Browse Articles

An important challenge in the bottom-up fabrication of artificial tissues is communication between compartments bounded by lipid bilayers. Mantri et al. engineer a dimeric transmembrane pore that, like eukaryotic gap junctions, can form a conductive pathway between adjacent bilayers.

The control of thermal radiation is important for applications such as energy conversion and radiative cooling. Here Fan et al. demonstrate a thermal extraction scheme that can enhance the emission of a finite-sized blackbody-like emitter.

The protein α4 is essential for the formation, stability and activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) complexes. Here the authors solve the crystal structure of a truncated PP2A bound to α4 and show that α4 binds to a partially folded form of the protein, stabilizing the enzyme in an inactive state.

Quantum oscillations in the underdoped cuprate superconductors suggest the existence of a continuous Fermi surface, but specific heat measurements in strong magnetic fields suggest singular behaviour characteristic of point nodes. Banerjee et al. show how a vortex-liquid state could resolve this dichotomy.

It is generally accepted that women possess innate behavioural predispositions to assess their babies’ cries. Gustaffson and colleagues compare mothers’ and fathers’ abilities to identify their babies’ cries, and find that fathers can be as good as mothers at recognizing the cries of their offspring, depending on their experience.

Conventional adhesives stick poorly to wet tissue because water severely undermines the adhesive chemicals they rely on. To overcome this, Yang et al. develop a bio-inspired adhesive microneedle array whose tips swell on contact with water, forming a mechanical bond to living tissue.

Free-electron lasers offer exciting new possibilities for X-ray studies on ultrafast timescales, but their shot-to-shot variability requires new diagnostic tools. Using a plasma switch cross-correlator, Riedel et al. present a single-shot online diagnostic to retrieve the duration of extreme ultraviolet pulses.

Nitrate is both an important nutrient and a signalling molecule crucial for plant life. Here Marchive et al. report that NLP7 acts as an upstream transcriptional regulator of plant early responses to nitrate through active exportation from the nucleus in absence of nitrate.

Magneto-electric nanoparticles may facilitate the low-energy and dissipation-free field-triggered release of drugs across the blood–brain barrier. Here, the authors demonstrate the a.c. field-triggered release of anti-HIV drugs and confirm the in vitrodrug integrity after release.

Before antigen exposure, T cell survival is dependent on signalling stimulated by IL-7. Koenen et al. show that upon encountering specific antigen, T cell receptor signalling initiates a different set of survival pathways, which actively suppress those that sustain naive T cells.

TGF-β signalling through SMAD transcription factors has been implicated in embryonic mesendoderm development. Liu and colleagues reveal that the Ras-regulated kinase Raf prevents excessive mesendoderm formation by phosphorylating and promoting the degradation of SMAD2.

Malaria parasites exit erythrocytes by triggering permeabilization and rupture of the host plasma membrane. Here, the authors identify a perforin-like protein that is secreted by the parasite in a calcium-dependent manner and mediates permeabilization through its insertion into the host membrane.

Directly comparing patterns of gene expression in matched normal and cancerous tissues provides a powerful tool to identify drivers of tumour progression. Here the authors discover genes that are recruited into mitotic signalling networks in lung adenocarcinoma.

Calmodulin regulation of Ca²⁺ channels is an important Ca²⁺-feedback system. The structural underpinnings of this modulation are unclear, but this study reports the molecular states underlying channel regulation.

Titanium dioxide nanowires are used as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here Zheng et al. demonstrate that doping these nanowires with tungsten and carbon atom pairs considerably enhances their performance.

Methane is an important greenhouse gas but its capture presents a challenge due to its weak interactions with most materials. Here the authors perform a systematic screening of liquid solvents and nanoporous zeolites, and identify zeolite structures with good potential for methane uptake and separation.

Intercalation materials are of interest for batteries because of their capability of accommodating ions in their layered structures. Mashtalir et al. develop a new battery electrode material using two-dimensional intercalated carbides, which exhibit high lithium-ion conductivity and capacity.

Seamounts that have subducted beneath a mantle wedge allow the study of trace element recycling and mantle flow in subduction zones. Here, a geochemical analysis of central Tonga–Kermadec arc lavas suggests primarily trench-normal mantle flow in the mantle wedge beneath the central Tonga–Kermadec arc.

Many living organisms use materials that are capable of changing their shape in response to changes in the environment. Erb et al. demonstrate an approach to synthesizing artificial shape-changing composites that replicate such behaviour.

Ribosomal protein synthesis is driven by the hydrolysis of GTP. Wallin and colleagues employ molecular dynamics and computer simulations to show that a universally conserved histidine promotes GTP hydrolysis in its protonated form, and is driven into the active conformation by interactions with the ribosome.