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This study presents an optical cloud computing system that enables long-distance, high-speed AI processing and communication with low power consumption. The approach offers a scalable and secure alternative to electronic cloud computing, addressing key energy and privacy challenges.

White-light emission from materials and devices usually occurs omni-directional through space. Here, the authors show that sintering carbon dots with TiO₂ forms a microlens-shape surface that enables directional emission with 1/60 solid angle.

Site-selective C–H functionalization of silanes is challenging because of the presence of multiple C–H bonds in the same molecule. Now a general photocatalytic site-selective radical functionalization of organosilicon compounds is reported, enabled by the β-silicon effect, which activates β-C(sp³)–H bonds. These reactions are applicable to linear and complex cyclic silanes.

Acylsilanes decompose under light irradiation, and this limits their use in light-induced organic transformations. Here the authors report a strategy to inhibit the light-induced decomposition of acylsilanes, enabling the photochemical synthesis of cyclopentanol derivatives from alkene-tethered acylsilanes and allylic sulfones.

Economic evaluation of utilization of digital technologies for cataract screening remains unknown. Here the authors show that digital hierarchical screening is cost-effective in China and annual screening proved to be the most cost-effective option.

While diamond is the strongest natural material, it fails to reach its theoretical elasticity limits and is brittle. Here, the authors show that thin <100>-orientated diamond nanoneedles can reach diamond’s theoretical strength and elasticity limits in tension.

Water structures at the electrolyte and electrode interfaces are crucial for electrochemical reactions. Here, the authors report that alkali metal cations can modify two-dimensional water networks at charged surfaces, impacting both reaction kinetics and efficiency.

A workflow that segments anatomical structures in slit-lamp images and that annotates pathological features in each image improves the performance of a deep-learning algorithm for the diagnosis of ophthalmic disorders.

The de novo design and synthesis of the Sc 2.0 chromosome XIII enable in-depth investigations into biology. Here the authors construct the 884 Kb synXIII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate replicative aging.

A new procedure for cataract removal that preserves lens epithelial progenitor cells in mammals, which require Pax6 and Bmi1 for their self-renewal, achieves lens regeneration in rabbits, macaques and in infants with cataracts.

The analysis of behavioural patterns from standardized video recordings of infants with varying degrees of visual impairment enables, via deep learning, classification of the infants by visual-impairment severity and by ophthalmological condition.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the left arm of chromosome XII only requires 12 genes to maintain cell viability, whereas 25 genes are needed for robust fitness. Here the authors demonstrate that the entire arm can be replaced by a neochromosome with completely artificial sequences.

Zhang, Shao and coworkers report that HSF1 forms small condensates at its target gene loci to promote their transcription during acute heat stress. The produced HSP70 proteins in turn disperse HSF1 condensates to shut off the heat-shock response.

Synthetic Chromosome Rearrangement and Modification by LoxP-mediated Evolution (SCRaMbLE) is a promising tool to study genomic rearrangements. Here the authors present an engineered yeast strain with 83 sparsely distributed loxPsym sites across the genome can genrerate large-scale genomic rearrangements, which benefits cell fitness under stress and boosts the SCRaMbLE system when combined with synthetic chromosomes.

Genome topology provides a structural basis for epigenome-mediated transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes. Here the authors characterized the 3D genome of stratified squamous epithelia. They generated a Hi-C map of human limbal stem/progenitor cells (LSCs) and integrated these data with epigenomics, transcription factor binding maps, and transcriptome data.

Activation of innate immune responses is subject to versatile regulation. Here the authors show that a conserved LATS family kinase Stk38 limits proinflammatory signalling downstream of TLR9 in macrophages and protects mice from lethal sepsis by MEKK2 ubiquitination and degradation.

The use of synthetic chromosomes and the recombinase-based SCRaMbLE system could enable rapid strain evolution through massive chromosome rearrangements. Here the authors present ReSCuES, which uses auxotrophic markers to rapidly identify yeast with rearrangements for strain engineering.

The effects of Schwann cells on the neuro-stroma niche in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain to be explored. Here, single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptome analysis of PDAC tissues reveal that Schwann cells induce malignant subtypes of tumour cells and cancer associated fibroblasts.

Injectable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/Bradykinin microspheres show promise in slowing intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating cellular senescence and extracellular matrix metabolism via the B2R and PI3K pathways based on work in a rat model.

Vaccines combat global influenza threats, relying on timely selection of optimal seed viruses. Here, authors introduce MAIVeSS, a machine learning assisted framework to streamline vaccine seed virus selection using genomic sequence, expediting seasonal flu vaccine production and supply.

Integrated photonic iterative processors provide a novel I/O-efficient computing paradigm for matrix-inversion-intensive tasks, achieving higher speed and energy efficiency than state-of-the-art electronic and photonic processors.

We leverage advances in integrated photonics to generate low-noise microwaves with an optical frequency division architecture that can be low power and chip integrated.

Anti-VEGF therapy has many limitations that might be resolved by using combination treatment approaches. Here, the authors demonstrate that the dual-targeting of VEGF and PDGF is required for targeting resistant FGF2+ tumors which depend on the recruitment of pericytes on tumor microvessels.

Corneal epithelium shares similar molecular signatures to other stratified epithelia. Here, the authors map super-enhancers and accessible chromatin in corneal epithelium, identifying a transcription regulatory circuit, including RUNX1, PAX6, and SMAD3, required for corneal epithelial identity and homeostasis.

NF-κB activity is regulated by multiple ubiquitin-dependent regulatory steps. Cao and colleagues show that the rhomboid protein Rhbdd3 recognizes K27-linked ubiquitin and prevents IL-6-mediated autoimmunity by recruiting the deubiquitinase A20 to NEMO (IKKγ) kinase complexes.

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.

p63 and PAX6 act to specify limbal stem or progenitor cells (LSCs), and WNT7A controls corneal epithelium differentiation through PAX6; loss of WNT7A or PAX6 induces LSCs into epithelium, and transduction of PAX6 in skin epithelial stem cells converts them to LSC-like cells and transplantation in a rabbit corneal injury model can replenish corneal epithelial cells and repair damaged corneal surface.

White adipocytes can be stimulated to express thermogenic genes in a process known as beiging. Here, the authors show that miR-327 is downregulated during beiging, which releases FGF10 from inhibition and supports beige adipocyte formation via signaling through FGFR2.

Exploring the genetic basis of congenital cataracts in two families identifies a molecule, lanosterol, which prevents intracellular protein aggregation of various cataract-causing mutant crystallins, and which can reduce cataract severity and increase lens transparency in vivo in dogs.

T cell development has been a classical model for understanding cell fate regulation by epigenetics. Here the authors show that Cxxc1 controls thymocyte development mainly through regulating several key genes, such as Rorc, Zap70 and Cd8, which requires its H3K4me3 but not DNA methylation function.