Easily Accessible and Solution-Stable Ni(0) Precatalysts for High-Throughput Experimentation.

We report the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications of N,N'-diaryl diazabutadiene (DAB) Ni(0) complexes stabilized by alkene ligands. These complexes are soluble and stable in several organic solvents, making them ideal candidates for in situ catalyst formation during high-throughput experimentation (HTE). We used HTE to evaluate these Ni(0) precatalysts in a variety of Suzuki and C-N coupling reactions, and they were found to have equal or better performance than the still-standard Ni(0) source, Ni(COD).

Parental neurobiology: The 4 Hz lullaby.

Many young mammals exhibit a characteristic 'transport response' upon being picked up by their mother. New research reveals the specific tactile mechanisms and afferents underlying this critical early-life response in rat pups.

Sensory systems: Geckos shake up our understanding of vertebrate audition.

A newly discovered auditory pathway in geckos processes low-frequency vibrations using the saccule, an inner ear organ previously thought to serve only vestibular functions in amniotes. These findings challenge our understanding of hearing evolution and suggest greater conservation of auditory function across vertebrates.

Diastereoselective dearomative cycloaddition of bicyclobutanes with pyridinium ylides: a modular approach to multisubstituted azabicyclo[3.1.1]heptanes.

Diastereoselective (3+3) cycloaddition between bicyclobutanes and pyridinium ylides forms azabicyclo[3.1.1]heptanes pyridine dearomatization.

Interrogating Explicit Solvent Effects on the Mechanism and Site-Selectivity of Aryl Halide Oxidative Addition to LPd(0).

We report a study of solvent effects on the rate, selectivity, and mechanism of (hetero)aryl (pseudo)halide oxidative addition to Pd(PCy) as an exemplar of LPd(0) species. First, 2-chloro-3-aminopyridine is observed to undergo faster oxidative addition in toluene compared to more polar solvents, which is not consistent with the trend we observe with many other 2-halopyridines. We attribute this to solvent basicity hydrogen bonding between solvent and substrate.