the authors show that solar photovoltaic poverty alleviation pilot policy increases per-capita disposable income in a county by approximately 7%-8%.

The proton-sensing GPCRs detect extracellular low pH and regulate diverse physiological responses. Here, the authors report cryo-EM structures of GPR4, which provide insight into the structural features of proton sensing mechanism.

MGAT1 is a glycosyltransferase critical for the synthesis and maturation of complex N-glycans. Here, the authors show that MGAT1 modulation of CD73 glycosylation and function regulates tumor immune response in triple-negative breast cancer.

Diagnosing rare diseases, such as choroid neoplasias, remains a critical challenge. Here, the authors develop a multimodal concept-based interpretable model (MMCBM) to distinguish uveal melanoma from hemangioma and metastatic carcinoma, obtaining performance comparable to senior ophthalmologists in a large cohort of Asian patients with choroid neoplasms.

How does the brain encode complex movement sequences? Qi et al. reveal that the brain decomposes sequences into temporal states, each corresponding to a small movement fragment, with motor cortex neurons dynamically altering their encoding across states.

The potassium channel KCNQ2 can be activated by analgesics and antiepileptic drugs via an unclear mechanism. Here authors report structures of KCNQ2-CaM in complex with cannabidiol, PIP2, and HN37 and elucidate the mechanisms of activation.

Zhou et al. developed a specific small-molecule inhibitor of astrocytic Kir4.1 channels, Lys05, which exerts rapid-onset antidepressant effects in rodents without unwanted side effects, indicating Kir4.1 as a promising drug target.

Molecular catalysts provide an ideal model system to investigate the relationship between active site structure and catalytic performance. Here, the authors explore how electrochemical CO reduction to methanol can be controlled through modification of the active cobalt site in cobalt phthalocyanine.

While SARS-CoV-2 S protein targeting monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are well studied, little is known about N protein-targeting mAbs. Here, Kang et al. provide the crystal structure of the N protein RNA binding domain with a mAb derived from a convalescent patient and show that it compromises the N protein-induced complement hyperactivation.

Optoretinography-based detection of phototransduction and cell deformations in the retina has been mostly centered on photoreceptors. Here, the authors use prolonged and multilayered optoretinography to study light-evoked deformations in rod photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and subretinal space.

Real-time mid-infrared photothermal imaging of nitrile chameleons enables simultaneous, multiplexed measurement of enzymatic activity in living systems and is poised to reveal the spatiotemporal regulation of enzymes in health and disease.

The development of new methodologies to convert plastics into fuels without relying on noble metal-based catalysts is desirable. Now it is shown that a layered self-pillared zeolite enables the conversion of polyethylene to gasoline with a selectivity of 99% and yields of >80% without the need to use external hydrogen.

Co-lead authors Wang, Zhang, Qiu, Lu and their colleagues model an incentive-based emergency demand response to counter heatwaves. The modelled responded leads to the peak load reduction of 7.32% for the covered households, and can achieve a 1.02% peak load reduction when reaching a wide audience with no additional financial burden on vulnerable groups.

While electricity production has a significant impact on air quality, the opposite effect has been suspected but not empirically demonstrated. Now, using pollution and electricity consumption data, He et al. show the impact of air pollution on domestic electricity consumption.

Air pollution policy is often focused on controlling mass emissions, neglecting the differential health impacts from sources like residential particulate matter. A study now shows that the impacts from residential emissions are significantly higher compared with coal-fired power plants in China when toxicity is considered.

This study shows the light-driven morphology conversion from gold nanospheres to gold nanoplates through an aggregation-coalescence-dominated growth pathway, demonstrated by the nanopore sensing technique.

Here, the authors provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2 N protein leads to autophagic degradation of Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3, inducing DNA damage and proteotoxic stress, eventually causing pneumonia. The small-molecule drug PJ34 or anastrozole alleviates N protein-induced pneumonia.

Very few genes are involved in simultaneous regulation of seedling vigor, cold tolerance and grain yield in rice. Here, the authors report OsbZIP01 and OsbZIP18 function cooperatively in determining seedling establishment, chilling tolerance, and grain yield in rice.

Developing operando spectroscopic techniques with high sensitivity and reproducibility is of great importance for mechanistic investigations of surface-mediated electrochemical reactions. Here the authors study reaction mechanism of CO electroreduction using highly ordered gold superlattices as substrate for surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy.

The authors report the structural characterization of M4R selective allosteric agonist, compound-110, as well as agonist iperoxo and positive allosteric modulator LY2119620. The cryo-EM structures of compound-110, iperoxo or iperoxo-LY2119620 bound M4R-Gi complex reveal different interaction modes and activation mechanisms of M4R. An antipsychotic activity of compound-110 with low extrapyramidal side effects in a schizophrenia-mimic mouse model is also reported. Thus, the study provides structural insights for selectively targeting mAChRs subtypes.

Understanding the structure-stability relationship of catalysts is imperative for the development of high performance electrocatalytic devices. Here the authors use operando attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy to quantitatively monitor the evolution of Cu single-atom catalysts in electrochemical CO2 reduction.

The authors perform a genome-wide association study of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients of Han Chinese descent, and identify 3 new loci for disease susceptibility.

Arctigenin (ATG) is the major active component of a Chinese herbal remedy known to reduce proteinuria in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Here, Zhong et al. identify PP2A as a pharmacological target of ATG in podocytes, and find that PP2A is responsible for some of the beneficial effects of ATG in mouse models of DKD.

Structures of the G_i-coupled CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) in complex with CXCL8 and in complex with an allosteric antagonist provide insight into the ligand binding and activation of CXCR2 and its mode of G-protein coupling.

The probability of purchasing an energy-efficient air conditioner increases as the temperature deviates from 20–22 °C in the United States, with the response varying by electricity price, background climate, and demographic characteristics.

A novel attosecond-scale streaking method was proposed and demonstrated to determine the tunneling time of an electron with a precision of a few attoseconds.

Chiea Chuen Khor, Tin Aung, Francesca Pasutto, Janey Wiggs and colleagues report a global genome-wide association study of exfoliation syndrome and a fine-mapping analysis of a previously identified disease-associated locus, LOXL1. They identify a rare protective variant in LOXL1 exclusive to the Japanese population and five new common variant susceptibility loci.

Notch signaling is known to modulate macrophage polarization. Hu and colleagues show that the Notch–RBP-J axis controls the expression of M1 macrophage–specific genes by promoting translation of the transcription factor IRF8.

After alloying with metal cations, a lead-free halide double perovskite shows stable performance and remarkably efficient white-light emission, with possible applications in lighting and display technologies.

Phase-sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography detects thermal deformation of photoreceptors induced by a laser pulse. Sub-degree precision of this method enables accurate dosimetry for retinal laser therapy.