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The role of vascular plasticity in brain function remains poorly understood. Here, the authors demonstrate that a significant portion of blood vessels in the adult brain periodically occlude and regress, a process that is associated with a reduction in neuronal activity.

Liquid crystal monomers are emerging contaminants; however, whether they can cross the placenta and affect placental development remains unexplored. Here, the authors show SLC16A10- mediated transplacental transportation of LCMs inhibits placental development and progesterone release.

A highly compact chemically induced proximity system dependent on salicylic acid or aspirin enables control of biological processes and cellular therapeutics using an over-the-counter drug with minimal side effects.

RNF213 is a key player in fighting against various invasive pathogens in mammals. Here, the authors show that pathogenic Shigella flexneri can use its effector IpaH1.4 to directly target and subvert RNF213 to evade host antibacterial immunity.

A terahertz phase modulator based on the switchable perturbation resonance in two-dimensional electron gas is demonstrated. Phase manipulation with precision ranging from 2° to 5° is obtained at frequencies in the range from 0.26 to 0.27 THz.

Reversed Cherenkov radiation has not been observed due to the absence of suitable all-metal left-handed materials for beam transport and suitable couplers for extracting the signal. Here, Duanet al. develop a metamaterial to observe reversed Cherenkov radiation using real charged particles.

Lead halide perovskite lasers have great potential as microscale organic light sources, but dynamic tuning has yet to be achieved. Here, Zhang, Fan et al. investigate how nonlinear modal interactions enable ultrafast mode switching with crossgain saturation.

Here, the authors present a scalable approach for arbitrary high-order optical analog differentiations with metasurfaces. They realise fifth-order optical differentiations for both intensity and phase images, and demonstrate its use in optical super-resolution measurements for optical alignment in high-precision semiconductor nano-fabrication.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is an emerging immune-related drug target. Here, the authors report the crystal structures of AHR with six agonists bound, revealing the molecular mechanisms of diverse ligand binding and allosteric activation of AHR.

In this study, the authors isolate and characterize BBIBPCorV inactivated vaccine-elicited human antibodies. They show that these can broadly neutralize a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants and protect mice from Delta and Omicron infection. The neutralization mechanism of bispecific antibodies were solved structurally.

Self-healing is an appealing property for solid-state battery electrolytes to combat Li metal dendrites that pierce through the solid electrolyte. Here, authors report a self-healing electrolyte and observe its self-repairing kinetics in real-time using advanced microscopy.

Bound states in continuum have attracted attention in various platforms, and recently condensation of bound states in continuum polariton modes was demonstrated at low temperatures. Here the authors report the observation of such a state in a periodic air-hole perovskite-based photonic crystal at room temperature.

The understanding of polyamorphic transitions is of scientific and technological importance. Here, the authors report a continuous polyamorphic transition without first-order transition characteristics in high-entropy metallic glasses.

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor that originates from thyroid parafollicular cells, generally associated with a poor prognosis. By comparing MTC with less aggressive papillary thyroid cancer, here the authors find that the neurotransmitter calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) promotes an immunosuppressive microenvironment in MTC.

Linear π-conjugated polymers have attracted great attention as semiconductors for (opto)electronic devices, but charge transfer is only effective along polymer chains. Here poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline)-ladder-type two-dimensional conjugated polymers are presented with high charge carrier mobilities.

Light-driven approaches could lower the carbon footprint of chemical production. Here the authors use the perovskite oxide LaMn_1−xCu_xO₃ as a photocatalyst to convert ethane to ethylene and hydrogen.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) poses challenges for targeted delivery and retention of therapeutic proteins due to excess extracellular matrix (ECM). To address this, the authors developed a “Fibrosis Overexpression and Retention (FORT) strategy” that can improve mRNA expression in the fibrotic region and extend the expressed protein in situ.

Fiber electronics for monitoring micro-physiological activities are limited by their sensitivity at micro-flexure deformation. Here, Lin et al. report a micro-flexure-sensitive fiber with nanofiber buckling and ion conduction mechanism. Wearable biomechanical feedback system is demonstrated using the woven textile.

Though designing conductive polymers for memory devices is attractive for future low-cost flexible electronics, a proof-of-concept device has yet to be realized. Here, the authors report a redox-gated polymer memristive processing unit with programmable multilevel storage and logic functionalities.

High-resolution X-ray imaging requires a high radiation dose. Here, the authors achieve low-dose 3D imaging by increasing the XEPL intensity using a double-shell nanostructure with two heterogeneous interfaces.

Osteoarthritic (OA) is characterized by progressive destruction of joint cartilage. Here, the authors show that microRNA-17 plays a dual role in maintaining cartilage homeostasis and in the prevention of osteoarthritis, by targeting hypoxia-inducible factor-1α as well as multiple matrix-degrading enzymes.

Targeted synthesis of vertically stacked graphene (G) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructures remains a challenge. Here, the authors achieve the selective, CVD growth of h-BN-G and G/h-BN through a temperature-triggered switching reaction.

The development of new methodologies to convert plastics into fuels without relying on noble metal-based catalysts is desirable. Now it is shown that a layered self-pillared zeolite enables the conversion of polyethylene to gasoline with a selectivity of 99% and yields of >80% without the need to use external hydrogen.

Lead halide perovskites attract high interest as semiconductor materials but their exceptional nonlinear properties have not been fully exploited. Here Fan et al. demonstrate third-order harmonic generation and 60-fold enhanced three-photon luminescence, enabling optical encoding applications.

The NEMO series of genetically encoded calcium indicators report calcium activity in neuronal and non-neuronal cells with high signal-to-baseline ratio, which is shown in neuronal culture, slice preparations, in vivo and in planta.

The Digital Brain platform is capable of simulating spiking neuronal networks at the neuronal scale of the human brain. The platform is used to reproduce blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals in both the resting state and action, thereby predicting the visual evaluation scores.

Yang and colleagues identify a lncRNA that controls HIF1α signalling to stabilize HIF1α under normoxic conditions, and promotes breast cancer tumorigenesis.

A large-scale metagenomic analysis of plant and mammal environmental DNA reveals complex ecological changes across the circumpolar region over the past 50,000 years, as biota responded to changing climates, culminating in the postglacial extinction of large mammals and emergence of modern ecosystems.

Understanding how DNA methylation regulates gene expression requires the capacity to deploy it to regions of interest. The authors generate a highly rapid and locus-specific CpG methylation tool by fusing dCas9 to MQ1 DNA methyltransferase and show efficacy at multiple sitesin vitro and in vivo.

Microglia show remarkable regenerative capacity after acute depletion, which had been thought to be derived from de novo progenitors. Peng and colleagues demonstrate that the newly formed microglia are actually solely derived from residual microglia.

Ultrathin 10.2-nm-thick (~λ/30,000) Ti₃C₂T_x MXene assemblies that offer an absorption of 49.2%, which is close to the theoretical limit of 50%, in the range of 0.5–10 THz are reported, benefiting terahertz optoelectronic and photothermoelectric devices.

Depletion of calcium from intracellular stores induces interaction between the endoplasmic reticulum STIM1 protein and the plasma membrane ORAI1 channel that facilitates cellular calcium entry. Here Ma et al. characterize a STIM1 gain-of-function mutant and propose a conformational switch that controls ORAI1 gating.

The South African quality protein maize (QPM) cultivars have the desired high lysine content and kernel hardness due to o2 mutation and the introgression of modifiers of o2 (Mo2) QTLs, respectively. Here, the authors assemble the genome of a QPM line and identify candidate genes underlying Mo2 QTLs.

The phase separation behaviour of non-structure protein nsp8 of SARS CoV2 in the primer synthesis mechanism is presented, underpinning the replication of coronavirus.

Tet-mediated DNA demethylation is intimately involved in reguatling embryonic development. Here the authors characterise DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation dynamics during early cardiac development in both human and mice and provide evidence that Tet-mediated DNA demethylation plays a role in regulating chromatin organization during early heart development.

The long isoform of DNMT3A is essential for mouse postnatal development and regulates bivalent genes in the brain, likely via a PRC1-mediated mechanism.