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The infrared view of JWST has opened up the early Universe to study. This Perspective summarizes the key developments in our understanding of the high-redshift Universe from the first 18 months of JWST observations.

Hard carbons are considered the most suitable negative electrode materials for Na-ion batteries. Here, authors use electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the spin nature of mechanochemically-modified hard carbons to predict their charge storage mechanism for sodium-ion batteries.

Understanding oscillation phenomena in catalysis is a long-standing challenge. Here the authors report a temporally and spatially resolved operando analysis of CO oxidation over Rh/Al₂O₃, revealing the interplay of Boudouard reaction and carbon combustion in generating the oscillations.

Analysis of a global dataset reveals spatiotemporal patterns of marine plankton and their biogeographical responses during climatic and environmental changes across the Cenozoic era.

Acetylcholine (ACh) release in the central nervous system is thought to be unitary and mediated non-synaptically in volume transmission. Here, Takács and colleagues show cholinergic terminals juxtapose GABAergic synapses anatomically and functionally, and GABA and ACh molecules are co-transmitted.

Structural disorder in materials is challenging to characterise. Here, the authors use multivariate analysis of atomic pair distribution functions to study structural collapse and melting of metal–organic frameworks, revealing powerful mechanistic and kinetic insight.

An automatic framework, SNOPS, is developed for configuring a spiking network model to reproduce neuronal recordings. It is used to discover previously unknown limitations of spiking network models, thereby guiding model development.

The electrical properties of nanostructured networks are often dominated by junctions between the particles. Here, Gabett et al. develop transport models and utilise impedance spectroscopy to quantify the factors limiting conduction in these systems.

Contractile forces are key to sorting the embryonic inner cell mass from the extraembryonic trophectoderm. Here they show that Lamin-A links changes in mechanical forces to cell fate specification, enabling Yap-Cdx2 signaling in outer, but not inner cells.

A family of multi-qubit Rydberg quantum gates is developed and used to generate Schrödinger cat states in an optical clock, allowing improvement in frequency measurement precision by taking advantage of entanglement.

Fe-exchanged zeolite catalysts are known for their ability to remediate NO_x and N₂O emissions, but their reactivity in mixed streams of NO and N₂O remains unclear. Now a suite of operando spectroscopies reveals the active Fe species involved in the process and their synergistic effect during the simultaneous conversion of these pollutants.

Reporter gene expression history in cells is recorded with engineered fluorescent protein fibers.

Mg-based batteries possess potential advantages over their lithium counterparts; however, the use of reversible oxidation-resistant, carbonate-based electrolytes has been hindered because of their undesirable electrochemical reduction reactions. Now, by engineering a Mg²⁺-conductive artificial interphase on a Mg electrode surface, which prevents such reactivity, highly reversible Mg deposition/stripping in carbonate-based electrolytes has been demonstrated.

Engineering a coupling between magnetic molecules and conducting materials at room temperature could help the development of spintronic devices. Loh et al. show that the spin state of QDTP molecules deposited on graphene and MoS₂ couples to their electronic structure, affecting magnetotransport.

Natural killer T (NKT) cells include type I that express semi-invariant T cell receptor (TCR), and type II that cover a broader repertoire. Here the authors describe the crystal structure of a type II NKT TCR complexed with CD1d/antigen to propose that type II NKT TCRs may adapt multiple CD1d docking modes to maximise antigen recognition efficacy.

Twisted 2D magnets provide a rich playground for potential spintronic device architectures. Here, the authors use tunneling magnetoresistance measurements to investigate the collective spin states of twisted double bilayer CrI₃ in various configurations, providing evidence of non-volatile spin textures.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

On-surface synthesis enables highly reactive structures to be produced under vacuum, but they need to be passivated to be incorporated into practical devices. Here, the facile protection of air-sensitive chiral graphene nanoribbons has been shown, by either hydrogenation or synthesis of an oxidized form. The chemically stable forms can subsequently be deprotected.

Lactic acidosis is a metabolic state that occurs in injured tissues. Here the authors show that macrophages, in order to remain functional in acidosis, reduce their mitochondrial mass by mitophagy and rely on autophagy for survival, with mitochondrial integrity retained using acetoacetate as alternative fuel.

A subset of antigen-presenting cells of myeloid origin that require PRDM16 and RORγt regulates T cell function to enable immune tolerance of food and commensal gut microorganisms.

Genome-wide association analysis in over one million individuals of European ancestry identifies 2,103 independent genetic signals (including 113 new loci) associated with blood pressure traits.

Deep neural networks are a powerful tool for predicting protein function, but identifying the specific parts of a protein sequence that are relevant to its functions remains a challenge. An occlusion-based sensitivity technique helps interpret these deep neural networks, and can guide protein engineering by locating functionally relevant protein positions.

Biologics are delivered by a pill that pricks the stomach wall.

The record-low Antarctic sea-ice decline in 2023 substantially altered Southern Ocean–atmosphere interaction leading to unprecedented wintertime turbulent ocean heat loss to the atmosphere, enhanced storminess and increased dense water formation.

Porous materials such as snow can collapse under compression, forming anticracks. The authors show that anticrack fracture modes vary with loading direction and find a mechanism that suggests that cracks grow more easily under compression than under shear, advancing stability models for porous materials.

Leak-wave metasurface antennas tailor non-local resonances leveraging judiciously broken spatial symmetries in their design to generate arbitrarily shaped near-field and far-field patterns.

Soft porous crystals combine high crystallinity with structural transformability, potentially enabling applications. Here, an atropisomeric covalent organic framework is reported, which demonstrates different structural transformations upon exposure to different gases.

A combination of detailed photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and numerical simulations reveal the presence of so-called Dirac node arcs in the electronic structure of PtSn₄.

We investigate the de novo design of allostery and suggest that it can arise from global coupling of the energetics of protein substructures without optimized allosteric communication pathways, providing a roadmap for the design of switchable molecular systems.

The first heartbeat of a zebrafish was captured, and development of cardiac excitability and conduction around this singular event were analysed, showing how development of single-cell properties produces a transition from quiescence to coordinated beating.

The APOBEC mutation signature contributes to a significant percentage of human cancers. Here the authors via biochemical and computational analyses shed light on how DNA primary sequence and secondary structure jointly influence A3A substrate optimality.

The Indian Ocean provides a unique environmental gradient to test underlying drivers of the elemental composition of particulate organic matter. Here the authors show that nutrient supply, over temperature and biodiversity changes, controls regional variation of elemental ratios in the tropical Indian Ocean.

Analyses of 475 ancient horse genomes show modern horses emerged around 2200 bce, coinciding with sudden expansion across Eurasia, refuting the narrative of large horse herds accompanying earlier migrations of steppe peoples across Europe.

Glycol sidechains are often used to enhance the performance of organic photoconversion and electrochemical devices. Here, the authors provide photophysical insight into the role of glycol sidechains for the formation of polaron pairs induced by strong vibrational coupling.

Meta-analyses in up to 1.3 million individuals identify 87 rare-variant associations with blood pressure traits. On average, rare variants exhibit effects ~8 times larger than the mean effects of common variants and implicate candidate causal genes at associated regions.

A longitudinal analysis of immune responses in patients with moderate or severe COVID-19 identifies a maladapted immune response profile linked to severe disease.

Ancient DNA from Soqotra, an island off the coast of Yemen, evidences a population history differing from other areas of the Arabian Peninsula and suggests there has not been complete population replacement throughout the region between the Pleistocene and Holocene.

The first known phosphorus-rich deposits formed 2 billion years ago, but their origins are unclear. Geochemical and palaeontological analyses of 2-billion-year-old deposits from northwest Russia suggest that the presence of sulphur-oxidizing bacteria and a sharp oxic–anoxic transition in the sediments allowed for phosphorus accumulation in this setting.

Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UCAR) is associated with various clinical outcomes such as kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Here, the authors report genome-wide meta-analysis in over 500,000 individuals and find 68 UACR loci, followed by statistical fine-mapping, gene prioritization and experimental validation in flies.

The structures of amorphous MOFs are challenging to characterise. Here the authors use electron microscopy and pair distribution function methods, coupled with a polymerisation-based algorithm to determine the atomic structure of Fe-BTC, demonstrating the power of this computational approach.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

The authors have developed a custom-designed near-field probe to study the formation and emission characteristics of plexcitons arising from the interaction between surface plasmons in Au nanotrenches and excitons in monolayer WSe₂.

Although amorphous calcium carbonate represents an important biomineralization precursor, its structure has been difficult to understand. Now, amorphous calcium carbonate’s structure is shown to arise from the different bridging modes available to the calcium ions. This effective multi-well potential that drives calcium arrangements creates a geometric incompatibility between preferred Ca–Ca distances and frustrates crystallization.

Achieving unit-by-unit isomerization within a molecular array poses a significant challenge in chemistry. Here, the authors demonstrate tip-induced stereoisomerization of dehydroazulene and diradical units in three-dimensional organometallic compounds on Ag(111).

The analysis of networks and network processes can require low-dimensional representations, possible for specific structures only. The authors propose a geometric formalism which allows to unfold the mechanisms of dynamical processes propagation in various networks, relevant for control and community detection.