Reviews & Analysis

It has not been clear how sperm DNA is compacted in the pollen of flowering plants. Research has now revealed that sperm chromatin, which is a complex of DNA and proteins, is packaged by a special histone protein that spontaneously aggregates in a phenomenon known as phase separation.

The viscosity of extracellular fluid is a key physical cue, but its impact on cell function and cancer-cell dissemination has remained largely unknown. Experiments in various systems reveal that cancer cells sense, respond to and develop memory of the viscosity of extracellular fluid, with high viscosities increasing cell motility and promoting cancer dissemination.

The world’s largest tropical peatland complex is in the central Congo Basin. A drying of the climate between 5,000 and 2,000 years ago triggered decomposition of peat in the Congo Basin and emission of carbon into the atmosphere. The tipping point at which drought results in carbon release might accelerate future climate change if regional droughts become more common.

Single atoms of platinum-group metals are excellent catalysts, but they tend to aggregate and lose their activity during chemical reactions. We used nanoislands of cerium oxide, peppered through the interior surfaces of high-surface-area porous oxide supports, to confine and stabilize single atoms of these expensive metals, turning them into efficient and long-lasting catalysts.

Conventional manufacturing methods struggle to meet the increasing demand for microscopic and nanoscale products, because small things are difficult to manipulate. An innovative machine that uses a water–air interface to grab and manoeuvre microscopic objects might be a powerful tool in this race-to-the-smallest.

Molecular networks have been developed that can classify complex mixtures of DNA sequences that cannot be categorized by a single linear classifier. To do this, artificial ‘neurons’ powered by enzymes are wired together to form an architecture that mimics the structure of a neural network.

Haem, the molecule that gives blood its red colour, is crucial for nearly all life on Earth, but it can be toxic to cells. A protein called HRG-9 has a previously unrecognized role, in various species, in trafficking haem safely from sites where it is synthesized or stored to places where it can be used.

Various approaches for assembling DNA sequences were evaluated to establish the best way to generate high-quality reference genomes that, in the future, could be combined into a human ‘pangenome’. A combination approach that yielded the best outcome was then used to assemble both sets of an individual’s chromosomes.

Frequency-comb lasers are measuring sticks of the optical world and are used in metrology and sensing applications owing to their rigid, comb-like light spectra and metronomic pulsed output. A frequency comb with time-programmable pulses breaks this rigid mould and, in a demonstration of its utility, measures distances at the quantum limit of precision.

Most robots are designed to operate in a single environment. Varying a robot’s body shape and movement patterns using a unified set of hardware components enables it to move efficiently in multiple environments, such as on land and through water.

The molecular basis of how vertebrate animals sense sound and perceive balance has been unclear for decades. The structure of a mechanically sensitive protein complex from nematode worms has been revealed, illuminating the architecture of the machinery that translates mechanical forces into electrical signals.

An artificial-intelligence approach known as AlphaTensor found exact matrix-multiplication algorithms that are more efficient than those previously known for many matrix sizes. The technique advances understanding of this fundamental operation and opens up the potential to accelerate ubiquitous computations that involve matrix multiplications.

Human activities produce airborne particles called aerosols that can brighten clouds and cool the planet, but the magnitude of this effect is unclear. A study of shipping’s influence on clouds suggests that aerosols could have a large impact on climate by increasing the amount of water contained in clouds.

Computational simulation of interactions of each of 75 million molecules with a model structure of the 5-HT_2A receptor, which mediates the actions of psychedelic drugs, identified molecules that selectively activate the receptor. When tested in mice, two of these compounds had antidepressant-like actions without the side effects of psychedelic drugs.

When plants recognize disease-causing organisms, they activate immune responses through mechanisms that are poorly understood. Resolving the structure of a plant receptor-protein complex in wheat that detects fungus-derived molecules reveals that the corresponding receptor family is structurally conserved during evolution.

After the Roman Empire collapsed, Europe underwent substantial cultural changes and saw large-scale migrations. A genome-wide ancient-DNA analysis of hundreds of individuals from early medieval England shows that they derived an average of 76% of their ancestry from people from Europe. Burial practices varied slightly between the different heritage groups, especially for women.

A soft sheet has been constructed that can be driven by electromagnetic forces to continuously change its shape, mimicking the behaviour of soft tissues in living organisms. The control system uses imaging data and an optimization algorithm to enhance the material’s morphing ability.

After around 780 years without volcanic activity, Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula sprang to life in 2021, when magma breached the surface at the Fagradalsfjall volcano. Observed changes in the lava composition have provided an unprecedented record of the supply and mixing mechanics of deep magma at the base of the crust.

A diverse range of marine predators — including tunas, billfishes and sharks — in the North Pacific Ocean cluster together in clockwise-rotating eddies, seemingly to hunt deep-ocean prey, which are unusually abundant there. This suggests that there is a relationship between the foraging opportunities of predators and the energetics of this marine biome.

We genetically reprogrammed yeast to produce the alkaloids vindoline and catharanthine — the longest biosynthetic pathway to be transferred from a plant to a microorganism. In principle, similarly engineered yeast strains could produce more than 3,000 other monoterpene indole alkaloids and unnatural analogues.