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Polyamide-12 is the main polymer employed to produce 3D objects by laser sintering constraining the functionality of the items produced. Here, the authors report a clean and scalable approach for the functionalization of polyamide-12 particles, yielding materials that can be printed using commercial apparatus.

Most metabolic studies using traditional procedures fail to reveal the spatial patterning associated with metabolic flux and cellular metabolism within tissue microenvironments. Here, the authors show the application of multi-scale microscopy, machine learning-based image segmentation and spatial analysis to map the fate of nutrient-derived ¹³C across spatiotemporal scales.

Radiometric dating and oxygen isotopes of Pilbara Craton zircons reveal early continent formation via seafloor hydrothermal alteration and subsequent shallow depth partial melting of mafic protcrust some 3565 million years ago.

Assessing the accuracy of evapotranspiration (ET) data is crucial for managing the water used by crops and natural vegetation. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy of a remotely sensed ET model ensemble from the OpenET system using in situ ET measurements collected across the contiguous United States.

Conjugation of the ubiquitin-like protein SUMO to proteins regulates many biological processes. Insights are emerging into mechanisms that regulate the SUMO modification pathway, including other post-translational modifications. Many substrates also harbour additional characteristics that facilitate their modification.

Cancer genetics has benefited from the advent of next generation sequencing, yet a comparison of sequencing and analysis techniques is lacking. Here, the authors sequence a normal-tumour pair and perform data analysis at multiple institutes and highlight some of the pitfalls associated with the different methods.

Oxygen isotopic evidence from Jack Hill zircon crystals suggests that meteoric (fresh) water interacted with crustal magma systems four billion years ago, meaning that the hydrological cycle began at or before this time.

Extremely light apatite δD values indicate deep-originated water in intracontinental granites and basalts from the North China Craton, probably from a stagnant slab within the mantle transition zone.

Photovoltaic devices suffer from unavoidable open circuit voltage losses. Here, authors design a photo-ferroelectric 2D/3D/2D perovskite junction with 2D ferroelectric single crystals in bulk, resulting in an electric field and achieving a net gain in device open circuit voltage reaching 1.21 V.

The larger particulates from reactor Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have received sparse attention compared to the Unit 2 particulate. Here the authors perform the higher-resolution and 3-dimentional analysis of several high-density micron-scale fragments, from within a larger Unit 1-derived representative ejecta particle.

Structural and biochemical analyses establish the catalytic mechanism of ZNF451, a new class of E3 ligases.

Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer’s disease derived from individuals of European ancestry can show improved performance in multiancestry settings after incorporating genome-wide association summary statistics from diverse populations.

High-resolution mass spectrometry has unrivalled power to analyse individual components of ensembles, rather than ensembles as a whole. This Perspective describes recent advances in the mass spectrometry of synthetic polymers, as well as the limitations of present methods and possible strategies to overcome them.

Determining the degradation pathways in lead halide perovskites is key to its development as a viable solar technology. Aristidouet al. identify iodide vacancies as the preferred sites in mediating the photo-induced formation of superoxide species from intercalated oxygen.

Influenza viruses that infect the same host can interfere with each other’s replication. This behaviour seems to result in spatial structuring of infected groups of cells in tissue, with implications for viral evolution.

In this Review, the authors discuss mass spectrometry (MS) imaging and spatially resolved MS approaches that are being employed in nephrology applications. They also highlight emerging MS methods and applications, as well as the integration of MS data with data from other omics approaches.

Inkjet printed metal nanoparticles are known to have lower electrical conductivity than those produced by traditional approaches. Here, anisotropic electrical conductivity is attributed to organic residuals from the metal nanoparticle ink, reducing conductivity.

Caloric restriction (CR) can extend the organism life- and health-span. Here, the authors show that mild caloric restriction enhances insulin sensititivy to promote beta cell health and longevity, through an optimization of energy metabolism and homeostasis pathways.

The ~70 km-diameter Yarrabubba impact structure in Western Australia has previously been regarded as among Earth’s oldest meteorite craters, but has hitherto lacked absolute age constraints. Here, the authors determine a precise impact age of 2229 ± 5 Ma, which extends the terrestrial cratering record back in time by > 200 million years and establishes Yarrabubba as the oldest recognised meteorite impact structure on Earth.

Two carboxy-terminal motifs are necessary for Srs2 to recognize SUMO-conjugated PCNA, which is involved in DNA replication and repair; one motif is specific to SUMO, the other to PCNA.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A new method based on protein engineering to trap an intact complex between Siz1, SUMO-bound E2, and PCNA for structure determination.

Large genome-wide meta-analysis of clinically diagnosed late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) from 94,437 individuals identifies new LOAD risk loci and implicates Aβ formation, tau protein binding, immune response and lipid metabolism.

Quantifying the amount of water in meteorites remains challenging, with minerals the key to understanding water contents. Here, Adcocket al. perform shock experiments on H⁺-bearing whitlockite demonstrating that it may transform into anhydrous merrillite, which is commonly found in Martian meteorites.

Oceanic detachment faulting modulates the extent of hydrous melting of deep oceanic crusts, forming diverse felsic melts, according to geochemical and petrological data from felsic veins in the Atlantic Bank oceanic core complex in the Southwest Indian Ridge.

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

Oxygen isotope compositions of dated magmatic zircon show that the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, Earth’s best-preserved Archaean continental remnant, was built in three stages initiated by a giant meteorite impact.

Dahl et al. present new evidence based on leaf gas-exchange in primitive vascular plants and fossil remains of some of their earliest ancestors. This alters our thinking on how plants impacted the Earth System and climate.

Two out of 15 dogs from households with confirmed human cases of COVID-19 were asymptomatically infected with SARS-CoV-2 and showed antibody responses to the virus.

Cryo-EM, biochemical and cell-based assays reveal strong allosteric autoinhibition of the actin-binding domains of plastins. Physiological tuning of this engagement explains the plastins’ ability to organize actin assemblies of different morphologies.

Sumoylation is a highly regulated process that is counteracted by specialized enzymes known as small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) proteases. The recent discovery of novel SUMO proteases, together with new findings for established SUMO proteases, has led to augmented appreciation of this enzyme family.

Oxygen isotopes and whole-rock geochemistry show that the water required to make Earth’s first continental crust was primordial and derived from the mantle, not surface water introduced by subduction.

The anaerobic oxidation of methane in marine sediments is performed by consortia of methane-oxidizing archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria; an examination of the role of interspecies spatial positioning on single cell activity reveals that interspecies electron transfer may overcome the requirement for close spatial proximity, a proposition supported by large multi-haem cytochromes in ANME-2 genomes as well as redox-active electron microscopy staining.

Conventional structural biology techniques are limited in deciphering complex RNA structures and dynamic interactions. Here the authors show an integrated approach that combines cryogenic OrbiSIMS (cryo-OrbiSIMS) with computational methods for modelling RNA structures at atomic resolution.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The sensitivity of Li-ion battery materials to moisture complicates their synthesis, storage, processing and recycling. Here, authors show that protonation causes structural instability in LiNi_xCo_yMn_1-x-yO₂ (0 <x,y < 1) and that controlled H⁺ and Li⁺ concentration in aqueous processing is critical.

The disappearance of non-mass-dependent sulphur isotope anomalies from the rock record is thought to indicate the increase in atmospheric oxygen concentration from its initial, persistently low level; however, as a result of long-term surface recycling these anomalies may in fact survive in the sedimentary record for as long as 100 million years after an increase in atmospheric oxygen.

Sven van der Lee, Julie Williams, Gerard Schellenberg and colleagues identify rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3 and TREM2 associated with Alzheimer's disease. These genes are highly expressed in microglia and provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated immune response contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease.