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Biosynthesis of antimicrobial phytoalexin glyceollins in soybean is complicated and elusive. Here Xie et al. report a plant chassis for high-yield isoflavonoid production, leading to the identification of six P450s that complete the 15-step biosynthesis of diverse glyceollins, which are critical compounds for plant defense.

Cell softness protects cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) from autolysis by own soluble factors such as perforin secreted for killing target cells. Here the authors show that softness can be induced by YAP activation, and that T leukemic cells are more sensitive to YAP inhibition than CTLs, thereby hinting YAP inhibitors as a potential therapy for T leukemia.

Energy density and cyclability are often a trade-off for lithium-ion batteries. The authors develop cobalt- and nickel-free cathodes with both good cycling stability and high energy density through the integration of polyanion units into rocksalt structures.

Park et al. show that Merkel cell polyomavirus upregulates LSD1 activity to repress differentiation genes that can be activated by non-canonical BAF, thereby modulating transformation and tumorigenesis in Merkel cell carcinoma.

Current thyroid ultrasounds rely heavily on the experience and skills of the sonographer and of the radiologist, and the process is physically and cognitively exhausting. Here, the authors show a fully autonomous robotic ultrasound system, which is able to scan thyroid regions without human assistance and identify malignant nodules.

Here the authors demonstrate a laser system that can directly output soliton microcombs, with high power efficiency and reconfigurability, paving the way for communication, computing, and metrology based on integrated photonics.

To prevent charge losses and degradation at the buried interface of inverted methylammonium-free perovskite solar cells, Li et al. form a 2D/3D perovskite structure using 2-aminoindan hydrochloride as an additive.

Combining analysis of host proteome and transcriptome perturbations induced by tumour virus proteins with ongoing genome-wide studies of cancer facilitates the prioritization of cancer genes.

Heat-responsive polymers grafted onto gold nanocages serve as a nanoscale delivery system for biologically important compounds. Laser irradiation of the nanocages heats the polymers by means of the photothermal effect; the polymers then change conformation and compounds are released. The polymers return to their original configuration when the laser is switched off, stopping further release.

Lv et al. reveal a non-canonical role for gasdermin E in protecting pancreatic cancer cells from chymotrypsin-mediated digestion in the microenvironment by promoting the transcription factor YBX1 to induce mucin expression.

There is much interest in graphene for applications in ultrahigh-speed radio-frequency electronics, but conventional device fabrication processes lead to significant defects in graphene. Here a new way of fabricating high-speed graphene transistors is described. A nanowire with a metallic core and insulating shell is placed as the gate electrode on top of graphene, and source and drain electrodes are deposited through a self-alignment process, causing no appreciable damage to the graphene lattice.

A significant enhancement in the conductance of a graphene nanoribbon field-effect transistor is observed when a perpendicular magnetic field is applied.

As cancer is increasingly considered a metabolic disorder, it is postulated that serum metabolite profiling can be a viable approach for detecting the presence of cancer. Here, the authors report a machine learning model using mass spectrometry-based liquid biopsy data for pan-cancer screening and classification.

IL-2 is a classic T cell growth factor. Huang and colleagues demonstrate, however, that chronic IL-2 stimulation leads to a new exhaustion pathway that impairs antitumor immune responses.

Among the wide range of potential applications of graphene, photodetection is believed to be among the most promising. By combining graphene with plasmonic nanostructures, Duan and colleagues observe dramatic improvements in the efficiency and spectral sensitivity of graphene-based photodetectors.

Barrier-free metal-semiconductor interfaces are crucial to improve the performance of 2D electronic devices. Here, the authors report a strategy to induce local bonding distortion in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides via soft oxygen plasma treatments, leading to reduced contact resistance and improved transport properties.

Tin-based alloying materials have been widely developed for lithium storage, but are limited by large volume variation. Herein, the authors created a new strategy of applying coordination chemistry to construct tin-based metal-organic frameworks which exhibited high-performance lithium storage property.

An environmentally friendly, all-organic radical battery is demonstrated, in which redox-active polypeptides perform as both cathode and anode materials, with a metal-free organic electrolyte.

Manual postprocessing of computed tomography angiography (CTA) images is extremely labor intensive and error prone. Here, the authors propose an artificial intelligence reconstruction system that can automatically achieve CTA reconstruction in healthcare services.

Three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel printing enables production of volumetric architectures but achieving good resolutions for miniaturized features remains challenging. Here the authors demonstrate shrinking of a printed structure by immersing a 3D-printed patterned hydrogel consisting of a hydrophilic polyionic polymer network in a solution of polyions of the opposite net charge.

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) display an M2 phenotype that promote tumour immune escape. Here the authors show that Chloroquine (CQ), a lysosome inhibitor used against malaria, inhibits tumour growth by switching TAMs into an M1 tumor-killing phenotype by repolarizing macrophages metabolism.

A new type of luminescent nanocomposite based on 0D/2D vertical heterojunction is prepared, enabling the fabrication of a multifunctional optical device for blue light emission, light modulation and UV detection.

Song et al describe and identify monoclonal antibodies that target the SARSCoV-2 Spike protein, including CA521FALA, which demonstrated neutralising potential in vivo and in vitro. They performed structural analysis, which revealed that CA521FALA recognizes an epitope overlapping with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-binding sites in SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein therefore making it a promising therapeutic antibody.