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Unnatural α- and γ-amino acids display a diverse range of biological activities and serve as crucial intermediates in pharmaceutical production. Here, the authors report a four-component reaction to facilitate the switchable synthesis of α- and γ-amino acids from a shared extended p-quinone methide through a tailored amination strategy.

Zhang, Peng, and colleagues benchmark metabolic RNA labelling chemistries for time-resolved single-cell RNA sequencing, improving in vivo detection of newly synthesized RNA during zebrafish embryogenesis.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Pt-based alloy cathode catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells face persistent challenges, including rapid oxidation and loss of transition metal/Pt. Here, the authors report a covalentization concept in intermetallic L1₀-structure Pt-based alloys to boost stability in fuel cells.

Single-atom Fe–N–C catalysts are the most promising alternative to Pt-group metal catalysts for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells, but while the chemical environment of their active centres is well understood, their electronic structure remains elusive. Now, using molecular model catalysts, a high-spin trivalent FeN₄ site with an axial hydroxyl ligand is identified as the active site in Fe–N–C catalysts.

Hong-Xuan Lin, Ji-Ping Gao, Jun-Xiang Shan and colleagues show that natural variation in a proteasome α2 subunit gene contributes to thermotolerance in African rice. Their follow-up studies suggest that the variant allele protects cells from heat stress by enhancing the elimination of cytotoxic denatured proteins and maintaining heat-response processes.

The authors report a flexible thermoelectric film, comprising Ag₂Se and reduced graphene oxide, achieving a power factor of 37 μW cm⁻¹ K⁻² in the film and a normalized power density of over 9.8 μW cm⁻² K⁻² in the out-of-plane device.

Treg cells play a pivotal role in suppressing allograft rejection but their presence in tumours hamper antitumour immunity. Here authors show that T cells, in which Setdb1 is genomically deleted, give rise to Treg cells that prevent allograft rejection but don’t compromise the antitumour immune response.

Clinical trials of CD47 blocking antibody in human cancer patients have not yielded ideal results. Here the authors show that USP2 stabilizes CD47 through deubiquitination, whereas USP2 inhibition enhances macrophage phagocytosis, reprograms tumor microenvironment and synergizes with anti-PD-1 treatment.

The mechanisms underlying the interplay between tumour cells and the microenvironment remain to be explored. Here, the authors report that the transcription factor FOXM1 epigenetically silences the DNA sensing pathway suppressing anti-tumour immunity and immune memory.

Metal-free catalysts offer a sustainable option for water oxidation but typically underperform compared to metal-based ones. Here, the authors report an all-organic catalyst that uses a rare oxide pathway to achieve high efficiency and long-term stability, comparable to metal-based systems.

Controlling Li nucleation and growth is crucial to avoid dendrite formation. Here, Li₂S(111)@Cu is used as Li metal electrode substrate, where a substrate-dependent Li nucleation process and a facet-dependent growth mode are identified, enabling dense Li deposition and improved battery performance.

SAT1 is a rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine catabolism. Here, authors discover a non-canonical function of SAT1 regulating H3K27ac marks within genes required for mitosis regulation and chromosome segregation, enabling anchorage-independent cell survival and peritoneal metastasis of ovarian cancer cells.

The performance of inorganic, wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells is hindered by unsuitable electron transport layers. Han et al. design an acidic magnesium-doped tin oxide quantum dot layer, improving efficiency and stability in single-junction and tandem cells.

This study elucidates that d-galacturonic acid and d-glucuronic acid regulate apple fruit softening by repressing MdHb1 expression through the MdMYB2/MdNAC14/MdNTL9-MdHb1 regulatory module, offering new insights into postharvest fruit quality control.

The authors synthesize cubic GeSe through the alloying of the metavalent compound Sb₂Te₃ and vacancy engineering, achieving a record ZT of 1.38 at 723 K and an energy conversion efficiency of 6.13% in a single-leg thermoelectric device.

An artificial nerve that is based on a vertical n-type organic electrochemical transistor with a gradient-intermixed bicontinuous structure can operate at high frequencies and mimic basic conditioned reflex behaviour in animals.

A haplotype-resolved genome of hybrid sugarcane cultivar XTT22 and population analyses of Saccharum accessions highlight the genome evolution of allopolyploids and provide opportunities for sugarcane breeding.

The advance in improving the operational lifetime of organic solar cells is currently limited. Here, the authors report a radical scavenger capped zinc oxide nanoparticles as the electron transport layer, achieving operationally stable devices with efficiency of 19.47%.

The stability and delivery of biopesticides limits application. Here, azadirachtin is co-assembled with plant secondary metabolites for efficient drug delivery, demonstrating pest management, the activation of plant defensive capacity, while increasing the production yield of crops.

GlyT1 critically regulates excitatory neurotransmission and has thus emerged as a therapeutic target for schizophrenia. This study delineates the binding sites of the clinically trialed drugs iclepertin and sarcosine and elucidates how cholesterol modulates GlyT1 activity.

The primary challenge in commercializing perovskite solar cells stems from the fragile and moisture-sensitive nature of perovskite materials. Here, authors propose a multi-functional asynchronous cross-linking strategy and achieve high-performance and stable devices with mere 0.30 voltage deficit.

Devices made up of nanowires offer promise for a range of electronic, photonic and energy applications. Liuet al. fabricate a miniature capacitor by employing a thin layer of Cu₂O as a separator between layers of carbon and copper.

Dirac semimetals have been proposed as parent materials for other topologically non-trivial phases such as Weyl semimetals, achieved by the breaking of time reversal symmetry. Here the authors use transport measurements to evidence such behaviour in single crystal Cd₃As₂under an applied magnetic field.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL) with an ETV6::RUNX1 fusion comprise the largest subtype of this cancer, and their optimal treatment strategy remains unclear. Here, the authors perform genomic profiling of 194 ETV6::RUNX1-rearranged pediatric ALL cases, finding two molecular subtypes associated with distinct drug sensitivities.

As photocatalysis in organic chemistry is typically limited by the thermodynamics of single-electron transfer from photocatalysts, multiphoton excitation has emerged as a promising development, although one usually reliant on higher-energy visible light. Here, the authors develop a photocatalytic system consisting of perylene diimide and long-wavelength-absorbing photosensitizers, which enable multiphoton excitation with red light or near-infrared irradiation.

The integration of genome sequencing, genome re-sequencing, QTL mapping and gonadal transcriptome data reveals that the sex chromosome has undergone rapid turnover in three closely related species of the family Scatophagidae.

A second-order topological Weyl semimetal based on a 3D-printed acoustic crystal, exhibiting Weyl points, Fermi arc surface states, and hinge states, has been experimentally demonstrated.

Nanoparticle clearance is critical for safety and therapeutic applicability. Here the authors report the modulatory role of microglial extracellular vesicles on the brain clearance of organic and inorganic nanoparticles and provide a strategy to control their intracerebral fate.

Glioblastoma is resistant to immune-checkpoint inhibitors. In this study, the authors report the results of an expansion cohort (n = 25) of a randomized testing neoadjuvant plus adjuvant pembrolizumab versus adjuvant pembrolizumab alone in patients with recurrent glioblastoma with resectable tumors.

A biosynthetic binary population of membraneless compartments is engineered to mimic membraneless organelles and is capable of delivering molecular messages with controllable feedback under cellular environmental conditions.

Phosphonyl and carboxyl groups are valuable functional groups, however their simultaneous incorporation via catalytic difunctionalization of alkenes has not been realized yet. Here the authors report the phosphonocarboxylation of alkenes with CO₂ via visible-light photoredox catalysis.

Photocatalytic overall water splitting is a promising approach for sustainable hydrogen production, but it remains challenging under visible light. Here, the authors report an F-expedited nitridation strategy for Sr₂TiO₄ that enables visible-light-driven photocatalytic overall water splitting.

C-aryl glycosides are present in many natural products and of interest in drug design, but their chemical synthesis is challenging. This work reports an efficient and diastereoselective ortho-directed C−H glycosylation of arenes and heteroarenes with glycosyl chloride using a palladium catalyst.

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response is shown to inhibit pluripotency during somatic cell reprogramming and to inhibit the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition through c-Jun-mediated histone acetylation.

A comparative analysis of bat genomes, including five newly assembled chromosome-scale genomes, provides insights into the diversification of horseshoe bats and reveals molecular adaptations with a potential role in antiviral immune response.