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Continuous Na consumption and dendrite have hampered the development of Na metal batteries. Here, authors designed fluorine-doped micropore-covered mesoporous carbon fibers as current collectors for anode-free Na metal batteries with improved cycle life.

Using data from six population-scale cohorts involving more than 10 million individuals, a large language model-based aging signature is shown to outperform traditional aging biomarker indices and signatures in predicting multiple health outcomes, at general and organ-specific levels.

The use of electrochemical energy storage systems based on alkali metal electrodes is hindered by the dendrites’ growth and volume changes upon cycling. Here, the authors propose nitrogen and zinc co-doped porous carbon nanofibers as potassium metal hosting material for reversible metal deposition.

The poor conductivity of organic crystals hinders their potential on applications in flexible electronics, wearable devices, and soft robotics. Here, Naumov et al. develop a hybrid organic crystal that shows enhanced electrical conductivity and fast mechanical deformation due to temperature change.

Here, the authors show that HNC-1664, an adenosine analog with modifications both in ribose and base, has broad-spectrum antiviral activity against positive-strand coronaviruses and negative-strand arenaviruses in vitro and in vivo.

Lithium sulfur batteries are promising for advanced energy storage, but polysulfide shuttling limits performance lifetime. Here the authors report selenium-doping in a sulfur-based cathode to prevent dissolution of polysulfide intermediates, leading to ether compatibility, high capacity and stable cycling.

This overview of the ENCODE project outlines the data accumulated so far, revealing that 80% of the human genome now has at least one biochemical function assigned to it; the newly identified functional elements should aid the interpretation of results of genome-wide association studies, as many correspond to sites of association with human disease.

A high-quality reference genome of the maize SK inbred line and analyses between the tropical SK line and two other maize genomes, B73 and Mo17, provide insights into structural variation and crop improvement.

A study introduces a novel method to grow single-crystal Cu₂O thin films with selected crystal orientations, highlighting enhanced bulk carrier mobility and carrier diffusion length along the [111] direction that yields Cu₂O photocathodes with improved performance.

Wild relatives of crop plants are invaluable germplasm for genetic improvement. Here, Xie et al. report a reference-grade wild soybean genome and show that it can be used to identify structural variation and refine quantitative trait loci.

Worldwide, the number of only-child families is increasing. This research examines how growing up without siblings affects adult brain structure, function and connectivity, cognition, personality and mental health.

Ammonium ion batteries are of growing interest for energy storage research. Here, the authors observe two-step pseudocapacitive storage behavior in an ammonium acetate electrolyte, resulting in a superior ammonium ion storage capacity.

Most recent SARS-CoV-2 variants showed exceptional immune evasion properties. Here, the authors identify a highly conserved epitope within the RBD targeted by a broad spectrum neutralizing antibody BA7535 that shows therapeutic antiviral potency in mouse studies.

Socioeconomic status is multidimensional and can change over time. Xu, Lui, Ji et al. found dimension-specific, late-stage-specific and change-specific socioeconomic effects on brain, cognition, personality and emotion.

The authors have developed an adaptive reinforced dynamics approach, which improves the efficiency when exploring the configurational space and free energy landscape of large biomolecules, such as proteins.

Subcentimetre-size black phosphorous and its alloy films have been achieved on conventional substrates through sustained feedstock release design, and exhibit high crystalline quality and composition-dependent bandgap tunability.

Comparative genomics can provide valuable insights on adaptations to hostile environments. Here, the authors sequence the genomes and transcriptomes of the Bactrian camel, dromedary and alpaca, to reveal the demographic history of the group as well as metabolic adaptations to the desert environment.

A universal strategy is reported for formation of very low concentration of perovskite precursor inks that yields high-efficiency photovoltaics while substantially reducing toxic waste generation, fabrication cost and process complexity, thus taking a step closer towards commercialization.

The entanglement of fibrous elements produces flexible structures with enhanced strength and resilience to abrasion. Here, the authors report the weaving of organic crystals into flexible and robust patches with plain, twill, and satin topologies of arbitrary porosity, expanding one-dimensional crystals into flexible, two-dimensional planar structures with potential for future applications in flexible electronics.

Response by mechanical deformation to give actuation is essential in the design of soft robots. Here, the authors demonstrate that combining organic molecular crystals with polymers makes it possible to create materials with susceptible properties to changes in temperature and humidity.

Tigers are an endangered species and therefore understanding their genetic architecture could aid conservation efforts. Here, the authors report the first genome sequence of the Amur tiger and, through close species comparative genomic analysis, provide insight into the genome organization, evolutionary divergence and diversity of big cats.

Brassica oleracea is plant species comprising economically important vegetable crops. Here, the authors report the draft genome sequence of B. oleracea and, through a comparative analysis with the closely related B. rapa, reveal insights into Brassicaevolution and divergence of interspecific genomes and intraspecific subgenomes.

Flexoelectricity is the ability of materials to generate electricity upon bending. Here it is demonstrated that adding light to mechanical oscillation enhances effective flexoelectric coefficients by orders of magnitude, with the halide perovskites showing the largest coefficients.

X-ray detectors based on dual-site-doped perovskite single crystals exhibit excellent sensitivity of 2.6 × 10⁴ μC Gy_air⁻¹ cm^–2 under a low field of 1 V cm^–1. The detectable dose rate is as low as 7.09 nGy_air s^–1. The operational stability is beyond half a year.

Energy-efficient hydrogen purification technologies are needed for the hydrogen economy. Here the authors report facile and scalable fabrication of asymmetric carbon molecular sieve membranes for the separation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

While solar-to-fuel conversion offers a promising technology to produce energy, device components can limit light absorption and reduce performances. Here, authors show copper thiocyanate to assist hole transport in photoelectrodes and enable a 4.55% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency in tandem devices.

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies of 3,414 brain imaging phenotypes in Chinese Han and white British participants identify autosomal and X-chromosomal associations in more diverse populations.

The generation of hydrogen fuel from water and visible light requires photoelectrodes that are inexpensive, stable and highly active. Now, Luo, Grätzel and co-workers report Cu₂O photocathodes that reach these goals. Incorporation into an unassisted solar water splitting device gives ~3% solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses in populations of East Asian and European ancestries identify variant–trait associations for 44 hippocampal traits and provide insight into the genetic architectures of hippocampal and subfield volumes.

Bacteria expressing a plant siRNA-binding protein produce potent, specific and nonimmunogenic siRNAs capable of knocking down target genes in mammalian cells.