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The authors enhance ferroelectricity in lead-free (K,Na)NbO3-based films via formation of Mn-atomic layered antiphase boundaries. The boundaries equilibrate interfacial charges and clamp vertical strain, contributing to the high polarization and Curie temperature of ~400 °C.

The first outbreaks of mpox outside Africa in 2022 were caused by clade II but cases of a new clade Ib have been increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries since 2024. Here, the authors describe a case report and public health investigation of the first detected case of mpox clade Ib in China.

The powdery mildew resistance of the MLIW170/PM26 locus, which originated from wild emmer wheat, is determined by a genetically linked atypical NLR gene pair, TdCNL1 and TdCNL5, with TdCNL1 encoding an atypical nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat protein integrating a potassium-dependent sodium-calcium exchanger ___domain.

T cell responses can be generated to either pathogen infection or from priming with a vaccine. Here the authors compare T cell generation, phenotype and single cell transcriptome of participants vaccinated with a mpox vaccine or infected with the virus showing that the virus induced T cells showed more effective function and phenotype.

Enzyme-catalysed 1,2-amino migration represents a viable biochemical process that is currently underutilized within the synthetic organic chemistry community. Building upon this biocatalytic mechanism, a biomimetic photoredox-catalysed 1,2-amino migration method has been developed. By integrating photoredox-catalysed conditions, this approach enables the modular synthesis of a diverse library of γ-substituted β-amino acids.

Brassica napus is a globally important oil crop, but the origin of the allotetraploid genome and its improvement process are largely unknown. Here, the authors take a population genetic approach to resolve its origin and evolutionary history, and identify candidate genes related to important agricultural traits.

The miniaturization of spectrometers to a submillimeter-scale footprint opens opportunities for applications in hyperspectral imaging and lab-on-a-chip systems. Here, the authors report a high-performance single-pixel photodetector spectrometer based on the III-V semiconductor p-graded-n junction, featuring a voltage-tunable optical response.

Here, by analyzing 306481 microbial genomes from human-associated microbiomes, the authors reveal a largely unexplored biosynthetic landscape of ribosomal peptides (RiPPs), identifying protective peptides that obstruct pathogen biofilms and regulate gut microbiota in disease models, underscoring their significant therapeutic potential.

The prokaryote defence system Dnd relies on phosphorothioation (PT) of DNA backbone to distinguish between self and non-self DNA. Here, Xiong et al. describe a previously uncharacterized PT-based antiviral system that is independent of the canonical Dnd and is widespread in Archaea and Bacteria.

Climate change is expected to release carbon stored in permafrost soils. Sampling of sites across the Tibetan Plateau in the early 2000s and early 2010s reveals increased carbon stocks in shallow soils, which may offset losses from deeper soils.

The molecular mechanism underlying how lithocholic acid recapitulates the lifespan and healthspan benefits of calorie restriction is revealed to involve TULP3, sirtuins, v-ATPase and AMPK.

Minimizing the non-radiative energy loss without sacrificing the charge collection efficiency is the key to improve the performance of organic solar cells. Here, the authors develop hybrid side chain-based asymmetric small molecule acceptors and achieve maximum power conversion efficiency of 19.76%.

Stretchable sensor networks with multiplexing designs can result in misrecognition due to electrical signal interferences from the sensing nodes and internal circuits. Here, Shao et al. show an untethered triboelectric electronic skin with an elastic composite-based shield layer for lower misrecognition rate.

Diverse cellular E3 ubiquitin ligase–degron pairs are used to generate live attenuated influenza vaccines. Attenuation and humoral, mucosal and cellular immune responses were characterized in mouse and ferret models.

Non-natural photobiocatalysis is attractive but usually involves UV light activation or the formation of electron donor–acceptor complexes. Now direct visible-light excitation of flavin-dependent ene-reductases allows stereocontrolled intermolecular radical hydroarylation of alkenes initiated by single-electron oxidation.

Variations in lifespan within genetically identical populations in homogenous environments are remarkable, with the cause largely unknown. Here, the authors show that fatty acid elongase ELO-6 expression in mid-aged animals, influenced by PQM-1, predicts individual longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans isogenic populations.

Enveloped viruses encased within a lipid bilayer membrane are highly contagious and cause diseases like influenza and COVID-19, so strategies for their prevention and inactivation are needed. Here, the authors develop a diatomic iron nanozyme with lipoxidase-like activity for the inactivation of enveloped viruses, where the diatomic iron sites destroy the viral envelope via lipid peroxidation.

The mechanisms allowing early disseminated cancer cells colonize other tissues remain largely unknown. Here, authors show that GPRC5A axis drives esophageal squamous cell carcinoma lung seeding and metastasis, in a mechanism resembling trophoblast behavior during embryo implantation.

Embryo implantation failure is a leading cause of miscarriage, though the mechanisms underlying trophoblast defects are not well understood. Here they show that the histone acetyltransferase KAT8 is essential for proper activation of the trophoblast stemness gene CDX2, and that placental development can be partially rescued by inhibiting histone deacetylase activity.

This study of Chinese endometrioid endometrial carcinomas describes the proteogenomic differences between early-onset and late-onset tumors, finding that SIGLEC10 mutation may contribute to tumorigenesis and progestin resistance in early cases.

Fang et al. show that EAT-17 and BICD-1 function in the endocytic degradation pathway to suppress excessive dendrite branching, via down-regulating the level of SAX-7, a dendrite branching ligand, on the C. elegans epidermal plasma membranes.

Agricultural land-use change affects belowground biodiversity. Here, the authors compare soil microbial communities from natural ecosystems and agricultural systems, finding that agricultural conversion leads to taxonomic and functional homogenisation.

A comprehensive variation map constructed by deep sequencing 1,904 accessions of weedy and cultivated broomcorn millet sheds light on the genetic architecture of agronomic traits during domestication.

Enantioselective three-component radical cross-coupling is achieved using a thiamine-dependent enzyme and photoredox catalysis, giving access to ketone products with exceptional stereoselectivity.

Cell fate is principally regulated by a common machine or cell-intrinsic machine. Here the authors report the design and testing of an engineered chromatin controller to drive such machine for mouse cell fate transition in precision.

Immunosuppression as a result of severe infection impairs pathogen clearance and can increase susceptibility to secondary infection. Here, the authors dissect how T cell aging and the thymic involution that occurs during this process contribute to immunosuppression and find a key role for IL-33.

Neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) in rice poses health risks. This study explores the roles of various cropland microbial communities in MeHg formation on a large scale and identifies that Geobacteraceae are the key predictors of MeHg bioaccumulation in paddy soil systems, which holds the potential for mitigating global mercury exposure.

Powdery mildew is a fungal leaf disease that reduces yield and grain quality in susceptible wheat varieties. Here, the authors report the cloning of the wild emmer wheat originated powdery mildew resistance gene Pm36 as a membrane associated tandem kinase and its possible resistance mechanism.

In this work, the authors discovered that Panax species, the valuable medicinal plants, have evolved a two-component chemical defence system comprising a chloroplast-localized β-glucosidase and 20(S)-protopanaxadiol ginsenosides.

Most recent SARS-CoV-2 variants showed exceptional immune evasion properties. Here, the authors identify a highly conserved epitope within the RBD targeted by a broad spectrum neutralizing antibody BA7535 that shows therapeutic antiviral potency in mouse studies.

The policy of integrating potato as a staple of the diet in China has potential to improve food security. Here, it is shown that successful integration may also reduce total carbon–land–water impacts of staple crops in China by up to 25% by 2030.

Congenital scoliosis is a complex genetic disorder characterized by vertebral malformation. Here, the authors demonstrate that loss of dstyk leads to scoliosis in zebrafish due to dysregulated biogenesis of notochord vacuoles and that DSTYK is required for lysosome biogenesis through mTORC1 regulation.

The rapid urbanization in China calls for an expansion of urban wastewater treatment systems, which in turn may exacerbate climate impacts. With an extensive and integrated application of existing low-carbon technologies for wastewater treatment, sludge disposal and water reuse, it is possible to substantially decouple urban water stress mitigation from greenhouse gas emissions.

Structural and functional characterization of H7-reactive monoclonal neutralizing antibodies from donors naturally infected with H7N9 influenza virus reveals overlapping epitopes around the receptor binding site of haemagglutinin and antigenic change in virus lineages isolated in 2013/14 versus 2016/17, indicating a need to update H7N9 vaccines.

A complete telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the maize Mo17 inbred line uncovers structural features of the highly complex maize genome.

Developing a new π-skeletal aromatic fused-ring for tuning material properties in organic electronics is still a challenge due to limited chemical approach. Here, the authors enrich the chemistry by synthesizing SiO-bridged ladder-type π-skeletons with enhanced planarity and deeper energy levels than CO-bridged counterpart.

Peng et al. find that immunodominant cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for NP_105–113-B*07:02 are associated with reduced COVID-19 severity. Mechanistically, NP_105–113-B*07:02-specific CTLs show potent antiviral functionality and may represent rational T cell vaccine targets.