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The momentum and spin of a propagating photon are given by its wave vector and circular polarization, respectively. Bliokh et al.here show that evanescent electromagnetic waves possess a polarization-dependent momentum component and a polarization-independent spin component, which are both orthogonal to the wave vector.

It has been suggested that it might be possible to induce superconductivity in graphene by increasing the electron–phonon coupling through doping. A systematic ARPES study conducted by Fedorov et al.finds that all donor atoms induce an unexpected vibrational mode, with the strongest generated by calcium.

Molecular glue degraders eliminate cellular proteins by promoting their interaction with E3 ubiquitin ligases. Here, the authors identify molecular glue degraders targeting the E3 ligase TRIM21 and synthesize a heterobifunctional degrader that recruits TRIM21 to degrade an engineered protein aggregate.

In recent years, the tropical Indian Ocean has experienced persistent warming larger than any other basin. Now research suggests that this may exert a stabilizing effect on the meridional overturning circulation in the north Atlantic Ocean by attenuating its recent weakening, with implications for climate change worldwide.

Although superconductivity hasn't been observed in a sheet of graphene it is found in metal intercalated graphite. A high-resolution ARPES study of CaC₆ conducted by Yang et al.provides strong clues as to the origin of superconductivity in these compounds and of ways to induce superconductivity in graphene.

Introducing plasma seeds, 3D ultrafast laser writing inside silicon reaches a new performance level. The researchers showcase a method that enables precise and reversible modifications, opening the door to monolithic memory technologies and reconfigurable optical devices.

Tests of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem aim at showing that the measurement statistics of a single qutrit are incompatible with noncontextual realism. Here, the authors use a superconducting qutrit with deterministic readouts to violate a noncontextuality inequality, ruling out several loopholes.

The current known two-dimensional topological insulators with small band gaps limit the potential for room temperature applications. Here, Chen et al. observe a sizable gap of 129 meV in a 1T'-WSe₂ single layer grown on bilayer graphene with in-gap edge state near the layer boundary.

BepiColombo mission had its first Mercury flyby on 1 October 2021. Here, the authors show plasma measurements taken during this flyby, which reveals that electron injections and subsequent energy-dependent drift is a universal mechanism generating aurorae in the planetary magnetospheres.

Single molecular layers of TiSe₂are promising for advanced electronic applications, and it is therefore important to characterize their phases. Here, the authors use ARPES to detect a charge density wave transition without Fermi surface nesting and that takes place at a temperature higher than in bulk.

N00N states are promising for quantum communications and metrology, but are vulnerable to losses. Here the authors develop a technique for preparing high-fidelity two-photon N00N states in a loss-free fashion, and demonstrate enhanced phase sensitivity without requiring recombination.

The application of astatine, one of the rarest elements on the earth, in the treatment of cancer requires a better understanding of its chemistry. Rothe et al. report the first measurement of the ionization potential of astatine, against which high-level quantum calculations are benchmarked.

The interactions of quasiparticles can be described by renormalizing their masses, such that some materials have a vanishingly small effective mass, whereas others have a very high effective mass. The observation by Vyalikh and colleagues of both extremes occurring on the surface and interior of the same material offers a new view of many-body interactions.

A synthesis of geochemical proxy records of sea surface temperature shows that the early Pliocene climate was little different from today in terms of maximum ocean temperatures but had substantially lower meridional and zonal temperature gradients.

Due to reduced dimensionality, the properties of 2D materials are often different from their 3D counterparts. Here, the authors identify the emergence of a unique charge density wave (CDW) order in monolayer TiTe₂ that challenges the current understanding of CDW formation.

Continuous-variable remote state preparation in the microwave domain would allow to leverage the superconducting technology for quantum networks applications. Here, the authors show how to deterministically prepare squeezed Gaussian states across 35 cm using previously shared entanglement.

A protocol to recover states of optical continuous-variable entanglement is developed based on approximate heralded noiseless amplification. The degraded entanglement is completely recovered no matter how significant these losses are.

Ultrafast laser processing is a versatile three-dimensional photonic structuring method but it has been limited to wide band gap materials like glasses. Here, Chanal et al. demonstrate direct refractive-index modification in the bulk of silicon by extreme localization of the energy deposition.

The amplitude of a Schrödinger's cat (SC) state — superposed coherent state — is increased using a homodyne measurement. A pair of negative SC states with amplitude of 1.15 is probabilistically converted to a single positive SC state with amplitude of 1.85.

Here, the authors show the emergence of valley-polarized Floquet-Bloch states in 2H-WSe₂ upon below-band-gap driving using circularly polarized light.

Use of a three-level system allows the Toffoli gate, an important primitive for quantum error correction schemes, to be implemented with many fewer elementary gates than was previously thought possible.

Using the site-specific incorporation of isotopically labeled glutamines and NMR, Elena-Real et al. identified helical stability of pathogenic huntingtin exon 1 as a key feature defining the aggregation propensity that triggers Huntington’s disease.

Unprecedented Pacific Ocean campaign aims to improve forecasts for strong storms.

Microwave-based quantum key distribution would allow a secure exchange of information in superconducting local area networks and, potentially beyond, in open-air conditions. Here, the authors provide a proof-of-principle implementation within a cryogenic environment, based on propagating displaced squeezed microwave states.

Quasi-one-dimensional substructures have distinctive properties, but the lattice dynamics are poorly understood. Here, Chen et al.use inelastic neutron scattering and density functional theory to discover that numerous low-energy optical vibrational modes including a twisting polarization are present in higher manganese silicides.

Interference of linear plane waves produces non-trivial phenomena in both classical and quantum wave systems. Here, the authors describe and observe anomalously large time delays and frequency shifts in the resonant inelastic scattering of a 1D wave packet near a zero of the scattering coefficient.

Chiral phonons—long-range lattice vibrations with rotational motion of atoms—are observed by terahertz chiroptical spectroscopy in biocrystals. Terahertz circular dichroism peaks between 0.2 and 2.0 THz clearly identify the chirality of these phonons in various microcrystalline and nanofibrils of biomolecules.

DNA from ancient wolves spanning 100,000 years sheds light on wolves’ evolutionary history and the genomic origin of dogs.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will founder unless they integrate quantum technologies, warn Aleksey K. Fedorov, Evgeniy O. Kiktenko and Alexander I. Lvovsky.

The authors demonstrated an unprecedented level of polarization squeezing of light generated by an atomic ensemble, and a new regime of continuous quantum measurements on a macroscopic material oscillator.

A computational approach is used to predict the function of an uncharacterized enzyme by docking high-energy intermediate forms of candidate metabolites into its purported binding site. The docking experiments predicted that the enzyme would be able to deaminate intermediates of 5-methylthioadenosine and S-adenosylhomocysteine, a prediction confirmed by biochemical experiments and examination of the X-ray crystal structure of the protein.

Palladium-based catalysts are highly effective for the complete oxidation of methane. Here, the authors employ operando transmission electron microscopy, near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations to investigate the active state and catalytic function of Pd nanoparticles in methane oxidation.