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Improved understanding of the spatial dynamics in graphite electrodes is needed to improve fast-charging protocols for Li-ion batteries. Here, authors highlight that lithiation heterogeneity leads to early lithium plating onset and find distinct relaxation behaviors at various states of charge.

Homogeneous Pt-group metal-based complexes make up the majority of C-H bond activation catalysts, but they are characterized by high cost and low abundance. Here, the authors report atomically dispersed titanium-aluminum-boron nanopowder for low-temperature catalytic activation of aliphatic C-H bonds via the element-specific cooperative mechanistic roles.

Tracking raw materials is critical for securing global supply chains, but traditional tags lack in traceability and anticounterfeiting. The authors present a DNATag-based system for secure traceability, featuring error tolerance, mobile phone readability, and robust forgery protection.

A platform based on quantum-emitter-embedded metasurfaces with a microcavity that can be tuned by a micro-electromechanical system is demonstrated, enabling dynamic photon emission with narrow bandwidth, ångström-level wavelength tunability and polarization switching.

This Review discusses the potential benefits of prehabilitative interventions in patients with and survivors of testicular cancer. Although there are few studies in the field, available data suggest a benefit of prehabilitation in improving mental health and quality of life in these patients, highlighting the need for additional research in this field.

Colloidal self-assembly at liquid interfaces has important emulsion applications, for food, household or personal care products, and drug encapsulation. Here, the authors develop a method of forming patchy heterogeneous capsules by electro-coalescence of multiple liquid drops.

This Review provides a critical assessment of current mechanistic and clinical evidence on the interaction between the gut microbiota and mental health to differentiate causative, correlative and bidirectional roles of the gut microbiota in psychiatric disorders. It highlights current priority questions and provides recommendations for the standardization of future studies.

Mechanical forces at the immunological synapse are believed to influence antigen recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR). Here the authors analyse these forces at single-molecule resolution to show that the ligand-engaged TCR of CD4+ T-cells create a stable environment with only a small fraction of TCR:pMHC complexes experiencing mechanistic forces at any given time during antigen surveillance and upon T-cell activation.

Quantum fluctuations in frustrated magnets are expected to produce unconventional emergent behaviour. Neutron spectroscopy measurements now provide evidence for emergent gauge fields in a pyrochlore spin ice.

The topological character of electrons in semimetals subtly influences their bulk properties, leading typically to weak experimental signatures. Here, Moll et al. report a distinctive anomaly in the magnetic torque upon entering quantum limit state in the Weyl semimetal NbAs, which only appears due to the presence of Weyl fermions.

Hyperactivation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is central to the pathogenesis of secretory diarrheas and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Here, authors use cryo-EM to show that inhibitor (R)-BPO-27 inhibits CFTR via pore blockade

Membrane protein ComM transiently inhibits cell division during competence development in Streptococcus pneumoniae through unclear mechanisms. Here, Juillot et al. show that ComM interacts with a putative activator of the septal peptidoglycan synthetic complex FtsW:PBP2x, leading to a reduction of speed of septal peptidoglycan synthesis during competence.

The formation of 2D perovskites in inorganic perovskite solar cells is hindered by the strong binding affinity of caesium ions. Liu et al. engineer the functional groups of a large organic cation to facilitate its exchange with caesium ions and form a stable 2D perovskite.

CAR-T cells have been found to be less effective as treatment for solid tumours. Here the authors, utilising B7H3 as an antigen, consider how changes in B7H3 binders lead to functional changes of CAR-T cells and differences in tumour outcomes in humanised mouse tumour models.

Low-pressure CO₂ capture and release in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is critical for efficient, cost-effective storage. Here, the authors present three operando methodologies (GIWAXS, QCM-D, IR) to investigate key parameters relevant for enhancing MOF performance in CO₂ capturing technologies.

Electric modulation of second harmonic generation finds applications in integrated photonics. Here, authors introduce electric field-induced second harmonic generation by polar skyrmions in PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices with giant modulation depth.

The nature of the superconductivity in the kagome metals AV₃Sb₅ (A = K, Rb, Cs) remains under debate. Here, using muon spin spectroscopy, the authors find that the superconductivity in RbV₃Sb₅ and KV₃Sb₅ evolves from nodal to nodeless with increasing pressure and the superconducting state breaks time-reversal symmetry after suppression of the charge order.

Genome-wide analyses identify 30 independent loci associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, highlighting genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders and implicating putative effector genes and cell types contributing to its etiology.

Using 1,425 UK Biobank participants, we show for the first time that morphological brain asymmetry exhibits evidence of plasticity changes throughout adulthood, which tracks individual variation ~1,000 lifestyle factors and ~4,500 disease ICD codes.

Citizen science taps the efforts of non-experts. Here, authors describe Drugit, an extension of the crowdsourcing game Foldit, and its use in designing a non-peptide binder of Von Hippel Lindau E3 ligase for use with proteolysis targeting chimeras.

The study of phase transitions in quantum ferromagnets has shown that the approach to a continuous quantum ferromagnetic transition is typically interrupted by either a tricritical point or a new magnetic phase. Here the authors show that LaCrGe₃ exhibits both these features in its phase diagram.

Climate change is expected to impact microbes degrading organic matter in northern peatlands. Here, using a warming experiment, the authors show that communities remain stable after three years of warming, likely due to metabolic versatility and an ability to obtain electron acceptors from organic matter cleavage.

Dense calcium imaging combined with co-registered high-resolution electron microscopy reconstruction of the brain of the same mouse provide a functional connectomics map of tens of thousands of neurons of a region of the primary cortex and higher visual areas.

A wearable device measures parenchymal resistance and its dynamic relationship with sleep MRI measures of glymphatic function, EEG features and cardiovascular parameters in humans.

The imaging of magnetic domains in three-dimensional solids has been hampered by a lack of suitable methods. The authors show that Talbot-Lau neutron tomography is capable of visualizing the domain structure of an iron silicide bulk crystal.

Magnetite provides a valuable record of the Earth's geomagnetic history. Here, Almeida et al. combine electron microscopy and energy-loss spectroscopy to study the effects of in situoxidation on the magnetization fidelity and crystalline phase of pseudo-single domain magnetite grains.

Magnetic vortices in thin ferromagnetic films possess a core with out-of-plane magnetization whose polarity can be manipulated by magnetic fields or currents for technological applications. Here, the authors demonstrate local control of the core polarity in NiFe films via an imprinted maze domain pattern.

Plasmonic nanostructures can be used to manipulate objects larger than the wavelength of light but create thermal heating. In this work, the trapping and controlled rotation of nanoparticles is demonstrated using a plasmonic nanotweezer with a heat sink, predicting a reduction in heating compared with previous designs.

Lunar swirls are high-albedo features on the Moon whose origins are widely debated. Using observations from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer, Glotch et al. present evidence supporting the idea that the swirls arise from abnormal space weathering caused by local magnetic field deflection of solar wind.

Here, the authors describe a tubular module connecting oxidoreductases to the membrane. This system, found in many microorganisms, reveals a distinct mode of membrane anchoring and an electron transfer mechanism involved in energy conservation.

X-ray absorption imaging is used for early breast cancer detection but can barely identify the morphology of microcalcifications—a possible indicator of cancer. Wang et al.develop a technique to non-invasively classify different types of microcalcifications and achieve 100% sensitivity on phantom data.

The kagome magnet Co₃Sn₂S₂ has complex magnetic behaviour and a topological band structure that yields a large anomalous Hall effect. Guguchia et al. find phase separation between ferro- and anti-ferromagnetic orders and that the volume-wise competition controls the anomalous Hall conductivity

In the canonical model of auditory processing, thalamocortical inputs to the primary auditory cortex initiate a hierarchical transmission to higher-order cortices. Here, authors reveal alternative auditory pathways that bypass the primary auditory cortex and directly activate higher-order cortex within <10 ms in mice, enabling parallel and distributed processing of fast sensory information across cortical areas.

An understanding of how quantum spin liquids arise in frustrated magnets at low temperatures remains elusive. Here the authors demonstrate a pressure-driven ferromagnetic transition out of a quantum spin liquid phase in the pyrochlore Yb₂Ti₂O₇, highlighting its proximity to a phase boundary.

The role of norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine (ACh) signaling in the cognitive control of impulsivity remains unclear. Here, the authors reveal that impulse control depends on phase synchrony between NE and ACh dynamics in the prefrontal cortex.

Transdisciplinary collaboration fuels innovation and discovery. Meller et al. call for broader collaboration at the intersection of genomics, the humanities and social sciences, and wider societal stakeholders, to test new ways of working across disciplines and co-develop future research agendas.

Multi-omics can be used to characterise tumour and immune cell populations. Here the authors use multi-omics to characterise CLL blood and tissue samples and use prediction models for CLL TCR specificity and implicate interactions between galectin-9 and TIM3 as involved in CLL immune escape and propose galectin-9 as a possible immunotherapy target.

Controlling supercurrent pathways in a Josephson junction can lead to new functionalities. Here, Lahabi et al. demonstrate the tailoring of two distinct supercurrent channels in a ferromagnetic disk containing a magnetic vortex.

By applying a magnetic field to an atomic vapour, it is shown that the large bandwidth of off-resonance slow-light media can be combined with the Faraday effect to realize a high-bandwidth dispersive probe for atomic systems. This will open up the possibility of probing atomic dynamics on a nanosecond timescale.

Froths and foams are complex structures, particularly those that disappear irreversibly. Superconducting froth, however, can be reversibly controlled by several external parameters, so it may help quantify froth dynamics across different systems.

Although poly(vinylidene fluoride) is a well-known organic ferroelectric, its utilization in microelectronics has been hampered by the difficulty in obtaining uniform thin films. By exploiting a high-temperature deposition approach, smooth and thin films of the ferroelectric δ-phase polymorph of this material are now obtained, showing their potential for capacitors and non-volatile memories.

With increasing river flow, sand dunes on the riverbed initially grow and eventually flatten out. However, flume experiments show that dune height distributions under high flow are bimodal, suggesting flickering between high and low dune heights.