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Nonaqueous redox flow batteries face challenges like costly membranes and unstable electrolytes. Here, authors develop a membrane-free battery using a polypropylene carbonate gel polymer electrolyte with Li anode and Tri-TEMPO catholyte, achieving a high voltage of 3.45 V, capacity retention of 96.8%, and efficiency of 98.4%.

Using extended-gate capacitive coupling and diode connection, stretchable biosensors with a built-in differential circuit design can be created that can offer low signal distortion under bias stress instability, uniaxial strain, compression and temperature variations.

In Li-mediated electrochemical N₂ reduction to ammonia, selectivity and activity are governed by the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). This study reveals how the applied potential shapes the SEI properties and composition, thereby influencing reaction performance.

An integrated smart capsule that encapsulates an array of electrochemical sensors can provide real-time, continuous and multiplexed monitoring of the gastrointestinal tract.

Olivine iron phosphate (FePO₄) is widely proposed for electrochemical lithium extraction, but particles with different physical attributes demonstrate varying Li preferences. Here, the authors characterize the electrochemical lithiation and sodiation behavior of a series of FePO₄ particles with different morphology to identify critical features that enhance Li selectivity.

It is challenging to exploit anionic redox activity to boost performance of battery electrodes, especially for anti-fluorite structures. Here the authors report simultaneous anionic and cationic redox in Li₅FeO₄, which enables its high capacity and eliminates the undesired oxygen gas release.

Although all-solid-state Li-ion batteries exhibit enhanced energy densities, electrochemical stability of solid electrolytes remains a challenge. A mechanism explaining the relationship between redox activity and electrochemical stability for typical solid electrolytes is now proposed.

Compounds that adopt the ReO₃-type structure, like their perovskite counterparts, are both numerous and wide ranging in their chemistries and their properties. In this Review, the similarities between the subfamilies of this exciting class of materials are illustrated, showing that often the materials are more alike than they are different.

Lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation is a promising pathway to electrochemical ammonia synthesis, but the role of metallic lithium and its passivation layer are unclear. Here the authors employ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to explore these components, finding that the proton donor is the key determinant of lithium reactivity.

Implanted bioelectronic devices have proven useful for health sensing and therapy, while the interconnection of distributed implants remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate direct implant-to-implant wireless networking at the scale of the human body using metamaterial textiles.

Zinc–air batteries are viewed as a sustainable storage technology, but their commercialization requires a genuine performance leap forwards from the laboratory scale. Here the authors report a cell-level design and demonstrate an ampere-hour pouch cell with exceptionally high energy density and cycle lifespan.

Genome-wide sequencing of 180 ancient individuals shows a continuous gradient of ancestry in Early-to-Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers from the Baltic to the Transbaikal region and distinct contemporaneous groups in Northeast Siberia, and provides insights into the origins of modern Uralic and Yeniseian speakers.

Battery production cost models are critical for evaluating cost competitiveness but frequently lack transparency and standardization. A bottom-up approach for calculating the full cost, marginal cost, and levelized cost of various battery production methods is proposed, enriched by a browser-based modular user tool.

Combining multiple ultraviolet cameras with synchronous aerial measurements, the authors here present vent-specific gas compositions and fluxes for Stromboli volcano. The results show that gas compositions vary between different vents, mirroring differences in eruptive behavior.

The charging of Fe and Mn oxide anodes in lithium-ion batteries are believed to form rocksalt phases via reconstructive conversion reactions. Here, the authors show that M_xO_y (M = Fe, Mn) transform into non-native body-centred cubic FeO and zincblende MnO via topotactic displacement-like pathways.

It is challenging to quantitatively diagnose the lithium-ion distribution in batteries. Here, the authors use laser-assisted atom probe tomography to probe the nanoscale compositional fluctuations of lithium ions in two popular lithium-ion battery cathodes before and after electrochemical cycling.

Solid-state pressure sensors have performance limitations in liquid environments. Here, the authors design a pressure sensor using solid–liquid–liquid–gas multiphasic interfaces where a trapped air layer modulates capacitance changes with pressure to achieve near-friction-free contact line motions for near-ideal pressure sensing.

Mn dissolution is dominantly responsible for capacity fading of most Mn-rich cathodes. Here the authors reveal that soluble Mn²⁺ species significantly destabilizes solvent and anion via its unique solvation sheath structure, providing insight into the failure mechanism of related cathode chemistries.

Advanced batteries require careful control over the interfacial properties of their constituent materials. This study designs hierarchically structured cathode materials that are resistant to surface reconstruction, leading to improved cycling performance.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Ancient DNA reveals how the explosive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists began with a small community north of the Black Sea speaking ancestral Indo-European, and detects genetic links with Anatolian speakers, stemming from a common Indo-Anatolian homeland in the North Caucasus–lower Volga region.

Redox flow batteries are promising energy storage systems but are limited in part due to high cost and low availability of membrane separators. Here, authors develop a membrane-free, nonaqueous 3.5 V all-organic lithium-based battery and demonstrate its operation in both static and flow conditions.

A sequencing chemistry that separates nucleotide identification from nucleotide incorporation achieves high accuracy.

Carbon nitrides are potentially cheap and metal-free alternatives for catalysts, semiconductors, battery materials and memory devices. In this Review, we discuss the synthesis, design and morphology of these materials, and reflect on the ability of methods such as templating, etching, dye sensitization, heteroatom doping and co-polymerization, as well as the assembly of various heterojunctions, to improve device performance.