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A synthetic biology approach was used to engineer Vibrio natriegens into a strain capable of bioremediating complex organic pollutants in saline wastewater and soils, thereby addressing notable threats to marine biosecurity.

Scavenger receptor class A member 3 (SR-A3) is implicated in metabolic diseases, but its relationship with MAFLD remains unclear. Here, the authors show that SR-A3 is an important modulator of hepatic energy metabolism and is a potential therapeutic target against MAFLD.

Here, the authors report tunable luminescence from a single lanthanide ion upon changing excitation conditions through co-doping an energy-modulator ion, thus adjusting the photon transition process of the lanthanide activator ion. Optical encryption has also been demonstrated as an application of this universal strategy.

Despite the growing importance of fluorinated organic compounds introduction of fluorine into organic molecules is still challenging. Here, the authors present the development of palladium and phosphine synergistic redox catalysis of fluorocarbonylation of potassium aryl/alkyl trifluoroborate.

CO₂ conversion to CH₃OH under mild conditions is of particular interest yet rather challenging. Here, the authors report a sun-simulated-driven tandem catalytic system comprising CO₂ electroreduction to syngas, and further photothermal conversion into high-purity CH₃OH (volume fraction <97%).

Intermetallic alloys (IMAs) hold significant potential for catalysis. Here, the authors present a robust gas-migration method for synthesizing stable and uniform IMAs, which exhibit exceptional stability over 1300 h in propane dehydrogenation.

Galectin-3, mainly produced and secreted by macrophages, is elevated in diabetes. Here, the authors show that galectin-3 directly interacts with voltage-gated channel auxiliary subunit gamma 1 (CACNG1) and blocks calcium transients and subsequent insulin secretion.

This randomized trial assessed the effectiveness and safety of single blastocyst transfer vs single cleavage-stage embryo transfer among women with good prognosis. Here, the authors show improved cumulative live birth rates and relatively unfavorable perinatal outcomes after blastocyst transfer.

Structural analysis of Crenotalea thermophila SPARTA reveals that guide-mediated target binding releases the auto-inhibition of SPARTA imposed by an acidic tail and triggers substantial conformational changes, resulting in the oligomerization of short Ago and TIR for SPARTA activation.

β-Cell dysfunction is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Here, the authors show that trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO (a microbiota metabolite)) induces β-cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes in mice through NLRP3 inflammasome activation and calcium transients.

Metabolic reprogramming plays vital roles in tumorigenesis. Here, Chen et al. reveal that mitochondria-encoded mcPGK1 drives the mitochondrial translocation of PGK1, promoting liver tumorigenesis and TIC self-renewal by switching energy production from OXPHOS to glycolysis.

Germline variants that predispose to lung cancer have been mostly studied in Western populations, but data from Chinese patients is lacking. Here the authors analyze lung cancer germline variants in 1794 Chinese patients, finding exclusive variants or with different frequency compared to TCGA data.

This study shows that Dof transcription factors in the phloem precursors not only induce formation of phloem, but also cause secretion of CLE peptides, which in turn inhibit phloem formation in neighbourhing cells by post-transcriptionally decreasing Dofs.

Cascade reactions are a powerful route to rapidly increase molecular complexity. Here, the authors show how a C–H activation step can lead to intermediates capable of partaking in cascade reactions, giving easy access to a number of heterocyclic products.

Sequencing of haploid sugarcane, Saccharum spontaneum, allows assembly of a prototypical version of the sugarcane chromosome set. This new reference genome will serve as a resource to accelerate sugarcane improvement.

Most recent SARS-CoV-2 variants showed exceptional immune evasion properties. Here, the authors identify a highly conserved epitope within the RBD targeted by a broad spectrum neutralizing antibody BA7535 that shows therapeutic antiviral potency in mouse studies.

A phenylboronic acid-modified hetero-octameric Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopore can directly distinguish 11 types of nucleoside monophosphates with a 0.996 accuracy.

Tumours are made up of heterogeneous subclones. Here, the authors show using breast cancer imaging and gene expression datasets that these subclones can be inferred by the deconvolution of gene expression data, mapped to MRI derived radiogenomic signatures and used to estimate prognosis.

The practical application of single atom catalyst (SAC) in liquid-phase heterogeneous catalysis is hampered by the productivity bottleneck as well as catalyst leaching. Here, a bench-top, fast-flow reactor integrated with Pt1-MoS2 SAC was fabricated for continuous production of multifunctional anilines (28 examples) at a record productivity of 5.8 g h-1.

The tyrosine kinase receptor EphB4 is shown to interact with the insulin receptor to facilitate its endocytosis and degradation, thereby decreasing insulin signaling and promoting insulin resistance.

Pregestational hyperglycaemia in mothers increases the probability of glucose intolerance in the offspring, an effect controlled by TET3-dependent DNA demethylation of genes involved in insulin secretion.

Peptides play important roles in plants. Identical CLE9/10 peptides can be perceived by two receptor complexes, depending on the tissue context, during the control of different developmental processes: stomatal lineage and xylem development.

For the object recognition in lightless environments, the authors propose the olfactory-tactile machine learning approach, inspired by the star-nose mole’s neural system. They show how bionic flexible sensor arrays allow for real-time acquisition of object’s form and odor when touching it.

The Kidlins are proteins found in cell focal adhesion sites where they regulate integrins, and in the nucleus where their role is unknown. Here the authors show that Kindlin-2 controls chondrogenesis by regulating integrin b1 activation and Sox9 and TGF-β nuclear signalling.

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant has spread rapidly worldwide. Here, the authors characterise a single chain of transmission of Delta in China, and find evidence that it is more infectious and replicates faster during early infection compared to early pandemic lineages.

Fibroblast growth factors are involved in systemic glucose homeostasis and of interest for developing therapies for type 2 diabetes and associated metabolic diseases. Here the authors identify paracrine FGF4 as an anti-hyperglycemic FGF, which targets skeletal muscle to upregulate the glucose transporter GLUT4 cell surface abundance.

Nanopores have been used for direct observation of RNA structure in native environments but have limited RNA differentiation capabilities. Here, the authors report on the use of Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopores for the trapping and translocation identification of microRNA, siRNA, tRNA and ribosomal RNA.

Miscanthus is widely used as a feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production. Genome sequencing shows that M. floridulus is most distantly related to other Miscanthus species and is more genetically diverse.

Bio-inspired materials are an intense area of study as researchers try to adapt biomaterials for other applications. Here, the authors report on the processing of protein materials derived from the byssal thread of scallops to create high-extensibility materials with self-recovery under wet conditions.

Highly expressed PFTK1 interacts with LRP6 and activates Wnt/β-catenin signalling to enhance gefitinib resistance in non-small cell lung cancer, and PFTK1 targeting could reverse gefitinib resistance.

Although the use of thiazolidinediones in the treatment of type 2 diabetes is controversial, they still comprise an important class of insulin-sensitizing drugs. In two reports, new evidence emerges that these drugs rely on the activation of their target, PPAR-γ, in the brain to improve hepatic insulin sensitivity and increase food intake and reduce energy expenditure.

Minimizing the energy dissipation is usually sought by eliminating phonon-emission process. Here, the authors find a different approach for facilitating energy transmission at room temperature that electrons exert diffusive but quasiadiabatic transport, free from substantial energy loss.

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) promote cancer progression. Here, the author show that caspase-1 promotes TAMs differentiation by attenuating medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity and that inhibition of this axis results in suppression of tumour growth in a transgenic mouse model of breast cancer.

Embryonic stem cell pluripotency depends upon precise regulation by a core transcription network. Here the authors show that polyglutamylation mediated stabilization of the transcription factor Klf4 by TTLL1 and TTLL4 promotes reprogramming, pluripotency and preimplantation embryonic development.