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Colloidal self-assembly at liquid interfaces has important emulsion applications, for food, household or personal care products, and drug encapsulation. Here, the authors develop a method of forming patchy heterogeneous capsules by electro-coalescence of multiple liquid drops.

Targeted delivery to the lower regions of the lung is necessary for the treatment of parenchymal lung injury and disease but is challenging. Here, the authors develop an mRNA delivery platform to treat acute lung injury in mice and demonstrate that it can reach the lower regions of the lung.

A combination of functional nanoparticles and liquid streaming can be used to generate structures for the fabrication of soft functional materials. In this study, authors demonstrate the creation of Janus-structured liquids with anisotropic and programmable distributions of nanoparticles by utilizing interfacial assembly and jamming of nanoparticles at the liquid-liquid interface.

Increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not well understood, but in animal models, the Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib improves related phenotypes. Here the authors report a Phase 1 double-blind randomized trial that shows tofacitinib is safe and well tolerated in in patients with SLE.

In vivo screening of pro-metastatic factors in a genetically engineered mouse model of lung cancer uncovered the CD109–JAK–STAT3 axis as a key contributor of metastatic dissemination of lung cancer cells. Activation of this pathway predicts poor outcome in patients with cancer, and its pharmacological inhibition dramatically reduces the metastatic ability of tumor cells, suggesting that it might be an effective intervention in patients.

Self-propelled colloids can be used as cargo carriers, but it is challenging to control their motion without external fields. Here, Simmchen et al. use submicron patterns on a solid substrate to effectively confine the motion of the chemically active Janus microswimmers along the edges of the patterns.

In a randomized controlled trial that included 97 participants, 69% patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) allocated to a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) achieved clinical response, and over 60% reached remission, outperforming the control group. The FMD also reduced markers of intestinal inflammation, suggesting this dietary intervention could serve as adjunctive treatment for CD.

Control of composite nanoparticle topology can be difficult. Here the authors control the topological structure of mesoporous multipods by controlling the number of nucleation sites, and they used the resultant nanoparticles for bacterial adhesion, segregation and antibiotic delivery.

In the interactive model of communication, information is exchanged bidirectionally between a sender and receiver. Here, the authors realise interactive communication between two artificial nanoparticles, which relay information between each other in the form of chemical messengers and enzymatic reactions.

The peptidoglycan hydrolase PcsB is required for cell wall splitting during cell division in Streptococci. Bartual et al.show that PcsB adopts an autoinhibited dimeric structure, and demonstrate the muralytic activity of the uninhibited catalytic domain.

Latent catalysis in olefin metathesis has seen great progress over the years, leading to key advances in the properties of polymers and 3D printing technologies. Now it is shown that the latency mechanism can be extended to the monomer through quadricyclane–norbornadiene interconversion, expanding the tools available to this field.

An implantable vagus nerve-targeted device safely reduces disease activity and joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis, offering a new nondrug treatment for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate medication.

Independently tailored nano- and mesoscale features are obtained in hierarchically assembled mixed graft block copolymers with precisely defined side-chain sequences.

Merlino et al. demonstrate that the cytokine Interleukin-27 contributes to innate antiviral immunity in the placenta and is an important defense against congenital Zika virus infection.

Artificial DNA photofluids exhibit dissipative life-like motion when fuelled by light in space and time, converting photoenergy into out-of-equilibrium structures on the macroscale.

Self-propelled nanoparticles may find medical applications. Here Mg–Fe₃O₄ based Janus nanoparticles powered by water are shown to efficiently capture cancer cells in serum and whole blood samples.

The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) family proteins are attractive drug targets but tools to monitor their activation are lacking. Now, STAT biosensors have been developed for real-time tracking in live cells and are applied to screen inhibitors and investigate the effects of cancer-associated mutations.

A challenge to change one protein into another while retaining 50% of the original protein's sequence has been met and provides a warning to other would-be protein folding/engineering challenges: only offer a prize of a tee-shirt.

The role of IgG glycosylation in the immune response has been studied, but less is known about IgM glycosylation. Here the authors characterize glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgM and show that it correlates with COVID-19 severity and affects complement deposition.

Resident Streptococcus pneumoniae colonizers persist in hosts by outcompeting incoming strains through the action of a quorum-regulated Com regulon.

Here, Becher and colleagues examine the paradoxical roles of IL-12 and IL-23, two IL-12 family cytokines that drive type 1 and type 3 immune responses, respectively. Both promote inflammation by activating T cells, natural cells and innate lymphoid cells through cytokine polarization, yet IL-12 also supports antitumour immunity and IL-23 maintains barrier integrity. This Review highlights emerging evidence that both cytokines can also dampen immune responses, revealing unexpected regulatory roles in cancer, autoimmunity and tissue homeostasis.

African ancestry is a known risk factor for prostate cancer development, but the genetic determinants of this are incompletely understood. Here, the authors identify 172 potentially pathogenic variants which are enriched in an African population.

Immune function decreases with age, leading to increased risk of infectious disease. The authors show that N-glycan branching increases with age in females more than in males as a result of a sex-dimorphic increase in N-acetylglucosamine and interleukin-7 signaling. Reversing elevated branching reduced infection severity in aged female mice.

Here the authors develop a coacervate micromotor that can display autonomous motion as a result of stochastic distribution of propelling units. This stochastic-induced mobility is validated and explained through experiments and theory.

Synthetic receptors are a powerful approach for engineering cell-based therapies that can sense and respond to their environment. Here cytokine receptor domains have been repurposed to develop engineered T cells that can sense and respond to cues associated with cancer or immune dysfunction.

Li et al. uncover a lysosomal surveillance response whereby intestinal lumen deacidification induces a transcriptional programme that boosts lysosomal activity and improves protein aggregate clearance in multiple worm disease models, extending healthspan.

In a randomized phase 3 trial, the combination of the BET inhibitor pelabresib with the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib resulted in a significantly higher spleen volume reduction from baseline versus placebo with ruxolitinib in patients with JAK inhibitor-naive myelofibrosis.

A general method of creating colloidal particles that can self-assemble into ‘colloidal molecules’ is described: surface patches with well-defined symmetries are functionalized using DNA with single-stranded sticky ends and imitate hybridized atomic orbitals to form highly directional bonds.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD)-associated cardiomyopathy, also known as uraemic cardiomyopathy, describes the myocardial abnormalities that occur in patients with CKD or kidney failure. In this Review, Edwards and colleagues discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms of this condition, as well as the imaging, prevention and treatment options.