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Hydrogels with room temperature phosphorescence have potential in a number of applications, but mechanical properties can limit the potential. Here, the authors report a wood-based hydrogel with room temperature phosphorescence, by polymerization of acrylamide with delignified wood.

A study demonstrates a public generator of random numbers based on device-independent techniques, with the randomness being fully auditable and traceable.

Current action is insufficient to meet both the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Integrated model-based analysis shows that strong interventions across many dimensions, together with ambitious lifestyle change, are needed to enable real progress towards the UN Agenda 2030.

Over 30 percent more land would be needed in the Western US by 2050 to support new solar and wind infrastructure under a high renewables penetration scenario compared to a business-as-usual scenario, according to an analysis that uses an integrated energy system modeling framework.

Acetic acid efficiently depolymerizes aliphatic and aromatic epoxy-amine thermosets used in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) to yield recoverable monomers and pristine carbon fibres, which, based on process modelling, techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, could enable industrial recycling of CFRPs.

This study demonstrates the energy use of US pump irrigation produced 12.6 million tonnes CO₂e in 2018, with spatial variability modulated by water source and fuel choice. These county-level estimates can inform strategic irrigation expansion and emissions reduction efforts.

Forest restoration in LMICs can contribute to global C mitigation targets. Here, the authors assess the economic feasibility of forest restoration methods in Panama, i.e. natural regeneration, native species plantings, and enrichment planting, showing that not all methods are economically viable.

There is clear evidence that public health measures to reduce alcohol consumption are effective, which can have a positive effect on alcohol-related liver disease. In this Perspective, Parker and colleagues discuss public health policies that affect alcohol consumption and alcohol-related liver disease.

Expansion of rubber plantations threatens tropical forest carbon stocks and biodiversity, but may be dis-incentivised using carbon finance. Here, Warren-Thomas et al. use forest and agricultural data for Cambodia to show that carbon prices of $30–$51 per tCO₂ are needed to match forest protection costs.

Exploring an active and cost-effective catalyst for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction remains elusive to date. Here, the authors report the platinum single-atoms doped ruthenium/ruthenium oxides showing distinctly enhanced catalytic performance.

Detecting dilute airborne biomarkers is important in healthcare but is limited by the low sensitivity of current gas sensors. A portable, low-cost device is introduced that uses water condensation to enrich airborne biomarkers into a concentrated liquid, enabling existing liquid sensors to detect biomarkers with high sensitivity and broad accessibility.

The effectiveness of community-based land protection compared to traditional top-down protection is debated. Here, the authors show that both community-managed forests and traditional protected areas in Madagascar experienced deforestation during a political crisis but the former were especially vulnerable in the post-crisis period.

Applying a combined social science and trait-based ecology approach, the authors identify ecological traits in forests eliciting positive or negative well-being among human participants in England and Wales and find that forests with higher species’ effect trait richness, and those associated with higher participant well-being, are in areas with the least socio-economic deprivation.

Here the authors demonstrate that cropland expansion following the historical trend together with closing the current exploitable yield gap by half or more across Africa reduces the continent’s reliance on land conversions and imports by 2050.

The nationwide cost of cutting emissions can be affected by local policies. This study considers the differences across the US states, with integrated assessment model results showing that varying state policies only increases nationwide costs by about 10%.

Income reduction in high-income regions is insufficient for mitigating food systems greenhouse gas emissions. A deeper transformation is required that changes consumption patterns and prices emissions.

Affordability of dietary patterns varies across countries, thereby affecting the levels of animal- and plant-based foods required to satisfy nutritional demands. Using an optimization model, Chungchunlam et al. reveal the components of the least-cost nutritious diet in the United States.

Wind farms would benefit from optimization of their design and operation. Harrison-Atlas et al. report an artificial intelligence-aided optimization approach that shows the potential of wake steering strategies to minimize land requirements and costs.

Businesses increasingly experiment with monetary impact valuation to assess their sustainability impacts, raising both promise and concern. We propose a scientific approach — grounded in eight principles — to ensure valuation serves sustainability rather than distorts it.

The climate action simulation exercise increased participants’ knowledge about high-impact climate actions and policies, and those gains persisted for at least 6 months, according to survey data and statistical analysis.

Rice taste is a crucial trait that determines consumer preference, but how it is established has been unclear. Here, the authors report that the formation of taste quality is mediated by the OsGATA7-SMOS1 protein content module and identify elite haplotypes for improving rice taste quality.

This study assessed COVID-19 social science preprints’ replicability using structured groups. Both beginners and more-experienced participants used a elicitation protocol to make better-than-chance predictions about the reliability of research claims under high uncertainty.

Robust, high-throughput processing of two-dimensional materials produced by chemical vapor deposition requires a reliable and scalable technique to transfer the materials to a target substrate. An automated system for transferring chemical-vapor-deposited two-dimensional materials using robotics is developed, demonstrating high production capability with uniformity and repeatability of the transferred materials.

Import restrictions on deforestation-linked commodities, like oil crops, could cut land-use emissions but risk emissions leakage globally and economic losses for producers. Direct forest protection may be more effective than import restrictions.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an eco-friendly oxidizer and a promising energy carrier, but it is primarily synthesized through the energy-intensive anthraquinone process. Here sustainable and unassisted electrochemical H₂O₂ production coupled to glycerol oxidation is reported, operating without an external bias or solar energy input.

The results obtained by seventy different teams analysing the same functional magnetic resonance imaging dataset show substantial variation, highlighting the influence of analytical choices and the importance of sharing workflows publicly and performing multiple analyses.

Agricultural trade challenges resource management domestically and globally. This study finds that up to 26% of global phosphorus fertilizer use is tied to export crops and livestock commodities, suggesting trade partners will need to coordinate to buffer domestic food supplies from phosphorus shortages.

Unintended and undesirable consequences can hinder policymaking. This Perspective explores how anticipatory governance can reduce ignorance, manage errors and avoid imperious immediacy when shaping future technological innovation to support more sustainable food systems transformations.

Home to roughly a quarter of the world’s population, South Asia is a hotspot for global warming impacts. In this Viewpoint, nine researchers from South Asia discuss the progress made in understanding and responding to climate change in the region.

Emerging limitations on climate and low-carbon technology would require adjusting our 15.C climate change mitigation pathways. However, this could increase average annual emissions reductions to around 3GtCO₂/year using a broad portfolio of mitigation measures.

The electrochemical oxidation of methane is a promising process but controlling its selectivity for a partial oxidation product such as methanol is very challenging. Now a strategy to convert methane into methanol with high selectivity is demonstrated, using an IrO₂ catalyst and CO₃²⁻ in the electrolyte as the oxygen source.

This study proposes that the optimal allocation of roof area for rooftop agriculture and photovoltaics is 61% of the flat rooftop area to the former and the rest for the latter. However, maintaining this productivity requires considerable water use and materials.

Cocaine addiction is accompanied by dysfunction in neural circuits related to reward, but it is unclear how these adaptations occur. Here, authors identify granulocyte-colony stimulating factor as a potent mediator of cocaine-induced adaptations, and show that it can alter the motivation for cocaine.

The Paris Agreement requires reaching net-zero carbon emissions, but a debate exists on how fast this can be achieved. This study establishes scenarios with different feasibility constraints and finds that the institutional dimension plays a key role for determining the feasible peak temperature.

Comprehensive policy measures are needed to close the emissions gap between Nationally Determined Contributions and emissions goals of the Paris Agreement. Here the authors present a Bridge scenario that may aid in closing the emissions gap by 2030.

Oxidative DNA damage is linked to cancer and aging, but its genomic effects remain hard to map. Here, authors develop a nanopore-based method using synthetic DNA and deep learning to detect 8- oxo-dG, revealing its distribution and interplay with DNA methylation.

Van Dooijeweert et al. conducted a prospective study on the clinical implementation of artificial-intelligence-assisted detection of sentinel lymph node metastasis in persons with breast cancer and report on its effects, including on time and cost.

Global demand for “blue food” is growing. In this quantitative synthesis, the authors analyse global seafood demand and project trends to 2050, finding considerable regional variation in the relationship between wealth and consumption.