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Acoustically activatable nanocarriers made by incorporating 5% sucrose into liposomes release drug with low-intensity ultrasound, providing a readily clinically translatable system for both central and peripheral noninvasive neuromodulation.

IP6 is a critical host cofactor for HIV-1 assembly and infectivity. In this study, the authors uncover the structural basis by which HIV-1 adapts to a deficiency in IP6 packaging through a G225R mutation at the C-terminus of the capsid protein.

The HIV-1 capsid is built from a single protein that forms both pentamers and hexamers. Here the authors use forced evolution experiments to define adaptation hot-spots that HIV-1 mutates to alter hexamer:pentamer equilibrium and capsid assembly.

A new carbonate phase calcium carbonate hemihydrate was recently discovered and characterized, but exclusively as a synthetic material. Here the authors find that it exists in nature, albeit transiently, on the surface of growing nacre and coral skeletons, and show that 2 amorphous and 2 metastable crystalline nano-minerals form before biominerals settle into their stable crystals.

In a prospective study involving 92 physicians from multiple institutions, access to large language model assistance on top of conventional resources increased a score expressing the quality of their reasoning in addressing patient care while assessing five clinical vignettes.

Observations from the JWST show the presence of a spectral absorption feature at 4.05 μm arising from SO₂ in the atmosphere of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-39b, which is produced by photochemical processes and verified by numerical models.

Global trade of solar photovoltaic (PV) products has an important role to play in sustainable mitigation to climate change. Highlighting global PV product trade, this study explores the impeding effect of tariff and non-tariff barriers on global PV product trade and carbon emissions reductions.

A terawatt picosecond CO₂ laser beam is shown to form a centimetre-scale-diameter filament in air that is capable of carrying several joules of energy.

Renner et al. show that HIV-1 concentrates the metabolite IP6 into its virions to catalyze assembly of its iconic conical capsid. Disabling this enrichment mechanism prevents assembly and renders HIV-1 non-infectious.

In this article, Eric Freed reviews recent progress in elucidating the steps involved in HIV-1 assembly, release and maturation, highlighting how these events are orchestrated by the viral Gag precursor protein and how this information is being used to develop novel anti-HIV-1 therapeutics.

Fast control over propulsion direction modulates interactions between self-propelled particles and opens new avenues for the design of active materials. Here, the authors present a light-active system that allows rapid direction reversal, leading to controlled fusion and fission of colloidal assemblies.

Applications of laser-plasma accelerated protons in fundamental, applied and medical sciences crucially depend on the creation of stable collimated beams with high repetition rates. Here the authors demonstrate the generation of multi-MeV protons at 5 Hz, with low (degree-level) proton beam divergence from a laser pulse focused onto a water sheet target, potentially mitigating the need for beam capturing techniques.

An optimized agonist of Nurr1, 4A7C-301, protects dopamine neurons against environmental and genetic risk factors of Parkinson’s disease (PD) in vitro, and improves both motor and non-motor deficits in male rodent models of PD.

A scanning fibre endoscope, combining reflectance and laser-induced fluorescence emission of intrinsic fluorescent constituents in vascular tissue, provides real-time structural, biochemical and biological images of human atherosclerotic plaques.

Comparing the eyes of crane-fly fossils with those of extant species demonstrates that they contain eumelanic screening pigments and that the lenses are calcified during fossilization, with implications for interpreting optical systems in other extinct arthropods such as trilobites.

Muscle fibers have diverse properties—for example, slow and fast twitch. Groups of fibers are activated by motoneurons. Marshall et al. found that motoneurons are used flexibly, presumably allowing us to intelligently employ fibers suited to each task.

HIV maturation inhibitors such as bevirimat (BVM) interfering with Gag processing are emerging as alternative anti-retroviral drug candidates. Here, the authors report structures of assemblies of HIV-1 Gag fragments spanning the CA C-terminal domain and SP1 region bound to BVM.

This Progress article looks at recent developments in our understanding of the role of the host factor Alix in both retroviral and cellular membrane budding and fission events.

Topochemical polymerization reactions produce ultra-high molecular weight crystalline polymers. Here the authors show a family of para-azaquinodimethane compounds that undergo facile visible light and thermally initiated polymerization in the solid state and the crystal structure has been resolved via cryoelectron microscopy.

The mechanism of U6 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) biogenesis is not well understood. Here the authors characterize the enzymatic activities and structures of yeast and human U6 RNA processing enzyme Usb1, reconstitute post-transcriptional assembly of yeast U6 snRNP in vitro, and propose a model for U6 snRNP assembly.

Single-nucleus and spatial, whole-transcriptome profiling of 43 pancreatic adenocarcinomas provides a refined molecular and cellular classification, highlighting a new neoadjuvant treatment-associated neural-like progenitor tumor cell state.

Recommendations are given on optimal read coverage and selection of calling algorithm to maximize the reproducibility of cancer mutation detection in whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing.

RNA–DNA hybrids carrying split functionalities can re-associate inside cells and activate RNA interference to selectively suppress certain genes.

Tumor–normal paired DNA samples from a breast cancer cell line and a matched lymphoblastoid cell line enable calibration of clinical sequencing pipelines and benchmarking ‘tumor-only’ or ‘matched tumor–normal’ analyses.

The X-ray crystal structure of LeuT, the bacterial homologue of the neurotransmitter sodium symporter family, is reported in the outward-open and inward-open states.

HIV particles contain a relatively low amount of viral envelope (Env), but underlying packaging mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, the authors use superresolution microscopy and show that Env distribution is biased toward the necks of cell-associated particles during assembly.

The process of HIV particle maturation involves complex molecular transitions. Here the authors combine NMR spectroscopy, cryo-EM, and molecular dynamics simulations to provide insight into the conformational equilibria in CA-SP1 assemblies relevant to HIV-1 maturation intermediates formation.

The plasma membrane–associated metalloprotease TRABD2A degrades the HIV Gag polyprotein and restricts virion assembly.

This protocol uses vascular corrosion casting, hierarchical synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography imaging and computational image analysis to assess the 3D vascular network architecture in the entire postnatal and adult mouse brain.

Mendonça et al. determine the structures of both in vitro assemblies of the HIV structural precursor protein Gag and Gag viral-like particles (VLPs) to 4.2 Å and 4.5 Å resolutions, using cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging. This study provides insights into the future development of small molecule inhibitors for HIV-1 infection.