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The capacity of a plasmid to express genes is constrained by parameters such as its length and copy number. Here, Maddamsetti et al. present a computational method that enables rapid and accurate determination of plasmid copy numbers at a large scale, revealing fundamental constraints on these parameters and thus on plasmid evolution and functional organization.

Advanced membranes for industrial-scale water electrolysis hold promise yet pose challenges. Here, the authors report a two-step casting and phase separation strategy to design a composite membrane with differentially structured pores that combines ion transport and gas barrier functions.

While Bell inequalities have been violated several times—mostly in photonic systems—their violations within particle physics experiments are less explored. Here, the BESIII Collaboration showcases Bell-violating nonlocal correlations between entangled hyperon pairs.

Mitophagy is crucial for mitochondrial function and is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors introduce an AI-assisted fluorescence microscopy system to track mitophagic intermediates in live cells and identify Y040-7904, a potential modulator that enhances mitophagy and reduces amyloid-β pathologies.

The mechanisms underlying the invasiveness and aggressiveness of pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (PitNETs) remain poorly understood. Here, the authors perform single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to characterise the tumour microenvironment of PitNETs and identify potential therapeutic targets.

Rare drug-drug interactions pose risks but are challenging to predict due to data scarcity. Here, the authors present RareDDIE to enhance rare interaction prediction through dual-granular structure-adaptive learning pair variational representation.

A strategy that preserves stereochemistry in intramolecular Friedel–Crafts alkylation is reported. An iterative synthetic approach to extend spiro-bridged molecular skeletons via C–H activation–annulation is developed, where the stereoretentive one-shot conversion to form multiple spirocarbon-bridged carbocycles resembles a ‘zipping up’ process.

The genetic basis of C-reactive protein levels remains underexplored in diverse populations. Here, the authors show 113 loci associated with CRP across ancestries, highlighting 55 novel genes and ancestry-specific signals with functional and disease relevance.

Land surface modelling suggests that preserving woody debris in managed forests could remove 769–937 GtCO₂ from the atmosphere between 2025 and 2100.

How to achieve ideal antiferroelectricity with sharp switching in nanoscale thin films remains challenges. The authors here unveil the selective stepwise transition, achieve ideal antiferroelectricity with large digital electrostrain in PbZrO₃ epitaxial thin films.

Solid-state lithium batteries suffer from lithium dendrite formation that compromises safety. Here, authors reveal how grain boundary structures affect lithium behavior and show that selective amorphization can suppress dendrites and enhance battery stability.

Nuclear SREBP2 forms nuclear condensates through its N-terminal intrinsically disordered region, which is essential for the transcriptional activation of lipogenic genes.

The direct electro-reduction of diluted CO₂ in acidic media can circumvent CO₂ purification and reduce carbon loss. Here, the authors use an ionomer coating layer to enrich the diluted CO₂ and block proton transport, thereby achieving high carbon utilization in diluted CO₂ in an acidic electrolyte.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the function of different cellular states in glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) remain poorly understood. Here, the authors perform integrated single cell and bulk analysis of GSCs and identify potential therapeutic targets.

Lung and gastrointestinal diseases often occur together. Here, the authors present a multi-ancestry study showing the shared genetic architecture between lung and gastrointestinal diseases.

The thymus harbors a complex constitutively active inflammatory network with innate-like T cells representing one of its central nodes. Here, the authors show that these cells can induce tolerance to inflammation-associated self-antigens, a class of molecules that otherwise largely mirrors the spatial and temporal distribution of pathogen-derived antigens.

Rice expansion due to crop migration causes over 122% irrigation increases in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020, while climate change reduces irrigation demands by decreased evapotranspiration and increased precipitation, based on a water requirement model using rice maps and groundwater data.

Biophysical cues play a crucial role in T cell biology, yet their implications in adoptive T cell therapy remain elusive. Here the authors use a charged substrate to enhance T cell proliferation and anti-tumor function for adoptive transfer therapy, with the mechanism of amplifying TCR signaling, activating EGR1 signaling and impeding virtual memory T polarization.

The formation of directional fibrous tissue bands, typical of liver fibrosis progression, might be induced by the tension of the hepatic stellate cells, as studied with an in vitro microfabricated model.

A paddle-like self-stirring nanoreactor system with spatially isolated multifunctional components is successfully constructed. The rotation–revolution pattern enhances the internal and reverse dual-dynamic diffusion processes, thus effectively boosting the cascade efficiency.

A recycling strategy based predominantly on the use of water to restore and reuse valuable components from perovskite photovoltaic waste is described, with recycled devices showing similar efficiency and stability compared with fresh devices.

The semileptonic decay channels of the Λc baryon can give important insights into weak interaction, but decay into a neutron, positron and electron neutrino has not been reported so far, due to difficulties in the final products’ identification. Here, the BESIII Collaboration reports its observation in e+e- collision data, exploiting machine-learning-based identification techniques.

Alveolar bone resorption (ABR) is a key pathological manifestation in the development of apical periodontitis (AP) that contributes to the AP-associated tooth loss, and whose underlying mechanism is largely unknown. Here, the authors show a molecular mechanism on osteoclastogenesis-related ABR and provides a therapeutic target of AP via modulating the FTO/HK1/USP14/RANK axis.

Three-dimensional multiplane structured illumination microscopy, combining three-beam interference, multiplane detection and a synergistically evolved reconstruction algorithm, enables 3D imaging at rates of up to 11 volumes per second in live cells with lateral and axial spatial resolutions of 120 and 300 nm, respectively.

Here, the authors identify key DNA methylation sites associated with incident acute coronary syndrome (ACS), improving ACS prediction and highlighting potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ACS.

Autophagy is essential for cellular degradation, but it is unclear to what extent it is involved in plant development. Here the authors show autophagy is crucial for full male fertility in Arabidopsis and that impaired autophagy disrupts sperm cell biogenesis and pollen tube growth.

Protein therapeutics are useful but instability limits the range of applications for which they are viable. Here, the authors report the development of a one-pot method for the preparation of protein-polymer conjugates with defined sequences.

This article presents a polymeric membrane-enclosed insulin crystal equipped with physiological signal-sensing microdomains, dubbed ‘smart drug crystals’, that enables long-term, glucose- and β-hydroxybutyrate-dually responsive drug release for type 1 diabetes therapy.

Liver fibrosis is a disease that lacks effective treatments. This study reveals that ATF4 drives fibrosis by activating hepatic stellate cells and that pharmacological inhibition of ATF4 reduces liver fibrosis, offering an opportunity for new therapies.

A series of molecular rare-earth telluride clusters incorporating a three-centre, four-electron, tri-tellurido ligand (Te₃⁴⁻) are reported. These atomically precise clusters, possessing ultralow band gaps comparable to those of monocrystalline silicon and gallium arsenide, are potentially applicable as quantum materials and for optoelectronic applications.

Investigating the inner structure of baryons is important to further our understanding of the strong interaction. Here, the BESIII Collaboration extracts the absolute value of the ratio of the electric to magnetic form factors and its relative phase for e + e − → J/ψ → ΛΣ decays, enhancing the signal thanks to the vacuum polarisation effect at the J/ψ peak.

III-V group semiconductor has garnered attention in photothermoelectric field. Here, the authors present a GaON/GaN nanowire-based ultraviolet photothermoelectric detector and describe the physical process of the observed bipolar impulse response.

The efficacy of cancer immunotherapy relies on the sufficient functional immune cells recruited. Here this group designs an abemaciclib-loaded supramolecular peptide hydrogel achieving sustained release after intratumoral injection to effectively induce cancer cell death and increase IL-2 secretion, thereby exerting immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer.

FADD binds Casp-8 and then cFLIP to form the FADD-Casp8-cFLIP complex. The authors found that the DED complex could assemble in reverse order, where cFLIP oligomerizes to bind Casp-8. The resultant complex could bind FADD, generating the cFLIP-Casp-8-FADD complex by a different mechanism.

Hyperactivation of ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) causes excessive ribosome production, contributing to genome instability and cancer progression. The authors investigate the role of RiBPs in breast cancer, highlighting the upregulation of factors like DCAF13, which enhances cell proliferation by regulating Pol I transcription via K63-linked ubiquitination of RPA194.

This study reveals the transition of move and evolve strategies and their interaction with niche opportunity and trait innovation throughout the diversification of the grape family—a globally distributed plant group originated in the Cretaceous.

Ruthenium dioxide exhibits good activity for the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic conditions but fails to maintain stable performance over long periods. Here, the authors report a confinement strategy that suppresses ruthenium dioxide degradation, enhancing its long-term durability.