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Papaya is a trioecious species with XX females, XY males, and XY^h hermaphrodites, and the combination of Y and Y^h chromosomes is lethal. Here, the authors identify the degeneration of the YY lethality gene on the Y chromosome as the causal balancing lethal factor that reenforces dioecy and stabilizes balanced sex ratios.

Strong paramagnetism is generated in hydrogels rich in carbon–oxygen double bonds simply by coupling with diamagnetic Ca cations. These paramagnetic hydrogels are applied as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents and magnetic drug carriers.

Tan and colleagues develop DNA nanodevices to detect the pH of the lysosomal outer surface, observing an acidic layer generated by TMEM175 that regulates lysosome positioning in response to changes in juxta-lysosomal pH.

Zinc isotope data from Chang’e-5 lunar basalt samples records early impact driven volatile depletion, whereas soil samples primarily record late-stage volcanic degassing, with only limited space-weathering modification.

Liu et al. report Chinese normative lifespan brain charts showing later neurodevelopmental milestones than those detected in Western cohorts. Individual deviations from these norms are valuable in assessing clinical risk and outcomes.

The mechanisms underlying the limited response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in most patients remain elusive. This study identifies GBP2 as a key enhancer of T cell-mediated ferroptosis and ICB efficacy through phase separation and STAT1 activation.

Here, in a large-scale clinical trial, the authors associate gut microbiota composition and metabolic status with effectiveness of dietary fiber intervention in prediabetes, and provide a clinically applicable model to guide microbiome-targeted personalized medicine.

This study identifies the compound napabucasin as a promising candidate against refractory Helicobacter pylori infections, demonstrating efficacy compared to standard triple therapy in murine infection models, and probing the mechanism of action.

A reinforcement learning-based virtual reality system, implementing a series of sport sessions with coaching, was as effective as standard physical activity in reducing fat mass in adolescents, with positive effects on cognition.

Evidence for the treatment of patients with mild-to-moderate COPD is limited. Here, the authors show that long-term treatment with high-dose N-acetylcysteine neither significantly reduced the annual rate of total exacerbations nor improve lung function in patients with mild-tomoderate COPD.

Modules of foldable crystalline silicon solar cells retain their power-conversion efficiency after being subjected to bending stress or exposure to air-flow simulations of a violent storm.

Yang and colleagues present a small-molecule inhibitor for ADAR1 and show that its use is therapeutically beneficial in the context of prostate cancer.

A noble-metal-free triazatriangulenium photosensitizer captures CO₂ as carbamic acid to boost local concentration to increase reduction efficiency. It achieves 51% quantum yield for CO, and forms amides with 85% atom efficiency even in the absence of solvent.

Caloric restriction promotes healthy aging, but dietary alternatives are needed. Here, the authors show that a high-fiber diet mimics caloric restriction’s benefits in mice, improving metabolism, cognition, and aging markers without reducing food intake.

A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of regional-scale anthropogenic activity on plant diversity.

Linear scaling relationships often hinder the optimization of heterogeneous catalysts. Now, an intermediate spillover strategy is put forward by designing bi-component catalysts, thereby decoupling elementary electron-transfer steps and circumventing linear scaling relationships.

Combined immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and photodynamic therapies have huge potential but suffer from possible damage of the antibodies. Here, the authors create a ROS-responsive hydrogel that protects the ICB antibodies and allows for sustained co-delivery and demonstrate restrained regrowth of tumours in vivo.

Intratumourally administered bacteria coated with manganese dioxide modulate the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and potently activate antitumour immune responses, as shown in multiple solid tumours in small animals.

Ribosome^ST—a ribosome with a specialized nascent polypeptide exit tunnel—cotranslationally regulates the folding of a subset of male germ-cell-specific proteins that are essential for the formation of sperm.

Single-crystal black phosphorus nanoribbons are grown uniformly on insulating substrates by chemical vapour transport growth with black phosphorus nanoparticles as seeds, demonstrating potential for application in nanoelectronic devices and the exploration of the exotic physics in black phosphorus.

The growth and sustainable development of humanity is heavily dependent upon N₂ fixation. Herein, authors developed an ambient catalyst-free disproportionation of N₂ by water plasma to yield economically valuable nitroxyl and hydroxylamine products.

The authors collate literature on the responses of bird assemblages to forest loss and show that locations with a more variable natural environment and a longer history of agricultural land use have bird assemblages that are more tolerant to forest loss.

Optineurin is linked to ALS and glaucoma, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, the authors show that optineurin mutation causes deficits in axonal mitochondria transport and neurodegeneration, enhancing of which achieves axon protection and regeneration.

Chang’E-5 and Chang’E-6 lunar soils show higher δ30Si than lunar basalts, with CE-6 having the highest value, suggesting space weathering produced by micrometeorite impacts alters Si isotopes of lunar soils, with stronger effects on the farside.

Base editors can induce transcriptome-wide RNA off-target editing independent of gRNA. Here, the authors engineer ABEmax variants with minimized RNA off-target activities.

The formation of secondary organic aerosol in Chinese megacities is dominated by the condensation of anthropogenic organic vapours, according to measurements across three urbanized regions.

Multi-animal behaviour quantification is pivotal for deciphering animal social behaviours and has broad applications in neuroscience and ecology. Han and colleagues develop a few-shot learning framework for multi-animal 3D pose estimation, identity recognition and social behaviour classification.

Here, the authors show a causal role for gut bacteria-derived metabolites tryptamine and phenethylamine in contributing to insulin resistance and the development of metabolic syndrome in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

A study reports whole-genome sequences for 490,640 participants from the UK Biobank and combines these data with phenotypic data to provide new insights into the relationship between human variation and sequence variation.

Low effective doping of boron limits the performance of solar cells based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Liu et al. show that light induces the diffusion of hydrogen atoms, which activates boron doping, enabling a power conversion efficiency of over 25%.

The biosynthesis of xanthones has not been well documented. Here, the authors report that monooxygenase FlsO1 catalyzes three successive oxidations – hydroxylation, epoxidation and Baeyer–Villiger oxidation—to form the xanthone scaffold in actinomycetes.

MAPK cascades activate innate immunity to defend against various pathogens. Here the authors show that Nicotiana benthamiana NbMPK3/6 can phosphorylate the tomato chlorosis virus P7 protein leading to suppression of callose-dependent antiviral defence.

High permselectivity of nanofluidics remains a challenge in osmotic energy conversion. Here, authors construct two dimensional nanofluidics with Turing-type nanochannels, which provide extrinsic pathways to improve both ion selectivity and flux, thereby achieving efficient osmotic energy harvesting.

Antimicrobial toxins are secreted by bacteria to kill rival species. Here the authors report the mechanism of inhibition of EsaD, a toxin secreted by some S. aureus strains to kill competitors that lack the antitoxin EsaG, showing marked mechanistic differences to other Type II toxin-antitoxin systems.

Li et al. demonstrate mitochondrial fission in macrophages as key for phagocytosis induced by therapeutic antibodies. They identify overexpression of GFPT2 as an inhibitor of the process and phase transition of the phagocytic machinery as its regulator.

Epigenetic reprogramming involves global loss of DNA methylation, but how this is regulated is not completely understood. Here, Tan et al. run a reverse genetic screen and report that nuclear DNMT1 is finetuned by maternal factor Pramel15 through proteasomal degradation in mouse zygotes.