The bacterial Tad pilus extends and retracts using a single bifunctional ATPase CpaF. Here, the authors employ cryo-EM, fluorescent microscopy, and AlphaFold modelling to propose how a rotary mechanism of CpaF catalysis drives Tad pilus assembly.

Massive tabular icebergs broke off of the UK during the last ice age. The widespread break-up of the ice shelves which produced these giant icebergs can be traced to around 18,000 years ago, and likely enhanced rates of ice retreat across the North Sea.

Due to its strong gravity, Ceres’ surface still retains evidence of past collisions, which have been lost via impact-driven oxidation of organic material from typical C-rich asteroids, according to impact experiments

The zoonotic pathogen Coxiella burnetiiestablishes a unique intracellular niche within a lysosome-derived vacuole. Here Bird et al. undertook proteomic, cell biology and microbiology approaches to characterise this niche and the strategies employed by C. burnetii to maintain a balance between intracellular success and maintaining host cell homoeostasis.

Polygenic risk prediction in non-European populations is limited by small sample sizes and tuning sets. Here, the authors show that JointPRS improves cross-population prediction accuracy by leveraging genetic correlations without requiring individual-level data.

This study showed that vagal sensory neurons in the nodose ganglia selectively encode specific cytokines, enabling real-time body-brain communication of immune signals. This neural encoding of cytokines is disrupted during inflammation associated with a colitis model.

In-sensor computing offers a promising solution for image processing with reduced data transfer. Here, the authors report programmable and multifunctional van der Waals optoelectronic sensors, showing their application for snapshot compression and recognition of dynamic videos and 3D spectral data.

Here, the authors characterize the epigenetic landscape of the human fungal pathogen Rhizopus microsporus with a focus on symmetric DNA N6-methyladenine, revealing its regulatory role in gene expression and its essentiality for viability.

The viscoelasticity of fluid membranes is challenging to quantify with nanometre precision. Here, the authors develop an AFM-based nanorheology platform to measure local molecular mobilities and spatial correlations in lateral diffusion within the membrane.

Neutrophils are early mediators for inflammation, but their functions in autoimmunity is still unclear. By using single cell analyses to compare patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and controls, here the authors find increased IFN-II-related neutrophils induced by IFN-γ and TNF signaling as a relapse risk marker for small vessel vasculitis.

This study proposes two schemes for integrating DL and dynamical models for ENSO prediction, which outperform individual models and improve the prediction skill across a range of lead times.

Instability is a key challenge in aqueous sodium-ion batteries. Here, authors propose a Na-rich birnessite with high Na content and minimal Mn defects, suppressing Mn migration and its accompanying domino degradation effect, which enables a wide potential window and improved structural stability.

A multi-proxy-based study of a well-dated marine sediment core is used to reconstruct the interrelationship between an extended Eurasian Ice Sheet and increased organic-carbon burial and related sedimentary anoxia in the glacial central Arctic Ocean during the last 430 kyr.

The RNA-binding protein CsrA switches from upregulation to downregulation of virulence genes in bacteria through unclear mechanisms. Here, the authors show that the switch between promoting and repressing virulence gene expression involves formation of a membraneless compartment containing CsrA, mRNAs, small regulatory RNAs and degradosome components.

3D photonic crystals go axion insulators. Here, the authors utilize antiferromagnetic arrays to create novel 3D photonic axion insulators in microwave bands, directly observing closed, nonreciprocal, and non-coplanar chiral loops for hinge transport.

Residual stresses are pervasive in most modern plastics. Here, the authors show that they promote the migration of low-molecular-weight amorphous polymer and additives from bulk plastics and release micropollutants into water.

Genome engineering in bacteria remains a complex multistep process. Here, the authors developed make-or-break Prime Editing, a precise method for genetic modification in Streptococcus pneumoniae that enables high-throughput and scalable genome editing.

Balancing stretchability with electrical properties is a challenge for organic electrochemical transistors. Here, the authors develop an all-gel network structure for effective ion transport and stretchability.

Cryo-EM structures of measles virus polymerase complexes reveal their architecture and show how the C protein remodels the polymerase to regulate RNA synthesis, offering new insights into replication mechanisms and potential antiviral targets.

Cells typically migrate toward stiffer substrates via durotaxis, relying on focal adhesions. Here, the authors show that confined cells can migrate up friction gradients without focal adhesions, revealing a mode of directed migration called frictiotaxis.