New pathogens typically arise from host jump events between species. Staphylococcus aureus is a multihost pathogen responsible for a global burden of human disease and a leading cause of intramammary infection in dairy cattle. Here, we demonstrate that following historical human-to-bovine host switch events, S. aureus has undergone adaptive metabolic remodeling in response to distinct nutrient availability in the dairy niche. In particular, we found that bovine S. aureus has evolved the capacity for protease-mediated degradation of casein, a protein abundant in bovine milk, to access nutrients for proliferation. This phenotype has evolved convergently in different S. aureus lineages via mutations in distinct gene loci driving overexpression of the protease aureolysin. Together, we have dissected a key host-adaptive trait, which facilitates the enzymatic release of nutrients from a substrate specific to the new host milieu. These findings highlight the remarkable evolutionary plasticity of a major bacterial pathogen underpinning its multihost species tropism.

Synthetic gene circuits often behave unpredictably in batch cultures, where shifting physiological states are rarely accounted for in conventional models. Here, we find that degradation-tagged protein reporters could exhibit transient oscillatory expression, which standard single-scale models do not capture. We resolve this discrepancy by developing Gene Expression Across Growth Stages (GEAGS), a dual-scale modeling framework that explicitly couples intracellular gene expression to logistic population growth. Using a chemical reaction network model with growth phase-dependent rate-modifying functions, GEAGS accurately reproduces the observed transient oscillations and identifies amino acid recycling and growth-phase transition as key drivers. We reduce the model to an effective form for practical use and demonstrate its adaptability by applying it to layered feedback circuits, resolving long-standing mismatches between model predictions and measured dynamics. These results establish GEAGS as a generalizable platform for predicting emergent behaviors in synthetic gene circuits and underscore the importance of multiscale modeling for robust circuit design in dynamic environments.

Deuterium-labeled silanes are of great significance in organic synthesis and drug discoveries, yet obtaining versatile deuterated silanes efficiently and selectively under electrochemical conditions using green deuterium sources remains enormously challenging. Herein, facile and general electrochemical deuteration of silanes using D2O as the economical deuterium source was reported. A variety of alkyl- and aryl-substituted silanes can be smoothly converted into the corresponding products with excellent levels of deuterium incorporation and yields. Furthermore, this protocol enables 10-gram-scale preparation under high current conditions, underscoring the potential in industry applications. Mechanistic studies have revealed that a catalytic amount of nickel may form a pivotal silicon-nickel intermediate, reversing the polarity of silicon and thereby facilitating the subsequent reactions.

The first 5 hours of aging in biomass burning plumes can strongly affect ozone photochemistry. We examine how volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides, and nitrous acid influence hydroxyl radical, ozone, and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) based on three aircraft campaigns over the United States. Our analyses reveal variable, highly elevated hydroxyl radical concentrations in the first 2 hours, resulting in evident fire-to-fire variability in VOCs oxidation and in ozone and PAN production. About 40 to 70% of the variability is explained by chemical aging. Ozone production in the plumes is usually VOC-limited for the first 2 hours and then nitrogen oxide limited downwind. Box model results for hydroxyl radical, ozone, and most VOCs, using the full, explicit Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) mechanism, suggest no major gaps in the current best knowledge of gas-phase chemistry. However, the MCM sometimes overestimates PAN due to underestimated nitrogen oxide sinks. GEOS-Chem, a widely used chemical transport model with a reduced mechanism, generally underperforms because of incomplete VOC representation. We identify these critical pathways to guide future model development.

Blood flow monitoring is fundamental for assessing cardiovascular health and identifying vascular complications. Traditional Doppler ultrasound methods require bulky equipment and specialized expertise, while recent thermal sensing approaches face limitations due to blood vessel depth variability beneath the skin. We present a soft electronic platform that integrates multilayer thermal sensing with deep learning algorithms to simultaneously measure blood flow rate and vessel depth. The device uses a wireless system with thermal sensing modules, featuring strategically positioned thermistors in separate layers to capture thermal gradients at different heights from the skin surface. Deep learning processes multilayer thermal patterns to extract both parameters in real time. Validation through benchtop testing, finite element analysis, and on-body trials demonstrates accurate measurements across relevant flow rates and vessel depths. Integration with photoplethysmography enhances continuous blood pressure monitoring accuracy compared to conventional approaches, particularly during dynamic physiological changes. This technology offers potential for personalized cardiovascular monitoring, early detection of hemodynamic events, and skin graft surveillance.

Candida albicans–induced immunometabolic changes drive complex responses in immune cells. However, whether and how C. albicans causes remodeling of oral epithelial cell (OEC) metabolism is unclear. Here, we use in vitro experiments and patient biopsies to demonstrate that OECs undergo metabolic reprogramming when infected by C. albicans independently of candidalysin secretion, increasing glycolysis and decreasing tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity. Glycolysis and glucose transport inhibition show that these pathways support OEC cytokine release, highlighting the partial control of antifungal epithelial immunity by cellular metabolism. However, glucose supplementation disrupts OEC responses both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that the fungus benefits from these metabolic shifts and that increased aerobic glycolysis in OECs is detrimental. Genome-scale metabolic modeling predicted a shutdown of the TCA cycle and a previously unidentified role for glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 1 (GOT1) in response to C. albicans, which was subsequently shown to be important for OEC survival during infection. This study reveals a fundamental role for hexose metabolism and identifies a GOT1-mediated TCA cycle shunt in regulating OEC survival and immune responses during mucosal fungal infections.

We report a simple, one-step conversion of air to nitrogen oxyanions (NOx-), i.e., nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-), at the gas-water interface (GWI) of nanobubbles (NBs). The nanobubble generator is placed inside an aqueous solution of 50 μM Fe2+ to enhance the production of hydroxyl radicals (OH•) by initiating Fenton's reaction at the GWI. The formation of NOx- does not require any external potential or radiation. The NOx- production rate using NBs is found to be 60.4±1.21 μMhour-1, which shows a fourfold increase in the production as compared to the same reaction performed in microbubbles (15 μMhour-1), which is the result from an enhanced electric field strength at the GWI. We propose that this nitrogen-fixation approach presents a promising pathway for an eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and scalable solution for NOx--based sustainable fertilizer production.

Planarian flatworms are known for their remarkable regenerative capacity; however, the precise intercellular communication mechanisms underlying this process remain unsolved. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of abundant extracellular vesicles (EVs) in planarians. Using imaging and molecular analysis, we show conservation of biogenesis, morphology, and protein composition of planarian EVs. Environmental stressors significantly elevate EV release, indicating that planarians dynamically regulate vesicle production. Functionally, planarian EVs mediate intercellular communication by transferring regulatory signals: We find that they shuttle small RNAs that effect systemic RNA interference (RNAi) throughout the organism. Notably, gene knockdown experiments reveal a crucial role for AGO-3, a member of the Argonaute family of proteins, in modulating the association of small interfering RNAs with EVs, linking the intracellular RNAi machinery to EV-based signaling. These findings highlight EVs as pivotal mediators of cell-cell communication in planarians, with broad implications for understanding the coordination of gene regulation and tissue regeneration in animals.

Huge phages are widespread in the biosphere, yet their prevalence and ecology in the human gut remain poorly characterized. Here, we report Jug (jumbo gut) phages with genomes of 360 to 402 kilobase pairs that comprise ~1.1% of the reads in human gut metagenomes, and are predicted to infect Bacteroides and/or Phocaeicola. Although three of the four major groups of Jug phages shared >90% genome-wide sequence identity, their large terminase subunits exhibited only 38 to 57% identity, suggesting horizontal acquisition from other phages. Over 1500 genomes of Jug phages were recovered from human and animal gut metagenomes, revealing their broad distribution, with largely shared gene content suggestive of frequent cross-animal-host transmission. Jug phages displayed high gene transcription activities, including the gene for a calcium-translocating P-type ATPase not detected previously in phages. These findings broaden our understanding of huge phages and highlight Jug phages as potential major players in gut microbiome ecology.