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Quantum lock-in detection (QLID) is crucial for extracting oscillating signals from noise, while quantum entanglement is vital to surpass the standard of quantum limit in precision measurement. Here, the authors experimentally realise entanglement-enhanced QLID using two trapped ions, achieving frequency measurement precision at the Heisenberg limit and demonstrating an improved inverse-quadratic temporal scaling.

A recently developed class of magneto-sensitive fluorescent proteins are engineered to alter the properties of their response to magnetic fields and radio frequencies, enabling multimodal sensing of biological systems.

Z-lock is introduced as a new method to control protein activity with light. It relies on a steric block placed over important regions of the target protein that can be released reversibly. Z-lock was applied to regulate cofilin and αTAT activity.

The influenza virus life cycle relies on sialidases, which are classified as group-1 or group-2, depending on the flexibility of the '150-loop'. In this study, chemical compounds are developed, which lock open the '150-loop', selectively inhibiting the activity of group-1 sialidases.

Here, using cryo-EM, the authors reveal the mechanism by which RecA filamented on single-stranded DNA binds to and induces LexA cleavage, the key signal governing the bacterial DNA damage response pathway implicated in antibiotic resistance.

Semaphorin-plexin cell-cell signaling is important in tissue development, with roles in axon guidance, immunity and cancer. The structure of the complex formed between semaphorin-3, plexin-A and their co-receptor neuropilin, combined with mutagenesis, reveals how neuropilin contributes to stabilizing the signaling complex.

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is a regulator of plant growth, development and responses to environmental stresses. Recently, the PYR/PYL/RCAR family of START proteins was found to bind ABA and mediate inactivation of downstream effectors. The crystal structures of apo and ABA-bound receptors as well as a ternary PYL2–ABA–PP2C complex is now reported and analysed, revealing a gate–latch–lock mechanism underlying ABA signalling.

Many functional materials can be created by directing the assembly of colloidal particles into a desired structure. Control over particle assembly usually involves the use of molecules such as DNA that can recognize and bind each other. Here, a simple and effective alternative is described. Colloidal spheres serve as keys, and monodisperse colloidal particles with a spherical cavity as locks. These will spontaneously and reversibly bind to each other via the depletion interaction if their sizes match.

The authors study microstructured UTe₂ by high-field transport, focusing on the field-reinforced superconducting phase. They reveal a highly-directional vortex pinning force typical of quasi-2D superconductors, indicating a vortex lock-in state and consistent with a change of order parameter from the low-field superconducting phase.

Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.

Stranded assets could pose a challenge to food system transformation. Estimates of the stranded agricultural assets that may arise from a shift to plant-based diets in the European Union and UK underscore the need to refocus support mechanisms for ensuring a just transition.

The authors report long-lived pump-induced conductivity suppression in metallic Ti₃C₂ MXenes using ultrafast terahertz and reflectance spectroscopy. The effect is attributed to strong photothermal heating and slow heat dissipation.

The P2X4 receptor, an ATP-activated ion channel, plays a role in chronic pain, inflammation, and cancer. Authors in this work discover an extracellular allosteric binding site that interacts with anthraquinone derivatives, and is narrowed by ionic lock formation.

Polyamines prevent the action of kinases on acidic phosphorylatable motifs in spliceosomal proteins, thus providing a mechanism for metabolite-mediated regulation of alternative splicing in cells.

Examples of materials with non-trivial band topology in the presence of strong electron correlations are rare. Now it is shown that quantum fluctuations near a quantum phase transition can promote topological phases in a heavy-fermion compound.

Current applications of NV centers in diamond as spin-photon interfaces for quantum networks are limited by low coherent photon emission. Here, the authors integrate a coherently controlled NV spin qubit with an open microcavity to achieve Purcell-enhanced emission and demonstrate spin-photon state generation.

Aqueous two-phase systems have potential as biomimetic materials, but often lack stability and are prone to collapse. Here, the authors use interfacial assembly of chitin nanofibres and cellulose nanocrystals to prepare a biobased system with permeability and switchable motility.

This study develops a plant-level dynamic optimization model outlining India’s coal power phaseout pathways aligned with climate targets. The results show that ambitious goals are more cost-beneficial, and social benefits can enhance the feasibility of the transition.

Transcription factor osr2 is identified as a specific marker and regulator of mural lymphatic endothelial cell (muLEC) differentiation and maintenance, and muLECs and border-associated macrophages share functional analogies but are not homologous, providing an example of convergent evolution.

Germano-silicate used as a building material for integrated photonics circuits substantially reduces optical losses, approaching levels comparable to those in optical fibres.

Here the authors show that transient cell cycle arrest reprograms CD8⁺ T cells into a highly energized state, increasing proliferation and antitumor activity and boosting efficacy of immunotherapies in cancer models.

This study reveals high-spin state formation and quintet-mediated emission in diphenylhexatriene oligomers. Quintet states dominate delayed fluorescence up to room temperature, establishing a spin-selective platform for quantum technologies.

Researchers have resolved cryo-EM structures of the bacterial TamAB machinery in two distinct states: a non-hybrid and a novel hybrid barrel. These structures suggest each state enables a distinct function, facilitating outer membrane protein folding and phospholipid transport, respectively.

A van der Waals heterostructure made from atomic layers of ferroelectric CuCrP₂S₆ and ferromagnetic Fe₃GeTe₂ can offer reversible, non-volatile ferroelectric control of two-dimensional magnetism.

This research developed and compared firearm-specific and method-agnostic machine-learning models using data from 800,579 Army veterans, revealing that model choice and intervention thresholds impact predictive accuracy and fairness, guiding tailored suicide prevention efforts.

Strain can lead to emergent quantum states. Here, the authors identify a strain induced topological crystalline insulator phase in bilayer SnTe on bulk 2H-NbSe₂.

In targeted protein degradation, a degrader molecule brings a neosubstrate protein proximal to a hijacked E3 ligase for its ubiquitination. Here, pseudo-natural products derived from (−)-myrtanol—iDegs—are identified to inhibit and induce degradation of the immunomodulatory enzyme indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) by a distinct mechanism. iDegs prime apo-IDO1 ubiquitination and subsequent degradation using its native proteolytic pathway.

A large, multicenter, double-blind RCT in 150 children and adolescents found that external trigeminal nerve stimulation, although safe and well tolerated, did not produce significant short-term or long-term clinical benefits for ADHD compared to sham treatment.

Han et al. show that SMARCA5 is required for the sustained expression of genes required for malignancy in pancreatic cells with mutant KRAS. Inhibiting SMARCA5 activity prevents malignant transformation while maintaining pancreatic regeneration.

TIRTL-seq is a high-throughput method for paired T cell receptor sequencing at the cohort scale.

When a charge current, a temperature gradient and a magnetic field are applied orthogonally to each other, a conductor is expected to heat or cool. This so-called transverse Thomson effect has now been observed for a bismuth–antimony alloy.

Perforin monomers self-assemble into pre-pores that first insert into the membrane and then recruit additional subunits to grow in size.

Each valley of the mini-Brillouin zone ("mini valley") of twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) contains two Dirac cones that hybridize to form flat bands. Theory predicts that these two Dirac cones have the same chirality, leading to topological obstruction. Here, the authors confirm this prediction experimentally.

Mechanical resonators lose energy over time due to both dissipative and dephasing processes. Schneider et al. now use a fast time-domain technique to separate the influence of these two types of mechanism, and demonstrate that at high driving power, dephasing becomes the dominant factor.

The biomechanical mechanisms enabling the invasive growth of brain tumors remain opaque. Here, Junqueira Alves et al. reveal that the guidance receptor Plexin-B2 controls membrane tension, facilitating confined migration of brain tumor cells.

We present a protocol for high-resolution genome-wide mapping of nascent RNA polymerase II transcription initiation of both stable RNAs and transiently expressed RNAs using total RNA from diverse sample types.

In statistical physics, systems usually become disordered at high temperatures, but some exhibit entropic order when heated, where one type of ordering enables greater fluctuations in another. Here the authors show how this type of order can persist to arbitrarily high temperature in simple classical and quantum many-body models.

Rho-family GTPase Rac1 activates the WAVE complex (WRC) to promote Arp2/3-mediated actin assembly in various processes. Here, the authors determined cryo-EM structures of WRC bound to Rac1 in different states, revealing how Rac1 binding activates WRC.

Frequency comb synthesizers are important for metrology, but they have been difficult to use as frequency rulers in the terahertz region due to their low power. Consolinoet al. phase-lock a quantum cascade laser to a free-space-propagating terahertz comb, demonstrating that they can overcome this limitation.

Lateral-flow in vitro diagnostic assays based on fluorescent nanodiamonds, in which microwave-based spin manipulation is used to increase sensitivity, are demonstrated using the biotin–avidin model and by the single-copy detection of HIV-1 RNA.

Table-top measurements of magnetic structures and dynamics in thin films are typically limited by temporal or spatial resolution. Here, the authors present a heat-based spatiotemporal magnetic microscopy method based on the anomalous Nernst effect, which may potentially overcome such limits.

Researchers demonstrate two-stage laser stabilization based on a combination of Fabry–Pérot and spectral-hole burning techniques. The laser was first pre-stabilized using Fabry–Pérot cavities and then modulated to address a spectral-hole pattern in Eu³⁺:Y₂SiO₅. Taking advantage of the low sensitivity of the spectral holes to environmental perturbations, the researchers obtained a fractional frequency stability of 6 × 10⁻¹⁶

The authors propose wave-mixing cathodoluminescence, where laser-electron wave mixing in a nonlinear optical cavity upconverts low-frequency molecular resonances into visible photons, enabling nanoscale fingerprinting with visible light sources and detectors.

Gram-negative bacteria use a multiprotein complex, LptB₂FGC, to transport lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to the outer membrane. Here, Fiorentino et al. present cryo-EM structures of the complex from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, revealing species-specific features and providing insights into LPS transport mechanisms.

A hydrogel-based metamaterial undergoing shape and optical changes amplified in response to antibody-mediated biorecognition can be used to molecularly profile extracellular vesicles in ascites fluid from patients with cancer.