Search

Stone tools illustrate behavioural complexities in Middle Pleistocene hominin populations. Here, the authors present small dimensional flakes and hafted tools from Xigou, central China, dated to ~160–72 thousand years ago that demonstrate early, complex technological advancements.

Small regulatory RNAs can act on target mRNAs to control their translation and stability. Here, the authors present evidence that this riboregulation can potentially regulate by pairing to a target site within translation initiation complex and translation-transcription assemblies.

Here, combining structural, proteomics and biochemical analyses, the authors elucidate how the keystone gut bacterium Ruminococcus bromii assembles a specialized enzyme complex, the amylosome, to efficiently break down resistant starch, a cardinal dietary fiber that influences gut microbiome function and health.

cellSTAAR advances noncoding rare variant association analysis by integrating single-cell genomics data.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a crucial process, but this behaviour in supramolecular assemblies is not well understood. Here, the authors report the development of a molecular-motor driven LLPS system, with the separation process driven by nanoscale rotary motion.

Mirusviruses were detected in metagenomic datasets, but little is known about how they infect their hosts. Here, the authors characterize mirusviruses in the marine protist Aurantiochytrium, detecting virions, viral genes and proteins, and establishing this as a valuable model system.

Disulfide-based dimerization of modified identical and heterologous nanobody scaffolds enables higher-order assembly for high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure determination that is widely applicable to small protein targets.

Controlling the reaction temperature is critical in chemistry. Here, the authors harness molecular-photothermal conversion to synthesize and assemble MOFs with tunable structures under different light wavelengths for advanced materials.

Following its internalisation, active endosomal GLP-1R engages with VAPB and SPHKAP at ER membrane contact sites to assemble a local cAMP/PKA condensate for the control of MICOS complex phosphorylation, mitochondrial remodelling and β-cell function.

Bacteria of the phylum Bacteroidota move by gliding and export proteins using a type-9 secretion system. Here, Liu et al. show that these two processes use a shared mechanism in which outer membrane proteins are covalently attached by disulfide bonds to a moving track structure inside the cell.

The authors synthesize rock-salt-structured LiMnSbTe₃, in which Sb₂Te₃-type van der Waals-like gaps are embedded as ordered local structures that both scatter phonons and enhance charge-carrier transport.

Animals precisely control the morphology and assembly of guanine crystals to produce diverse optical phenomena but little is known about how organisms regulate crystallization to produce optically useful morphologies. Here, the authors demonstrate that pre-assembled, fibrillar sheets in developing scallop eyes template nucleation and direct the growth and orientation of plate-like guanine crystals showing a striking resemblance to melanosome morphogenesis.

Host cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii depends on the heavily phosphorylated RON complex, but the relevance and regulation of these modifications are not understood. Here, the authors identify the kinase RON13 as a key virulence factor, determine its structure and show that it phosphorylates the RON complex.

Transcription preinitiation complex assembly begins with the recognition of the gene promoter by the TATA-box Binding Protein-containing TFIID complex. Here the authors present a Cryo-EM structure of promoter-bound yeast TFIID complex, providing a detailed view of its subunit organization and promoter DNA contacts.

Hierarchical ZSM-5 boosts fatty acid hydrodeoxygenation by compartmentalization of catalytic sites. Separating acid sites within micropores and metal nanoparticles in mesopores provides control over the reaction and reduces unwanted side reactions.

Amyloid fibrils assembled by an alternating lysine/phenylalanine peptide exhibit remarkable catalytic properties for β-lactam antibiotic hydrolysis. Specifically, the fibrils adopt coiled-coil structure underscoring an allosteric catalytic mechanism.

Inorganic structured nanomaterials with chiral symmetry groups may have interesting optical activities. Here, the authors use biomolecules to synthesize chiral tellurium and selenium nanostructures, which exhibit visible optical and chiroptical responses and may be used as templates for mixed metal structures.

A black phosphorus/Al₂O₃/black phosphorus heterostructure can be used to create a tunnel field-effect transistor in which the tunnelling current is in the transverse direction with respect to the drive current, leading to abrupt switching and a negative differential resistance with a peak-to-valley ratio of more than 100 at room temperature.

Bacteria can produce membranous nanotubes that mediate contact-dependent exchange of molecules between bacterial cells. Here, Baidya et al. show that cell-wall remodelling enzymes from Bacillus subtilis are required for efficient nanotube extrusion and penetration, and can be delivered to other bacterial species via nanotubes.

Multidrug efflux pumps actively expel a wide range of toxic substrates from bacteria and play a major role in drug resistance. Here authors show the in situ structure of the efflux pump AcrAB-TolC obtained by electron cryo-tomography and subtomogram averaging.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are large macromolecular assemblies that mediate the exchange of molecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm. Here the authors present a ∼20 Å cryo-EM structure of the X. laevisNPC in different states of transport to propose a model for the architecture of the NPC’s molecular gate within its central channel.

An antibody–polysialic acid conjugate induces calcification on the surface of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and boosts immunogenicity in mice.

The compositional makeup of skeletons and teeth in invertebrates and vertebrates is generally different. This study examines the material composition and properties of freshwater crayfish mandibles and finds, in an unusual case of convergent evolution, that they are composed of an apatite layer that is similar to mammalian enamel.

The homeostasis of myelin in the central nervous system is highly regulated, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors show that the FBXW7 protein has a role in constraining myelin growth in the developing and adult central nervous system, preventing the accumulation of myelin abnormalities. FBXW7 acts in part through targeting the MYRF transcription factor for degradation.

Whole-genome sequencing data from more than 2,500 cancers of 38 tumour types reveal 16 signatures that can be used to classify somatic structural variants, highlighting the diversity of genomic rearrangements in cancer.

Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

A large fraction of patients with APS-1 and coeliac disease develop enamel dystrophy, characterized by the presence of autoantibodies against the enamel matrix, which are generated through the breakdown of either central (APS-1) or peripheral (coeliac) tolerance to a battery of ameloblast-sepecific proteins.

Endothelial injury drives vascular diseases like atherosclerosis, but key regulators are unclear. Here, the authors show that endothelial major vault protein (MVP) acts as an intracellular regulator promoting Parkin-mediated mitophagy, thereby antagonizing vascular remodeling and suggesting its role as a potential therapeutic target.

Cryo-electron microscopy of the tripartite MacA–MacB–TolC multidrug transporter.

Single-stranded DNA encoders containing polyadenine domains endow colloidal gold nanoparticles with programmable bond valence, orthogonality and reconfigurability, thus achieving post-synthetic control over colloidal structures.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

In somatic cells the mechanisms maintaining the chromosome ends are normally inactivated; however, cancer cells can re-activate these pathways to support continuous growth. Here, the authors characterize the telomeric landscapes across tumour types and identify genomic alterations associated with different telomere maintenance mechanisms.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

A pan-cancer genomic analysis reports the effects of structural variations on chromatin domains (TADs). Most TAD disruptions do not result in appreciable changes in expression of nearby genes.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

Photothermal solution heating with nanoscale heat sources is an efficient alternative to conventional heating methods. Here, the authors use silica-encapsulated gold nanoparticles to drive the colloidal synthesis of iron oxide, silver, and palladium nanoparticles at lower temperatures.

Several recent works have demonstrated current based control of antiferromagnetic order, with the potential that such switching could be used for information processing and storage. Here, Haley et al demonstrate that in Fe_xNbS₂, this switching is non-local, with magnetic order changing due to an applied current at distances much larger than the spin diffusion length in the material.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the protein-conducting translocon of the type 9 secretion system reveal its architecture and mechanism of translocation.

The strong birefringence of liquid crystalline nanospheres in the body of the Pacific cleaner shrimp enables brilliant whiteness by overcoming undesirable optical crowding effects.

There is a great interest in retrieving functional pathways from cryo-EM single-particle data. Here, the authors present an approach that combines cryo-EM with advanced data-analytical methods and molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the functional pathways traversed on experimentally derived energy landscapes using the ryanodine receptor type 1 as an example.

HPF1 controls the ADP-ribosylation activity of PARP1/2 in response to DNA breaks. Here, the authors show that HPF1 regulates the balance between ADP-ribose initiation and elongation through a dynamic interaction that accelerates the initiation rate on serine residues.

A number of mechanisms are known to mediate bacterial antibiotic resistance. Here, Arad et al show that amyloid fibrils produced by Staphylococcus aureus rapidly degrade common antibiotic molecules.

The cryo-EM structure of a megacomplex between chimeric GPCR, G protein and β-arrestin in their canonical active conformations provides insight into the basis of sustained G protein signaling upon megacomplex internalization.

Here the authors show that σ^I factors encompass a unique, hitherto-unknown recognition mode of bacterial transcriptional promoters and represent a new distinctive class of σ⁷⁰-family σ factors for bacterial transcription.

Understanding deregulation of biological pathways in cancer can provide insight into disease etiology and potential therapies. Here, as part of the PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) consortium, the authors present pathway and network analysis of 2583 whole cancer genomes from 27 tumour types.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.