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Cross-coupling reactions are among the most important carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions. Now the nickel-catalysed cross-coupling of chiral sulfones with Grignard reagents has been achieved with up to 99% retention of chirality. The speed of the cross-coupling relative to sulfone deprotonation and racemization is critical to enabling this enantiospecific process.

In this study, the authors explored the correlation between the structure and optoelectronic properties of metal organic frameworks for the removal of a harmful herbicide from water.

Tetrandrine is one of the most potent inhibitors of Ebola Virus infection. Here the authors identify LIMP-2 as a direct cellular target of Tetrandrine and establish a functional connection between lysosomal sphingosine homeostasis and calcium regulation.

Although the trivalent actinides are similar to the lanthanide series in terms of chemistry and bonding, their structures and properties can diverge significantly. Here, the authors report a series of complexes of the trivalent actinides Np(III) through Cf(III) along with their lanthanide counterparts using a polarizable non-innocent, sulfur-donor ligand.

Biocatalytic strategies typically transform only one alkene isomer into products, limiting the yield. Now a biocatalyst is reported to convert both isomeric silyl enol ethers into chiral α-branched ketones with high efficiency and excellent selectivity.

In addition to environmental concerns about ozone, there is some debate regarding its role in biological systems. Researchers have now developed a fluorescent molecular probe that can selectively detect ozone — in preference to other reactive oxygen species — in both atmospheric and biological samples.

Global ocean microbiome survey reveals the bacterial family ‘Candidatus Eudoremicrobiaceae’, which includes some of the most biosynthetically diverse microorganisms in the ocean environment.

The tumor environment is nutrient deficient. Here the authors show that early availability of methionine is critical for optimal T cell activation and prevents T cell dysfunction, and that dietary methionine can improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in mice.

Designing biodegradable plastics is highly desirable, though it has been a challenge to balance mechanical properties with biodegradability. Here the authors design a multilayered biodegradable composite without compromising the mechanical properties.

Gold redox catalysis is an attractive synthetic method but challenging due to the high redox potential of Au(I)/Au(III). Now, a bidentate N-ligand-assisted gold redox catalysis using H₂O₂ as oxidant has been developed. It can be applied to various coupling reactions, including C(sp)–C(sp) cross-coupling, alkynylative cyclization and bicyclization coupling.

Spatially defined molecular functionality serves as the foundation to construct unique chemical space to further advance discovery science. Herein the authors report a third functional feature of t-BuSF enabled by carbamoyl torsional strain-release that further expands the S(IV) and S(VI) chemical space.

Genome-resolved metagenomics, biogeochemistry, modelling and culture-based analysis reveal that marine bacteria consume H₂ to support growth.

Here, the authors show that MacroD1 is important for mitochondrial integrity and function. Lack of MacroD1 resulted in impaired cellular respiration which was particularly detrimental for cells and organs with high energetic requirements, such as skeletal muscle.

Reproduction incurs a physiological cost as a result of evolutionary fitness optimization. In male Drosophila, key reproductive costs are shown to be a result of perceiving female pheromones, and the act of mating reverses the costs.

Ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion has been proposed to protect donor kidneys. Here, the authors show that red blood cell-based human kidney perfusion and associated hemolysis contribute to iron accumulation, ferroptosis, and kidney injury.

MRI agents can result in environmental pollution and organ accumulation. Here, the authors show that modifying the molecular structure of biodegradable polyphosphoesters and tailoring the polymers’ microstructure to adjust MRI relaxation times can overcome challenges in ³¹P MR imaging.

The synthesis of polymers with diverse properties is often limited by the lack of methods to produce the required monomers. Now, the regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of 5,6-diaryl cyclooctene monomers is reported using nickel catalysis. The monomers can be used in ring-opening metathesis polymerization reactions to form polymers with head-to-head styrene dyads.

A metabolically bioactivated selective imidazothiazole nematicide shows comparable effectiveness at controlling plant root infection by Meloidogyne incognita to commercial nematicides, which are traditionally nonselective and toxic.

The realization of atomically flat vertical 2D perovskite heterojunctions offers a novel materials platform that reveals the mechanism of anionic diffusion in 2D perovskites.

The collective synthesis of several oligomeric polypyrroloindoline natural products, including hodgkinsine, hodgkinsine B, idiospermuline, quadrigemine H and isopsychotridines B and C, is accomplished through the iterative action of an asymmetric small molecule copper catalyst. This strategy also enables the synthesis of putatively unnatural quadrigemine H-type isomers.

Vander Meer et al. investigate the mechanisms of male involvement in reproductive development in fire ant newly mated queens. The authors find that males produce tyramide compounds that, when transferred to females during mating, are converted to bioactive molecules that trigger wing loss, ovary development, and queen pheromone production.

Ziegler-type polyolefin catalysts have proven to be hard to characterize. Here the authors present a model system consisting of patterned LaOCl spherical caps, simulating bulk particles while facilitating the use of micro(-spectro)scopic characterization techniques specifically aimed at surfaces.

NMR structural data and biophysical and biological experiments show that the antifungal compound amphotericin is toxic because it acts as a sterol sponge by interacting with ergosterol on the fungal membrane and extracting it from within the membrane to the surface of the membrane.

Fungal infections are severely underestimated as a cause of mortality, and alternative drugs are urgently needed. Here, Schaefer et al. show that a synthetic polymer mimicking defensins shows different, but synergistic activity with known antifungals.

Tai et al. show that Hem25p—a mitochondrial glycine transporter required for haem biosynthesis—is also needed for isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) transport into mitochondria and coenzyme Q synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the GRN gene are a major cause of hereditary frontotemporal dementia, and there is currently no treatment. Here, the authors report and utilize small molecule positive regulators of GRN expression to boost progranulin levels from the remaining functional GRN allele, thus restoring progranulin levels back to normal within the brain.

Some cancer cells exhibit high loads of reactive iron in lysosomes, and this feature is exploited by using fentomycin-1, a newly developed small molecule, to induce ferroptosis.

In recent years, the catalytic activity of scandium triflate Sc(OTf)3 has attracted significant attention due to its robust Lewis acidity and the oxophilicity of Sc3 + . Here, the authors demonstrate different reactivity of the same compound, that Sc(OTf)3 is a visible light photocatalyst capable of direct and mild aerobic oxidative C–H functionalization.

Experiments suggest aerotolerant archaea produce methane in the surface layers of coastal sandy sediments and that this activity is driven by seaweed and seagrass metabolites.

Enhanced covalency is achieved for a curium complex with curium–sulfur bonds by subjecting the compound to high pressures, indicating that pressure can be used to tune covalency in actinide compounds.

Redox-active MOFs have demonstrated advantages in the field of electrochromism but controlling and modulating the electrochromic behaviors in specific MOFs remains a challenge. Here, the authors design a redox-active Zr-MOF with coordination unsaturated pockets which exhibits reversible electrochromic behavior.

Green leaf volatiles are emitted from plants in response to stress. Here the authors identify an isomerase in Manduca sexta that both modulate plant green leaf volatiles and functions in insect development.

Nearly two decades after its discovery, the Ru(II)-catalysed C–H arylation of N-chelating aromatics with aryl halides was reinvestigated and a new key reaction intermediate was uncovered. A thorough mechanistic elucidation has now led to the development of a new class of catalysts with unique efficacy towards late-stage arylation of ‘real-world’ compounds.

Oxidation chemistry is critical to introducing molecular complexity during chemical synthesis. Development of sustainable oxidation chemistry demands strategies to harness O₂ as a terminal oxidant. Access to hypervalent iodine compounds — a class of broadly useful chemical oxidants — from O₂ increases the scope of aerobic oxidation chemistry that can be achieved.

The zinc–zinc bonded complex, Cp*ZnZnCp* (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl), undergoes facile addition to the metal (or semi-metal) centres of a series of main group carbene analogues based on silicon, aluminium, gallium or indium. The addition of Cp*ZnZnCp* to silicon(II) provides a compelling case for a prototypical reductive addition process.

Olefins are common starting points for syntheses as they are widely available and can often be functionalized twice in one step, but controlling the regioselectivity of these difunctionalizations remains a challenge, even in relatively well-understood transformations. Here, the authors effect regioselective heteroannulation of o-bromoanilines with branched 1,3- dienes via ligand control, using palladium catalysis.

The largest known hydrothermal plume moves dissolved iron halfway across the Pacific. In situ measurements show that dissolved and particulate iron transport is facilitated by reversible exchange of dissolved iron onto organic compounds.

Insecticide resistance (IR) poses a major global health challenge. Here, the authors generate common IR mutations in laboratory Drosophila strains and use a CRISPR-based allelic-drive to replace an IR allele with a susceptible wild-type counterpart, providing a potent new tool for vector control.

Cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, combined with immediate plunge freezing, can be used to probe the pristine solid electrolyte interphase in lithium metal batteries.

Conversion of achiral starting materials into enantiopure products without additional chiral additives is a challenging task. Here, the authors show a reaction where the precipitation of chiral product induces autocatalysis, ultimately leading to an enantiopure compound.

The authors show that mitochondria can chronically hyperpolarize under normal or disease conditions and be induced by environmental exposures. This triggers phospholipid remodeling, which in turn affects the epigenome to regulate transcription.

The scope of Lewis acid catalysis mediated by enzymes is low compared with the range of reactions it drives in organic synthesis. Now the substitution of the iron centre with copper, and the subsequent directed evolution, enabled a non-haem iron hydroxylase to efficiently catalyse asymmetric abiotic Conia-ene cyclizations.

Li et al. identify a previously uncharacterized transcription factor dumpless1 as a critical effector of ecdysone signaling in stretch follicle cell, bridging somatic-germline communication through the integrin βPS-Rho1-p-MLC axis to facilitate dumping.

Subglacial lakes contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling methane. In a subglacial lake in West Antarctica, methane that is produced is subsequently consumed, limiting the potential for methane emissions during lake drainage.

Single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic approaches reveal major expression changes in outer root cell types when grown in soil versus gel conditions, and also uncover how root tissues communicate and adapt to contrasting soil conditions at single-cell resolution.

While photoredox catalysis offers a new dimension to chemical synthesis, there are few heterogeneous organocatalysts for metal-free transformations. Here, authors prepare and perform in-depth studies on polymeric photocatalyst scaffolds for organic chemistry transformations.