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Slow waves in sleep are crucial for homeostatic regulation of brain function. Here the authors show similar slow wave activity occurs during wakefulness in people with epilepsy to counter the impact of abnormal, epileptic, brain activity.

An unidentified defect in diamond is used to demonstrate optical spin polarization and readout with high contrast.

Experiments show how molecular structure affects the interaction and dynamics of the triplet exciton pairs produced when an excited singlet exciton decays via singlet fission — a process that could be harnessed for optoelectronic applications.

Cell-free protein synthesis allows for producing proteins without the need of a host organism, thus sparing the researcher experimental hassle. Here, the authors developed a cell-free synthesis method that enables incorporating non-standard amino acids in the product.

The genome of the wild grass Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium), a member of the Pooideae subfamily, is sequenced. The Pooideae are one of three subfamilies of grasses that provide the bulk of human nutrition and may become major sources of renewable energy. Availability of the genome sequence should help establish Brachypodium as a model for developing new energy and food crops.

Singlet fission — the conversion of one singlet exciton into two triplet excitons, could improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices — but its mechanism is still to be fully understood. Now, in films of TIPS-tetracene, it has been shown that the formation of the triplet pair state, which has been proposed to mediate singlet fission, is ultrafast and vibronically coherent in this endothermic fission system.

Supramolecular gels show promise in diverse areas, including healthcare and energy technologies, owing to tunable properties that arise directly from the organization of their building blocks. Researchers have now been able to control this behaviour by combining enzymatic catalysis with molecular self-assembly. Although it seems counter-intuitive, gels that assembled faster showed fewer defects.

Non-standard amino acids are incorporated into proteins at large numbers of sites using evolved translation components in recoded bacteria.

Blood vessel development depends upon endothelial cell migration and adhesion, which are regulated by Rho-GTPases. Here the authors identify Rho-GTPase guanine nucleotide exchange factors that specifically control lateral filopodial contacts and are required for lumen formation during angiogenesis.

Human-generated noise and night lighting affect breeding habits and fitness in birds, implying that sensory pollutants must be considered alongside other environmental factors in assessing biodiversity conservation.

High numbers of COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in the United States, but estimation of the true numbers of infections is challenging. Here, the authors estimate that on 1 June 2020, 3.7% of the US population was infected with SARS-CoV-2, and 0.01% was infectious, with wide variation by state.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is required for tumour angiogenesis and growth. Here, the authors show that deletion of pericyte FAK upregulates Gas6-Axl mediated Cyr61 production, which increases endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis, while elevating tissue factor production to enhance tumour cell proliferation.

Broadband electrostatic force microscopy can be used to non-destructively image n-type and p-type dopant layers in silicon devices with a lateral resolution of 10 nm and a vertical resolution of 0.5 nm.

While experiments in younger trees support increased production under higher CO₂, it is unclear whether more mature trees can respond similarly. Here, the authors show increased production of biomass in a 180-year-old Quercus robur L. woodland under 7 years of free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE).

Methane- and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria use the integral membrane, copper-dependent enzymes particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) and ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) to oxidize methane and ammonia. Here the authors structurally characterize the copper-binding protein PmoD, which contains an unusual CuA site and their genetic analyses strongly support a pMMO and AMO related function of PmoD.

Tau accumulation is associated with disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease. Here the authors use resting state fMRI and tau-PET to demonstrate that baseline connectivity in Alzheimer's disease is associated with tau spreading.

The start-up Cambridge Photon Technology is developing photovoltaic materials that take full advantage of the Sun’s spectrum.

Electro-optic modulators can be useful for imaging, sensing and information processing applications. Here the authors demonstrate an ultra-low drive voltage visible to near infrared range electro-optic modulator in the form of amplitude and phase modulation using thin-film lithium niobate.

The link between stiffness heterogeneity and tumor cell heterogeneity remains poorly understood. Here, authors propose an AI-informed method that reveals correlations between stromal stiffness and breast cancer cells with a heterogeneous EMT phenotype.

In meiotic cells paired homologues are joined by a set of crossovers known as a double Holliday junction (DHJ). Whether DHJs form during mitotic recombination has been unclear, as mitotic cells possess alternative repair pathways that would not require DHJ formation. Here it is demonstrated that mitotic and meiotic cells form similar DHJs, but that the levels in mitotic cells are approximately 10–fold lower, and show a preference for joints between sister chromatids rather than homologues. Consequently, in mitotic cells non–crossover outcomes are favoured.

Germline pseudogenes have an important role in human evolution. Here, the authors analyse sequencing data from 660 cancer samples and find evidence for the formation of somatically acquired pseudogenes, a new class of mutation, which may contribute to cancer development.

One-dimensional nanostructures have been shown to increase multiple-exciton generation, offering a pathway to breaking the Shockley–Queisser limit. Here, Davis et al. have fabricated working photovoltaic devices based on high-quality PbSe nanorods and a maximum external quantum efficiency of 122 % was demonstrated.

Point measurements have historically been used to assess salt marsh vulnerability; however, these metrics do not integrate over the necessary spatiotemporal scales. Here, the authors show that two geomorphic-based, spatiotemporally integrative metrics reveal vulnerability not captured by traditional metrics.

Photonic quantum memories are essential to develop quantum information networks based on light. Jin et al.employ thulium-doped lithium niobate waveguides and show their suitability as memories using weak coherent pulses for two-photon interference and Bell-state measurements.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

A regional atlas of the ageing human brain—spanning six distinct anatomical regions from individuals with and without Alzheimer’s dementia—provides insights into cellular vulnerability, response and resilience to Alzheimer’s disease pathology

The acetylene contaminant present in ethylene feeds used to produce polymers is typically removed by thermal hydrogenation. Now, it has been shown that the conversion of acetylene to ethylene at room temperature can be achieved in a visible-light-driven process using an earth-abundant metal (cobalt) catalyst and a water proton source.

E1E2 spike on the hepatitis C virion is an important target for vaccine design. Here, the authors permute the subunits to generate E2E1 immunogens and show that mosaic nanoparticles displaying different E2E1 antigens elicit cross-neutralizing antibodies in rabbits.

Statins are effectively used to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease, but patient response to these drugs is highly variable. Here, the authors identify two new genes associated with the response of LDL cholesterol to statins and advance our understanding of the genetic basis of drug response.

Lipopolysaccharide, an essential component of the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria, is inserted by LptD–LptE, a protein complex with a unique ‘barrel and plug’ architecture; the structure, molecular dynamics simulations and functional assays of the LptD–LptE complex of Salmonella typhimurium suggest that lipopolysaccharide may pass through the barrel and is then inserted into the outer leaflet of the outer membrane through a lateral opening between two β-strands of LptD.

Amines at typical atmospheric concentrations of a only few molecules per trillion air molecules combine with sulphuric acid to form highly stable aerosol particles at rates similar to those observed in the lower atmosphere.

Building crystal structures into the electron density is an important step in protein structure solution. Here, the authors recruit online game players, students, and experienced crystallographers to compete in a competition to solve a new structure, and find that crowdsourcing model-building works.

Electro-optic modulator is used to encode electrical signals onto light. Here the authors demonstrate an electro-optic modulator, based on Silicon Carbide, which can be useful for quantum and optical communications.

Toroidal moments arise from vortex like spin arrangements. These moments can then interact, giving rise to ferri- or ferro-toroidal order, though controlling such order is difficult. Here, the authors demonstrate a ferri-toroidal state in BaCoSiO₄, which under an applied magnetic field exhibits multiple toroidal and metamagnetic transitions.

An antisense oligonucleotide targeting the RNA-binding protein FUS transcript lowers FUS levels in mice and in the central nervous system of a single patient with FUS-dependent ALS

Split inteins are powerful tools for designing synthetic split proteins. Here the authors use a mini-Mu transposon screen to map split sites, enabling the development of protein-based logic gates and fine control of protein activity.

The interplay between amyloid and tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease is still not well understood. Here, the authors show that amyloid-related increased in soluble p-tau is related to subsequent accumulation of tau aggregates and cognitive decline in early stage of the disease.