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Artificial neural networks face challenges of robustness and efficiency as they scale. Here, the authors show that incoherent network motifs provide greater stability and resilience to noise than coherent network motifs, offering new structural insights for designing stronger neural networks.

Argonaute proteins degrade specific invader nucleic acids in eukaryotic and prokaryotic innate immunity. Here, Kanevskaya et al. describe a bacterial immune system in which RNA-guided recognition of invader DNA by Argonaute triggers formation of HNH nuclease filaments with collateral activity, protecting the bacterial population from invaders.

Electrically conductive hydrogels based on conducting polymers often rely on covalent and therefore irreversible crosslinking mechanisms. Here, the authors report a thermo-responsive conducting polymer that undergoes a fully reversible non-covalent crosslinking at 35 °C within less than a minute to form conductive hydrogels.

Variation in responses to bacterial and viral stimuli between Batwa rainforest hunter-gatherers and Bakiga agriculturalists from Uganda suggests population-level divergence under natural selection, with hunter-gatherers disproportionately showing signatures of positive selection.

A study identified unprecedented horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events in Cuscuta campestris and related species, and provides insights into convergent HGTs between Cuscuta and Orobanchaceae parasites and the functional importance of the HGT sequences.

This Consensus Statement presents the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines.

Designing enzymatic reaction networks capable of mimicking the complexity of biological information processing is challenging. Now, an in chemico reservoir sensor based on a recursive enzymatic competition network has been designed that can process diverse physical and chemical inputs and perform several information-processing tasks.

Soil protists can impact plant performance. Here the authors show that soil-dwelling Naegleria can enhance plant health by predating on pathogens, promoting beneficial bacteria, and stimulating protective microbial functions in the rhizosphere.

Intravesical bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is an established bacterial immunotherapy for bladder cancer. Here, the authors develop a personalized platform to identify microbial product cocktails that promote immune cell recruitment, infiltration, and activation for improving bladder cancer treatment.

Nodelman, Folkwein et al. define a regulatory region in Chd1 containing adjacent inhibitor and activator elements that compete for binding to the remodeler ATPase. The competition between these elements shows how remodeler regulation is integrated into the nucleosome sliding cycle.

The metal-organic framework TAMOF-1 offers high performance for CO₂ capture and purification from model biogas streams, thanks to its high CO₂ adsorption potential, good stability in humid conditions, and energy-efficient regeneration.

In vitro assembly of out-of-equilibrium enzymatic reaction networks has proved challenging, limiting the development of autonomous synthetic systems. Now, a methodology has been developed to construct an enzymatic reaction network producing oscillations of active trypsin. The modular approach allows amplification or analog-to-digital conversion of the oscillations, and control over a self-assembly process.

Hu et al. describe ARTseq-FISH, a spatial omics method that enables multiplexed detection of mRNAs, proteins and phospho-proteins simultaneously and at the same resolution. The authors investigate gene expression changes in a heterogenous colony of micropatterned mESCs.

Multiple autocatalytic reactions producing thiols are known, but negative feedback loop motifs are unavailable for thiol chemistry. Here, the authors develop a negative feedback loop based on the selenocarbonates, in which thiols induce the release of aromatic selenols that catalyze the oxidation of thiols by organic peroxides.

Morphology of organic thin film, including the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, plays a crucial role in determining the performance of organic solar cells, yet the characterisation is challenging for the out-of-plane direction. Here, the authors use GTSAXS to uncover the nanomorphology in this dimension, and show how it affects exciton dissociation and charge transfer.

Alfajaro et al identify that a bat MERS-like coronavirus HKU5 uses ACE2 as a receptor from its natural bat reservoir Pipistrellus abramus and American mink. Structural analyses demonstrate a unique interaction between the HKU5 receptor binding domain and bat ACE2. This highlights the receptor flexibility of merbecoviruses and identifies mink as potential intermediate hosts, informing viral surveillance and countermeasure development.

Kinetic modeling of in vitro enzymatic reaction networks (ERNs) is severely hampered by the lack of training data. Here, authors introduce a methodology that combines an active learning-like approach and flow chemistry to create optimized datasets for an intricate ERN.

Synthetic routes to aminoglycosides are often long and rely upon the coupling of semisynthetically produced fragments. Now, an enantioselective, copper-catalysed hydroamination of benzene has been developed to enable access to the aminoglycoside antibiotic ribostamycin. This bottom-up strategy provides modular and expedient entry into the aminocyclitol class.

Majority of biologic drugs and vaccines require temperature-controlled conditions throughout the supply chain to minimize thermal inactivation and contamination, which is costly and impractical. Here, the authors report chemical dispersants that non-covalently solvate proteins within fluorous liquids, resulting in non-aqueous, fluorine-based liquid protein formulations that biochemically rigidify protein structure to yield thermally stable biologics that are also resistant to degradation.

Green hydrogen production via water electrolysis requires a low-cost solution to provide efficient catalysts. Here, the authors report an industrially scalable method for synthesizing NiFe layered double hydroxide at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, enhancing alkaline electrolysis.

A chemical reservoir computer based on the formose reaction has been discovered that can perform several nonlinear classification tasks in parallel, predict the dynamics of other complex systems and achieve time-series forecasting.

As the wild blue yonder beckons and labs and classrooms empty, Nature's regular reviewers share their holiday reads.

In ancient cultures without a writing system, it is difficult to infer the basis of status and rank. Here the authors analyse ancient DNA from nine presumed elite individuals buried successively over a 300-year period at Chaco Canyon, and show evidence of matrilineal relationships.

Characterization of cell-free genetic networks is inherently difficult. Here the authors use optimal experimental design and microfluidics to improve characterization, demonstrating modularity and predictability of parts in applied test cases.

Organoid technologies are a potent tool for investigating human biology, modelling diseases and developing novel therapies. In this Viewpoint, experts in metabolic and endocrine research in the brain, pituitary, skeletal muscle, bone and gastrointestinal system discuss how organoids and related bioengineered systems are currently used in their field and how innovations in these technologies could transform future research.

We report a small-organic-molecule oscillator that catalyses an independent chemical reaction in situ without impairing its oscillating properties, allowing the construction of complex systems enhancing applications in automated synthesis and systems and polymerization chemistry.

The emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance has compromised antimalarial efficacy. Here, Mok et al. apply quantitative transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to provide evidence that K13 mutations alter multiple aspects of the parasite’s intra-erythrocytic development to enhance survival following artemisinin treatment.

The reaction speed of like-charged compounds in water is extremely slow due to Coulomb repulsions. Here, the authors boost kinetics up to 5 million times by screening these interactions and increasing the local concentration of reactants using positively charged micelles. They show the effect for two independent systems and present a theoretical explanation.

Controllable and reversible transmembrane transport is a fundamental challenge in building synthetic cells. Here, interfacial energy-mediated bulk transport across artificial cell membranes is developed to mimic a rudimentary form of endocytosis- and exocytosis-like behaviors, facilitating the shuttling of biomolecules such as enzyme substrates, ions and nucleic acids.

The process by which life arose using information from the prebiotic environment and inherent molecular reactivity is unclear. Now, it has been shown that systems of chemical reactions exhibit well-defined self-organization in varying environments, providing a potential mechanism for chemical evolution processes that bridge the gap between prebiotic building blocks and life’s origin.

We find that bile salt hydrolase N-acyltransferase activity can form bacterial bile acid amidates that are positively correlated with the colonization of gut bacteria that assist in the regulation of the bile acid metabolic network.

Complete sequences of chromosomes telomere-to-telomere from chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan and siamang provide a comprehensive and valuable resource for future evolutionary comparisons.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

One-dimensional diffusive binding represents an important mechanism used by nature to facilitate many fundamental biochemical processes. Now, a completely synthetic system with similar capabilities has been constructed. The system was exploited to significantly speed up bimolecular reactions and to catalytically transport molecular cargo in solution and within physically separated compartments.

Transfer of scarce phosphate to organic molecules is a significant challenge for prebiotic chemistry. Here authors show a prebiotic physicochemical cycle to activate orthophosphate and via a kinetically stable, thermodynamically activated molecule phosphorylate all of life’s basic building blocks.

Protein fibrils grow and divide inside a coacervate compartment in response to the local concentration of a fuel.

The spreading and differentiation of stem cells is influenced by the mechanical properties—in particular by the stiffness—of the extracellular matrix. Now, experiments on epidermal stem cells cultured on substrates with a covalently attached collagen coating show that stem cells sense the stiffness of the substrate through the anchoring density of collagen fibres.

Macromolecular crowding decreases diffusion of mRNA and proteins leading to the formation of heterogeneous environments in gene expression experiments in picolitre droplets.

Fiona Watt runs the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London and is an outspoken advocate for women scientists. Since April 2018, she has been on secondment as Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, one of the major funders of biomedical research in the UK.

The parasitic plant Striga hermonthica germinates when it senses strigolactones (SLs). By expressing Striga SL receptors in Arabidopsis, the authors show that the SL pathway can regulate germination independently of gibberellin signalling.