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B7H3 is an immune checkpoint overexpressed in many cancers and associated with tumor immune evasion. Here, the authors discover that in colorectal cancer, particularly microsatellite-stable tumors, palmitic acid promotes ZDHHC24- mediated B7H3 palmitoylation, regulating CD8⁺ T cell antitumor activity.

In patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC), resistance to the standard-of-care induction chemotherapy often occurs. Here, using longitudinal single-cell transcriptomic profiling of HPSCC samples from patients receiving induction chemotherapy, the authors identify a ZNF683-high natural killer (NK) cell population as a predictor of chemotherapy response.

Aqueous two-phase systems have potential as biomimetic materials, but often lack stability and are prone to collapse. Here, the authors use interfacial assembly of chitin nanofibres and cellulose nanocrystals to prepare a biobased system with permeability and switchable motility.

2D diamond is expected to show superior properties compared to bulk diamond, but its synthesis remains challenging. Here, the authors report a high-temperature high-pressure method to fabricate thermally stable 2D diamond via laser-heating of few-layer graphene in a diamond anvil cell, providing relevant insights into the 2D graphene-diamond transformation mechanisms.

DBiTplus represents an integrated experimental and computational workflow that unifies sequencing-based and imaging-based spatial omics, demonstrated by combining transcriptomic profiling and multiplexed protein imaging on the same tissue section.

Dopamine-containing adhesives exhibit strong and versatile adhesion through multiple interactions but application is limited by the slow and unsatisfactorily controlled oxidative polymerization of dopamine. Here, the authors report a straightforward and efficient photochemical strategy for the in-situ fabrication of high-performance polydopamine-containing hydrogels with instant wet adhesion.

Liu et al. report Chinese normative lifespan brain charts showing later neurodevelopmental milestones than those detected in Western cohorts. Individual deviations from these norms are valuable in assessing clinical risk and outcomes.

A four-qubit quantum error detection circuit with stabilizers can be implemented with spin qubits in a donor-based silicon quantum processor.

Metal nanoclusters are promising for flexible light-emitting diodes but face efficiency and stability challenges. Here, the authors employ a π-conjugated mediator to align dipole alignment, yielding devices with 26.4% external quantum efficiency and 94% efficiency retention after 2000 bending cycles.

Identifying jets originating from heavy quarks plays a fundamental role in hadronic collider experiments. In this work, the ATLAS Collaboration describes and tests a transformer-based neural network architecture for jet flavour tagging based on low-level input and physics-inspired constraints.

Using activity-based chemical probes, oncogenic IDH1-R132H but not the wild type was found to acquire a unique autopalmitoylation at C269. This mutant-specific modification is critical for the enzyme’s abnormal activity in cancer.

Using ancient DNA, isotopes and proteomics, this work reveals social inequality and mobility in Eastern Zhou China, showing female sacrifices, dietary disparities across classes, kinship networks among elites, and rare evidence of social mobility.

Evolutionary and functional analyses alongside new fossil specimens expand our understanding of rolling-into-ball behaviour in pill scarab beetles.

Here, combining data from a clinical trial and animal models, the authors show a role for a gut-acylcarnitine axis in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension, and identify isovalerylcarnitine as a key microbiota-derived modulator and potential target for the precision prevention of hypertension.

Cryosection pathology is essential for intraoperative diagnosis of diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs), but often requires re-sampling for an accurate assessment. Here, the authors develop CryoAID, an AI-augmented framework for rapid and accurate molecular outcome prediction during surgery for DMG, reducing re-biopsy rates in clinical cohorts.

A new AM titanium alloy design tailors the metastability-strengthening synergy and achieves high yield strength with enhanced work hardening and ductility by leveraging a complete, sequential martensitic transformation pathway.

Endothelial RAB5IF is a critical proangiogenic regulator of both normal and pathological retinal angiogenesis. Here the authors show that RAB5IF-SUMO2-Gαi1/3 signaling axis drives this process, presenting new therapeutic targets for neovascular eye diseases.

There is an unmet medical need for endometrial cancer patients with mismatch-repair proficient disease. Here, the authors report the primary analysis of the FRUSICA-1 phase Ib/II trial evaluating fruquintinib plus sintilimab in this population, showing an ORR of 32.7%, a median PFS of 8.6 months, and manageable toxicity.

As pressure mounts globally on drug pricing and development cost continues to rise, clinicians and translational scientists in biotech, academia and biopharma companies are re-evaluating when, where and how to launch early clinical programs. These initial patient data become critical to de-risk development programs and allow developers to deploy their limited time and resources on the most promising drugs. We evaluate four fundamental shifts in drug development that appear to be unfolding and may well become critical to future global biopharma success: use of large-scale high quality cohort studies, sponsor-driven investigator-initiated trials, the integration of affordable artificial intelligence with extensive high quality data registries, and China’s focus on precision medicine. —

Spatial planning and policy could guide China’s livestock sector towards reducing human exposure to ammonia—provided that 5–10 billion animals are relocated across the region.

The ALICE Collaboration provides details on the microscopic mechanism that ends up creating antideuteron in high-energy proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Ethylene is vital, but steam cracking (>800 °C) is energy-hungry and CH₄-prone. This work cracks 1-pentene over tailored ZSM-5 at 700 °C via a confined catalytic radical mechanism, giving C₂H₄/C₃H₆ = 1.31 with <5% CH₄, compatible with existing FCC processes.

The authors find that O-GalNAc transferase 2 (GALNT2) restricts viral infection, probably through the regulation of the proteolytic processing of viral glycoproteins via its O-linked glycosylation activity, impairing virus–cell fusion.

When many people are speaking, e.g. at a party, we can selectively attend to just one speaker. Here, using ‘hyperscanning’, the authors show that interpersonal neural synchronization is selectively increased between a listener and the attended speaker, compared to between the listener and an unattended speaker.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene)’s (PVDF-TrFE) piezoelectricity can be enhanced by annealing, however current annealing methods are slow. Here, the authors perform ultra-fast flash annealing of PVDF-TrFE to achieve a high piezoelectricity.

Despite the global spread of the mpox virus, the long-term durability and breadth of infection-induced immunity are not fully understood. Here, the authors analyze MPXV-specific immune responses up to 18 months post-infection, revealing robust cellular immunity and cross-neutralization among orthopoxviruses, which inform reinfection risks and vaccine development strategies.

Trivalent lanthanides possess similar chemical properties, making their separation from one another challenging. Here, Wang and colleagues demonstrate that their subtle chemical differences can be greatly amplified during borate crystallization, leading to a low cost and highly efficient separation strategy.

It is unclear how early-life urbanicity influences adult neurobehavioral traits. This study reveals that earlier menarche mediates the relationship between early-life urbanicity and adult neurobehavioral traits associated with mental disorders.

Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysis is crucial for advancing the green-hydrogen economy but is limited by the use of precious-metal catalysts. Here, the authors report a Nd-CoOx catalyst in which Nd confers long-term stability via a flexible atomic “breathing mode.”

A cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of brainstem structures identify 713 associations. It reveals shared/distinct genetic architectures across ancestries/substructures and overlaps with neuropsychiatric disorders and physiological functions.

DNA G-quadruplexes help regulate genes, but their strand-specific roles are unclear. Here, the authors develop ssG4-seq to map G4s genome-wide, showing abundant enhancer- and promoter-localised structures that activate transcription via SP1 and are disrupted by cancer-linked mutations.

A bonding and debonding strategy is used to stack epitaxially grown semiconductor monolayers into various structures with precise control of the layer number and interlayer twist angle.

Urban heat islands and rising cooling demands highlight the need for sustainable nature-based solutions. A meta-analysis of 373 studies shows nature-based solutions cut daytime temperatures by 2.04 °C and cooling loads by 1.32%, with green infrastructure being the most effective across most climates.

Global largest agricultural ammonia (NH₃) emissions in China have caused severe damage to both ecosystem and human health, yet no policy is formulated to reduce NH₃ emissions. Here, the authors show that halving agricultural NH₃ emissions with feasible technical mitigation options in China generates far more societal benefits than abatement costs.

Climate warming is projected to expand plant phosphorus limitation from 47% to 59% of global silicate rock areas. However, phosphorus release from accelerated chemical weathering of these rocks offsets about 15.5% of this increase.

Practical implementation of all-perovskite tandem solar cells faces challenges due to the self-reinforcing photothermal-mechanical degradation mechanism. Here, authors employ a polyamine ligand to establish I-Sn-N coordination for stabilizing lattice framework, achieving device efficiency of 29.6%.

Cobalt-free cathodes are needed for sustainable batteries, but their cycling stability remains a challenge. Here, authors report a dual-phase lithium nickelate, i.e., layered LiNiO₂ and rocksalt LixNi_2-xO₂, stabilized by interlocked domains, synthesized via kinetic control, that delivers high capacity and improved cycle life.

Ionizable lipids containing albumin-binding motifs are used in lipid-nanoparticle-based mRNA vaccines, facilitating lymph node enrichment and dendritic cell internalization to potentiate their efficacy and avoiding liver accumulation.

Tissue-specific mRNA or gene editing machinery delivery is achieved with lipid nanoparticles containing peptides with specific sequences, which tune the protein corona of the particles by mechanical optimization of peptide–protein binding affinities.

Li et al. demonstrate that SULTR-mediated sulfur input is a pivotal step in regulating nodule senescence, and provide insights for developing strategies to enhance symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes by delaying nodule senescence.

A combination of adenovirus-vectored and subunit protein intranasal vaccine enhances immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants in animal models and humans.

Bai and colleagues present MapDiff, a discrete diffusion-based framework for generating amino acid sequences conditioned on a target protein structure, with strong performance in predicting uncertain regions and achieving high in silico foldability.