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Optical microscopy allows neural cells to be studied in the intact brain, but imaging deep neural tissue presents substantial challenges. Prevedel and colleagues outline the principles of three-photon microscopy, highlighting its advantages for deep tissue imaging and its applications in neuroscience.

The cryo-EM structure of Mycobacterium smegmatis arabinosyltransferase B EmbB involved in mycobacterial cell wall biosynthesis provides insights into the substrate binding and reaction mechanism. Mapping of the ethambutol resistance associated mutations onto the structure suggests the ___location of the drug binding site.

Understanding the infection parameters and host responses against SARS-CoV-2 require data from large cohorts using standardized methods. Here, the authors optimize a serum ELISA protocol that has minimal cross-reactivity and flexible sample collection workflow in an attempt to standardize data generation and help inform on COVID-19 pandemic and immunity.

Light sheet microscopy using a scanned Bessel beam in combination with structured illumination or two-photon excitation reduces photobleaching and phototoxicity, improves axial resolution and allows isotropic three-dimensional imaging. The authors demonstrate performance of the method via fast volumetric subcellular imaging of several dynamic processes in single living cells.

Researchers demonstrate sub-picosecond steering of ultrafast incoherent emission from a light-emitting metasurface. The steering is achieved over a 70° range.

Three-photon in vivo imaging provides access to medial prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and spinal cord in mice at up to 1.7 mm depth of neurons, dendrites, spines, astrocytes and microglia.

Self-powered graphene photodetectors based on the photothermoelectric effect (PTE) could provide low-noise operation in the telecom and mid-infrared ranges, but their bandwidth is usually limited. Here, the authors report the realization of PTE graphene photodetectors integrated with a metamaterial perfect absorber, showing a 3-dB bandwidth above 400 GHz.

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and thermosensory circuits in the flies.

A terahertz quantum cascade laser and diode mixer are monolithically integrated to form a simple microelectronic terahertz transceiver. The performance of this system — the transmission of a coherent carrier, heterodyne reception of an external signal, frequency locking and tuning — is as efficient as that of discrete component terahertz photonic systems.

Most neuronal reconstruction software can automatically trace single neuronal morphologies but tracing multiple, densely interwoven neurons is much more challenging. Here the authors develop G-Cut, a computational approach for accurate segmentation of densely interconnected neuron clusters.

The rupture area of the 2014 Iquique earthquake offshore northern Chile was spatially limited to a region where the plate boundary is non-reflective in seismic images, indicative of low fluid pressure. In contrast, north and updip of the rupture area, a coherent highly reflective plate boundary indicates excess fluid pressure, which may inhibit strain accumulation, while strain release in the non-reflective rupture area occurs during large earthquakes.

Uechi et al. found that a small-molecule lipoamide dissolves stress granules (SGs) by targeting SFPQ, a redox-sensitive disordered SG protein, alleviating pathological phenotypes caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated FUS and TDP-43 mutants.

The digestive form of Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) involves damage to the nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract and problems with peristalsis. Here, Khan et al show that infection causes damage to the colon that can be reversed if it is successfully treated early in the process.

Square-centimetre scale, multilayer superlattice structures based on atomically thin two-dimensional chalcogenide monolayers enable the realization of excitonic metamaterials.

The timing and nature of the first plate tectonic processes on Earth is disputed. Here the authors present a seismic reflection image of a suture zone that extends to 60 km depth beneath the ancient Yilgarn region of western Australia, suggesting that plate subduction occurred as early as 2.8 billion years ago

Observations of optical flares from AT2022tsd (the ‘Tasmanian Devil’) show that they have durations on the timescale of minutes, occur over a period of months, are highly energetic, are probably nonthermal and have supernova luminosities.

Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the bacterial O-antigen ligase WaaL, combined with genetics, biochemistry and molecular dynamics simulations, provide insight into the mechanism by which WaaL catalyses the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide.

A newly identified coronavirus isolated from farmed minks can use the receptor ACE2 to infect cells of different mammalian species, including human cells, which has implications for potential zoonotic spillover events.

Autophagy is initiated by the Unc-51-like kinase protein kinase complex (ULK1C) and class III phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase complex I (PI3KC3-C1). Here, the authors reveal the structure of the 2:1:1 core of ULK1C and its complex with PI3KC3-C1. ULK1C transitions to a 2:2:2 complex in the presence of PI3KC3-C1, suggesting a mechanism for autophagy induction.

The need for space between lenses in optical systems results in a trade-off between potential for miniaturisation and achieved resolution. Here, the authors demonstrate a device that propagates light longer than its thickness, a spaceplate, and can therefore replace space in optical systems.

Combining the infrared capabilities of JWST and synthetic tracking techniques, the detection of some of the smallest asteroids ever observed in the main belt is reported; their large abundance reveals a population driven by collisional cascade.

Geospatial estimates of the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age across 82 low-income and middle-income countries reveals considerable heterogeneity and inequality at national and subnational levels, with few countries on track to meet the WHO Global Nutrition Targets by 2030.

This study links acoustic, speech and linguistic data with brain activity during real-life conversations to create a model that predicts neural responses during speech with high accuracy.

The mechanisms driving epithelial regeneration in the colon are not well understood. Here, the authors show that IFN-γ, produced by immune cells in response to chemically induced colitis, acts as a central driver of crypt reorganization by inducing apoptosis and extrusion of BMP2-expressing colonocytes.

The accelerated liquid–gel transition of collagen induced by an inert crowding agent enables the rapid and versatile fabrication of collagenous tissues under biocompatible and bioactive conditions for tissue engineering applications.

A fast, automated, high-resolution, low-cost multiplex immunofluorescence method to understand spatial organization of tissue.

Here, authors demonstrate a method for milling vitrified biological material. Using correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy images, MicroED data is collected for the adenosine receptor.

Alumina layers below 100 nm thickness stacked with aluminum interlayers combine exceptional properties including high toughness, strength and ductility. The origin of this optimal tryptic is unraveled by advanced nanomechanics and in-situ TEM.

Discotic liquid crystals are materials with high charge-carrier mobility, which are promising for molecular electronics. They self-organize into stacks, usually with a twist of 30^∘, but the shape and periphery of the molecules can now be altered to produce materials with a twist of 60^∘. Defect-limited mobilities of these materials reach 0.2 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, but the potential defect-free mobility could be up to 10 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.

Bifacial solar cells can outperform monofacial cells by exploiting sunlight reflected off the ground surface. De Bastiani et al. show that bifacial perovskite/silicon tandem with an optimized bandgap can deliver a power density of 26 mW cm^–2 and compare its performance to monofacial cells under outdoor conditions.

Cholinergic interneurons act at nicotinic receptors to depress dopamine release, interrupting its relationship to dopamine neuron firing and supporting an inverse scaling of dopamine release according to cholinergic activity.

Mesoscale molecular assemblies on the cell surface integrate information and amplify signals. Here the authors integrate DNA nanotubes in a controlled manner with mammalian cells to act as sheer stress meters.

The endocardium lines the interior of the heart chambers and has been debated as a source of hematopoietic lineages. Here they show that the endocardium may act as a source of, and resident tissue for, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in zebrafish, providing evidence for diversity in origins and residences of hematopoietic cells.

Perovskite photovoltaics have achieved high power conversion efficiencies, yet their durability remains to be proven. This Perspective presents a number of approaches with a view to addressing durability challenges.

Green and O’Dea et al. identify that the embryonic zebrafish brain is colonized by a population of early-colonizing microglia that are dependent on lymphatic vessels, placing lymphatic cells at the epicenter of microglia development.

A chemically induced dimerization strategy was used to recruit SUMOylation enzymes into condensates, enabling quantification of the effect of phase separation on the activity of a SUMOylation enzyme cascade reaction.

A climatic record from desert speleothems shows that the central Arabian interior experienced recurrent humid intervals over the past 8 million years, which likely facilitated mammalian dispersals between Africa and Eurasia.

A new ice core from West Antarctica shows that, during the last ice age, abrupt Northern Hemisphere climate variations were followed two centuries later by a response in Antarctica, suggesting an oceanic propagation of the climate signal to the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes.

Subarctic Pacific Ocean sediments and modeling results provide new evidence for precession driving meridional shifts in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and modulating the efficiency of heat and water vapor transfer to the Arctic regions.

Periodic changes in the tilt of the Earth’s axis alter the distribution of incoming solar radiation. Here, the authors show that the temperature response to this forcing seemingly differs in models and Antarctic ice cores, with a better agreement reached if ice cores are recording a seasonally weighted signal.

Nature Biotechnology’s annual survey highlights academic startups that are, among other things, designing circular RNA therapeutics, tackling cancer with arenaviruses, creating psychedelics without the trip, editing genes and cells in vivo, harnessing the power of autoantibodies and editing the epigenome.

The immune synapse at the interface between T cells and antigen-presenting cells manifests intense vesicular trafficking, but how the vesicles are sorted is still unclear. Here the authors show that, in activated T cells, the Golgin GMAP210 specifically conveys LAT⁺ vesicles to immune synapse allowing proper T cell activation.

Concentrator photovoltaics achieve high efficiency but have so far been impractical for use on rooftops. Here, Price et al. develop a flat-panel concentrating photovoltaic system based on a triple-junction solar cell that operates at fixed tilt over a full day with >30% peak efficiency.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) analogs target the cannabinoid receptor CB1 for therapeutic and psychoactive effects. Here, the authors determine spatiotemporal ligand interactions critical for potency, efficacy, off-rates and drug design.

GRASP proteins are thought to play a role in maintaining the stacked structure of the Golgi complex. Xiang et al. discover that depletion of GRASPs accelerates Golgi traffic, but reduces the complexity of Golgi protein glycosylation.

A method termed ac⁴C-seq is introduced for the transcriptome-wide mapping of the RNA modification N⁴-acetylcytidine, revealing widespread temperature-dependent acetylation that facilitates thermoadaptation in hyperthermophilic archaea.

Whole-brain anatomical and activity surveys identify the lateral hypothalamus as a key driver of recovery from spinal cord injury, leading to a deep brain stimulation therapy that augments the recovery of walking in humans.

Fano resonant optical coatings (FROCs) present an ideal platform for structural coloring from thin-film metamaterials. This platform provides full-color gamut coverage at greater than 61% of the CIE gamut, with exceptionally high purity (up to 99%) and high brightness. FROCs exhibit tunable iridescence, cost-effective and scalable manufacturing, and significant advantages over existing structural coloring schemes.