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This study reports the horizontal gene transfer of CSP genes from bacteria to Triticeae, promoting the adaptation and spread of wheat through enhanced drought tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency.

Topological lasers often suffer from low directionality, and/or complex design requirements hindering operation at small wavelengths. Here, by using a few monolayers of perovskite quantum dots, the authors demonstrate a lithography-free, vertical-emitting, single-mode laser emitting in the green.

How tissues adapt to extreme cold is not well understood. Here, the authors discover a mechanism that promotes FOXO1-mediated cold survival gene transcription at low temperatures, with potential implications for long-term tissue storage for transplantation.

Isotope engineering can enhance spin coherence of solid-state defects, such as NV centers in diamond but progress for defects in hBN has been limited. Gong et al. report the optimization of isotopes in hBN and demonstrate improved coherence and relaxation times for the negatively charged boron vacancy centers.

Transcriptome-wide m⁶A RNA methylation profile in 162 primary prostate tumors identifies m⁶A association with prognostic clinical features and disease aggression.

A portable multiplexed assay allows for the rapid detection, via plasmonic-gold-enhanced near-infrared fluorescence, of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at single-copy sensitivity and single-nucleotide specificity for the discrimination of variants of the virus.

The ultrathin oxide nanosheets obtained through previous approaches usually exhibit amorphism or polycrystallinity, which limit their properties towards electronic devices. Here, the authors synthesize ultrathin antimony oxide single crystals with high dielectric constant (~100) and large breakdown voltage (~5.7 GV m⁻¹).

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

Breviscapine is the flavonoid extract from medical plant Erigeron breviscapus for the treatment of cardio- and cerebrovascular disease. Here, the authors identify the key enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway from the plant genome and engineer yeast to produce breviscapine from glucose.

Inspired by the idea of mimicking virus entry to host cells and macrophage-mediated virus clearance, the authors developed a lysosomal “TRAP”, which could efficiently capture, internalize, and degrade viruses and variants.

We discovered that liquid metal endowing negative mixing enthalpy with other elements could provide a stable thermodynamic condition and act as a desirable dynamic mixing reservoir, realizing the synthesis of high-entropy alloy nanoparticles.

Arabidopsis thaliana potassium channel AKT1 is responsible for primary K + uptake from soil, which is functionally activated through phosphorylation and negatively regulated by an α-subunit AtKC1. Here, the authors report the structures of AKT1 at different states, revealing a 2- fold to 4-fold symmetry switch at cytoplasmic ___domain associated with AKT1 activity regulation.

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.

Trivalent arsenic (As^III) is a clinically approved treatment agent for patients with promyelocytic leukaemia, but cannot be used for other types of leukaemia due to its toxicity. Here the authors show that different patient-derived leukaemia cells express CD71 and design a ferritin-based nanoparticle for specific delivery of As^III to these cells, demonstrating substantially improved efficacy towards different leukaemia types in animal models, with reduced side effects.

Chen et al. perform single-cell analysis and identify transcriptomic remodelling in epithelial cells, macrophages, T cells, fibroblasts and endothelial cells, which together regulate prostate cancer progression.

The cryo-electron microscopy structure of human γ-secretase in complex with its substrate Notch reveals pronounced structural rearrangements compared to the apo enzyme, including formation of a β-sheet involving residues from both enzyme and substrate.

An inhalable, single-dose dry powder aerosol SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows good storage stability, results in sustained antigen delivery to antigen-presenting cells in the lungs and induces a potent antiviral immune response.

Ligand discovery against membrane proteins has been a major challenge, mainly due to the peculiar nature of their natural habitat. Here, the authors designed a new chemical proteomic probe that targets the lysines exposed on the cell surface and developed a chemical proteomic strategy for global analysis of surface functionality in living cells.

A genomic analysis of human remains from the Bronze Age provides insights into the origin of the Tarim Basin mummies from the Xinjiang region.

The spread of many infectious diseases substantially relies on aerosol transmission to the respiratory tract. Here, the authors design an intranasal mask with the ability to intercept viral aerosols, entrap and inactivate virus, thus preventing respiratory tract infection.

This study reports the genomic changes underlying the convergent and divergent agronomic improvement of the female and male heterotic groups during modern hybrid maize breeding, laying a foundation for the dissection and utilization of maize heterosis.

The atomic structure of human γ-secretase at 3.4 Å resolution, determined by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy.

The plasma membrane Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger SOS1 is crucial for plant salt tolerance. Here the authors report the structure of SOS1 from Arabidopsis thaliana in two conformations, which provide structural and functional insight into SOS1 activity regulation.

Autophagy plays a critical role in plant immunity. Here the authors show that in tomato, autophagy promotes defense against root-knot nematodes by promoting degradation of negative regulators of jasmonic acid signaling.

The structure of core–shell catalysts is often assumed to be conserved over a reaction. Now, an in situ study reveals that the shell of Ni@Au nanoparticles is reversibly converted into a Ni–Au alloy during CO₂ hydrogenation, with important mechanistic implications.

Two draft sequences of Gossypium hirsutum, the most widely cultivated cotton species, provide insights into genome structure, genome rearrangement, gene evolution and cotton fiber biology.

Current methods for analysing protein structures and interactions generally require the separation of specific organelles or changes to the intracellular environment. Here, authors developed nanocarrier-based cross-linking mass spectrometry techniques to assess mitochondrial proteins within living cells.

Mammalian eggs require a single sperm for viable fertilization, and cortical granule exocytosis prevents additional sperm binding. Vogt et al. image at single granule resolution to document that cortical granule anchoring in the cortex ensures proper trafficking, exocytosis and polyspermy block.

Polyethylene glycol has been widely utilized to functionalize nanomaterials in order to improve their biocompatibility. Here, the authors demonstrate that PEGylated nano-graphene oxide can elicit an inflammatory response, contradicting current literature.

Northern China contains some of the world’s earliest farming societies. Here, authors use 55 ancient genomes to trace the genetic history of human migrations across northern China for the last 7500 years, and document genetic changes mirroring shifts in subsistence strategy.

The boron vacancy center in hBN has been intensively studied, but its characterizations have remained limited. Here the authors achieve a 5-fold enhancement of coherence time using dynamical decoupling, which enables the direct estimation of defect concentration and its electric field susceptibility.

Nanocomposite (NC) printing emerged as a major approach to translate nanomaterial properties to 3D geometries but printing of conventional NCs lacks control over nanomaterial connection. Here, the authors develop viscoelastic Pickering emulgels as NC inks through jamming nanomaterials on interfaces and in continuous phase

Phytophthora pathogens manipulate host plant immune responses by secreting effector proteins into plant cells. Here, Jing et al. show that the Phytophthora sojaeAvh262 effector negatively regulates plant resistance by binding to host BiP proteins and suppressing ER-stress induced cell death

The three-dimensional structure of intact human γ-secretase complex at 4.5 Å resolution is revealed by cryo-electron-microscopy single-particle analysis; the complex comprises a horseshoe-shaped transmembrane ___domain containing 19 transmembrane segments, and a large extracellular ___domain from nicastrin, which sits immediately above the hollow space formed by the horseshoe.

There is an intensive effort in developing multi-shelled metal oxide nanostructures for lithium-ion battery applications. Now, a metal anion-adsorption mechanism, as opposed to the conventional cation adsorption on carbonaceous templates, is demonstrated in the synthesis of vanadium oxide hollow microspheres, which exhibit excellent battery performance.

Members of the jasmonate ZIM-___domain (JAZ) protein family are identified as key regulators of jasmonate signalling. Some of these function as repressors of jasmonate-responsive gene expression. The results suggest a model in which jasmonate ligands promote binding of the SCF^COI1 ubiquitin ligase complex to jasmonate repressors, resulting in their degradation.

Various effectors of plant pathogens modulate host cell biology. Here, Huang et al. show PsAvr3c, an avirulence effector from oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora sojae, can reprogram host pre-mRNA splicing for immune modulation.