Potatoes are one of the world's most important food crops, yet genetic improvements to increase tuber yield and quality have been constrained by the lack of a high-quality reference genome. 

Engineered oncolytic bacteria have emerged as a promising therapeutic platform for precision cancer treatment, offering tumor-specific colonization, immune activation, and controllable therapeutic delivery. This review summarizes recent advances in the design and application of synthetic biological strategies that enhance bacterial precision, safety, and efficacy in tumor therapy. These strategies are categorized into three major regulatory modes: exogenous input–responsive gene circuits, autonomous bacterial signal–responsive gene circuits, and tumor microenvironment-responsive gene circuits.

DNA–protein cross-links (DPCs) represent a severe form of DNA damage that can disrupt essential chromatin-based processes. Among them, DNA–histone cross-links (DHCs) occur frequently within nucleosomes, yet their structural and functional consequences remain poorly understood due to their instability and low natural abundance.

This study investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand recognition, subtype selectivity, and activation of neuropeptide FF receptor 1 (NPFFR1)—a Gi/o-coupled receptor that responds to endogenous RF-amide peptides (RFRP-3 from pro-NPFFB, NPFF from pro-NPFFA) and regulates physiological processes like opioid function, pain, and energy homeostasis. To address gaps in understanding its role in opioid modulation (due to lack of selective ligands), the authors used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to resolve atomic structures of two NPFFR1-Gi complexes: RFRP-3-bound and NPFF-bound. GloSensor cAMP assays confirmed ligand potency differences, and mutagenesis/MD simulations validated key interactions.

Fibrosis, resulting from excess extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, is a feature of adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction and obesity-related insulin resistance.