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In this work, researchers build a scalable photonic Chern insulator by twisting a fibre during fabrication, breaking an effective time-reversal symmetry and inducing a pseudo-magnetic field. The team reveals a ‘Goldilocks’ regime that guarantees topological protection against fabrication-induced disorder of any symmetry class in the fibre cross-section.

A high-temperature immiscible blend of two dipolar polymers that self-assemble into three-dimensional all-polymer nanocomposites allows markedly enhanced dielectric and energy storage performances over a broad temperature range.

Earth’s core dynamo, which produces the magnetic field, may have been influenced by spatial variations in heat flux across the core–mantle boundary, according to combined palaeomagnetic datasets and geodynamo simulations.

Saccadic eye movements during free viewing exhibit patterns that reflect a strategy to increase neural responses by matching motor behavior with the statistics of the natural world and with the processing limitations of sensory systems.

Human impacts on marine ecosystems are increasing the likelihood of pathogenic outbreaks, harmful algal blooms and coral stress. Here the authors develop a CRISPR biomonitoring tool that can help detect key marine species that are important to public health, the aquaculture sector and marine ecosystems.

Mouse models show that lymphoedema caused by impaired lymphatic drainage is ameliorated by removal of cholesterol deposits, which promotes the regeneration of lymphatic vessels.

ATF6α activation in human and preclinical models of hepatocellular carcinoma is significantly associated with an aggressive tumour phenotype characterized by reduced survival, glycolytic reprogramming and local immunosuppression.

Electric field gradients (EFGs) have the potential to significantly influence fluid behavior in various natural and technological contexts, yet their effects on polar fluids at the microscopic level have been largely unexplored. This study introduces the concept of “dielectrocapillarity,” demonstrating that EFGs can be harnessed to finely control fluid structure, phase transitions, and capillary effects, thereby enhancing fluid uptake in nanoporous materials.

Aperiodic composite crystals were discovered that emulate 2D moiré materials, demonstrating a potentially scalable approach for producing moiré materials for next-generation electronics and a generalizable approach for realizing theoretical predictions of higher-dimensional quantum phenomena.

Here the authors assess baloxavir, oseltamivir, favipiravir, or amantadine for treatment of severe influenza A(H5N1) in female mice and find that baloxavir provides best survival outcomes with reduced lung replication and viral neuroinvasion, supporting its consideration for use in human A(H5N1) infections.

Excess nitrogen fertilization in maize production harms the environment and society, yet farmers face yield risks when reducing inputs. Using field trials across the US Corn Belt, this study suggests that nitrogen rates can be reduced by 12–16% with minimal yield risk, reducing emissions and leaching.

From 2014–2017, marine heatwaves caused global mass coral bleaching, where the corals lose their symbiotic algae. The authors find, this event exceeded the severity of all prior global bleaching events in recorded history, with approximately half the world’s reefs bleaching and 15% experiencing substantial mortality.

Native top-down proteomics reveals epidermal growth factor receptor–estrogen receptor-alpha (EGFR–ER) signaling crosstalk in breast cancer cells and dissociation of nuclear transport factor 2 (NUTF2) dimers to modulate ER signaling and cell growth.

Aqueous two-phase systems have potential as biomimetic materials, but often lack stability and are prone to collapse. Here, the authors use interfacial assembly of chitin nanofibres and cellulose nanocrystals to prepare a biobased system with permeability and switchable motility.

Scanning nitrogen-vacancy microscopy unveils super-moiré spin textures emerging in twisted double-bilayer CrI₃ and provides real-space evidence of antiferromagnetic Néel-type skyrmions spanning multiple moiré cells.

Jacquemyn et al. identify key lipid determinants controlling ectosome shedding from neurons. They find that ectosomes are a major route for the intercellular transport of misfolded α-synuclein, with relevance to Parkinson’s disease pathology.

Self-DNA has been implicated in the activation of cGAS/STING/IFN-I responses in autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases. Here the authors show that macrophage uses a process termed ‘nucleocytosis’ to extract nuclear DNA from lysosome-impaired, dying target cells, thereby activating downstream cGAS-STING signaling and IFN-I production.

Neuroinflammation triggers DNA damage and subsequent parthanatos-mediated neuron death. Inhibiting parthanatos in a mouse model of autoimmune inflammation is neuroprotective and reduces disease-associated paralysis.

Aadvanced computer simulations of three-dimensional turbulence reveal that the ab initio generation of large-scale magnetic fields is driven by shear-flow-induced jets; an analytical model is derived which reproduces the essential features of the flow- and field-generation mechanisms.

This multidisciplinary response to investigate the large outbreak of unknown febrile illness in the Panzi Health Zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 2024 suggests that the outbreak was largely associated with malarial cases and concurrent viral respiratory infections.

Preclinical neurogastroenterology research needs tools to characterize signals underlying gut functions. Here, the authors describe a mini-endoscope for high-resolution intraluminal electrophysiological recordings from colons of live mice in wild type and disease model animals.

In this study, the authors present optimization and efficacy testing of apolipoprotein-based lipid nanoparticles for delivering various nucleic acid therapeutics in vivo to immune cells and their progenitors in the bone marrow.

Disease heterogeneity complicates precision medicine, which focuses on single conditions and ignores shared mechanisms. Here the authors introduce ‘pan-disease’ analysis using a deep learning model on multi-organ data, identifying 11 AI-derived biomarkers that reveal new therapeutic targets and pathways, enhancing patient stratification for disease risk monitoring and drug discovery.

An outbreak of MPXV in sooty mangabeys in Côte d’Ivoire was linked to MPXV-infected fire-footed rope squirrels, providing direct evidence of interspecies transmission and indicating risk for zoonotic transmission of MPXV from both hosts.

The authors conduct a national inventory on individual tree carbon stocks in Rwanda using aerial imagery and deep learning. Most mapped trees are located in farmlands; new methods allow partitioning to any landscape categories, effective planning and optimization of carbon sequestration and the economic benefits of trees.

It is unclear whether the harsh abiotic conditions of drylands hinder biological invasions. This global analysis shows that drylands are vulnerable to non-native plants and are likely to become more so as native plant diversity declines and grazing pressure intensifies.

The transcription factor ATF4 and its effector lipocalin 2 (LCN2) have a key role in immune evasion and tumour progression, and targeting the ATF4–LCN2 axis might provide a way to treat several types of solid tumour by increasing anti-cancer immunity.

The electronic behaviour of complex oxides such as LaNiO₃ depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, making it challenging to identify microscopic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the influence of oxygen vacancies on the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition of LaNiO₃ films.

Evolutionarily related ‘proto-point’ centromeres providing resolution to the evolutionary origins of point centromeres are identified in yeast, and comparison shows they evolved in an ancestor with retrotransposon-rich centromeres and that long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons are the genetic substrate.

Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.

The combination of within-species variation in pathogen load, the shape of the relationship between pathogen load and infectiousness, and vector feeding preferences shape transmission of multi-host vector-borne pathogens. Here, the authors use experimental and wild bird infection data to characterize the role of 17 host bird species in avian malaria transmission in Hawaii.

Owing to electron localization, two-dimensional materials are not expected to be metallic at low temperatures, but a field-induced quantum metal phase emerges in NbSe₂, whose behaviour is consistent with the Bose-metal model.

Mucosal administration of a multivalent, adjuvanted vaccine against Clostridioides difficile promoted bacterial clearance and protected against morbidity, mortality, tissue damage and recurrence in mice.

An algorithm that combines deep learning, Bayesian optimization and computer vision techniques can be used to autonomously tune a semiconductor spin qubit from a grounded device to Rabi oscillations.

KRAS is an oncogene that switches between a GDP-bound inactive state and a GTP-bound active state. Recently developed KRAS G12C inhibitors are specific to the GDP-bound inactive state. Here, the authors develop a class of covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors capable of targeting both states for the treatment of KRAS-driven cancer.

This study introduces the Lipid Nanoparticle Database (LNPDB) and web tool that consolidates lipid nanoparticle structure-function data. LNPDB facilitates molecular dynamics and deep learning approaches to advance data-driven design for nucleic acid delivery.

Survival of reef-building oysters peaks at specific combinations of fractal dimension and height that reduce predation, showing how optimal three-dimensional habitat geometry can guide more effective ecosystem restoration.

How the brain supports speaking and listening during conversation of its natural form remains poorly understood. Here, by combining intracranial EEG recordings with Natural Language Processing, the authors show broadly distributed frontotemporal neural signals that encode context-dependent linguistic information during both speaking and listening..

Nitrogen isotope tree-ring chronologies show that rising atmospheric CO₂ has reduced nitrogen availability in boreal forests in Sweden, suggesting that elevated atmospheric CO₂ is causing oligotrophication in boreal forests.

High-resolution satellite data enables a unique verification of national methane emissions worldwide. Global estimates are 63 Tg a⁻¹ for oil-gas, 30% higher than the UNFCCC reports due to under-reporting by four largest emitters, and 33 Tg a⁻¹ for coal, consistent with previous estimates.

Authors study links between amyloid secondary nucleation and growth defects, demonstrating these sites on Aβ40/Aβ42 fibrils are rare compared to the number of protein molecules. Re-analysis of published data suggests that defects may also drive secondary nucleation generally.

Li et al. reveal projection neuron-type-specific dynamics that coordinate corticothalamic communication during reach-to-consume behavior in mice.