The cover image illustrates the aluminum (Al) ion receptor ALR1 (Beacon Tower)that senses toxic aluminum ions, inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS; smoke) generation and accumulation of STOP1 (commander),thereby activating organic acid anion (arrow) secretion to detoxify Al. See page 281–294 by Zhong Jie Ding et al. for details.

The Chinese legend “The Butterfly Lovers”, also known as “Liang Zhu”, depicts two lovers transformed to butterflies. The butterflies symbolize the gray matter of the human spinal cord with well-organized cells in the dorsal and ventral horns. This imagery beautifully conveys the idea of transformation from embryonic to adult spinal cord. See page 193–213 by Yingchao Shi et al. for details.

Neural connectome mapping describes how different types of neurons connect with each other and organs in the body. This cartoon (illustrated by Evelyn Xiaoya Zhao) shows a densely-stacked neuron network linked by dendrites and axons, together with nonneuronal cells including glial cells, endothelium, pericytes and many others. A new tissue clearing pipeline, TESOS, is designed to image a complete projection course of individual sensory neurons from mouse digits to the spinal cord. See page 124–139 by Yating Yi et al. for details.

The image shows the tragic story of the Greek soldier Philippides, who brought the victory message of the battle of Marathon to Athens but died after 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 km) exhaustive running. In fact, human muscle developed mitochondrial protein lactylation as a preventive mechanism for such disaster. See page 13–30 by Yunzi Mao et al. for details.