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An article in Nature Biomedical Engineering reports a wearable sensor for the simultaneous non-invasive monitoring of heart rate, blood pressure and multiple biochemical markers.

Low secretion rates and evaporation pose challenges for collecting resting thermoregulatory sweat for non-invasive analysis of body physiology. Here the authors present wearable microfluidics-based patches for continuous sweat monitoring at rest that enable detection of pH, Cl⁻, and levodopa for dynamic sweat analysis related to routine activities, stress events, hypoglycemia-induced sweating, and Parkinson’s disease.

MORC2, a chromatin remodeler involved in epigenetic silencing and DNA repair, is linked to cancer and neurological disorders when dysregulated. Here, the authors show that MORC2 binds DNA at multiple sites, clamps onto it, and induces compaction, a process regulated by its phosphorylation.

The study of an iron-fertilized phytoplankton bloom dominated by diatoms, which takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, shows that a substantial proportion of the bloom eventually sinks to the deep-sea floor, sequestering the carbon for timescales of centuries or more.

In mice, prolonged consumption of a high-fat diet decreases interest in calorie-rich foods as a result of reduced neurotensin expression and signalling, which uncouples hedonic feeding behaviour linked to neurons projecting from lateral nucleus accumbens to ventral tegmental area.

The authors reveal that probenecid, an FDA-approved drug, uniquely modulates TRPV2 through an intracellular pocket. Probenecid drives the channel into an activated conformation, providing insights into potential therapeutic applications.

Here the authors identify GPATCH11 variants responsible for retinal dystrophy with neurological impairment and facial dysmorphy. They explore its function using a mouse model and demonstrate GPATCH11’s involvement in RNA regulation and splicing.

Combined patch clamp recording, biocytin staining and single-cell RNA-sequencing of human neurocortical neurons shows an expansion of glutamatergic neuron types relative to mouse that characterizes the greater complexity of the human neocortex.

Intensifying drought has caused massive die-offs in ecosystems worldwide. Here, Angelini et al.use observations, experiments, and models in US salt marshes to show that a key mutualism increases ecosystem resilience by maintaining stress-resistant habitat patches that aid post-drought recovery.

The affected cellular populations during Alzheimer’s disease progression remain understudied. Here the authors use a cohort of 84 donors, quantitative neuropathology and multimodal datasets from the BRAIN Initiative. Their pseudoprogression analysis revealed two disease phases.

The BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network has constructed a multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex in a landmark effort towards understanding brain cell-type diversity, neural circuit organization and brain function.

Fungal and Oomycota pathogens of plants threaten food security. Here, Turella et al show that Phytophthora plant pathogens can oxidate oligogalacturonides to overcome plant immunity by blocking sensing of pectin degradation.

An examination of motor cortex in humans, marmosets and mice reveals a generally conserved cellular makeup that is likely to extend to many mammalian species, but also differences in gene expression, DNA methylation and chromatin state that lead to species-dependent specializations.

Benamer et al. develop a knock-in mouse model carrying the E1799del otoferlin mutation to study the atypical DFNB9 variant form of deafness. They show the mouse model exhibits abnormal otoferlin distribution, failure of synaptic transmission in inner hair cells, and profound hearing loss, all of which can be restored with AAV gene therapy.

Here, Arkinson et al. reconstitute NUB1-mediated FAT10 degradation by the human 26S proteasome and use biochemistry, cryo-EM and hydrogen–deuterium exchange to show that NUB1 acts as an ATP-independent chaperone to trap partially folded FAT10 for proteasome delivery.

Long-read chromatin assay reveals (1) a novel class of accessible chromatin regions, (2) accessibility within individual LTR retrotransposons and (3) the relationship between diffuse accessibility, gene body methylation and hAT transposon insertion.

Here the authors present the cryo-EM structures of heteromeric TRPC1/TRPC4 channel and provide structure–function insights into its heteromer-specific properties.

The wake-active orexin system plays a central role in the dynamic regulation of glucose homeostasis. Here the authors report that inactivation of the orexin receptor type 1 or 2 in serotonergic neurons differentially regulate systemic glucose homeostasis in the context of diet induced obesity.

Optogenetic tools allowing transcranial neural inhibition in treating seizures are limited. This study demonstrates that noninvasive transcranial optogenetic activation of a highly sensitive K + -conductive channelrhodopsin (HcKCR1-hs) silences neurons and suppresses seizures deep in the brain, alleviating epilepsy symptoms in mouse models, without intracranial surgery.

Cold-sensitive engrams contribute to learned thermoregulation in mice that are returned to an environment in which they previously experienced a cold challenge, through a network formed between the hippocampus and hypothalamus that enables the recall of cold-related memories.

Cells locally expand and retract their surface in response to environmental factors such as changes in membrane tension. Here the authors show the membrane adapter, dynamin2, locally constricts surface membrane to form an isolated but contiguous membrane reservoir that can open upon phospholipid scrambling via TMEM16F.

Small molecule antagonists of CCR6 are potential drugs for autoimmune disorders. Here the authors present inactive structures of CCR6 bound by different allosteric antagonists from two series simultaneously, offering multiple approaches to inhibit CCR6.

Autotransporter proteins are localised to the bacterial surface and promote colonisation of host epithelial surfaces. Here, the authors present the crystal structure of autotransporter UpaB and show evidence for distinct binding sites for glycosaminoglycans and host fibronectin.

β-amyloid (Aβ)-dependent neuronal hyperactivity is an early marker of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Here, the authors report that scavenging Aβ monomers by an Aβ-binding anticalin protein blocks the formation of Aβ oligomers and prevents hyperactivity in AD mice.

The structure of the human NALCN channelosome and a model of the gating mechanism are determined.

A massively parallel reporter assay was used to measure the activity of nearly complete sets of promoters from Arabidopsis, maize and sorghum in two assay systems, uncovering the sequence features affecting promoter strength and facilitating promoter strength prediction and synthetic design.

Metals such as calcium and potassium have long been known to regulate the diameter of arteries that control blood flow. Here, we report that zinc causes relaxation of blood vessels and reduces blood pressure by its coordinated action in sensory nerves, endothelium and smooth muscle cells.

Besides mechanical forces, the mechanosensitive channel Piezo1 is activated by the small molecule Yoda1 through an unknown mechanism. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations, calcium imaging and electrophysiology, the authors identify an allosteric Yoda1 binding pocket located in the putative mechanosensory ___domain.

The biogenesis of AMPA-type glutamate receptor (AMPAR) complexes is only partially understood. Here the authors identify transient assemblies of GluA1-4 proteins and proteins FRRS1l/CPT1c that drive formation of mature AMPAR complexes in the ER. Mutations in FRRS1l are associated with intellectual disability and epilepsy in three families.

RNA sensing-mediated payload expression provides a specific, versatile, simple and generalizable means of detecting and manipulating animal cells with broad potential applications.

Na_X is an atypical member of the voltage-gated sodium channel family that may contribute to Na⁺ homeostasis. Here, the authors describe the structural and functional attributes of the human Na_X channel to reveal new insights into its physiology.

BamA carries out the essential process of folding outer membrane β-barrels in Gram-negative bacteria and is a potential antibiotic target. Here, the authors discover macrocyclic peptide inhibitors that trap BamA in distinct structural conformations.

The authors investigate the role of inhibition in shaping spatial selectivity of CA1 place cells. Combining whole-cell recordings, optogenetics and computational modeling, they demonstrate that inhibition enhances both rate and temporal coding of space by counteracting noise from broad out-of-field excitation.