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Two-dimensional (2D) crystals offer exciting opportunities to study dislocations, including their migration dynamics. Here, the authors show the local strain field at the dislocation core and dislocation motion leading to grain boundary migration in a monolayer of tungsten disulphide.

Dynamic Kerr microscopy enables the tracking of the two-step melting of a magnetic skyrmion lattice from a two-dimensional solid through an intermediate hexatic regime to an isotropic liquid and provides direct insights in the occurrence and dynamics of lattice dislocations, the defects that mediate melting.

High-pressure-temperature experiments that explore the impact of carbon and silicon on the plastic deformation of hexagonal close-packed iron suggest depth-dependent elastic anisotropy in Earth’s inner core may originate from chemical stratification

Kosterlitz–Thouless–Halperin–Nelson–Young (KTHNY) theory describes the melting of an ordered two-dimensional phase to a disordered phase, via a quasi-ordered ‘hexatic’ phase. Magnetic skyrmions, as a phase of two-dimensional quasi-particles may be expected to exhibit a KTHNY melting process, however, observing such a phase transition is difficult. Herein, Meisenheimer et al study the formation of magnetic skyrmions in (Fe_0.5Co_0.5)₅GeTe₂, and, via physical confinement at device scale, succeed in obtaining an ordered skrymion phase.

Designing soft magnets with yield strengths exceeding one gigapascal while remaining ductile to prevent irreversible deformation for safe and efficient operation is challenging. The authors address this challenge by employing a nanostructuring strategy with morphologically anisotropic precipitates.

In materials science, it is a well-accepted fact that metals are generally ductile, and ceramics are always brittle. Here, the authors observe high level of plasticity and excellent elasticity in perovskite oxide under compression and bending with diameter of 2.1 μm.

Atomic electron tomography is used to determine the 3D atomic positions and chemical species of medium- and high-entropy alloy nanoparticles and quantitatively characterize the local lattice distortion, strain tensor, twin boundaries, dislocation cores and chemical short-range order.

Metallic microsamples deform in a sequence of abrupt strain bursts. Here, the authors demonstrate by analysing the elastic waves emitted by these bursts that this intermittent process resembles earthquakes in several aspects, although on completely different spatial and temporal scales.

Water use in river basins is an age-old resource-management question, but it is rare to quantify consumption by specific sectors. The Colorado River is being overused for beef and dairy production, endangering the entire river ecosystem.

The metastable state with a complex domain structure in 1T-TaS₂ has been intensively studied. Using a multi-tip scanning tunnelling microscope, Mraz et al. reveal the microscopic dynamics of the current-pulse-induced metastable state and interpret it in terms of transport in a doped Wigner crystal lattice.

The strength in BCC high-entropy alloys is associated with the type of mobile dislocations. Here the authors demonstrate by means of an ample array of experimental techniques that edge dislocations can control the strength of BCC high-entropy alloys.

Recent numerical simulations indicate that well-defined topological defects arise in the dynamics of glasses. Here, the authors report the presence of topological defects in the vibrational eigenspace of an experimental two-dimensional colloidal glass.

DNA polymerases contain two cysteine-rich metal binding motifs (CysA and CysB), which have been assigned as zinc-ion binding sites by structural studies. A combination of biochemical and spectroscopic techniques reveal that the CysB site of yeast B-family polymerases binds a [4Fe-4S] cluster that is essential for polymerase function.

Lattice reconstruction in twisted transition metal dichalcogenides manifest in intrinsic asymmetry of electronic wavefunctions for 3R homo-bilayers and strong piezoelectric textures in 2H homo-bilayers.

Ceramics are very brittle and hard to be plastically deformed. Here, the authors report a unit-cell scale disturbance mechanism to improve the deformation ability of ceramics and ultimately achieve large mechanical property enhancement.

A fundamental understanding of fatigue-failure mechanisms is key to develop robust structural materials. Here the authors report a high entropy alloy with enhanced fatigue life by ductile transformable multicomponent B2 precipitates, as revealed by combined experimental and simulation methods.

Contamination of 2D materials adversely impacts device performance and calls for cleaning methods down to the atomic scale and over large areas. Here, the authors present a site-specific mechanical cleaning approach capable of cleaning both sides of suspended 2D membranes and achieving atomically clean areas of several μm² within minutes.

The mechanical properties of nanoporous gold are tied to their topology and surface morphology. Here, a correlative and scale-bridging approach, combining non-destructive 3D tomography, mechanical testing and experimentally-informed modelling, reveals the origins of the size dependent deformation mechanisms.

An iron–cobalt–nickel–tantalum–aluminium multicomponent alloy with ferromagnetic matrix and paramagnetic coherent nanoparticles is described, showing high tensile strength and ductility, along with very low coercivity.

Strategies to change meat consumption patterns remain poorly understood. Using decomposition analysis, this study shows that the decline in UK meat consumption is driven by the consumption of smaller portions of meat, followed by reducing the number of days and occasions on which meat is consumed.

Lasing is experimentally demonstrated in a direct bandgap GeSn alloy, grown directly onto Si(001). The authors observe a clear lasing threshold as well as linewidth narrowing at low temperatures.

An analogue of nano-indentation performed on a colloidal crystal provides direct images of defect formation in real time and on the single-particle level — allowing investigation of the effects of thermal fluctuations.

As lamellar materials, smectics exhibit both liquid and solid characteristics, making them difficult to model at the mesoscale. Paget et al. propose a complex tensor order parameter that reflects the smectic symmetries, capable of describing complex defects including dislocations and disclinations.

Nonlinear stresses surrounding defect cores in three-dimensional colloidal crystals are experimentally determined at the single-particle level.

Commercial high-strength Al alloys often suffer from cracking during additive manufacturing. Here, the authors present an additively manufactured, a strong and plastically deformable Al alloy with heterogeneous nanoscale intermetallics.

Nanocrystalline metals are ultra-strong because of the large fraction of material at the grain boundaries, but this also leads to instability under applied loads. Here, the authors deepen our understanding of this by linking stress-driven motion of grain boundaries to grain boundary chemistry.

Packing nanoparticles into ordered superstructures finds applications in photonic materials, but fabrication over large scales is challenging. Zhao et al. show a roll-to-roll approach to prepare flexible films of ordered polymer nanoparticles via an oscillatory shear-induced structural transition.

Cryo-EM structures and functional analyses of wild-type and constitutively active Mec1–Ddc2 complexes reveal the basis of Mec1 kinase activation and how Dpb11 stimulates Mec1 activity.

The crystal structure of human replication and transcription cofactor PC4_CTD reveals a dimer with two single-stranded (ss)DNA binding channels running in opposite directions to each other. This arrangement suggests a role in establishment or maintenance of melted DMA at promoters or origins of replication.

In the absence of RNase H2, ribonucleotides incorporated during DNA replication can be processed by Top1. This activity is directed to the nascent leading strand, because gaps in the lagging strand would limit torsional tension.

High-resolution kinetic analysis and enzyme trapping assays reveal how PCNA coordinates 5′-flap generation and processing by Pol δ and FEN1 during Okazaki-fragment maturation.

This paper explores how non-random patterns in the strengths of the interactions between predators and prey are related to stability in naturally assembling communities.

Van der Waals epitaxy provides numerous opportunities for materials integration in heterostructures. This Primer provides an overview of methodologies for producing van der Waals heterostructures, focusing on top-down assembly and bottom-up synthesis, and discusses future opportunities for their continued development.

Refractory high-entropy alloys are attractive for high-temperature applications, but are challenging to process. Here, a method is shown for identifying a processing window that allows the additive manufacturing of a TiZrNbTa refractory alloy with a low defect content and mechanical properties comparable to as-cast samples.

A complex relationship exists between microstructure development and stress field during tribological loading of a metal. Here, twinning in a high-entropy alloy is used as a model system to understand stress fields during tribological experiments, supported by molecular dynamics simulations.

High-coverage sequencing of 79 (wild and captive) individuals representing all six non-human great ape species has identified over 88 million single nucleotide polymorphisms providing insight into ape genetic variation and evolutionary history and enabling comparison with human genetic diversity.

Nature Biotechnology asks a selection of researchers about the most exciting frontier in their field and the most needed technologies for advancing knowledge and applications.