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Despite advances in enzyme design and engineering, the development of biocatalysts featuring a combination of tailored stereoselectivity with broad substrate scope has been very difficult. Focusing on a new-to-nature reaction, the authors report a mechanism-based, multi-state computational design workflow for the generation of ‘generalist’ cyclopropanases capable of transforming a broad range of substrates with tailored and divergent stereoselectivity.

Here authors show that linear [Hg₃Se₂]^2- cluster enables large birefringence and broad infrared transparency in Hg₁₈Ga₈Se₈Cl₃₂, enabling advanced infrared photonics.

Sluggish interfacial charge transfer in Li-metal batteries limits ultrafast charging and causes side reactions. The authors design solvent molecules to enhance Li⁺ coordination, improving the charge-transfer kinetics and enabling stable high-rate cycling of Li-metal cells.

Reconfigurable all-liquid optical fibers enable gigabit-speed communication while offering softness, rapid self-healing, and on-demand reconfiguration, providing a resilient alternative to brittle quartz fibers in dynamic application environments.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 causes interstitial pneumonia and viral replication in the lungs of transgenic mice that express a human version of ACE2, confirming the pathogenicity of the virus in this model.

A [2]catenane comprising two intertwined aromatic (34π) octaphyrinoid rings with entangled magnetic shielding interactions is synthesized. Upon four-electron oxidation, the system converts to a tetracation with two globally antiaromatic (32π) rings, in which through-space bonding interactions diminish the antiaromatic destabilization. Counterions can also affect the (anti)aromaticity of the tetracations.

Xue et al. develop a foundation model for spectral analysis. It excels in multiple tasks, such as denoising spectra and quantifying trace molecules, and is especially promising in identifying metabolic biomarkers of diseases such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer.

Here the authors develop topological polarization singular lasers that feature paired radiation channels carrying distinct topological properties which leads to single mode lasing with high external quantum efficiency.

A wearable human–machine interface combines inertial and electromyography sensors with deep learning to robustly extract gesture signals and enable real-time robotic control under diverse motion artefacts in dynamic environments.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have improved our understanding of the genetic basis of lung adenocarcinoma but known susceptibility variants explain only a small fraction of the familial risk. Here, the authors perform a two-stage GWAS and report 12 novel genetic loci associated with lung adenocarcinoma in East Asians.

Through RNA profiling of right ventricular tissue from patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, Jafari et al. uncover mechanisms underlying disease severity-associated remodeling, identify key signaling molecules involved in fibrotic and proliferative pathways, and reveal processes driving right ventricular recovery after pulmonary endarterectomy.

Experiments in mice and pigs revealed that l-theanine produced by Lactobacillus reuteri acts on host cells to increase the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids by stabilizing the expression of branched-chain amino acid transferases.

The connection between plasma proteomic and brain structure remains unclear. Here, the authors establish a comprehensive atlas of the patterns of associations between microscale proteome and brain structure, and demonstrate their potential value for studying brain disorders.

It is uncertain how much life expectancy of the Chinese population would improve under current and greater policy targets on lifestyle-based risk factors for chronic diseases and mortality behaviours. Here we report a simulation of how improvements in four risk factors, namely smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and diet, could affect mortality. We show that in the ideal scenario, that is, all people who currently smokers quit smoking, excessive alcohol userswas reduced to moderate intake, people under 65 increased moderate physical activity by one hour and those aged 65 and older increased by half an hour per day, and all participants ate 200 g more fresh fruits and 50 g more fish/seafood per day, life expectancy at age 30 would increase by 4.83 and 5.39 years for men and women, respectively. In a more moderate risk reduction scenario referred to as the practical scenario, where improvements in each lifestyle factor were approximately halved, the gains in life expectancy at age 30 could be half those of the ideal scenario. However, the validity of these estimates in practise may be influenced by population-wide adherence to lifestyle recommendations. Our findings suggest that the current policy targets set by the Healthy China Initiative could be adjusted dynamically, and a greater increase in life expectancy would be achieved.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analyses of polycystic ovary syndrome in women of East Asian and European ancestries identify 94 independent susceptibility regions, including 73 novel loci.

Investigation of the reaction process at the single-bond interface is key to understanding the catalytic reaction mechanism. Here, the authors develop a STM-BJ method to monitor the catalytic process from the perspective of single-bond energy.

The acid in the oral cavity can corrode lithium disilicate restorations’ surface structure. This study coated a stably bonded TiO₂/Al₂O₃ hybrid nanolayer on their surface via atomic layer deposition to enhance acid resistance and surface mechanical properties, without affecting transparency.

Some cancer patients first present with metastases where the location of the primary is unidentified; these are difficult to treat. In this study, using machine learning, the authors develop a method to determine the tissue of origin of a cancer based on whole sequencing data.

This work designs a ~ 1.4 nm structure that integrates the dual functions of barrier and liner for advanced Cu interconnects. It blocks Cu diffusion up to 600 °C and extends the mean time-to-failure by 24 times compared to barrier-free devices.

The ALICE Collaboration provides details on the microscopic mechanism that ends up creating antideuteron in high-energy proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Next-generation autonomous systems call for robust perception capabilities in diverse environments. Dun et al. report an ultraviolet-to-mid-infrared photosynapse array with 65,536 pixels and efficient in situ processing capabilities for dynamic trajectory recognition under challenging conditions.

Heterogeneous populations of basal cells in the prostate epithelium contain stem cells. Here the authors show that Zeb1 marks a pool of prostate epithelial stem cells that self-renew, generate prostate glandular structures with all 3 epithelial cell types and are required for prostate basal cell development.

The study of isotopes away from the beta stability valley is crucial for the understanding of nuclear structure, especially for neutron-deficient heavy nuclei. Here, the authors report the observation of the alpha-decay isotope 210-protactinium (Pa), extending the alpha-decay systematics of underexplored regions of the nuclides chart.

Sea cucumbers are predominant deposit feeders in benthic ecosystems. This study elucidates the mechanisms within the sea cucumber digestive system and their symbiotic microbiome which enable them to efficiently utilize nutrients from seabed sediments.

The CMS Collaboration reports the measurement of the spin, parity, and charge conjugation properties of all-charm tetraquarks, exotic fleeting particles formed in proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Wilms tumours are the most common malignant kidney tumour type in children, and their low mutational burden has impeded the development of targeted therapies. Here, the authors perform a proteogenomic characterisation of Wilms tumours, revealing molecular subtypes with different clinical features and identifying EHMT2 as a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target.

An increase in global soil nitrous acid emissions 1980–2016 is driven by climate change and increased fertilizer use. These emissions impact ozone levels, posing risks to vegetation.

DEAD-box helicase 6 (DDX6), the regulator of P-body assembly, is essential for the survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. Here the authors report that DDX6 undergoes phase separation to preserve mRNA subsets in P-bodies, promoting branched-chain amino acid metabolism and chemoresistance in AML.

This study identifies 245 genetic loci associated with head-to-body ratios using 38,202 bone density scan images from the UK Biobank, revealing genetic links to skeletal and brain development, disease susceptibility, and human evolutionary adaptation.

MXene fibers inspired by the structure of deer antlers achieve >1 GPa strength, >130 MJ m^-3 toughness, and >10,500 S cm^-1 conductivity through interface engineering and microporosity modulation for advanced wearables.

Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) is a rare and aggressive intraocular malignancy that is frequently misdiagnosed. Here, the authors conduct a multicentre case‒control study to develop a machine learning–based screening model for PVRL diagnosis from complete blood count data, with validation in large-scale clinical cohorts.

This study reports graphene–amorphous carbon with interwoven networks, achieving a flexural strength of 203 MPa. Microscopy shows that crack deflection at graphene/amorphous interfaces underlies its superior performance.

Understanding deregulation of biological pathways in cancer can provide insight into disease etiology and potential therapies. Here, as part of the PanCancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) consortium, the authors present pathway and network analysis of 2583 whole cancer genomes from 27 tumour types.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

The authors investigate how in vitro fertilization-derived mouse embryos differ from those obtained via natural mating and observe changes in the epigenetic and transcriptomic landscapes. They further show that CPI-455, inhibitor of the histone demethylase KDM5, may facilitate both human and mouse embryo development in vitro.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

Analysis of cancer genome sequencing data has enabled the discovery of driver mutations. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium the authors present DriverPower, a software package that identifies coding and non-coding driver mutations within cancer whole genomes via consideration of mutational burden and functional impact evidence.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

The characterization of 4,645 whole-genome and 19,184 exome sequences, covering most types of cancer, identifies 81 single-base substitution, doublet-base substitution and small-insertion-and-deletion mutational signatures, providing a systematic overview of the mutational processes that contribute to cancer development.

Ammonia represents a promising fuel resource, but its efficient conversion to dinitrogen faces high energy barriers. Now magnetic domain structures of Co/Pt thin films have been engineered to facilitate N–NH dimerization by cooperative spin alignment, revealing a spin-regulated pathway to enhance activity in catalytic nitrogen chemistry.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

The miniaturization of spectrometers to a submillimeter-scale footprint opens opportunities for applications in hyperspectral imaging and lab-on-a-chip systems. Here, the authors report a high-performance single-pixel photodetector spectrometer based on the III-V semiconductor p-graded-n junction, featuring a voltage-tunable optical response.

In this work, the researchers levitate charged glass micro-spheres using electrical forces and use an event based camera to track the motion of whole clouds of particles at once. The amount of data produced is minimal, enabling the authors to generate real-time feedback signals to control the motion of each particle in an array.