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In this work, authors design novel protein condensation inhibitors (PCIs) targeting an allosteric site of cGAS, blocking DNA interactions and phase separation to suppress immune activation, and demonstrate therapeutic potential in inflammatory disease models.

Direct epitaxial growth of vertically stacked layered materials is a promising route towards scalable fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures. Here, the authors demonstrate molecular beam epitaxy of semiconducting MoSe₂on a hBN/Ru(0001) substrate.

The one-pot hydrotreatment of phenols to cyclohexyl ethers is crucial but difficult to achieve for fine chemical synthesis. Here, the authors prepare surface oxygen-doped carbonsupported Pd nanoparticles and demonstrate tandem hydrogenation–acetalization–hydrogenolysis of phenol to cyclohexyl methyl ether with high yield.

Nitrate electroreduction to ammonia offers a sustainable route, but designing efficient catalysts remains challenging. Here, the authors develop a pulsed discharge strategy to synthesize dual atom catalysts with asymmetric active sites, achieving high ammonia production efficiency and stability.

Understanding the sustained stability of alkaline hydrogen evolution at high current densities is crucial. Herein, the authors synthesize Ni single atoms, modified with ultra-small Ru nanoparticles with a defective carbon bridging structure, capable of running steadily for 100 h at 3 A cm⁻².

While the promise of low metal utilization has brought single-atom catalysts (SACs) into the spotlight, intrinsic limits in reactivity still restrict their application to a small set of reactions. Here, the authors expand the repertoire of SAC transformations with a nitrogen-doped, carbon-supported, Ru single-atom catalyst that exploits the effect of peripheral N species to promote propane dehydrogenation.

The catalytic performance of metal‒organic frameworks can be tuned by introducing defects in their structure. Here, the authors introduce defects and impregnate ruthenium nanoparticles in cationic metal-organic frameworks, which enables enhanced recyclability and catalytic performance in D-glucose hydrogenation.

Surface amorphization generally provides electrocatalysts with more active sites and flexibility. Here it is employed in-situ liquid TEM to observe the surface reconstruction on Ru-NiPS3 nanosheets, confirming that the amorphization on the edges of NiPS3 is critical for achieving superior activity.

Iridium-based electrocatalysts are traditional anode catalysts for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis but suffer from high cost and low reserves. An alternative, nickel-stabilized ruthenium dioxide catalyst with high activity and durability in acidic oxygen evolution reaction for water electrolysis is reported.

Solvents play a crucial role in catalysis, affecting both activity and selectivity. Here the authors demonstrate how solvent affinity to the catalyst surface influences the reaction pathways of 4-propylguaiacol.

Distinguishing the prochiral faces of a double bond can be challenging for hydrogenation catalysts. Here, authors show a relay strategy for constructing compounds with a chiral gem-diaryl carbon center via selective arene exchange between 1,1-diarylethylenes or benzophenones with (naphthalene)Cr(CO)3 and subsequent asymmetric hydrogenation.

Metal nanoparticles anchored on perovskite provide catalytically active interfaces for CO2 electrolysis. The authors promote exsolution of RuFe alloy nanoparticles on Sr2Fe1.4Ru0.1Mo0.5 O6−δ perovskite by enriching the active Ru underneath the perovskite surface via repeated redox manipulations.

While noble gases can be trapped in 3D porous structures, immobilizing them on 2D surfaces represents a formidable challenge. Here, the authors cage individual argon atoms in 2D model zeolite frameworks at room temperature, providing exciting opportunities for the fundamental study of isolated noble gas atoms using surface science methods.

Chiral vicinal amino alcohols are found in many bioactive compounds and may serve as chiral ligands. Here, the authors report a photocatalytic enantioselective cross-coupling of nitrones with aromatic aldehydes with a chiral ligand-coordinated rare earth ion synergistically producing enantiopure vicinal amino alcohols.

Gut microbiota has been reported to influence osteoporosis risk, but the individual species, and underlying mechanisms, remain largely unknown. Here, the authors identify Bacteroides vulgatus and serum valeric acid as potential targets for osteoporosis prevention/treatment.

Asymmetric catalysts show promise for CO₂ electrochemical catalytic reduction. Here, the authors develop a pulsed discharge method to prepare graphene-aerogel-supported asymmetric Cu nanoclusters catalysts that enhance electrochemical CO₂ conversion into multicarbon products.

The conversion of alkenes to esters is performed on a large scale worldwide, but relies on the use of toxic and flammable carbon monoxide. Here, the authors show a catalytic system where carbon dioxide—normally unreactive, but cheap and abundant—can be employed instead.

The production of hydrogen from biomass is of fundamental importance for a sustainable future. Here, the authors present a multiscale method that allows the formulation of scaling relationships and microkinetics of C₁-C₂ alcohol decomposition based on a density functional theory open database.

The development of effective, earth-abundant cocatalysts is critical for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Here, authors report the assembly of transition metal hydroxides on graphene to act as cocatalyst ensembles for efficient CO₂ photoreduction.

Loading guests inside the pre-existing pores of nanoporous hosts remains challenging. Here, the authors introduce a rational route for incorporation of guest compounds into an arbitrary nanoporous host, enabling the investigation of multiple host-guest systems with surprising functionalities.

Direct seawater electrolysis is promising for sustainable hydrogen production but suffers severe side reactions and corrosion. Here, the authors report a corrosion-resistant electrocatalyst with in situ-formed chloride-ion-repelling cation layer for efficient and long-lasting seawater oxidation.

The development of precious-metal-free catalysts to promote the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from biomass challenging. Here the authors report a unique core-shell structured Co@CoO catalyst which exhibits excellent performance in the hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived compounds.

The use of N-centred radicals is limited by the difficulties in their preparation. Here, the authors report a photoredox method for the formation of N-centred radicals on hydrazones and their use for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds through a radical cascade reaction.

To overcome limitations with anion dissolution, the authors design 2D FeTeSe nanosheets as electrocatalyst. The reaction-driven, in-situ generation of anisotropic in-plane tensile and out-of-plane compressive strains enhances the alkaline low-concentration nitrate reduction.

Skyrmions in synthetic antiferromagnets are appealing for use in future memory and computing devices, combining small size and fast motion, but creating, stabilizing, and observing them remains a challenge. Here, Juge et al demonstrate the stabilization and current and light induced nucleation of skyrmions in a synthetic antiferromagnet, observing the magnetization texture in each layer using X-ray magnetic microscopy.

The development of catalysts for practical asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones remains an important goal of synthetic organic chemistry. Here, an anionic iridium catalyst with excellent activity is reported and used in a hundred-kilogram-scale reduction as part of a route to chiral nicotine.

A large number of marketed drugs contains a chiral carboxylic acid scaffold. Here, the authors report the asymmetric hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids to α-chiral carboxylic acids using a cobalt catalyst bearing an electron-donating chiral diphosphine ligand.

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.

C-N bond forming is an established strategy to form amines, which are quintessential in chemical synthesis and in nature. Here, the authors report three classes of photoredox reactions, involving C(sp³)-N coupling between N-centered radicals and alkyl radicals and C(sp³)- C(sp³) coupling via C(sp³)-H alkylation.

The development of cost-effective, sustainable, and efficient catalysts for liquid organic hydrogen carrier systems is a significant goal. Herein, authors present a system based on manganese catalysis with a theoretical H₂ capacity of 5.3 wt% and high selectivity for the dehydrogenation reaction.

Hydrogen evolution and oxidation on platinum surfaces are central reactions in electrochemical devices. Sun et al. show that they can be promoted by introduction of the organic molecules, N-methylimidazoles, and explore the underlying phenomena at play through in situ spectroscopy and computation.

Parvimonas micra (P. micra) is an oral opportunistic pathogen frequently present in oral lesions and infections. Here, authors report that P. micra promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma metastasis by regulation HIF-1α-induced glycolysis and autophagy following TmpC protein binding to CKAP4 receptor.

Aliphatic esters are essential constituents of biologically active compounds but their preparation from readily available olefins remains challenging. Here the authors show a strategy to access aliphatic esters from olefins through a unique photocatalyzed alkoxycarbonylation reaction.

How extramedullar cytokines regulate hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis is unclear. Here, the authors show that the cytokine leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 regulates HSC expansion and mobilisation via tumour necrosis factor and interaction with CD209a in macrophages.

ARF4 GTPase activity is needed for vesicular trafficking for multiple RNA viruses. Blocking ARF4 using specific peptides redirects viral progeny to lysosomal degradation and decreases influenza and Zika virus infection in mice.

Replicative sliding clamp loading is critical for DNA replication and repair. Here, authors report structures of major clamp loading intermediates in a bacterial system, revealing how the clamp is opened and loaded onto DNA.

Alkene isomerizations and asymmetric C–H functionalizations have been independently studied, but their combination in one protocol is uncommon. Here the authors show a palladium-catalyzed method to iteratively “walk” a terminal alkene along a carbon chain to a position next to styrenes where a soft nucleophile is added asymmetrically.

Experiments and simulations suggest monovalent salts destabilize DNA/RNA because of overcharging. These findings challenge views that overcharging requires multivalent ions, with implications for nanomaterials, nanotechnology, and biophysics.

Organocatalytic atom transfer radical polymerization (O-ATRP) is attractive due to its metal-free nature but catalysts are rarely applied at a low loading. Here the authors introduce a catalyst design logic based on heteroatom-doping of polycyclic arenes, which led to the discovery of oxygen-doped anthanthrene as an organic photoredox catalysts for O-ATRP.

Electric field controlled magnetism provides an energy efficient way for the operations in the spintronic devices. Here the authors show strain induced, reversible, nonvolatile electric field control of magnetization and magnetoresistance in a magnetic tunnel junction on a ferroelectric substrate at room temperature and zero magnetic field.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains poorly characterised in Chinese patients. Here, the authors profile 204 Chinese primary ICCs using deep whole-exome sequencing, and propose SAV1 as a driver of ICC due to its mutation frequency and potential tumour suppressor activity.

Functional CRISPR screens in patient-matched pre-treatment and post-treatment glioblastoma models identify the PTP4A–ROBO1 axis as a driver of tumorigenicity and enriched ROBO1 expression in recurrent glioblastoma that can be targeted with CAR T cell therapy.

Boronic acids are useful reagents in organic synthesis and thus methods to prepare these compounds under mild conditions are desirable. Here, the authors synthesize boronic acids via photocatalytic decarboxylation of benzoic acids followed by borylation; guanidine-type additives are used to assist the process.

SARM1 is a key player in axon degeneration. Here, the authors generate a nanobody, which specifically recognizes the NMN-bound state of SARM1 and helps resolve the SARM1 structure in an intermediate state of activation.

Grain boundaries in graphene degrade its properties, and large single-crystal graphene is desirable for electronic applications of graphene. Gaoet al. develop a method to produce millimetre-sized hexagonal single-crystal graphene grains, and films composed of the grains, on platinum by chemical vapour deposition.

The synthetic use of highly reactive alkyl radicals typically results in low chemoselectivity due to competing side reactions. Now, a redox-state-tuned copper catalytic method is reported, which enables the enantioconvergent cross-coupling of cyclopropyl radicals and terminal alkynes with high chemo- and stereoselectivity.