Research articles

Controlling the reaction path is instrumental for developing efficient catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenation. Here, the authors report that the ensemble of Pt single atoms coordinated with oxygen atoms in MIL-101 induces distinct reaction path to improve selective hydrogenation of CO₂ into methanol relative to nanocrystal counterparts.

Interfaces between topologically distinct phases reveal rich phenomenology. Here, Crépel et al. present a microscopic study on the low energy physics, interface gapless mode, identification of spin and charge excitations, etc. of the Halperin–Laughlin interface using recently proposed model wavefunctions.

PWWP domains of DNMT3A and DNMT3B are proposed to interact with H3K36me3. Here the authors present a mouse model carrying a D329A point mutation in the DNMT3A PWWP domain and find this causes dominant postnatal growth retardation, with aberrant progressive gain of DNA methylation across domains marked by H3K27me3 in adult tissues.

Katz and colleagues examine glutamate spillover effects on C. elegans behaviour. They show that impaired synaptic glutamate clearance in glial glutamate transporter mutants, causes presynaptic mgl-2/mGluR5 activation, generating postsynaptic neural activity oscillations driving repetitive behaviour.

Pseudomonas and Bacillus can promote plant growth but their mutual interactions are unclear. Here, the authors show that the extracellular matrix protects Bacillus colonies from infiltration by Pseudomonas cells, while the Pseudomonas type VI secretion system stimulates Bacillus sporulation.

The decomposition of solid state electrolyte material has been well-known in the literature. Here the authors report that the same decomposition process can be leveraged to act as a source of redox mediator that is only activated at certain voltages for application in Li₂S based cathodes.

Endosomal fusion depends on the HOPS and CORVET complexes but whether and how their subunits modulate signal transduction is not fully understood. Here, the authors show that the HOPS/CORVET subunits Vps11 and Vps18 are E3 ubiquitin ligases that are involved in the regulation of ERα signalling.

Carbon capture is increasingly important to address current environmental challenges but developing effective carbon capture materials is challenging. Here, the authors report liquid marble-derived superparticles which overcome current limitations associated with both liquid and solid carbon capture materials.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), evolution is driven by transcriptional and epigenetic heterogeneity. Here, the authors integrate epigenomic analyses to show how intra-tumoral epigenetic diversity results in divergent chromatin states in CLL cells, increasing cell-to-cell transcriptional heterogeneity.

The incorporation of cells into tissue engineering scaffolds can be a major challenge. Here, the authors report on anchoring thrombin to cell membranes for the in situ formation of fibrin scaffolds around the modified cells, demonstrate scaffold formation in vitro and show cell survival in vivo.

How do we make inferences about the source of sensory signals? Here, the authors use Bayesian causal modeling and measures of neural activity to show how the brain dynamically codes for and combines sensory signals to draw causal inferences.

The intrinsic properties of graphene and the resulting device performance are hindered by the impurities produced during the synthesis process. Here, the authors elucidate the origin of contaminations in CVD-grown graphene and devise a strategy towards the scalable production of ultra-clean graphene with >99% clean regions and low contact resistance.

When colloidal particles are placed into a liquid crystal host the anisotropic surface interactions produce spatial elastic distortions described as elastic multipoles. Here the authors provide a recipe to construct higher order multipoles, in particular the 16-, 32-, and 64-poles.

Adaptive immunity from both B and T cells critically controls the rejection or survival of transplanted organs. Here the authors show, by analyzing human B cell receptor repertoire in longitudinal studies of patients receiving kidney transplants, that repertoire diversity is positively associated with the incidence of kidney rejection.

Birthweight has been found to associate with later-life health outcomes. Here the authors perform a meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies of 8,825 neonates from 24 birth cohorts in the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics Consortium, identifying differentially methylated CpGs in neonatal blood that associate with birthweight.

An understanding of the genetic variants associated with medication use may shed light on the underlying biological pathways of disease, and aid in drug development. Here, Wu and colleagues conduct a GWAS for self-reported medication-use in the UK Biobank, finding more than 500 independent variants and many promising leads for future work.

The bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri causes bacillary dysentery (bloody diarrhoea). Here, Yum et al. present an infant rabbit model of S. flexneri infection that recapitulates human disease symptoms and features bacterial dissemination as an essential determinant of pathogenesis.

Macrophages play an important role in wound healing but the guidance cues driving macrophages to sites of repair are still not clear. Here the authors discover that macrophages are attracted to contracting fibroblasts by responding to locally sensed displacements of collagen fibres.

Inkfree multi-material printing is a common challenge in 3D printing. Here, the authors introduce electrohydrodynamic redox printing, a method that enables the deposition of multiple metals and their alloys with nanoscale resolution and thus the synthesis of materials with locally tuned properties.

The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibiting COX-1/2 is associated with an increased risk of heart failure. Here the authors show that mPGES-1, a therapeutic target downstream of COX enzymes, protects from cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury, limiting leukocyte-endothelial interactions and preserving microvascular perfusion partly via the endothelial EP4 receptor.