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The full promise of materials structured at the nanoscale can be realized only if they can be manufactured more efficiently and at the sizes required for device integration. An innovative method takes advantage of thermodynamic and kinetic effects to control the growth of stacked 2D nanosheets that can be used for practical applications from the nanoscale to the macroscale.
The spike protein of BA.2.86 — a subvariant of Omicron — has a large number of mutations, and binds to its receptor in host cells with high affinity. Despite these characteristics, BA.2.86 is no more resistant to antibodies from vaccinated individuals than are the dominant variants that are currently in circulation.
Clostridioides difficile can form iron-storage organelles known as ferrosomes. These protect bacteria from iron toxicity and promote infection by acting as a countermeasure to the host’s defence mechanism of iron sequestration.
Assemblies of protein and RNA called stress granules appear in response to stressful conditions. The discovery that these granules can plug holes in punctured organelles sheds light on cellular defences against damage and infection.
Causal evidence shows that referring people who are at risk of developing diabetes to a nationwide lifestyle-change programme can result in health improvements — but only if programme participation can be sustained.
In 2019, Cyclone Idai caused devastating flooding in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park when ecological studies of mammals were already under way. Small-bodied species and those in low-lying areas were affected most, suggesting that animals’ sensitivity to extreme weather depends on traits such as body size and habitat use.
Advanced materials engineered at the microscale have the potential to achieve unparalleled mechanical performance under extreme conditions. A laser-based characterization method enables the fast measurement of extreme properties in these materials, by extracting them from the sample’s vibrational ‘fingerprint’, without touching or permanently deforming the structure.
In both humans and bacteria, viral infections lead to the activation of enzymes that generate cyclic nucleotides as messengers to start the immune response. However, how bacteria sense viral invasion was unknown. A structured viral RNA molecule produced during infection has now been identified as a molecular trigger of the bacterial enzyme.
A 3D printer uses machine vision to solve a problem that has plagued 3D inkjet printers, increasing the range of materials that can be used, and enabling the rapid production of complex objects such as a robot hand.
A type of magnetic resonance imaging, known as low-field MRI, could make the technique more widely accessible, but only if the image quality can be improved. A deep-learning protocol might hold the key.
By casting large-language-model-based dialogue-agent behaviour in terms of role play, it is possible to describe dialogue-agent behaviour such as (apparent) deception and (apparent) self-awareness without misleadingly ascribing human characteristics to the models.
Amphotericin B is a clinically vital antifungal drug, but it has high renal toxicity. The compound kills cells by forming sponge-like aggregates on the cell surface that remove molecules called sterols from the cell membrane. High-resolution structures of these sterol sponges guided rational development and synthesis of a new class of antifungals that are better for renal health.
The number of helium atoms that gradually bind to a single sodium ion at the surface of a liquid helium nanodroplet has been measured as a function of time, as has the amount of energy that dissipates during this process. These findings provide a much-needed glimpse of the early steps of ion solvation.
Experiments reveal flat bands in the relationship between the energy and the momentum of electrons in a 3D solid. Such behaviour is indicative of unusual physical phenomena, and has previously been seen only in 2D materials.
Observations have shown that some dwarf galaxies lose their stars through interactions with more massive galaxies. The dense nuclei that remain are ultra-compact dwarf galaxies, the origin of which has long been a subject of debate.
This Perspective reviews successful applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and presents a case for fMRI as a central hub on which to integrate the dispersed subfields of systems, cognitive, computational and clinical neuroscience.
The mechanisms by which mitochondria are transferred between cells and how intercellular mitochondria transfer regulates physiological processes and disease pathogenesis are discussed.
Technical developments and large collaborative research networks in neurogenomics promise rapid progress in neuroscience, but translation of results from model systems to human brains is limited by sample availability, technical challenges and ethical issues.
