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Self-assembled monolayers are efficient hole-selective contacts but suffer from aggregation and adhesion issues. To address these, Wang et al. introduce a dimeric molecular design that forms a hydrogen-bond network, enabling 28.4% certified efficiency in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Nylon-11 is a common and durable polymer but possess low piezoelectric properties. Here, the authors use mechanical accelerations and strong electric fields to induce crystallization, hydrogen-bonding and dipole alignment in Nylon-11 films, achieving high piezoelectricity.

Amorphous films with tunable thermal conductivity are needed for semiconductor/aerospace fields. Amorphous Al(Ti)N nanoparticles have negligible effect on thermal conductivity of Si₃N₄ 2 W m⁻¹K⁻¹, while incorporating crystal TiN phases increases to 15 W m⁻¹K⁻¹.

A global dataset of the satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and fishing fleets show that sharks—and, in particular, commercially important species—have limited spatial refuge from fishing effort.

Two-dimensional poly(arylene vinylene) frameworks are promising polymer semiconductors, yet obtaining highly crystalline materials is a major challenge. Now a series of 11 highly crystalline or single-crystalline 2D poly(arylene vinylene)s have been prepared—from 2D imine-linked covalent organic frameworks through a Mannich-elimination strategy—with diverse lattices, enhanced conjugation and specific surface areas up to 2,000 m² g⁻¹.

Zhang et al. design a nanostructure which activates an adaptive martensitic transformation mechanism in a nuclear grade austenitic stainless steel, achieving extraordinary radiation resistance with non-degraded mechanical properties.

The activity of the membrane-bound enzyme pMMO depends on copper but the location of the copper centers is still under debate. Here, the authors reconstitute pMMO in nanodiscs and use native top-down MS to localize its copper centers, providing insights into which sites are essential for activity.

DNA double-strand breaks endanger genome stability. Here, the authors present cryo-EM structures showing how Ku70/80 and DNA-PK bind DNA ends on nucleosomes, offering a mechanistic model for break recognition within chromatin.

This study shows that oxygen-vacancy planar defects greatly enhance polarization in (Bi, Na)TiO₃-based thin films via local flexoelectric effects, enabling strong performance and thermal stability for low-power electronic applications.

A membrane system operating without electricity and inspired by natural fractal transport patterns achieves exceptional nanofiltration performance, offering a simple and reliable source of potable water for decentralized communities.

Kozai, Fernandez-Martinez et al. use high-speed atomic force microscopy to study the permeability barrier of yeast nuclear pore complexes. They show that karyopherins remodel a central plug that shapes barrier dynamics and disorder within the pore.

K11/K48 branched ubiquitin chains regulate protein degradation and cell cycle progression. Here, the authors report the structural basis of how such a branched ubiquitin chain is recognized by the human 26S proteasome, revealing a multivalent binding mode that underlies selective recognition.

SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, necessitating updated vaccines and therapeutics. Here the authors identify three broadly binding antibodies from vaccinated or infected individuals, characterize their conserved non-overlapping RBD epitopes by structural analysis and demonstrate protective effects in a hamster model.

Twin propagation involves three-dimensional normal, forward and lateral motion of twin interfaces with respect to the twinning shear direction. Here, the authors combine electron microscopy and atomistic simulations to study the until now unknown lateral structure of tensile deformation twins in magnesium.

Microplastics (MPs) represent an environmental hazard which must be resolved by efficient, cheap, and sustainable remediation technology. Here the authors use an engineered algae to capture MPs and treat wastewater, the captured algae-plastic mix is upcycled into a tougher bioplastic composite.

Mapping of the neutrophil compartment using single-cell transcriptional data from multiple physiological and patological states reveals its organizational architecture and how cell state dynamics and trajectories vary during health, inflammation and cancer.

Selective conversion of oxygen into hydrogen peroxide under light irradiation was achieved using enzyme-inspired carbon dots decorated with single copper ions. Time-resolved spectroscopies confirmed the reaction mechanism.

Hafnium dioxide is of technological interest as it is compatible with silicon; however, previous work indicates that a nanometre grain size is required to generate ferroelectricity. Here ferroelectric Y-doped HfO₂ thin films with high crystallinity are grown with large crystal grain sizes, indicating that ferroelectricity is intrinsic.

Nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase requires a metallocofactor built by a dedicated multiprotein machinery. Here, the authors captured structural snapshots of a precursor entering a key maturase, revealing a dynamic process involving extensive structural rearrangements and partial protein unfolding.

GM4951 is a GTPase in hepatic lipid metabolism. Here, the authors determine the atomic structure of GM4951, which forms a tail-to-tail dimer essential for lipid droplet localization. MASLD-linked mutations destabilize the protein and alter the dynamics of switch loops of the GTPase domain.

CNS toxicity was unexpectedly observed for anti-miR-17 RGLS4326 in nonclinical studies. Here, authors identify AMPA receptor inhibition as the likely culprit. Replacement of 3’-terminus guanine to adenine leads to discovery of farabursen (RGLS8429) that is devoid of CNS toxicity.

DNAJC12 variants cause parkinsonism. Here, the authors show that DNAJC12 stabilizes tyrosine hydroxylase, a crucial enzyme in dopamine synthesis, and identify key structural motifs for this interaction, explaining the pathogenesis of truncated variants.

As Nature Aging celebrates its fifth anniversary, the journal asks some of the researchers who contributed to the journal early on to reflect on the past and the future of aging and age-related disease research, the impact of the field on human health now and in the future, and what challenges need to be addressed to ensure sustained progress.

Upcycling urine in wastewater for nitrogen and phosphorus production has gained attention, but their low market values hamper the application. Here, the authors develop a yeast platform that mimics osteoblast mechanisms to produce the high-value hydroxyapatite directly from urine.

Oxygen reduction occurring in the surface layer of marine sediments can be coupled to sulphide oxidation in deeper anoxic layers; it is now shown that the electron transfer is mediated by filamentous bacteria acting like living electrical cables.

This work presents a fully implantable wireless optogenetic device that delivers spatiotemporally patterned cortical stimulation through the skull and generates artificial perception in mice.

The earliest known human burial in Africa, that of a young child, is dated to around 78,000 years ago.

LEVA is a label-free immobilization method for studying surface-bound extracellular vesicles.

Samples returned from asteroid Bennu largely comprise hydrated sheet silicates with sulfides, magnetite and carbonate that indicate alteration by a fluid that evolved from neutral to alkaline, according to a micro- and nanoscale mineralogical study.

Corrosion is a ubiquitous failure mode in materials. Here the authors report a percolating 1D wormhole corrosion morphology using advanced electron microscopy and theoretical simulations. The work presents a vacancy mapping method with nm-resolution, identifying the incubation sites of the wormholes.

Huang and colleagues report that TIM4–AMPK signaling induces downregulation of the mitochondrial HSP90 chaperone TRAP1 in tumor-associated macrophages, thereby enhancing their immunoinhibitory function and promoting immune evasion and tumorigenesis.

CRISPR-Cas9 technology holds the potential to treat a wide spectrum of genetic diseases. Here, the authors describe a modular platform for extracellular vesicle-based Cas9 delivery, using MS2-based RNA-binding domains and UV-cleavable linkers, suitable for various Cas9-based moieties.

The molecular basis for the enrollment of X family DNA polymerases in non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is unclear. Here the authors elucidate the structure of Pol λ within the DNA-PK long-range complex and Pol μ in association with Ku70/80 and characterize the interaction between the BRCT domains of Pol λ and μ with Ku70/80.

Studying membrane contact sites at high spatiotemporal resolution is still challenging. Here, authors introduce a series of dynamic chemogenetic reporters to visualize these subcellular regions and study the associated calcium signals.

Solar water splitting is often performed in highly corrosive conditions, presenting materials stability challenges. Gu et al. show that an efficient and stable hydrogen-producing photocathode can be realized through the application of a graded catalytic–protective layer on top of the photoabsorber.

CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloys have high fracture toughness at cryogenic temperatures due to deformation twinning but twinning is not active in this alloy at room temperature. Here authors optimize composition and thermomechanical treatments to introduce non-recrystallized grains, producing high yield strength while maintaining good ductility.

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.

Voltage-sensing phosphatases dephosphorylate PIPs upon membrane depolarization. Here, authors provide a model for a dynamic assembly by which the voltage sensor controls the catalytic site with the aid of the N-terminus.

We investigate the de novo design of allostery and suggest that it can arise from global coupling of the energetics of protein substructures without optimized allosteric communication pathways, providing a roadmap for the design of switchable molecular systems.

Elhan et al. show that ATG2A acts with DGAT2, the enzyme producing triacylglycerol (TAG), in lipid droplet growth. By delivering diacylglycerol to lipid droplets, ATG2A not only fuels TAG production but also promotes the recruitment of DGAT2 to droplet surfaces.

Engineered polar nanoclusters in tin-doped barium titanate thin films enable microwave tunability of ~74% at 6 GHz under low bias, offering a strategy to achieve high tunability with minimal dielectric loss for microwave communication.

Bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs) are a subfamily of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Here, the authors report a cryo-EM structure of the human TAS2R14 in complex with its signaling partner gustducin, and bound to an anti-inflammatory drug flufenamic acid (FFA).

Intermetallics are traditionally characterised by their inherent brittleness due to a lack of sufficient slip systems and the absence of strain hardening. Here authors show that a single-phase distorted high entropy B2 intermetallic alloy displays notable strength and plasticity at room temperature, along with stable plastic flow at high homologous temperatures.

A very large spin-to-charge conversion arising from a combination of the Rashba effect and topologically non-trivial states is realized at the interface of strontium titanate and aluminium, with implications for the role of topology in memory and transistor designs.

Clemons and colleagues identify a guided entry of tail-anchored proteins (GET) pathway in the pathogen Giardia intestinalis and characterize it structurally, revealing several previously unknown structures of the central protein Get3. The work resolves some important open questions and results in a comprehensive model for the insertion of tail-anchored membrane proteins.

Nickelate superconductors attract enormous attention in the field of high-temperature superconductivity. Here the authors report observation of perfect diamagnetism and interfacial effect on the electronic structures in infinite layer Nd_0.8Sr_0.2NiO₂ superconductors.

Hydrothermal fluids can transport suspended metal-rich melt droplets (nano-to-micron-sized) that are precursors to polymineral inclusions and potentially a key process in noble metal mineralization for ore deposits such as El Hilo Au-Ag bonanza, Mexico