Thanks to enzyme-based biocatalysis, an enormous range of pharmaceutical active ingredients and other complex molecules can be synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a technology that allows to assemble enzymes into millimeter-sized, storable beads. In this process, the enzymes not only act as catalysts but also constitute the beads’ material itself. In a further variant, the enzyme networks can be combined with living cells. A patent application has been filed for the technology. The results have been published in Advanced Materials. (DOI: 10.1002/adma.75120)

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common malignancy of the urinary tract. Hormone therapy is the main clinical option for the treatment, yet some patients with PCa die due to malignant progression. This research indicates that gallic acid can reduce L1CAM expression by inhibiting the transcriptional activation of KLF7 via p-p65, in turn attenuating the malignant phenotype and tumorigenic capacity of PCa cells in vivo. These findings will provide new therapeutic approaches for PCa. 

The circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE), a phenomenon that generates helicity-dependent photocurrents in noncentrosymmetric materials, can originate purely from a crystal's internal structure without contribution from the surface, reveals a study from Science Tokyo. Researchers demonstrated this effect in 2D organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites using circularly polarized light at normal incidence, which helped distinguish the bulk response from surface contributions. The finding establishes a strategy for regulating spin-polarized photocurrents and advancing opto-spintronic technologies.

An instrument built to study cosmic rays has turned out to be a powerful tool for investigating thunderstorms. Earlier observations with the GRAPES-3 muon telescope revealed that thunderclouds can develop electrical potential differences far greater than those ever measured directly. But they also uncovered a puzzle: the instrument detected many more thunderstorm events in the eastern part of its field of view than in the western part. A new study by the same team, published in JCAP, has now explained why. The asymmetry does not mean that thunderstorms are actually more common to the east. Instead, it arises from the way the geomagnetic field affects the cosmic rays travelling through Earth’s magnetosphere, making GRAPES-3 more sensitive to thunderstorms from some directions than others. The result strengthens the case for using these cosmic-ray particles as a natural probe of thunderstorm electricity.

A new review in LabMed Discovery examines antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs), hybrid molecules that combine the targeting precision of antibodies with the programmability of oligonucleotides. It connects advances in conjugation chemistry with ultrasensitive protein analysis, single-cell and spatial profiling, and targeted delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides.

- KAIST and IBS use ultrafast X-ray pulses to track the structural changes of azobenzene, a representative molecular switch, and reconstruct its motion as a molecular movie

- The central part of the molecule moves in a coordinated 'bicycle-pedal' motion, providing information that can be used in research on photopharmacology and molecular machines

Researchers from the University of Osaka and collaborating institutions accelerated protons to nearly half the speed of light using a long-pulse laser and ultrathin graphene. A moving electric field carried the protons to high energies, and artificial intelligence helped detect rare high-energy particles among millions of detector images. This technique could pave the way for future AI-driven autonomous laser experiment systems.

University of Maryland assistant professor Avik Dutt and colleagues harness ideas from topological photonics—a field that leverages concepts from topology, the mathematics of shapes and their properties, to design unusual and robust ways of controlling light. Their work, detailed in a paper published by Nature Communications, marks the first demonstration of these ideas on this emerging fiber-based platform.