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Polyacetylene is an ideal system to probe to gain a better understanding of the nature of charge transport in conducting polymers. Now, individual atomically precise polyacetylene chains have been synthesized on a copper surface and characterized using a range of techniques, revealing a doping-induced semiconductor-to-metal transition.

Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDV) that infect algae encode two distinct families of microbial rhodopsins. Here, the authors characterise two proteins form the viral rhodopsin group 1 OLPVR1 and VirChR1, present the 1.4 Å crystal structure of OLPVR1 and show that viral rhodopsins 1 are light-gated cation channels.

Though designing digital circuits using organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) is promising due to their high performance, inherent large footprint limits adoption. Here, the authors report staggered top-gate OECTs for all-printed integrated circuits with fast switching and small footprint.

Observations of the young star HD 142527, whose disk is separated into inner and outer regions by a gap suggestive of the formation of a gaseous giant planet, show that accretion onto the star is maintained by a flow of gas across the gap, in agreement with dynamical models of planet formation.

Bacterial protein dynamin A is shown to self-assemble at the membrane neck of dumbbell-shaped liposomes, triggering membrane hemi-scission and full scission, establishing dynamin-based single protein as a minimal synthetic divisome for synthetic cells.

Here, the authors developed an automated, high-throughput method for the sorting of single live cells based on their functional phenotype for downstream genomics or cultivation. Application of the platform to murine gut microbiota samples identified a diverse community of mucin degraders.

The crystal structure and cryo-electron microscopy of the loading/condensing region of a nonreducing polyketide synthase reveals the insertion of a starter-unit acyltransferase into the condensing region and an asymmetrical post-loading state.

Understanding the biological role of graphene in eukaryotic cells is essential for future biomedicine applications. Here, the authors investigate the interaction of neurons and fibroblasts with graphene substrates, which increase cell membrane cholesterol and potentiate neurotransmitter release and receptor signaling.

Disentangling the various pathways by which climate change may drive community shifts in real-world ecosystems is challenging. Here the authors apply a trend attribution approach to a large dataset from the MASTIF database to assess the contribution of direct and indirect effects of climate on tree fecundity in North America, finding that the latter dominate trends by affecting tree growth and size and thereby fecundity.

The antimicrobial resistance crisis calls for development of new classes of antibiotics. Here, authors use genome mining approach to discover a distinct family of ribosome-targeting proline rich antimicrobial peptides.

The ability to discriminate objects along the optic axis is a benchmark for three-dimensional imaging techniques. Here, the authors combine metastable-state switching and opposing objective lenses to suppress out-of-focus background and record three-dimensional nanoscale images of living cells.

The signaling-specific inhibitor AEF0117 selectively inhibits CB₁ activation by THC and reduces self-administration and subjective effects of cannabis in clinical trials, making it a potential treatment for cannabis use disorder.

Myosins have roles in many biological processes that go beyond muscle contraction and vesicle transport, including furrowing during cytokinesis, signal transduction and RNA polymerase I–dependent transcription. Studying these various complex processes will require the use of isoform-specific small molecules that alter motor activity. The marine natural product pentabromopseudilin is now shown to act as an allosteric effector of myosin function and potent inhibitor of vertebrate myosin-5a–dependent motor activity.

CTCF is sufficient to block loop extruding cohesin in a DNA tension dependent manner, and induces loop extrusion direction switching and loop shrinkage.

This study suggests a mechanism by which LSD1 controls DNA methylation in mouse ESCs, independently of its lysine demethylase activity. The demethylase-independent function of LSD1 regulates the DNMT1 and UHRF1 protein stability through interaction with USP7 and HDAC1.

ALS is somewhat heritable, but the genetic basis is not completely understood. Here, the authors identify alterations in splicing in neurons associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and uncover several associated genetic loci, with a potential link to nuclear pore defects.

Nitrile-oxide electrophiles were identified as covalent inhibitors of GPX4 that exhibit increased selectivity and reduced off-target effects relative to chloroacetamide-based inhibitors.

Marginal twisting of 2D semiconductor crystals enables the emergence of room temperature interfacial ferroelectricity.

SUMO and ubiquitin are key signal transducers in several cellular processes including the DNA-damage response. Here the authors describe a method for selective enrichment of ubiquitin substrates for E3 ligases from complex cellular proteomes and identify the SUMO conjugation machinery as direct RNF4 substrates.

Hybrid MOF-glasses can be shaped and processed in analogy to conventional glasses. Here, microstructures are formed by thermal imprinting, whilst preserved porosity of the material enables its further use in responsive optics.

Cryo-EM structures of the heat-activated TRP channel TRPV3 in lipid nanodiscs at different temperatures reveal a conformational wave involved in the gating process.

Forest dynamics are monitored at large scales with remote sensing, but individual tree data are necessary for ground-truthing and mechanistic insights. This study on high temporal resolution dendrometer data across Europe reveals that the 2018 heatwave affected tree physiology and growth in unexpected way.

Faster cryo specimen preparation can advance cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM). Here, the authors present a vitrification device with automated sample handling for cryoEM of proteins, suspensions and cells, enabling blot-free sample thinning, dew-point control and characterization of cryo grids prior to data acquisition.

The photochemical-induced dimerization of bromine-terminated oligo(ethynylene)s in the solid state is shown to give 1,2-dibromoeneynes on a preparative scale. This single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation proceeds through a multistep reaction that involves the making and breaking of several bonds in addition to large atom displacements. The reaction represents an atom-efficient and catalyst-free pathway towards functional carbon-rich molecular scaffolds.

Age impacts the effect of dietary health and longevity interventions but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here the authors study fasting in killifish and find that older animals exhibit a metabolic shift resembling a fasting-like program, which is counteracted by boosting the activity of AMPKγ1, promoting health and longevity.

The small molecule GS-6207, which disrupts the function of the HIV capsid protein, shows potential as a long-acting therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection.

The authors compare the whole-genome expression profiles of peri-infarct neurons that show axonal sprouting after stroke to their non-sprouting neighbors. They describe a 'sprouting transcriptome' and perform further gain- and loss-of-function studies, finding novel roles in sprouting for a DNA-modifying molecule, a growth factor, and inhibitory myelin receptors.

Minimal photon fluxes (MINFLUX) has enabled molecule-scale resolution in fluorescence microscopy but this had not been shown in standard, broadly applicable microscopy platforms. Here the authors report a solution to allow normal fluorescence microscopy while also providing 1-3 nm 3D resolution.

Steady-State Microbunching (SSMB) is emerging as a new concept for accelerator-based light sources to meet demands for high average power radiation at short wavelengths. The authors present findings from a proof-of-principle experiment that agree with theoretical expectations in multiple aspects, laying the foundation for the future realization of SSMB.

Galenza et al. show that basal stem cell progeny seamlessly integrate into a physiologically active barrier epithelium by gestating their future apical surface in a sheltering niche created by a transient occluding junction.

Measurements of inkjet-printed thin-film devices made from titanium carbide MXene (metal), molybdenum disulfide (semiconductor) and few-layer graphene (semimetal) clarify the charge transport mechanisms of the devices and highlight the role of inter-flake and intra-flake processes.

Lignin is an abundant source of renewable aromatic carbon and is of interest as a feedstock for sustainable fuels. This Review provides an overview of production technologies, jet fuel requirements, effects of lignin chemistry, depolymerization techniques, upgrading of bio-oils and challenges for catalysis using real biomass feedstocks.

Controlling selectivity during direct unsymmetrical diamination of double bonds is challenging. Now, ambiphilic iminyl and electrophilic amidyl radicals are generated from oxime ester-based bifunctional precursors, enabling the regio- and diastereoselective unsymmetrical diamination of arenes and alkenes.

Combinatorial optimization problems are challenging to solve due to their NP-hardness and the limitations of classical computing. This study introduces a surface acoustic wave-based Ising machine demonstrating similar scalability, improved thermal stability, and reduced power consumption compared to coherent Ising machines, offering a promising solution for large-scale optimization tasks.

Quantum mechanical calculations of molecular ionized states are computationally quite expensive. This work reports a successful extension of a previous deep-neural networks approach towards transferable neural-network models for predicting multiple properties of open shell anions and cations.

Responsiveness in metal-organic frameworks involving amorphous phases remains poorly understood. Here, the authors demonstrate MOFs that reversibly switch between well-defined crystalline and structurally degenerate amorphous states mediated by competing intra-framework forces.

Seismic amplifications arise from several cycles of circular recombination of circular extrachromosomal DNA formed as a result of chromothripsis. The process provides a mechanism for oncogene amplification in a number of different human tumor types.

Two side-by-side papers report that the transcription elongation factor ELOF1 drives transcription-coupled repair and prevents replication stress.