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We asked a collection of redox biologists, “What do you think are the most exciting frontiers or the most needed developments in redox biology?” — here is what they said.

Protein patterns enable cellular processes. A general theory now identifies a non-equilibrium mechanism that generates an effective interfacial tension, shaping the geometry and intrinsic length scales of steady-state protein patterns.

Here the authors compare genetic testing strategies in rare movement disorders, improve diagnostic yield with genome analysis, and establish CD99L2 as an X-linked spastic ataxia gene, showing that CD99L2–CAPN1 signaling disruption likely drives neurodegeneration.

Czernilofsky et al. identified factors that reprogram stromal cells into an inflammatory, dysfunctional state, leading to the structural disorganization of lymph nodes in B cell lymphoma at single-cell and spatial resolutions.

Here, the authors identify widespread disease associations of gut archaea, particularly in colorectal cancer, with further experiments revealing Methanobrevibacter smithii cooperation with cancer-associated bacteria and co-production of metabolites with tumor-modulating potential.

A comparison of the repertoire of SARS-CoV-2-specific epitopes targeted by T cells induced by vaccination or natural infection reveals that T cells predominantly target non-spike epitopes in convalescent individuals, while there is a broader spike-specific CD8⁺ T-cell response in vaccinees. Despite differences in T-cell response, the targeted T-cell epitopes were conserved between the wild-type and Omicron variants in both groups.

ChReef is an optogenetic actuator for sustained optogenetic control of excitable cells in a variety of preclinical applications.

Designing efficient in-memory-computing architectures remains a challenge. Here the authors develop a multi-level FeFET crossbar for multi-bit MAC operations encoded in activation time and accumulated current with experimental validation at 28nm achieving 96.6% accuracy and high performance of 885 TOPS/W.

Genomic and molecular analyses of Clunio marinus timing strains suggest that modulation of alternative splicing of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II represents a mechanism for evolutionary adaptation of circadian timing.

Light-field control of real and virtual charge carriers in a gold–graphene–gold heterostructure is demonstrated, and used to create a logic gate for application in lightwave electronics.

We demonstrated high-speed VCSEL in-memory neural networks that deliver billion optical convolutions per second for massively parallel edge intelligence at ultralow energy and latency.

Continuous-variable QKD protocols are usually easier to implement than discrete-variables ones, but their security analyses are less developed. Here, the authors propose and demonstrate in the lab a CVQKD protocol that can generate composable keys secure against collective attacks.

Cochlear implant spectral resolution is limited by current spread from each stimulation electrode. Here the authors compare optogenetic, electric and acoustic stimulation in gerbils and demonstrate improved spectral resolution of optogenetic over conventional electric stimulation.

A neural epigenetic signature detectable via plasma analyses is prognostic in patients with glioblastoma, resembling an oligodendrocyte-progenitor- and neuronal-progenitor-cell-like state and showing increased neuro-to-glioma synapse formation.

Vaccines induce beneficial immunity for COVID-19, but immune waning prompts boosting vaccination. Here, the authors show that a third, boosting dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine induces transient CD8 + T effector cell response while conserving the CD8 memory T cell pool, thereby permitting reactivation of spike-specific CD8 + T cells upon breakthrough infection or 4th vaccination.

Altered glutamatergic neurotransmission can lead to the core symptoms of autism, and ProSAP1/Shank2 and ProSAP2/Shank3 proteins seem to serve different interrelated functions at excitatory synapses, especially in glutamate receptor targeting/assembly.

Here the authors show that in activated B cells, RIF1 primarily binds early-replicating active chromatin and promotes early replication. RIF1 and MCM proteins establish early replication timing signatures genome-wide and ensure early replication of highly transcribed genes.

Zero to ultralow-field NMR provides chemical information in the absence of a high magnetic field but it is difficult to measure molecules with quadrupolar nuclei due to their fast relaxation. This study examines zero-field J-spectra from isotopologues of ammonium cations, with quadrupolar nuclei, revealing the presence of a primary isotope effect of −58 mHz.

Longitudinal analyses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine-elicited epitope-specific CD8⁺ T cell responses shows that CD8⁺ T cells are rapidly induced after prime vaccination and stably maintained after boost vaccination.

Kletter et al. show that cell state-specific cytoplasmic density controls spindle architecture and scaling in neural differentiation, suggesting that the physical properties of the cytoplasm are a determinant in organelle size control.

SLAM seq detects s⁴U incorporation into RNA and, combined with 3′-end RNA-seq, provides insight into RNA turnover.

Bradyzoites are a quiescent form of Toxoplasma gondii enclosed in cysts during chronic infections. Here, Christiansen et al. develop a human myotube-based in vitro culture model of cysts that are infectious to mice and characterize their metabolism in comparison to fast replicating tachyzoites.

Energy consumption and compute density are challenges for computing systems. Here researchers show an optical computing architecture using micrometre-scale VCSEL transmitter arrays enabling 7 fJ energy per operation and a potential compute density of 6 tera-operations mm⁻² s⁻¹.

Careful measurements of the zero-field quantum anomalous Hall effect find a less-precisely-quantized Hall conductivity than the integer quantum Hall effect. Here, the authors theoretically study the effects of nonlinear corrections to the Hall conductivity in both topological and trivial magnetic insulators.

An ultrafast mechanism of endocytosis was recently discovered, and proposed to be dependent on local reduction in membrane tension. Shi and Baumgart provide experimental support for this hypothesis by quantifying the impact of membrane tension on membrane tubulation by endocytic proteins, such as endophilin A1.

Understanding individual variations in the response to seasonal influenza vaccines has broad implications from basic immunology to public health. Here authors show that influenza hemagglutinin-specific T and B cell responses are determined by the pre-vaccination immune phenotype and vaccination history of recipients.

Understanding the various and multiple trade-offs of land-use changes and cropland expansion can contribute to more sustainable policies. A study explores future scenarios of cropland expansion along with the trade-offs in agricultural production and markets, biodiversity and CO₂ emissions.

The non-coding RNA RNU4-2, which is highly expressed in the developing human brain, is identified as a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder gene, and, using RNA sequencing, 5′ splice-site use is shown to be systematically disrupted in individuals with RNU4-2 variants.

Isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) allows for non-invasive disease monitoring and characterization. Here the authors describe an alternative CTC isolation method based on the ability of the malaria rVAR2 protein to specifically bind oncofetal chondroitin sulfate, which is expressed by all cancer cells

The inner hair cells (IHCs) within the cochlea convey sound information and have been thought to be electrically and metabolically independent from each other. Here authors report that a subset of IHCs are electrochemically coupled in ‘mini-syncytia’.

The exciton–phonon coupling (EXPC) affects the opto-electronic properties of atomically thin semiconductors. Here, the authors develop two-dimensional micro-spectroscopy to determine the EXPC of monolayer MoSe₂.

It has been shown previously that substrate viscoelasticity affects surface wettability. Here the authors observe a wetting transition during drying of droplets on such substrates and elucidate it with high resolution force field measurements thereby determining its dependence on substrate properties.

Here the authors dissect the contribution of IL-21 signaling to immune checkpoint-responding CD8⁺ T cells from mouse models and patients being treated for advanced melanoma.

Short-wavelength spin waves with high group velocity are one of the key ingredients for the spin-wave based memory-logics. Here the authors demonstrate the propagation of spin waves with wavelength down to 50 nm and group velocity up to 2600 m s⁻¹ using ferromagnetic nanowires grown on a thin Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ film strip structure.

Heim et al. investigate the role of CD8⁺ T cells specific to HBV polymerase in the context of chronic HBV infection. They identify a unique subset of CD8⁺ T cells with an attenuated effector function. The attenuation is driven by TGFβ signaling, offering new insights into the immune landscape of chronic HBV infection and suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for modulating these cells to enhance viral control.

Here, the authors comparatively analyze the impact of three successful clinical preventive interventions against NEC in preterm, VLBW infants and demonstrate a major impact of especially probiotic-based strategies on the development and maturation of the gut microbiome.

How a variety of nuclear export signals (NESs) are recognized by their receptor CRM1 is now examined by crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, biochemistry and cellular approaches. The work reveals that the different NES peptides adopt different conformations to fit into five rigid hydrophobic binding pockets on CRM1, and redefines an NES consensus.

Obenauf and colleagues report that acquired resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors in melanoma confers cross-resistance to immune checkpoint blockade by fostering a cancer cell–instructed, immune-evasive tumor microenvironment.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S_NAr) is the most commonly used method to generate arenes that contain ¹⁸F for use in PET imaging; here, an unusual concerted S_NAr reaction is presented that is not limited to electron-poor arenes.

Introducing C–F bonds into organic molecules is a challenging task, particularly through C–H activation methods. Now, a uranium-based photocatalyst turns traditional selectivity rules on their heads and fluorinates unfunctionalized alkane Csp³–H bonds, even in the presence of C–H bonds that are typically more reactive.

Doping is widely adopted to make organic semiconductors more conductive, yet the impact of molecular electronic properties on doping performance is still not fully understood. Armleder et al. compute host-dopant interactions and show that a short-range overscreening effect strongly affects conductivity.

Dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel is effective in limiting adverse coronary thromboischemic events in most patients undergoing coronary stenting. However, platelet reactivity to clopidogrel is variable and stent thrombosis can occur suddenly and unexpectedly in up to 3% of patients. Is responsiveness to clopidogrel an indicator of risk of post-treatment thromboischemic events?

This Protocol Extension describes procedures used to identify cell-type-specific transcriptomes in mice without sorting cells. The approach combines cell-specific RNA labeling and chemical modifications to introduce T>C conversions in the labeled RNA.

Using time-controlled CRISPR screens, the authors identify AKIRIN2 as a factor involved in the nuclear import of the proteasome.

Thimme and colleagues identify a molecular signature of T cell exhaustion resembling a ‘chronic scar’ that is imprinted in hepatitis C virus–specific CD8⁺ T cells and cannot simply be reversed by viral clearance.