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How the complex interplay between multiple nutrients within the microenvironment dictates potential sites of metastatic cancer growth is explored.

Stable adipocytes resist lipolysis in healthy states but are highly susceptible to a catecholamine-independent, neurosystemic pathway-driven catabolic state.

Polyamines produced by gut bacteria have been proposed to contribute to inflammatory bowel diseases. Here, Nauta et al. show that bacteria can produce a noncanonical polyamine intermediate that functions similarly to deoxyhypusine synthase inhibitors, activates mitochondrial stress responses, and inhibits nematode development and mouse macrophage differentiation.

Volcano plots are useful catalyst design tools for acidic oxygen reduction reaction, but have proved less successful for alkaline oxygen reduction reaction. Here, a modified volcano plot for this environment is developed and used to design PdH_x@Pt nanosheets with high oxygen reduction reaction performance.

Caspase 8 protein expression is largely absent in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. Here, the authors generate a caspase 8 deletion SCLC mouse model and show that it promotes a neuronal progenitor-like cell state and pre-tumoral immunosuppression triggered by necroptosis that promotes metastasis.

There are numerous heterogeneous oxygen reduction reaction catalysts, although synthetic tunability is rare among these materials. Here, the authors report that a conductive metal-organic framework functions as a well-defined, tunable electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution.

Precise control over both sequence and chirality remains a challenge in polymer chemistry. Here sulfur–fluoride exchange and sulfur–phenolate exchange reactions are used to create chiral oligosulfonimidates with tunable sulfur-centred chirality. This strategy enables precise three-dimensional structural control over oligomers and polymers, marking a step towards fully nature-mimicking macromolecules.

Aziridines are useful intermediates, present in important synthetic targets. Here, the authors show a strategy for the synthesis of N-aryl aziridines based on N-aminopyridinium reagents followed by Ni-catalyzed C–N cross-coupling of N-pyridinium aziridines with aryl boronic acids.

The [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement of allylic ethers is traditionally considered to proceed via formation and recombination of radical pairs. Now it has been shown that an alternative reaction cascade, involving initial enantioselective [2,3]-rearrangement followed by base-promoted anionic fragmentation–recombination that proceeds with high enantiospecificity, allows a catalytic enantioselective [1,2]-Wittig process.

Using cryo-electron microscopy technologies, Serianni and Škerlová et al. reveal how Np_nNs initiate bacterial transcription as noncanonical RNA caps by showing one nucleobase pairing with the template in canonical mode while the other pairs in reverse Watson–Crick mode.

Lange et al. identify a lipid droplet quality control pathway in which FSP1 safeguards stored neutral lipids from lipid peroxidation, thereby preventing the induction of ferroptosis.

This study presents a BRET biosensor that measures how anticancer drugs cooperatively engage PRMT5 complexes in cells, revealing how cellular metabolites such as SAM and MTA enhance drug action and enable precision therapies for MTAP-deleted tumors.

Neri et al. develop elegant tools to understand how the sympathetic nervous system regulates intrascapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) function. Using these tools, they find that sympathetic nerves targeting the iBAT parenchyma control local blood flow and heat production, while those innervating the iBAT vasculature regulate systemic glucose metabolism.

Metal–sulfur motifs are commonly found in enzymatic active sites and heterogeneous catalysis, but they remain underexplored in porous solids. Now, sulfur-based ligands have been incorporated into metal–organic frameworks through post-synthetic modifications. The resulting sulfide MOFs exhibit enhanced catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes compared with their parent MOFs containing terminal or bridging chloride and hydroxyl groups.

Previous reports suggested systemic bile acids are associated with the onset of type 1 diabetes. Here authors identified age-dependent trajectories of bile acids in children who developed islet autoantibodies during a longitudinal study.

Citric and oxalic acids can enhance the dissolution of chromium(III) under strongly reducing conditions where relatively high levels of ferrous iron are present, according to laboratory-controlled batch dissolution and flow-through column experiments on soils and sediments.

Metabolic strategies of cave microorganisms are poorly studied. Here, the authors show that cave microbes use atmospheric trace gases hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane as energy and carbon sources, sustaining primary production and revealing how life can thrive in oligotrophic and dark ecosystems.

Heterogeneous photocatalysts are easily separable and recyclable, but homogeneous ones are precisely tunable. Here, the authors merge the benefits of these two catalyst types by incorporating diverse dyes into solution-processable, porous polymers.

Cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient ways to address rising atmospheric CO₂ levels are urgently needed. Here the authors combine electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formate with biosynthetic conversion of formate to the universal building block acetyl-CoA using a synthetic metabolic pathway called ReForm.

Bio-based polyethylene-like materials with tunable thermal and mechanical properties have been synthesized from plant-derived diols using an acceptorless dehydrogenative polymerization strategy. Now it has been shown that this atom-economical and mass-economical approach employing non-precious metal catalysts enables closed-loop recycling and advances sustainable solutions for the circular plastic economy.

How is specific ribosomal RNA expression precisely controlled in the malaria parasite? Dr. Couble et al. show that a switch between distinct energy-generating pathways during parasite development directly impacts the accessibility to rDNA chromatin.

The authors demonstrate a holographic light engine enabling volumetric 3D printing with high precision and flexibility. Enhanced light projection efficiency and speckle noise mitigation enable rapid fabrication of millimetric objects, including soft cell-laden hydrogels, with 31 µm resolution.

This works presents a series of solution processable, conjugated polymers of intrinsic microporosity, which are used as photocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction to carbon monoxide in the presence of hydrogen.

Translating discovery scale vial-based batch reactions to continuous flow scale-up conditions is limited by significant time and resource constraints. Here, the authors report a photochemical droplet microfluidic platform, which enables high throughput reaction discovery in flow to generate pharmaceutically relevant compound libraries.

Cross-coupling reactions between aryl halides and alcohols using copper are challenging due to the energetically demanding oxidative addition of copper into aryl halides. Now, this high-barrier step is bypassed using an energy transfer or direct excitation strategy for copper-mediated cross-coupling reactions. This process enables the use of aryl chlorides as electrophiles and alcohols, amines and fluoride as nucleophilic coupling partners.

We find that 2D–3D perovskitoid passivation applied to perovskite solar cells impedes cation migration and decreases carrier recombination at the interface, providing enhanced operating stability at elevated temperatures and increased power conversion efficiencies.

Genetically encoded sensors are generally optimized to function during exponential growth rather than stationary phase, which limits their potential value for metabolic engineering and bioproduction. Here, authors engineer a stationary phase green light sensor and use pulsatile light to optimize production of industrially relevant small molecules.

A cooperative insertion mechanism for CO₂ adsorption is shown to generate highly efficient adsorbents for carbon capture applications.

High near-surface nitrogen-fixation rates that promoted the recent growth of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt were tied to greater upwelling of phosphorus from the equatorial Atlantic, according to coral-bound nitrogen isotope records from the Caribbean.

Surface recombination velocity can have a major impact on solar cell performance. Here, Yanget al. measure surface recombination dynamics in perovskite single crystals using broadband transient reflectance spectroscopy. Grain size is crucial to avoid the effects of surface recombination on carrier lifetime.

[¹⁸F]6-fluoro-l-DOPA ([¹⁸F]FDOPA) is used for diagnostic PET imaging. Using this protocol, radiofluorination of the electron-rich catechol ring can be achieved in the presence of the amino acid group via Cu-mediated fluorination of a pinacol boronate precursor.

Nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase requires a metallocofactor built by a dedicated multiprotein machinery. Here, the authors captured structural snapshots of a precursor entering a key maturase, revealing a dynamic process involving extensive structural rearrangements and partial protein unfolding.

A quinone-mediated hydrogen anode design shows that hydrogen can be used as the electron source in non-aqueous reductive electrosynthesis, for a more sustainable way to make molecules at larger scale.

Nitrogen-containing compounds play an indispensable role in medicine, agriculture and materials, but alkylated derivatives especially in sterically congested environments, remain a challenge to prepare. Here, the authors report a versatile method for the regioselective hydroamination of readily available unactivated olefins with diazirines.

The direct copolymerization of carbon dioxide and commodity olefins has been a long-standing challenge in polymer science. Now, an indirect approach has been developed in which hydrogenated disubstituted valerolactones derived from telomerization of CO₂ and butadiene can undergo ring-opening polymerization, yielding chemically recyclable and degradable aliphatic polyesters with high CO₂ content.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) can be transformed to a range of industrially useful derivatives, such as 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF), but the reactions needed for efficient industrial production are hindered by several issues. Here, the authors perform reaction and enzyme engineering resulting in a galactose oxidase variant with high activity towards HMF, improved oxygen binding and high productivity.

Despite the distinct electronic properties of the wide variety Cm3+ compounds that have been prepared to date, no singlecrystal structural characterization of a complex containing a Cm−C bond has been reported. Here the authors report the synthesis of a Cm complex bearing trimethylsilylcyclopentadienyl and 4,4’-bipyridine ligands with a low energy emission and identify the 4,4’-bipyridine ligand as the primary quenching agent.

Cryo-electron microscopy of Azotobacter vinelandii FeSII–nitrogenase reveals a core complex of molybdenum–iron proteins (MoFePs), iron proteins (FePs) and FeSII, in which FeSII mediates interactions with MoFeP and FeP to position their FeS clusters in catalytically inactive but O₂-protected states.

Oxidative catalytic depolymerization of polystyrene (PS) can produce benzoic acid, but the annual consumption of benzoic acid is ~40 times lower than PS, so benzoic acid should be converted to higher-volume chemicals for the process to be viable. Here, the authors report a hybrid chemical and biological process that uses PS as feedstock for production of adipic acid, a high-volume co-monomer for nylon 6,6, via benzoic acid.

The differential effects of targeting individual domains of multidomain enzymatic proteins are generally poorly understood. Here, the authors demonstrate lineage-specific sensitivities to domain-specific inhibition of EP300/CBP proteins across cancer and link these effects in group 3 medulloblastoma to control of a transcriptional dependency network.

The gut hormone tachykinin (Tk) is found to be regulated by protein intake in flies and mice. In flies, Tk is shown to impact food choices, sleep and lifespan.

Hybrid perovskites are a promising class of materials for photovoltaic applications. Here, addressing the need for high-quality hybrid perovskite materials, the authors achieve the rapid growth of hybrid perovskite single crystals of high quality by inverse temperature crystallization.

This study uncovers H2AK119ub as a conserved dynamic molecular switch that maintains stem cell quiescence and regenerative potential, revealing how chromatin dynamics regulate stem cell states across species.

Electrolyte design strategies for lithium batteries rely on tailoring the composition of lithium–electrolyte interphases. Here lithium oxide is shown to be a key component of these interphases, making oxygenation an effective approach to achieve high efficiency.

This protocol describes how to coat polymeric nanoparticles (e.g., bare poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (50:50, acid terminated) Resomer 504H nanoparticles) with ionic liquids to improve their circulation half-life and biodistribution after intravenous injection. This is achieved via red blood cell hitchhiking in whole blood.

A polymer stereocomplex can possess quite different properties to its constituent homopolymers. Here, the authors prepare stereocomplex micelles of amphiphilic block-copolymers via crystallization-driven self-assembly, and observe a change from cylindrical to mixed spherical micelle morphology.

Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes are of interest to the pharmaceutical and chemical communities, due largely to their metabolic stability and potential as bioisosteres. Here the enantioselective C–H activation of these carbocycles is reported, giving access to enantioenriched, substituted products while maintaining the carbocyclic framework.

The number of known high-oxidation-state transuranic compounds remains limited, and these typically feature high coordination numbers and/or multiply-bonded donor atoms. Now, a tetrahedral, pentavalent neptunium complex supported by four monoanionic ligands has been isolated and characterized. This complex is stable in the solid state and undergoes a proton-coupled electron transfer reaction in solution.

Zuhra and Petrosino et al. report evidence that cyanide acts as a regulatory gasotransmitter in mammalian cells, where it is shown to affect cellular bioenergetics, most likely via protein S-cyanylation.