Research articles

Synthesizing lead halide perovskite nanocrystals with good stability and excellent luminescent properties is a challenge. Here, the authors prepare ceramic-like stable perovskite nanocrystals by encapsulating them in silica derived from molecular sieve templates at high temperature.

Efficient learning is akin to goal-directed dimensionality reduction, in which relevant information is highlighted and irrelevant input is ignored. Here, the authors show that ventromedial prefrontal cortex uniquely supports such learning by compressing neural codes to represent goal-specific information.

The South African quality protein maize (QPM) cultivars have the desired high lysine content and kernel hardness due to o2 mutation and the introgression of modifiers of o2 (Mo2) QTLs, respectively. Here, the authors assemble the genome of a QPM line and identify candidate genes underlying Mo2 QTLs.

Although normal human brains express 6 tau isoforms in equal ratio with 3 or 4 microtubule-binding repeat domains (3R and 4R), tau inclusions from different human tauopathy brains, now considered as different strains, have distinct isoform compositions and strain properties and the relationship between these two parts is unclear. Here the authors generate a new transgenic mouse line expressing 6 human tau isoforms with equal 3R and 4R ratios, recapitulate distinct human tau strains in mouse brains with similar isoform compositions and cell type specificities, and further show the strain transmission pattern is independent of its isoform composition.

Blood metabolite levels are under the influence of environmental and genetic factors. Here, Hagenbeek et al. perform heritability estimations for metabolite measures and determine the contribution of known metabolite loci to metabolite levels using data from 40 genome-wide association studies.

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) safeguards chromosome segregation by regulating the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), allowing chromosomes to correctly attach to mitotic spindles. Here the authors reveal a role for Cullin–RING ubiquitin ligase complex 4 (CRL4) in regulating metaphase to anaphase transition via BUB3 degradation.

Can an idealised machine obtain pure coherent quantum states from mixed ones at a non-zero rate, or equivalently, can a machine distill synchronized quantum clocks starting from noisy ones? Iman Marvian demonstrates that this is impossible, even if the machine is allowed to spend an arbitrary amount of work.

Energy storage devices that can endure large and complex deformations are central to the development of wearable electronics. Here the authors present a cryopolymerization strategy for preparing an anisotropic polyvinyl alcohol/polyaniline hydrogel for flexible supercapacitor electrodes.

Imaging mass spectrometry is a powerful emerging tool for mapping the spatial distribution of biomolecules across tissue surfaces. Here the authors showcase an automated technology for deep proteome imaging that utilizes ultrasensitive microfluidics and a mass spectrometry workflow to analyze tissue voxels, generating quantitative cell-type-specific images.

The role of disorder in the formation of charge density waves (CDWs) remains elusive in typical CDW materials. Here, the authors report coexisting diffraction signals and anomalous slow dynamics of charge domains near the CDW transition temperature in ZrTe\({}_{3}\), suggesting as fingerprints of pristine and disorder-perturbed CDWs.

Here, the authors provide the structure of mature Coxsackie Virus A10 alone and in complex with its receptor KREMEN1, and of A-particles. This shows how the receptor spans the viral canyon and suggests that receptor binding triggers pocket factor release and conformational changes resulting in expanded particles.

Host-guest solid state molecular motion is a critical but underexplored phenomenon which can be used to control molecular machines that function in the solid state. Here, the authors describe a solid state machine that shows solvent vapour- and mechanically-induced molecular motion that allows access to different crystalline and amorphous forms.

Post-translational modifications of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), a glycoytic enzyme, contribute to cancer progression. Here, the authors show that PGK1 is O-GlcNAcylated at T255, which induces its translocation into mitochondria to suppress the tricarboxylic acid cycle for colorectal cancer growth.

Prostate cancer cells depend on MTAP, the rate-limiting enzyme involved in the methionine salvage pathway, to cope with increased polyamine biosynthesis. Here, the authors show that inducing upregulation of polyamine biosynthesis and targeting MTAP synergize to increase apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

SPAK kinase is a master regulator of cation-Cl⁻ cotransporters. Here the authors describe a new SPAK inhibitor with robust protective effects in rodent hydrocephalous and ischemic stroke models.

Traction force microscopy is an effective method for measuring cellular forces but it is limited by planar geometry. Here the authors develop a facile method to produce deformable hydrogel particles and a reference-free computational method to resolve surface traction forces from particle shape deformation.

Multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) extends the standard MR framework to consider multiple risk factors in a single model. Here, Zuber et al. propose MR-BMA, a Bayesian variable selection approach to identify the likely causal determinants of a disease from many candidate risk factors as for example high-throughput data sets.

The authors show that a subanesthetic dose of ketamine markedly elevate calcium signals in apical dendritic spines in the mouse prefrontal cortex. This effect is driven by a local-circuit mechanism that involves the suppression of somatostatin interneurons leading to dendritic disinhibition.

To better understand the response of Earth’s crust to earthquakes, it is valuable to mimic the geographic scale phenomena in laboratory scale experiment. Here, Bera et al. show that large bursts in ground acceleration of real earthquakes can be well reproduced in two soft, yield stress materials.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in complex bacterial communities has been mostly studied using metagenomic analyses. Here, the authors develop an E. coli CRISPR-Cas spacer acquisition platform that allows real-time recording of HGT events at nucleotide-resolution, identifying diverse DNA transfer events in human clinical fecal samples.