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The κ-opioid receptor (κOR) is a promising target for safer pain therapies. Here, authors present the cryo-EM structure of a salvinorin A-bound κOR dimer complexed with two Gi proteins, revealing a lipid-mediated interface and dimerization-enhanced Gi recruitment.

Protein splicing is a popular eukaryotic technique to diversify protein function, yet this concept remained underexplored in bacteria. Here, the authors show that a conserved coding strategy across Vibrio species produces two isoforms of Fha and this aids in T6SS.

The authors develop a supercritical mechanochemical process which converts metal oxides to MOFs, enabling rapid, low-cost kilogram-scale production under mild conditions for sustainable manufacturing.

This work demonstrates a self-powered, event-nature artificial spherical compound eye that achieved ultrafast and panoramic motion sensing under 0 V, particularly suitable for resource-limited drones and robotics.

Urban green spaces are linked to better human health, however whether lant species heterogeneity also influences better health outcomes remains unclear. Here, Zhao et al., propose the beta-diversity hypothesis, using data from 72 neighborhoods across Shanghai.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a cause of impaired fitness of dendritic cells (DCs) in the tumour microenvironment (TME). Here, by integrating algae-derived nanovesicles into genetically engineered DCs overexpressing CCR2, the authors show that the plant vesicle-DC chimera is sufficient to overcome DC mitochondrial dysfunction in the TME and promote antigen presentation, resulting in improved anti tumour immune responses in preclinical models.

AmiAge predicts biological age from plasma amino acids, linking age gaps to frailty, disease risk, and aging markers. An 8-amino acid model offers a scalable tool for personalized health and aging research.

Prunus subgenus Cerasus comprises over 70 species with ornamental, edible, and medicinal value. Here, the authors assemble eight genomes from wild and cultivated Cerasus species, construct pangenome together with 13 public genomes, and uncover the evolutionary origin and genetic determinants of flower development.

Telomeric systems are conserved across eukaryotes and may have originated over 1 billion years ago. Here the authors replaced yeast’s telomeres with a bacterial virus system, resulting in a stable functional assembly of DNA molecules up to 2.77 Mb, offering insights into the possible origins of telomeres.

Clinical success of fecal microbiota transplantation depends on donor microbe engraftment. Here, the authors show that inorganic nitrogen utilization capacity drives gut microbiome remodeling and that boosting this function enhances donor microbe engraftment and improved colitis treatment in mice.

It is useful to be able to determine the changes a material has undergone, but this is challenging in synthetic systems. Here, the authors report the development of a hydrogel materials conditioned by swelling, allowing determination of exposure to heat and salt by nucleation changes.

This study shows that Mg–Fe engineered biochar drives the formation of Mg–Fe layered double hydroxides, immobilizes carbonate, reduces sodicity, and stabilizes soil organic carbon via organo–mineral associations in soda saline–alkaline soils.

Phase-change materials cannot be easily integrated into electrically driven metasurfaces. Here, the authors develop a monolithically integrated Sb2Se3 phase-change metasurface composed of a 6 × 6 pixel array, enabling high-speed and broadband control over the phase and amplitude of light.

Self-healing materials typically suffer from poor mechanical properties due to the inherent trade-off between mechanical robustness and self-healing capability. Here the authors report a composite featuring an aligned array of hydroxyapatite nanowires interwoven with dynamic borate bond networks by a bidirectional freeze-drying method.

Co-deposited perovskite solar cells suffer from self-assemble monolayer (SAM) aggregation that weakens interfacial adhesion and limits performance. Zhuang et al. design an asymmetric SAM and a crosslinking additive to curb aggregation, enabling efficient, stable devices.

Genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors are valuable tools for metabolite monitoring. Here, authors report a versatile strategy to design such biosensors via regulatory domains of allosteric enzymes, showing that the developed tools support sensitive detection of target metabolites in vitro and in live cells.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) represents a heterogenous group of metastatic malignancies with no standard of care following disease progression. Here, the authors report a phase II clinical trial evaluating F520 (anti-PD-1), bevacizumab (VEGF inhibitor) and nab-paclitaxel in the second line setting for patients with cancer of unknown primary.

A randomised trial in metformin-treated type 2 diabetes found once-weekly efsubaglutide improved HbA1c and fasting glucose, reduced weight, and enhanced meal-stimulated insulin secretion with mainly mild GI side effects.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) regulate gene expression, but predicting RBP–RNA interactions across species is challenging. Here, the authors introduce MuSIC, a deep learning framework leveraging label smoothing and evolutionary conservation across 11 species to predict cross-species RBP–RNA interactions.

Platinum-based catalysts are essential for sustainable hydrogen production. Here, the authors report a scalable synthesis of a low-platinum catalyst supported on Ni-N-doped carbon nanotubes that maintains high activity and stability for over 4500 h in industrial-scale water electrolysis.

Here, the authors uncover a mechanism by which drug-target homologs mediate non-antibiotic drug effects on bacterial growth, and suggest a universal homology-based competition strategy to reverse MTX-induced microbiota dysbiosis.

Liang Guang et al revealed that cardiac CDK9 is activated in hypertrophic myocardium and directly binds to NF-κB P65, promoting its phosphorylation to drive inflammation and remodeling. This finding identifies CDK9 as a potential therapeutic target for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Uncovering the genetic mechanisms that determine seed weight is vital for improving soybean cultivars. Here, the authors identify a bZIP transcription factor, a GSK3-like gene family member, and a MFT ortholog, along with their potential interactions, as key regulators of soybean seed weight.

Global analysis of obesity trends from 1980 to 2024 in 200 countries and territories using data from 4,050 population-based studies reveals that framing obesity as a single global epidemic masks the highly varied dynamics across countries and age groups.

The Hippo pathway relies on TEAD transcription factors, but how TEAD4 dynamically engages DNA was unclear. Here, the authors show that TEAD4 multimerisation stabilizes DNA binding and YAP recruitment, with VGLL4 modulating this process in a stoichiometry‑dependent manner.

Ge, Wang, Zhao, Guo et al. report a role for stress granules in suppressing ferroptosis by sequestering ferritin upon irradiation and temozolomide treatment in glioblastoma stem cells, which may potentially be targeted for improved efficacy.

Authors show that fat-pad biopsies from living ATTR-CM patients yield TTR fibril structures matching cardiac tissue. Cryo-EM reveals Congo Red and ThS bind a surface arginine site, informing tracer design for earlier, more accurate diagnoses.

Microbial biosynthesis of monoterpene esters remains a major challenge due to the limited repertoire of highly selective alcohol acyltransferases (AATs). Here the authors discovered and engineered AATs for various monoterpene esters using a dual-substrate microbial platform.

Here, using mouse models, the authors show that membrane protein Amuc_1098 from Akkermansia muciniphila alleviates acute pancreatitis via a multi-level pathway, including TLR2 signaling, and improves disrupted glycerophospholipid metabolism seen in patients.

SirM methyltransferase upregulates Salmonella HemL-dependent haem production to enable haem-dependent inhibition of phagocytosis and promote infection in mice.

A spatiotemporal transcriptome atlas of whole-human embryos after gastrulation and previously transcriptionally undescribed stages of human development are reported.

The breast cancer intelligent non-invasive diagnosis system (BINDS) integrates multimodal medical imaging data for breast cancer risk assessment and subtype classification, improving diagnostics and reducing the need for biopsies of benign lesions.

A global study using 40 years of data from 69 sites shows wetland restoration succeeds when sediment, elevation and tidal creeks align across spatial scales. About 920 km² of lost wetlands worldwide are estimated to be potentially restorable.

Planetary science is a rapidly growing research field in China. In March 2025, many hundreds of early-career planetary scientists gathered in Huangshan, China, to exchange the latest findings on this topic.

A new approach to magnetic resonance imaging, ‘multiplexed magnetic resonance imaging’, is reported, which enables high-resolution simultaneous multiparametric mapping of multiple molecules in standard clinical settings.

Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase from Faecalibacterium prausnitzii inhibits PD-L1 trafficking to boost anti-tumour immunity and potentiate anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy during colorectal cancer.

Current thermal wax refining methods are energy intensive. Here, the authors report a photothermal process using a nanoscale zero-valent iron catalyst and sunlight to refine low-grade waxes into high-grade waxes with narrow distributions.

This study from Wei-Guang Li, Tian-Le Xu and colleagues shows that neuropeptide Y released by specific hippocampal inhibitory neurons can switch fear memories into extinction memories by acting on two distinct receptor-defined neuron populations.

Microplastics were detected in half of the intestinal tumours sampled, and patients with microplastic-positive tumours showed considerably higher tumour recurrence rates and elevated gastrointestinal symptom severity over 34 months of follow-up.

Fanjiang Kong, Zhixi Tian, Xingliang Hou, Baohui Liu and colleagues report the cloning and functional characterization of J, the locus underlying the long-juvenile (LJ) trait that has enabled tropical cultivation of soybean. They show that J, an ortholog of Arabidopsis ELF3, downregulates the expression of E1, thereby promoting flowering under short-day conditions.

Managing nutrient levels can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from lakes, with control of nutrient discharges from industrial sources being the most cost-effective strategy, according to a machine learning-based integrated assessment framework.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of parathyroid hormone receptor 1–β-arrestin complexes reveal key conformational changes, enabling the design of G-protein-biased agonists with selective signaling properties and therapeutic potential.

This systematic review and meta-analysis of 149 randomized controlled trials finds that behavioral and psychosocial interventions outperform medications in improving core autism symptoms, while study design and context strongly influence reported treatment effects.