Search

In this work, authors develop obex inhibitors that target a distinct binding pocket in the ATPase domain of Topoisomerase II. They demonstrate how Topobexin, a Topoisomerase IIβ - selective catalytic inhibitor, blocks conformational changes and protects against anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

Two-dimensional materials get their unusual properties because the motion of their electrons is confined to a single plane, but combining two such materials adds an extra degree of freedom: interlayer coupling. Here, the authors use ultrafast spectroscopy to show that this electron motion is highly efficient.

When a topological insulator is coupled with a superconductor, supercurrents arise that—if fully understood—may allow the detection of long-sought Majorana fermions. Here the nature of these supercurrents is further elucidated as they are characterized as non-symmetric and carried by surface states.

Interacting electrons in Hofstadter bands can form symmetry-broken topological states. These are now revealed in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, and their properties are influenced by non-uniform quantum geometry.

A highly potent and selective small-molecule catalytic inhibitor of the protein lysine methyltransferase NSD2 shows therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer and lung cancer.

Hunter et al. use RNA labelling to investigate RNA transfer between organs in mice. They show that RNA potentially moves en masse from liver to kidney and that this movement is augmented in acute liver injury, although the physiological relevance of the phenomenon is not yet known.

There is a need to control molecular activities at high spatial precision. Here the authors report a real-time precision opto-control technology that detects a chemical-specific optical response from molecular targets, and precisely control photoswitchable microtubule polymerization inhibitors in cells.

A four-port programmable interferometer based on aluminium nitride piezo-optomechanical actuators coupled to silicon nitride waveguides is reported. Its low-power mechanism, which can be fabricated in a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor foundry, facilitates operation at cryogenic temperatures.

The topological properties of twisted bilayer MoTe₂ are thought to stem from a spatial texture in the layer polarization of the electronic wavefunctions. This polarization is now measured using scanning tunnelling microscopy.

Infection by Plasmodium falciparum can manifest as diverse symptoms and outcomes with different treatment requirements. Here the authors use metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics data from 79 children to identify potential omics signatures that correlate with different extent and nature of inflammation to provide insights into the development of future treatments.

Low-k dielectric materials are essential to allow continued electronics miniaturization, but their low thermal conductivity limits performance. Here, two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks are shown to combine high thermal conductivity with a low dielectric constant.

Pillars of antiferromagnetic PtMn, grown on a heavy-metal layer, can be reversibly switched between different magnetic states by electric currents, illustrating the potential of silicon-compatible antiferromagnetic materials in the development of memory and computing devices.

Metal-organic frameworks have shown promise as nanoreactors, facilitating the synthesis of molecules that are otherwise difficult to isolate. Here, the authors design a framework featuring unobstructed adenine linkers to which thymine molecules can base-pair, allowing for thymine dimerization in the pores upon UV irradiation.

In a phase 2 trial, the combination of gemcitabine, cisplatin and anti-PD-1 led to a clinical complete response in 43% of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which facilitated bladder sparing and was associated with long-term bladder-intact metastasis-free survival.

A twin-field quantum key distribution protocol based on optical coherence is deployed over a 254-kilometre commercial telecom network, demonstrating that coherence-based quantum communication can be aligned with existing telecommunication infrastructure.

Membranes made of metal-coated silicon nitride can be used to assemble van der Waals heterostructures without a polymer support layer, thus improving cleanliness and allowing assembly at more extreme temperature and vacuum conditions.

Recent experiments have shown the formation of ferroelectric domains in twisted van der Waals bilayers. Here, the authors report near-field infrared nano-imaging and nano-photocurrent measurements to investigate ferroelectricity in minimally twisted WSe₂ by visualizing the plasmonic and photo-thermoelectric response of an adjacent graphene monolayer.

The chaperone SurA is involved in outer membrane protein (OMP) biogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria, but its mechanism of action is not fully understood. Combining mass spectrometric, biophysical and computational approaches, the authors here show how the conformational dynamics of SurA facilitate OMP binding.

Borophene, or 2D boron, is highly polymorphic with many predicted lattice arrangements, complicating the identification of its atomic structure. Here, the authors use functionalized-tip scanning probe microscopy to directly resolve the atomic lattice structures of several borophene polymorphs.

Alterations in the tumour suppressor genes STK11 and/or KEAP1 can identify patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer who are likely to benefit from combinations of PD-(L)1 and CTLA4 immune checkpoint inhibitors added to chemotherapy.

Red quantum-dot light-emitting diodes with an external quantum efficiency of 18%, close to the theoretical maximum of 20%, are reported. Using a layer of zinc oxide nanocrystals provides highly effective electron transport, resulting in devices with a low operating voltage and a high luminous power efficiency of 25 lm W⁻¹.

The amplitude of a Schrödinger's cat (SC) state — superposed coherent state — is increased using a homodyne measurement. A pair of negative SC states with amplitude of 1.15 is probabilistically converted to a single positive SC state with amplitude of 1.85.

Photoconversion in organic photovoltaic cells, which relies on charge generation at donor/acceptor interfaces, is limited by short exciton-diffusion-lengths. Diluting an electron donor into a wide-energy-gap host material has now led to an ~50% increase in exciton diffusion length and enhanced power conversion efficiencies in planar heterojunction cells compared with optimized devices with an undiluted donor layer.

Preclinical studies indicate that simultaneous HER2 and VEGF blockade may be beneficial in gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA). Here, the authors report the efficacy and biomarker analysis of a phase II clinical trial investigating the combination of bevacizumab (anti-VEGF) and standard-of-care CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) and trastuzumab in previously untreated advanced HER2 + GEA.

Small GTPases of the RAS family classically function as molecular switches, adopting on and off conformations dependent on bound nucleotides. Here the authors reveal MRAS, closely related to archetypal RAS, is completely deficient in GTP exchange.

Despite effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, therapeutic options such as anti-virals and neutralizing antibodies are critical in treating disease, especially given the breakthrough infections of emerging VOCs. Here, Peng et al. generate two potent monoclonal antibodies and a bispecific antibody with two antigenrecognition variable regions targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike, provide CryoEM structures and show in vitro and in vivo efficacy of a humanized antibody against wildtype virus and delta variant.

We report superconductivity, in a limited region of displacement field and density, in 5.0° twisted bilayer WSe₂ with a maximum critical temperature of 426 mK, establishing that moiré flat-band superconductivity extends beyond graphene structures.

Near-transform-limited 630 fs pulses with 4.5 W of peak power are generated by compensating the dispersion of a quantum cascade laser emitting around 8 μm. Their temporal nature is assessed by a new method called asynchronous upconversion sampling.

Small molecule drugs promise to remain a valuable tool in controlling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here the authors describe optimized drug-like small molecule inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease for potential treatment of COVID-19.

Australian archaeological finds of 12,000-year-old fireplaces and artefacts match nineteenth-century GunaiKurnai ritual practices. They represent approximately 500 generations of cultural transmission of this ritual.

To evaluate the effectiveness of current national policies in achieving global temperature targets is important but a systematic multi-model evaluation is still lacking. Here the authors identified a reduction of 3.5 GtCO₂ eq of current national policies relative to a baseline scenario without climate policies by 2030 due to the increasing low carbon share of final energy and the improving final energy intensity.

Lock et al. identify reticular adhesion complexes that maintain cell–extracellular-matrix attachments during cell division. Reticular adhesions transmit spatial memory between cell generations, mediated by αvβ5 integrin and PtdIns(4,5)P₂.

The contributions of chirality and conformation as contributing factors to the biological properties of synthetic nanomaterials remain underexplored. A synthesis of bottlebrush polymers with mirror-image side chains has now been developed and it has been revealed that an interplay between side-chain absolute configuration and flexibility influences the biological properties of these polymers both in vitro and in vivo.

Cancer of unknown primary is difficult to treat due to high heterogeneity in treatment response depending on the original site. Here, the authors use DNA methylation data to develop a machine learning classifier to predict the tissue of origin from a single blood draw, allowing potential treatment changes to improve efficacy.

Superlattices, with a length scale and structure that differs from the parent lattice of the host material, are well-known to allow for remarkable new electronic and magnetic properties. Here, Xie et al. synthesize Cr_1/4TaS₂, and find that it exhibits an unusual anomalous Hall effect below the Néel temperature even in stoichiometric high-quality crystals.

The structural properties of the DNA-mediated assembly of co-crystals of anisotropic nanoparticles can be controlled through the shape and size complementarity of the DNA-coated nanoparticles.

In Vibrio cholerae, a type IVa pilus (T4aP) binds to exogenous DNA, and threads this DNA through the outer membrane secretin, PilQ. Here authors present the cryoEM structure of PilQ from native V. cholerae cells and design a series of mutants to reversibly regulate VcPilQ gate dynamics.

Oral vaccines against Vibrio cholera have been critical for cholera management, but the production of more efficacious and cost-effective approaches is still needed. Here the authors deliver a bivalent V_HH construct that binds to cholera toxin and show protection in a murine cholera model.

The bacterial anti-phage defense systems known as ‘Zorya’ consist of a membrane protein complex (ZorAB) and soluble components of unclear function. Here, the authors solve cryo-EM structures of the ZorAB complex and show that the soluble component ZorE displays nickase activity and acts as an effector module.

Covalent inhibitors that selectively target bacterial enzymes are potential antibiotic drug candidates. Here, the authors apply high-throughput screening to identify selective covalent inhibitors that target serine hydrolases in Staphylococcus aureus

A potent and selective inhibitor of KRAS^G12D, the most common mutant form of the KRAS oncoprotein, has anti-tumor efficacy in multiple pre-clinical cancer models, opening the possibility to therapeutically target this highly prevalent oncogenic driver.

Clinical benefit or intestinal toxicity resulting from combined immune checkpoint blockade in patients with melanoma associates with prevalent commensal bacteria and can be decoupled by IL-1R inhibition.

Spatial multi-omics methodologies are essential for capturing the molecular heterogeneity of complex biological systems. In this study, the authors introduce a multi-omics imaging workflow capable of mapping metabolite-protein interactions with spatial specificity, enabling pathway-level resolution across distinct placental tissue microenvironments.

Cryo-EM structure of Geobacter cytochrome OmcZ nanowires identifies mechanism of electron conductance.

New antimalarials are urgently needed. Here, the authors identify Open Source Malaria compound, OSMS-106, as a reaction hijacking inhibitor of the malaria parasite protein synthesis machinery, with potential use for treatment and prophylaxis.

Photoconductive sampling of optical fields is a powerful measurement technique, but existing models fail to connect single-electron dynamics to measured signals. Here, the authors report a model that identifies the roles of electron-neutral scattering and mean-field charge interaction in photoconductive sampling.

Brillouin lasing with 0.7 Hz fundamental linewidth is observed by optically exciting a monolithic bus–ring Si₃N₄ waveguide resonator. The Brillouin laser is applied to an optical gyroscope and a low phase-noise photonic microwave oscillator.