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T-junctions are a tool for droplet generation; they are well-described by models that distinguish for squeezing and jetting regimes for different capillary numbers. By considering the usually neglected corner flow, the authors identify an additional leaking regime for very low capillary numbers.

Complement, while serving to remove pathogens in the circulation, is also important for synergizing with inflammasomes to modulate CD4 T cell activation. Here the authors show that CD46, a complement receptor expressed only in humans, is essential for inducing optimal activation and effector functions of human CD8 T cells.

4Pi single-molecule switching microscopy combined with ‘salvaged fluorescence’ enables improved ratiometric imaging that bypasses chromatic aberrations and allows for multicolor whole-cell imaging with sub-10-nm localization precision.

Pseudogenes are key markers of genome remodelling processes. Here the authors present genome-wide annotation of the pseudogenes in the mouse reference genome and 18 inbred mouse strains, update human pseudogene annotations, and characterise the transcription and evolution of mouse pseudogenes.

The actin methyltransferase SETD3, by virtue of its ability to interact with the viral 2A protein and independently of its enzymatic activity, is necessary for RNA replication of several enteroviruses in cell culture and in vivo.

Certain point defects in crystals can be used as optically addressable quantum bits, much like atoms trapped in vacuum. Ivády et al. show that embedding such artificial atoms in stacking faults can actually improve their optical properties, making them function even more like true atoms.

Measurements of vector correlations provide insight into the forces acting during molecular collisions, and are a stringent test of electronic-structure calculations. Now, non-intuitive dynamics of molecular collisions have been revealed by measuring the correlation between the relative velocities of the colliders and the molecular rotational angular momentum—before and after the collision—for NO(A ²Σ⁺) + Ne.

Methods to efficiently detect Cas9-independent cytosine base editor off-target activity enable the identification and development of variants with minimal off-target editing and robust on-target editing.

Platinum dissolution and restructuring due to surface oxidation are primary degradation mechanisms of platinum-based electrocatalysts. Now, stark differences are reported in the mechanism for the oxidative extraction of platinum atoms on (111) and (100) single crystals, providing a detailed explanation for the enhanced dissolution on the latter surface.

The developmental timing for exhaustion is still obscure. Kallies and colleagues demonstrate that CD8⁺ T cell ‘exhaustion’ actually begins in the less-differentiated TCF1⁺ ‘precursor’ T cell pool during chronic viral infections.

Charge transport in organic diodes based on conjugated polymers is severely limited by the high water-related trap concentration and energetic disorder. Here, the authors report high-mobility trap-free charge transport in low-disorder conjugated polymers by incorporating small molecular additives.

This study shows that UTX (KDM6A) suppresses myeloid leukemogenesis through noncatalytic functions. UTX loss leads to alterations in H3K27ac, H3K4me1 and chromatin accessibility, and in gene-regulatory programs mediated by ETS and GATA transcription factors.

Unconventional properties in heavy fermion compounds are thought to arise from competing interactions between conduction electrons and localized magnetic moments. Here, the authors build one-dimensional lattices of cobalt atoms on a metallic surface and observe the onset of heavy fermion behaviour.

Supersonic particle impacts can cause permanent damage to space vehicles and satellites, but how exactly remains unclear. Here, the authors visualise for the first time the high impact of single tin microparticles on a tin substrate and show erosion of ductile metallic materials is melt-driven.

A free-standing top contact design reduces the thermomechanical stress in microthermoelectric coolers, resulting in improved reliability and cooling stability.

An investigation on Lewis acids reveals a mechanism for p-type doping of semiconducting polymers based on the formation of water–Lewis acid complexes, protonation of the polymer and electron transfer between neutral and charged chain segments.

The authors introduce a computational paradigm termed “entropy computing” to solve combinatorial optimization problems using an open quantum system, where engineered dissipations are employed to stabilize the system state to the ground state of a desired Hamiltonian and show that it can be realized on photonic hardware. Finally, they experimentally show its strong performance on max-cut related problems.

Fabricating defect-free micro- and nano-circuits over large scales with controlled interconnections remains a challenge. Here, Bollani et al. show a dewetting strategy for engineering arrays of parallel Si-based nanowires up to 0.75 mm and complex interconnected circuits of monocrystalline Si on a chip.

Analysing >5,000 population abundance time series for insects and other arthropods from 68 sites within the US Long Term Ecological Research network, the authors find high variation but no overall trend in abundance and diversity among sites and taxa.

Photon collection from quantum emitters is difficult, and their scale requires the use of free-space optical measurement setups which prevent packaging of quantum devices. Here, the authors design and fabricate a metasurface that acts as an immersion lens to collect and collimate the emission of an individual emitter.

The GREGoR consortium provides foundational resources and substrates for the future of rare disease genomics.

The authors report that persistent, gene-specific hypermethylation is induced by associative learning and that inhibition of methylation long after learning disrupts remote memory. This suggests that DNA methylation may be a mechanism for preserving long-lasting memories.

Japan's Nobel laureates have a celebrity status that outstrips anything seen by their contemporaries in North America or Europe. How have they balanced the desire to be a positive influence with the need to retain some privacy? David Cyranoski finds out.

Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) critically regulates tau levels and aggregation by phosphorylating tau’s tyrosine 29. Partial inhibition of TYK2 mitigates tau pathologies in cells and mice, highlighting TYK2 as a potential therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies.

JWST/NIRSpec observations of Abell2744-QSO1 show a high black-hole-to-host mass ratio in the early Universe, which indicates that we are seeing the black hole in a phase of rapid growth, accreting at 30% of the Eddington limit.

In this study, the authors show that information regarding both the identity and the value of a given odor is multiplexed in the anterior piriform cortex. Specifically, they find that value is encoded by changes in firing rate while identity is determined by sniff-locked spiking.

An analysis of eight ultra-faint galaxies during the epoch of reionization with absolute magnitudes between −17 mag and −15  mag shows that most of the photons that reionized the Universe come from dwarf galaxies.

Several natural and unnatural lissoclimide cytotoxins have been prepared via semi-synthesis and total synthesis. An X-ray co-crystal structure of chlorolissoclimide with the ribosome and evaluation of cytotoxicity and translation inhibition of new compounds in the series improves our understanding of the molecular basis for cytotoxicity.

Jeanette Erdmann and colleagues identify a locus on chromosome 3q22.3 associated with coronary artery disease. The SNP with the strongest association is in MRAS, which encodes a membrane-anchored GTP-binding protein.

The protein frataxin has a role in iron–sulfur clusters biosynthesis that is still elusive. Here, the authors present a novel alkylation assay for the detection of persulfide, an intermediate in this process, and describe the function of frataxin in the control of persulfide transfer.

Understanding inter-individual differences in stress-susceptibility could lead to novel treatments and preventative strategies for stress-related pathologies. Here the authors provide evidence that increased endocannabinoid signalling is a resilience factor that buffers against adverse consequences of stress.

Paul Boutros, Robert Bristow and colleagues report a molecular analysis of the spatial heterogeneity of clinically localized, multifocal prostate cancer. They find that multifocal tumors are highly heterogeneous, and they identify a novel recurrent amplification of MYCL1.

Leukocyte migration over two-dimensional surfaces is dependent on the integrin family of adhesion receptors, which couple the contractile force of the actomyosin cytoskeleton to the extracellular environment. In this study, all integrin heterodimers from mouse leukocytes were ablated and it is shown that integrins are not required for migration in 3D environments, in vitro and in vivo. Such non-adhesive migration renders leukocytes autonomous from the tissue environment.

The structure and porosity of a zinc imidazolate framework above the melting point was studied with neutron and X-ray scattering, and molecular dynamics. The porosity and local bonding of the framework persist even in the liquid phase.

Longden et al. demonstrate that brain capillaries function as a vast sensory web, monitoring neuronal activity by sensing K⁺ and translating this into a K_IR-channel-mediated regenerative retrograde hyperpolarizing signal that propagates to upstream arterioles to drive vasodilation and an increase in blood flow into the capillary bed.

Zeolite catalysts are industrially important, but may be deactivated by coking. Here, the authors demonstrate the effectiveness of top-down demetallation approaches in controlling mesopore formation, using a range of techniques to probe the resulting structures and assess the effects on catalyst lifetime.

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.

Histone deaceytelase inhibitors are used in the treatment of haematological malignancies but can also act as modulators of the immune system. Here, the authors show that histone deaceytelase inhibitors are capable of modulating B-cell functions leading to improved outcome in autoimmune conditions.

Dysprosium alkoxides and dysprosium-doped yttrium alkoxides show very large energy barriers, greater than 800 K, to magnetic relaxation. These barriers arise from the presence of a strongly axial pseudo-octahedral crystal field, which switches off relaxation through the first excited state that typically occurs in single-molecule magnets, and favours a competitive pathway through higher-energy states.

An array of approximately 300 different carbohydrate structures from select gut bacteria was generated and probed with mouse and rabbit IgG samples. The binding results indicate that galectins 3, 4 and 8 of the innate immune system can recognize certain microbes only if they express self-like antigens.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of beta2-integrins on signalling in immune cells are unclear. Here the authors show that disruption of the interaction between beta2-integrins and kindlin-3 results in increased GM-CSF receptor signalling, affecting dendritic cell activation and migration and Th1 immunity.

The Martian atmosphere hosts water-ice clouds, but it is thought that any snow precipitation settles slowly, rather than in storms. Martian meteorology simulations suggest that localized convective snowstorms can occur on Mars during the night.

Bacteriophages have a significant impact on microbial ecosystems, but additional tools are needed to assess viral communities. Ogilvie et al.present a new strategy to extract viral sequences from metagenomic data sets, and present new insights on their function in the gut ecosystem.

The sensitivity of global precipitation to warming is largely governed by changes in atmospheric longwave radiation, a function of cloud cover. Here the authors show that tightening of the tropical circulation with warming drives a decrease in high cloud cover, resulting in higher precipitation changes.

Vasculature is denser in soft than in stiff tissues. Kragl et al. suggest a mechanistic link between biomechanical tissue properties and vascularization by showing that integrin-linked kinase reduces the contractile forces of the cell cortex in endocrine pancreatic cells, facilitating their adhesion to blood vessels and enabling pancreatic islet vascularization.

Ternary complex (TC) and eIF4F complex assembly are rate-limiting steps in translation initiation that are regulated by eIF2α phosphorylation and the mTOR/4E-BP pathway. Here the authors show that the protein kinases mTORC1 and CK2 coordinate TC and eIF4F complex assembly through eIF2β to stimulate cell proliferation.