Browse Articles

A synergistic coordination-reduction interface for electrochemical reductive extraction of uranium with low impurities from seawater

Heterogeneous Earth’s mantle drilled at an embryonic ocean

Large scale investigation of GPCR molecular dynamics data uncovers allosteric sites and lateral gateways

National climate policies must address mental health

Aspirin-responsive gene switch regulating therapeutic protein expression

Abstract Current small-molecule-regulated synthetic gene switches face clinical limitations such as cytotoxicity, long-term side-effects and metabolic disturbances. Here, we describe an advanced synthetic platform inducible by risk-free input medication (ASPIRIN), which is activated by acetylsalicylic acid (ASA/aspirin), a multifunctional drug with pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular benefits. To construct ASPIRIN, we repurpose plant salicylic acid receptors NPR1 and NPR4. Through domain truncations and high-throughput mutant library screening, we enhance their ASA sensitivity. Optimized NPR1 fused with a membrane-tethering myristoylation signal (Myr-NPR1) forms a complex with NPR4, which is fused with a DNA binding domain (VanR) and a transactivation domain (VP16). ASA induces dissociation of the Myr-NPR1/NPR4-VanR-VP16 complex, allowing nuclear translocation of NPR4-VanR-VP16 to activate VanR-operator-controlled gene expression. In male diabetic mice implanted with microencapsulated ASPIRIN-engineered cells, ASA regulates insulin expression, restores normoglycemia, alleviates pain and reduces biomarkers of diabetic neuropathy and inflammation. We envision this system will pave the way for aspirin-based combination gene therapies.

How quickly are you ageing? What molecular ‘clocks’ can tell you about your health

Lattice-driven gating in a Cu-based zeolitic imidazolate framework for efficient high-temperature hydrogen isotope separation

Sharing benefits of research is key to effective science communication

Targeting FOXM1 condensates reduces breast tumour growth and metastasis

Rational design of phytovirucide inhibiting nucleocapsid protein aggregation in tomato spotted wilt virus

PhD scientists who forged a career off the beaten track

An infrared-transparent textile with high drawing processed Nylon 6 nanofibers

Capturing ultrafast molecular motions and lattice dynamics in spin crossover film using femtosecond diffraction methods

Abstract A comprehensive insight into ultrafast dynamics of photo-switchable materials is desired for efficient control of material properties through light excitation. Here, we study a polycrystalline spin crossover thin film as a prototypical example and reveal the sequential photo-switching dynamics, from local molecular rearrangement to global lattice deformation. On the earliest femtosecond timescale, the local molecular structural rearrangement occurs within a constant unit-cell volume through a two-step process, involving initial Fe−ligand bond elongation followed by ligand rotation. The highly-oriented structure of the nanocrystalline films and the experimental geometry enables resolving the full anisotropic lattice structural dynamics in and out of the sample plane separately. While both molecular switching and lattice heating influence lattice volume, they exert varying degrees of impact at disparate time scales following photoexcitation. This study highlights the opportunities provided by Mega-electron-volt electron and X-ray free electron laser to advance the understanding of ultrafast dynamics of photo-switchable materials.

We use 30 billion tonnes of concrete each year — here’s how to make it sustainable

Interpreting mammalian synonymous site conservation in light of the unwanted transcript hypothesis

Abstract Mammalian genomes are biased towards GC bases at third codon positions, likely due to a GC-biased ancestral genome and the selectively neutral recombination-related process of GC-biased gene conversion. The unwanted transcript hypothesis posits that this high GC content at synonymous sites may be beneficial for protecting against spurious transcripts, particularly in species with low effective population sizes. Utilising a 240 placental mammal genome alignment and single-base resolution conservation scores, we interpret sequence conservation at mammalian four-fold degenerate sites in this context and find evidence in support of the unwanted transcript hypothesis, including a strong GC bias, high conservation at sites relating to exon splicing, less human genetic variation at conserved four-fold degenerate sites, and conservation of sites important for epigenetic regulation of developmental genes. Additionally, we show that high conservation of four-fold degenerate sites in essential developmental genes, including homeobox genes, likely relates to the low mutation rates experienced by these genes.

China’s low-altitude economy needs to grow with more caution

IL-33-activated ILC2s induce tertiary lymphoid structures in pancreatic cancer

Operando impedance spectroscopy with combined dynamic measurements and overvoltage analysis in lithium metal batteries

Synthesis of high quality two dimensional covalent organic frameworks through a self-sacrificing guest strategy

Advancing nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations in solids with E(3) equivariant deep neural hamiltonians

Abstract Non-adiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations have become an indispensable tool for investigating excited-state dynamics in solids. In this work, we propose a general framework, N2AMD (Neural-Network Non-Adiabatic Molecular Dynamics), which employs an E(3)-equivariant deep neural Hamiltonian to boost the accuracy and efficiency of NAMD simulations. Distinct from conventional machine learning methods that predict key quantities in NAMD, N2AMD computes these quantities directly with a deep neural Hamiltonian, ensuring excellent accuracy, efficiency, and consistency. N2AMD not only achieves impressive efficiency in performing NAMD simulations at the hybrid functional level within the framework of the classical path approximation (CPA), but also demonstrates great potential in predicting non-adiabatic coupling vectors and suggests a method to go beyond CPA. Furthermore, N2AMD demonstrates excellent generalizability and enables seamless integration with advanced NAMD techniques and infrastructures. Taking several extensively investigated semiconductors as the prototypical system, we successfully simulate carrier recombination in both pristine and defective systems at large scales where conventional NAMD often significantly underestimates or even qualitatively incorrectly predicts lifetimes. This framework offers a reliable and efficient approach for conducting accurate NAMD simulations across various condensed materials.