Search

By controlling the flow or composition of liquids, optofluidics provides numerous possibilities for devices, and so has great potential for transformation optics. Here, a multi-mode optofluidic waveguide is presented, which manipulates light to produce controllable chirped focussing and interference.

The symmetry and mechanism underlying unconventional charge orders in Kagome materials are under debate. Here, the authors uncover a longitudinal and helicity-dependent photocurrent in KV₃Sb₅ that indicates broken symmetries and intrinsic chirality.

Nano-apertures cannot distinguish between distinct spin-states of photons because of information loss upon light-aperture interaction. Here, Du et al.report a subwavelength aperture integrated with metasurfaces which breaks spin degeneracy and produces opposite transmission spectra over a broad spectral range.

Causality, the relationship between cause and effect, is a central concept in Einstein’s theory of relativity. Here, authors show that a causality analogue in energy-momentum space plays an important role in describing quasiparticle interactions in quantum matter.

Prussian blue has been used as a photothermal agent for cancer therapy. Here the authors describe the production of Prussian blue nanoparticles from S. oneidensis MR-1 bacteria and show that a Prussian blue-based mitochondria-targeting nanoplatform potentiates response to immune checkpoint blockade.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy have been used to observe intra-unit-cell nematic order and associated Fermi surface deformation in ScV₆Sn₆.

Improving piezoelectric strain and voltage constant generally compromises piezoelectric performance and mechanical softness. Here, the authors report a bond weakening strategy for organic-inorganic hybrid piezoelectrics and mitigated these issues.

There is interest in hexagonal boron nitride and hexagonal boron carbonitride in electronics applications, but synthesizing them with high quality is challenging. Here, chemical vapour deposition graphene was chemically converted to hexagonal boron nitride and hexagonal boron carbonitride with both high on-off ratios and mobilities.

The interaction of biomolecules with ionizing radiation induces structural changes which are still largely unknown. The authors use femtosecond wave packet spectroscopy to observe ultrafast structural dynamics that follow the photodetachment of phenoxide in aqueous solution.

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.

One challenge for spin-based electronics is the controlled and reliable switching of magnetization without magnetic fields. Here, Liu et al investigate a variety of compositions of CoPt, and determine the specific composition to maximize switching performance, potentially simplifying device design.

The scarcity and high price of noble metal catalysts pose critical challenges for the chemical industry, and finding strategies that ensure complete atom efficiency has become a pivotal endeavour. This work introduces the fabrication of amorphous single-layer PtSe_x catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction with high atom-utilization efficiency.

Timothy Frayling, Joel Hirschhorn, Peter Visscher and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for adult height in 253,288 individuals. They identify 697 variants in 423 loci significantly associated with adult height and find that these variants cluster in pathways involved in growth and together explain one-fifth of the heritability for this trait.

Here the authors report the first experimental observation of topological antichiral surface states by constructing a three-dimensional modified Haldane model in a magnetic Weyl photonic crystal.

Optical trapping is a versatile tool for biomedical applications. Here, the authors use an optofluidic lattice to achieve controllable multi-particle hopping and demonstrate single-bacteria-level screening and measurement of binding efficiency of biological binding agents through particle-enabled bacteria hopping.

Social memory integrates past experiences into social interactions by distinguishing familiar from novel conspecifics. In this study, the authors delineated a role of the cerebellum in organizing the neural matrix required for social memory.

Two-dimensional magnets with intrinsic ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic ordering are highly desirable for future spintronic devices. Here, the authors demonstrate a chemical vapor deposition approach to controllably grow ultrathin FeTe crystals with antiferromagnetic tetragonal and ferromagnetic hexagonal phase, showing a thickness-dependent magnetic transition.

Crystals with multiple structures often perform special functions in nature, inspiring the creation of synthetic analogues. Here, the authors subject polyhedral nanoparticles to two self-assembly micro-environments to realize supercrystals with dual structures, in which the order of the surface layer differs from the bulk structure.

Heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer high atom utilization and well-defined active sites but face challenges in multi-stage cross-couplings due to limited coordination and reactivity. Here, the authors introduce SACs on reducible carriers, enabling adaptive coordination to bypass oxidative addition in cross-couplings.

Fracture behaviours in multilayer h-BN, involving interlayer-friction toughening and edge-reconstruction embrittlement, are identified through in situ experiments and theoretical analyses.

A bioresorbable, wireless hydrogel (metagel) sensor, encompassing both biodegradable and stimulus-responsive hydrogels for ultrasonic monitoring of intracranial signals, was implanted into intracranial space with a puncture needle and deformed in response to physiological environmental changes.

Shape morphing offers a promising method to transform 2D electronics into 3D structured devices. Here authors show a shape morphing strategy of homogeneous inert plastic thin films into free-standing 3D frameworks by programming the plastic strain in films under peeling.

Using whole-exome sequencing followed by in vitro enzymatic assays, Chew, Liu, Li, Chung et al. identified rare protein-coding variants in GBA1 and SMPD1 that significantly associate with risk of Parkinson’s disease across cohorts of Asian descent.

Ferroelectric RAM is considered a promising candidate on the quest for a universal memory, but the concept is still problem prone. Here, the authors use the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect as a non-destructive read-out method for a new prototype memory, which shows good data retention and fatigue resistance.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

By using a photonic synthetic lattice, it can be experimentally demonstrated that Dirac masses can be induced by means of non-Hermitian perturbations based on optical gain and loss.

Water oxidation to triplet oxygen requires a spin polarization process for faster kinetics. Here, the authors show an interface spin pinning effect between ferromagnetic oxides and reconstructed oxyhydroxide surface layer, where the spin ordering in paramagnetic oxyhydroxide catalyst layer can be tuned to improve the intrinsic activity.

Cherenkov detectors are used to detect high energy particles and their performance capabilities depend heavily on the material used. Here, the authors propose use of a Brewster-optics-based angular filter for a detector with increased sensitivity and particle identification capability.

High-performance n-type molybdenum disulfide and p-type tungsten diselenide field-effect transistors can be fabricated using single-crystal strontium titanate dielectrics that are transferred onto two-dimensional semiconductors with the help of van der Waals forces.

Inbreeding depression has been observed in many different species, but in humans a systematic analysis has been difficult so far. Here, analysing more than 1.3 million individuals, the authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested.

Demonstrating the complete defluorination of PFAS confirms PFAS mineralization and mitigated risk. The design of a UV/sulfite–electrochemical oxidation process achieved complete defluorination of various PFAS and removal of organics in aqueous film-forming foam.

In a prespecified interim analysis of the phase 3 trial GEMSTONE-304, anti-PD-L1 with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone led to significantly prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Noble metals typically crystallize with the face-centered cubic structure. Here, the authors report the synthesis of gold nanoribbons in the 4H hexagonal polytype, a previously unreported, metastable phase of gold, and use it to stabilize 4H hexagonal phases of silver, palladium and platinum.

Single-crystal monolayer hexagonal boron nitride is unexpectedly tough owing to its asymmetric lattice structure, which facilitates repeated crack deflection, crack branching and edge swapping, enhancing energy dissipation.

Pollen is an abundant material; but, currently has limited applications. Here, the authors turn pollen grains into soft microgel by de-esterification of pectin molecules and explore the mechanical and structural changes of the pollen grains using physical and modelling approaches.

High-entropy alloys are promising electrocatalysts for multistep and tandem reactions, yet its mechanism remains unclear. Here, the authors address this challenge by using in-situ XAS to reveal the multi-site hydrogen evolution mechanisms on high-entropy metallenes in wide pH electrolytes.

Accomplishing complex cognitive tasks such as speech recognition calls for artificial intelligence hardware with high computing precision. John et al. propose deep recurrent neural networks based on optoelectronic transition metal dichalcogenide memristors with high weight precision for in-memory computing.

Geospatial estimates of the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age across 82 low-income and middle-income countries reveals considerable heterogeneity and inequality at national and subnational levels, with few countries on track to meet the WHO Global Nutrition Targets by 2030.

Cyborg insects combine living insects with miniature electronic controllers, offering several advantages over conventional robots. Here, the authors propose an algorithm that can navigate a swarm of cyborgs from the start to a predetermined goal in an unknown sandy terrain in the presence of obstacles and hills.

Regulated cholesterol transport is essential for the maintenance of cellular cholesterol distribution and homeostasis, but tools to monitor this process are limited. Here, the authors develop a genetically encoded cholesterol biosensor and demonstrate its use for visualising cellular cholesterol distribution in various live cells in real time.

Using normal and Josephson scanning tunnelling microscopy, chiral kagome superconductivity modulations with corresponding residual Fermi arcs are detected in KV₃Sb₅ and CsV₃Sb₅.

Bacteria can grow as free living planktonic cells or as part of surface-associated biofilms. Here the authors show, for the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, that cells recently dispersed from biofilms are physiologically different from, and more virulent than, planktonic and biofilm cells.

While the conversion of CO₂ to high-value products provides a promising means to remove and utilize atmospheric carbon, few materials can do so without wasteful, sacrificial reagents. Here, authors prepare single-atom Co on Bi₃O₄Br nanosheets as CO₂ reduction catalysts using water and light.