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The discovery of new gold deposits has declined by 45% over the past 10 years. Lintern et al.present new evidence for the occurrence of particulate gold in trees growing above buried mineral deposits, and propose vegetation sampling as a mineral exploration method.

Controlling nanoscale interfaces is key for ensuring stable plasmonic and catalytic function yet remains difficult to achieve under operando conditions. Now it has been shown that transient Au–Cl adlayers function as redox-active Au(I) intermediates, modulating interfacial electrostatics. This modulation stabilizes gold nanogaps and directs ligand rebinding, thereby enabling reproducible regeneration of subnanometre architectures.

Optical nanoantennas can be used for spectroscopic investigations at previously unattainable dimensions. Schumacheret al.describe time-resolved antenna-enhanced ultrafast nonlinear optical spectroscopy and determine the transient absorption signal of a single gold nanoparticle.

The assembly and evaluation of molecular structures on surfaces has been boosted by advances in single-molecule techniques. The development of such methods are continued here, showing that double-stranded DNA, bound to the tip of an atomic force microscope, can be deposited on the surface of a gold electrode using an electrical trigger.

Small nanoparticles with controlled morphologies can be prepared for catalysis applications by colloidal methods using stabilizing ligands. A solvent-extraction method has now been described that removes the ligands without affecting the morphology of the nanoparticles, or their catalytic activity over a range of reactions.

A specialized, open-source, retrieval-augmented language model is introduced for answering scientific queries and synthesizing literature, the responses of which are shown to be preferred by human evaluations over expert-written answers.

Determining the appropriate sample size (N) for bulk RNA sequencing experiments is critical to ensure reliable results. Here the authors perform an unusually large N experiment (N = 30 per group), analyzing changes in gene expression in two genetically modified mice compared to controls. They find that a surprisingly high N is required to keep the false positive rate below 50% and detection sensitivity above 50%.

In this study, the authors present optimization and efficacy testing of apolipoprotein-based lipid nanoparticles for delivering various nucleic acid therapeutics in vivo to immune cells and their progenitors in the bone marrow.

Soil microbial populations bloom and then die-off in ecosystems with seasonal snowpack. This study showed that distinct taxa utilize different N sources for growth or energy during the microbial bloom and alter the fate of N after snowmelt.

In mice, DHPS supports the maturation, maintenance and function of tissue-resident macrophages via the polyamine–hypusine axis, with implications for macrophage-targeting therapies.

The authors report the experimental observation of room-temperature condensation of exciton polaritons in quasi-2D layered crystals of halide perovskite, integrated into an open optical microcavity. These materials combine van-der-Waals properties with dominant exciton physics at room temperature.

Acetaminophen is one of the safest drugs around, but scientists still don’t know how it reduces pain and fever.

Risk associated with genetically defined forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can propagate by means of transcriptional regulation to affect convergently dysregulated pathways, providing insight into the convergent impact of ASD genetic risk on human neurodevelopment.

This study shows that optimally sized nanocarriers reach Duchenne muscular dystrophy muscle primarily through transcytosis, where they can deliver tamoxifen to improve muscle health and strength in mice.

Recent advances in the synthesis of graphene fragments that possess unpaired π-electrons and display high-spin ground states have unlocked possibilities to explore exotic physical phenomena related to magnetism. Here, the authors demonstrate the magnetic bistability of a diradical nanographene that allows direct spin manipulation at the single-molecule level.

The reconstitution of complex biological processes in cell-free systems can support the detailed characterisation of biochemical mechanisms which are difficult to probe in vivo. Here authors present an all-cell-free T7 phage cycle, consisting of cell-sized liposomes encapsulating a cell-free gene expression reaction and a phage receptor at the membrane.

This study demonstrates the capability of deep learning protein design models in generating functionally validated β-strand pairing interfaces, expanding the structural diversity of de novo binding proteins and accessible target surfaces.

Muscularis macrophages, housekeepers of enteric nervous system integrity and intestinal homeostasis, modulate α-synuclein pathology and neurodegeneration in models of Parkinson’s disease, and understanding the accompanying mechanisms could pave the way for early-stage biomarkers.

Gold has both economic and cultural significance to human societies but, as Liang Zhang and David Groves explain, we owe its presence in the Earth’s crust to repeating cycles of plate tectonics.

Gold peroxide-derived complexes are important in oxidation catalysis, although structural information on these species is sparse. Here, the authors have synthesized a range of gold complexes and have shown a reaction pathway from peroxides to hydrides, via oxygen-transfer events.

Human genetic loci that associate with composition of the oral microbiome are identified using saliva-derived DNA, where the same host genetics also shapes oral health and genetic variation in oral bacteria.

Implant-associated infections with Staphylococcus aureus pose serious clinical challenges. Here, the authors develop a biosensor based on toxin-responsive liposomes encapsulating gold nanoclusters, providing a non-invasive, colourimetric diagnostic tool for bacterial infection detection with urinary readout.

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

DNA hybridisation thermodynamics parameters underlie rational design of oligonucleotides for diagnostics and nanotechnology. Here, the authors present an accurate method to measure the free energy of a given DNA structure at specific temperature and buffer conditions.

An ultrasensitive miRNA sensor based on gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles modified with redox-labelled probe DNA is capable of detecting miRNA at a concentration of 10 aM to 1 nM in unprocessed blood, and following tumour-induced variation in miRNA levels.

An atomic stencilling method based on the co-adsorption of iodide and 2-naphthalenethiol on gold is described, yielding more than 20 different types of nanoparticle with masked and painted regions and patchy particle morphologies not reported previously.

The electrochemical transformation of CO₂ into liquid fuels is a major challenge. Now, Jaramillo, Hahn and co-workers present a Au/Cu catalyst highly active to C₂₊ alcohols at low overpotentials as a result of a tandem mechanism where CO₂ is reduced to CO on Au and further reduced to C₂₊ alcohols on nearby Cu.

Traditional nanomedicine relies on tumor induced EPR effect for drug delivery. Here the authors show that gold nanoparticles are independently able to induce leakiness at tumor vasculature to enhance the tumor killing effect.

Replacement of platinum is important for lowering the cost of fuel-cell electrocatalysts, but less precious alternatives such as palladium are hindered by lower durability. Here, the authors show that incorporation of trace amounts of gold improves the durability of palladium based oxygen reduction catalysts.

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.

NbN/AlN/NbN qubits prepared by atomic layer deposition allow for precise control of the tunnelling barrier and stable operation beyond the temperature limit of aluminium-based devices.

The catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles is known to be dependent on size, but less is known about the activity of even smaller gold clusters. It is now shown that clusters with 5 to 10 atoms supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes are as active as enzymes for the oxidation of thiophenol to disulfide with O₂.

Fractional Chern insulators have been observed in moiré MoTe₂ at zero magnetic field, but the expected zero longitudinal resistance has not been demonstrated. Now it is shown that improving device quality allows this effect to appear.

Global Burden of Disease estimates show that between 1990 and 2023, the prevalence and burden of drug use disorders, inclusive of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use, have been increasing in high-income countries, particularly in the USA.

Annunziato, Quan and Donckele et al. identify G3BP2 (Ras–GAP SH3 domain-binding protein 2) as a molecular glue-induced neosubstrate of the CRL4^CRBN E3 ubiquitin ligase. The CRBN–glue neosurface uses a molecular surface mimicry mechanism to recruit and degrade G3BP2 in a compound-dependent manner.

It is of high interests to develop new catalysts for selective CO2 electroreduction. Here the authors investigate two-dimensional transition metal carbides for CO2 to methane conversion with superior activity, selectivity and low overpotentials.

Medication non-adherence represents a healthcare challenge, generating over $100 billion in additional costs annually in the USA. Here, the authors developed a resorbable and ingestible system designed for assessing medication adherence.

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of capsule based, biodegradable medication adherence tracking system with envisioned scenario for clinical use. A, Bio-RFID capsule administration. B, Shielding coating dissolution and payload release C, Monitoring of the Tag ID and frequency range, recording of the payload for tracking adherence. D, Dissolution and biosorption of the coating, tag and the capsule.

The Peruvian Amazon is facing the highest known input of mercury pollution of any ecosystem globally. Intact forests located near artisanal gold mining are particularly at risk from this toxin.

Nimbus, a deep learning model, uses a large multiplexed imaging dataset to predict the likelihood of marker positivity in single cells.

The electroreduction of CO₂ offers a promising approach to produce carbon-neutral methane using renewable electricity. This study shows that the introduction of Au in Cu enables selective methane production from CO₂ by regulating *CO availability.

The manner in which carboxylates bind to the surface of nanoparticles has been an important question in materials science. Now, multinuclear magnetic resonance experiments — alongside DFT calculations, XPS and TEM measurements — have elucidated the three-dimensional ligand structures of gold nanoparticles capped with various ratios of carboxylate-containing ligands, and enabled the determination of the most probable binding modes.

Plasmon-mediated growth of Au nanoprisms is demonstrated by using polyvinylpyrrolidone as surfactant, which extends the lifetime of the plasmon-generated hot electrons and makes them available to reduce Au precursors from solution.

Low-temperature spectroscopy shows that the electronic structure of gold clusters is sensitive to the donicity of surface-bound phosphine ligands.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading global cause of death, highlighting the need for better imaging of myocardial injury. Here, the authors show that SPOT, an AI powered dual bright- and black-blood imaging approach, improves myocardial scar detection and measurement for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

Vassy, Dornisch and colleagues developed a genomics-based prostate cancer risk model to support a randomized clinical trial of precision screening in a national healthcare system.