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The cryo-EM structures of SOS1 in the auto-inhibited and activated states reveal that SOS1 undergoes an inhibition–release process upon activation and uses an elevator transport mechanism for Na⁺/H⁺ exchange in response to salt stress.

The development of future Na metal batteries relies on the cycling stability of the metallic anode. Here, the authors propose a polypropylene separator functionalized with polydopamine and multilayer graphene to enable stable and prolonged Na metal cell cycling.

The low breakdown voltages of self-assembled monolayers limit the performance of perovskite solar cells. Here, the authors report a polymeric hole transport layer with high conductivity and strong substrate adhesion and achieve an efficiency of 26.1% for stable ambient blade-coated devices.

Immune interactions are complex, dynamic and difficult to capture using static imaging modalities on in vitro or ex vivo tissue cultures. In this Review, the authors discuss techniques for in vivo imaging of the immune system including one-photon near-infrared II fluorescence and two-photon and multiphoton microscopy for longitudinal tracking of immune cells, as well as a translational path that integrates near-infrared II, positron-emission tomography or MRI and artificial intelligence-enabled analysis towards quantitative, clinically compatible, multimodal immuno-imaging.

Lithium isotope records in marine carbonates and siliciclastic rocks reveal that shifts in continental weathering regime and source reduced ocean environmental stress and biodiversity loss during the global warming 56 million years ago.

Copper component is introduced into MOR zeolites via in situ high-temperature crystallization to tune pores for N₂/CH₄ sieving. MOR-Cu-210 exhibits high N₂ adsorption capacity and N₂/CH₄ uptake ratio, alleviating the capacity-selectivity trade-off.

The methods for systematically profiling RNA composition of processing bodies (PBs) are limited. Here, the authors present PB-TRIBE-STAMP and LSM14A-TRIBE-ID, two RNA editing-based methods enabling systematic characterization of dynamic PB-RNAs association.

Light-sheet microscopy in the NIR-II window enables rapid volumetric imaging of tissues at impressive depths in vivo without invasive preparations owing to the reduced light scattering and tissue autofluorescence at these wavelengths.

Electrochemical ion intercalation in 2D layered materials is known to occur through the material’s edges, accompanied by frequent structural deformations. Here the authors show that in MoS2 flakes where the edges have been sealed, a reversible and ion-selective intercalation occurs through the top surface via the intrinsic defects.

Amoedo-Leite et al. report that, in ischemic tissue, a subset of macrophages adopts mural cell-like morphology, gene expression and function, which is crucial for injury healing.

Biocompatible core–shell quantum dots and superconducting nanowire single-photon detector enable non-invasive one-photon excitation fluorescence imaging at 1,880 nm for in vivo imaging at 1,100 μm depth.

The complexity of carbohydrate structures makes their synthesis challenging. Now, an automated glycan synthesizer is reported which is capable of preparing a library of bioactive oligosaccharides, including a fully protected fondaparinux pentasaccharide. Furthermore, the synthesizer can rapidly assemble arabinans up to 1,080-mer size, starting from monosaccharide building blocks.

Metallabenzenes are recognized as a unique class of aromatic compounds, not only of structural and theoretical interest but also as platforms to design powerful transformations. Here, the authors report the successful transmutation of a metallabenzene for pyridine synthesis.

Biocompatible rare-earth nanoparticles with an emission maximum at 1,600 nm enable sensitive in vivo imaging.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 causes interstitial pneumonia and viral replication in the lungs of transgenic mice that express a human version of ACE2, confirming the pathogenicity of the virus in this model.

Antibiotic therapy is usually not effective for salmonellosis. Here, the authors present an approach that may be useful for the treatment of salmonellosis, consisting of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)-responsive glycovesicles that release antibiotics in the presence of Salmonella in the gut.

Controllable dislocations are desirable for modulating the physicochemical properties of materials. Here authors present a light-driven strategy for reversible high-density dislocation writing in ferroelectric crystals, enabling multidimensional manipulation and repeatable erasure, with potential for innovating informatics and functional materials.

Sustainable harvesting of lithium is critical to the success of the entire battery industry. Here, the authors report an electrochemical leaching method which can directly extract lithium from natural state spodumene ores with low energy consumption, environmental impact, and high efficiency.

The C2 sulfonates taurine and isethionate are also present in the anaerobic mammalian gut, where they are converted into toxic H₂S by sulfate and sulfite-reducing bacteria. Here the authors characterise the O₂-sensitive enzyme IseG that catalyzes the C-S bond cleavage of isethionate and show that IseG also plays a key role in converting taurine into H₂S in Bilophila wadsworthia.

Shen et al. show that FMRP promotes mitochondrial fusion through HTT. FMRP loss caused fragmented mitochondria and oxidative stress in immature neurons, and enhancing mitochondrial fusion rescued neuronal and behavioral deficits in Fmr1-mutant mice.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are clinically heterogeneous, with varying degrees of aggressiveness. Here, the authors describe the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of 117 GISTs from 105 patients; they find four molecular subtypes as well as recurrent inactivating YLPM1 mutations in high-risk/metastatic GIST.

Gastric Squamous Cell Carcinoma (GSCC) is a rare subtype of gastric cancer with unknown etiology. Here, the authors identify frequent mutations in epigenetic regulation genes including EZH2 in twenty GSCC patient samples, and demonstrate that EZH2 loss, along with TP53 and PTEN loss, leads to GSCC in mouse models.

SIRT5 protects against primate skeletal muscle ageing through TBK1 desuccinylation, which inhibits the downstream inflammatory and senescent phenotypes.

Plant ESCRT component FREE1 forms liquid-like condensates that associate with membranes to drive intraluminal vesicle formation.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are the tumor cells responsible for metastasis. Here, the authors develop a home-built single-cell quantitative mass spectrometric platform and discover a cluster of CTCs with distinct metastatic potential using a molecular typing system based on the single-cell metabolic fingerprints.

Warming affects forest soil denitrification and nitrogen losses. The authors show that temperature enhances nitrous oxide and dinitrogen but varies by soil; temperature sensitivities are similar across soils but are higher for dinitrogen, suggesting complete denitrification in a warmer climate.

Yang et al. identify an essential role for ECSIT in promoting memory CD8⁺ T cell development by modulating fumarate synthesis and altering TCF-1 activity, thereby impacting host responses during viral infection and tumorigenesis.

The enzymes Rif15 and Rif16 are involved in the late steps of the biosynthesis of rifamycins, a group of antibiotics. Here, the authors characterized these two proteins and found that they catalyse unusual biochemical reactions.

Na et al. identify KMT2C deficiency as a driver of small cell lung cancer metastasis and demonstrate that it leads to epigenetic reprogramming through histone and DNA hypomethylation by upregulating DNMT3A.

2D elemental materials, with their atomic-scale dimensions, present exciting opportunities for energy conversion applications. Here, the authors use few-layer black phosphorene to perform pyro-catalysis, in which thermal cycling the material induces hydrogen gas production and dye degradation.

Switching between liquid capture and release is important in handling various liquids. Here the authors present connected polyhedral frames that form a network of units that capture or release liquid that is readily switchable locally, dynamically and reversibly, thus functioning as a versatile fluidic processor.

CO₂ electroreduction is a promising process for the production of high-value chemicals, but achieving high selectivities for specific products is challenging. Now, a Faradaic efficiency of 87% for acetate is achieved on a Cu/CuO_x catalyst under 58 atm CO₂(g), where high and low concentrations of dissolved CO₂(aq) and proton donor HCO₃⁻ are shown to promote acetate formation, respectively.

In rice, nitrate perception by NRT1.1B activates genetic responses that increase the utilization of not only nitrate but also phosphate. A novel molecular mechanism centred on the presumed Pi sensor SPX4 underlies this nutritional signalling crosstalk.

Rare subcellular events can be tracked by correlating structural-information gathered by imaging with specific-molecule fluorescent identification. Here, the authors achieve this correlation in a quick and non-invasive way using microsphere-based scanning superlens microscopy.

The production of large-format aqueous Zn batteries is hindered by electrolyte consumption, hydrogen gas evolution and Zn dendrites growth during cycling. Here, the authors propose a specific pouch cell design capable of releasing hydrogen gas and refilling the electrolyte components.

Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Here, authors show that the chemogenetic inhibition of GAD2 population in the SNr region, or the targeted overexpression of mitochondrial UCP2 in such population, or systemic application of a mitochondrial-targeting antioxidant drug Mito-Q could effectively ameliorate HE.

The antifungal drug naftifine blocks carotenoid pigment biosynthesis in Staphylococcus aureus through inhibition of a biosynthetic enzyme of staphyloxanthin, disabling an important virulence mechanism and thus making the pathogen susceptible to host oxidant killing.

The strained topology of [n]paracyclophenylenes ([n]CPPs) typically prevents their π sysytem from being extended, but now the formation of a planar π-extended CPP has been achieved through a bottom-up on-surface synthesis approach. The planar π-extended [12]CPP produced by this method is a nanographene featuring an all-armchair edge, which leads to delocalized electronic states around the entire ring.

A new study from the WHO African Region identifies features of countries that predict timing of the first case and the per capita mortality rate for the first and second waves of the COVID-19 epidemics.

Shi and colleagues create a miniature curvature sensor by integrating a light emitting diode and GaN-based photodetector into a plastic optical fiber. They detect finger motion to show potential for wearable sensing systems.

The biogenesis and stereochemical origin of many natural products remain unknown. Now the biosynthetic pathway of brevianamide A is elucidated. An isomerase is discovered that can catalyse pinacol rearrangement without a cofactor and determine the stereochemistry of the bicyclo[2.2.2]diazaoctane ring.

Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for growth and development and the Cu⁺ transporter Ctr1 is crucial for both dietary Cu uptake and peripheral distribution. Here authors solve Cu⁺ -free and Cu⁺ -bound Ctr1 structures which adopt a homo-trimeric Cu⁺ -selective ion channel-like architecture

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a profoundly lethal inflammatory condition with limited therapeutic options. Here, the authors present GV-971, an anti-Alzheimer's medication, as a promising candidate for SAP by effectively restoring intestinal microbiota homeostasis and metabolite profiles.

Electrochromic smart windows can be low-power routes to control building temperatures. This Review describes the working modes, assembly protocols and implementation of these windows.

Wu et al. show that versions of IL-2 that preserve CD25 activity expand tumor-specific T cells more effectively than CD25-sparing agonists and find that the efficacy of anti-PD-1 depends on the activation of PD-1⁺CD25⁺ T cells through autocrine IL-2 signaling.