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Integrating CO₂ capture and electrochemical conversion avoids the thermal release of CO₂ and thus could potentially lower the energy needed to make useful products from CO₂, but choosing optimal system components is still challenging. Here the authors use piperazine alongside a nickel catalyst for capture and achieve high energy efficiency and stable CO production.

DNA transactions promote torsional constraints that pose inherent risks to genome integrity. Here the authors identify the macro-histone splice variant macroH2A1.1 as an epigenetic modulator of topoisomerase 1-associated genome maintenance. MacroH2A1.1 expression determines sensitivity to TOP1 poisons and may present a cancer vulnerability.

Two types of amyloid-β protein (1–42) (Aβ₄₂) fibrils are known to form in the insoluble fraction of diseased human brains. Now, another type of Aβ₄₂ fibril (type III) has been identified in the soluble fraction of Alzheimer’s disease brain using cryo-electron microscopy. These studies also reveal differences in ligand–fibril interactions between fibril types.

Biological structures such as the backs of beetles and spider silk have fog-collecting properties. Here, clusters of conical spines and trichomes on the stem of the cactus O. microdasysare found to be responsible for its fog-collecting abilities.

Tracing cellular changes in complex biological systems is challenging. Here, authors present a flexible framework that integrates multi-sample data with in-house algorithms to infer comparative and spatiotemporal cell-gene patterns, advancing understanding of cellular dynamics.

Ancient DNA can reveal evolutionary and demographic history of a region. Here, the authors analyze ancient human DNA from ShanDong, China to reveal two waves of gene flow from Yellow River populations in the DaWenKou (6-4 kBP) and early dynastic (3.5-1.5 kBP) periods.

The authors present a Mn incorporation strategy to enhance the stability of PdH_x metallenes by locking interstitial H atoms via strong electronic interactions in the immiscible alloy, resulting in an improved alkaline oxygen reduction reaction activity and stability at working temperature around 353 K.

Digital twins can be used to support planetary operations and analysis. Here, the authors show tri-aspect characterization of lunar far side regolith and investigate the origin of a fin-shaped rock via digital twin of Yutu-2 rover.

The mechanisms underlying optimal transcriptional activation remain elusive. Here, the authors show that CRISPR-SunTag activators form liquid-like droplets and boost gene expression, while increased SunTag scaffolds creates solid-like condensates that sequester coactivators, impairing activation.

Synthetic Chromosome Rearrangement and Modification by LoxP-mediated Evolution (SCRaMbLE) is a promising tool to study genomic rearrangements. Here the authors present an engineered yeast strain with 83 sparsely distributed loxPsym sites across the genome can genrerate large-scale genomic rearrangements, which benefits cell fitness under stress and boosts the SCRaMbLE system when combined with synthetic chromosomes.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the left arm of chromosome XII only requires 12 genes to maintain cell viability, whereas 25 genes are needed for robust fitness. Here the authors demonstrate that the entire arm can be replaced by a neochromosome with completely artificial sequences.

Ancient DNA, stable isotopes and other archaeological methods establish that humans were living at extremely high elevation on the Tibetan Plateau 4,400 years ago, maintaining sedentary lifestyles that combined fishing, hunting and crop exchange.

The perpendicular Néel order in a collinear antiferromagnetic insulator—chromium oxide—can be switched by 180° via the spin–orbit torque with a low current density of 5.8 × 10⁶ A cm⁻² and read out via the anomalous Hall effect.

The authors resolved large scale fresh and recirculated submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and their associated nutrient fluxes in China’s coastal seas, revealing a dominant role of SGD in nutrient budgets.

In situ synchrotron X-ray tools are used to perform microstrain screening during solid-state synthesis of battery materials, leading to fewer structural defects and improved performance.

Cover crops can improve agricultural sustainability. In this meta-analysis, the authors find that a biculture of legume and non-legume cover crops is optimal and may promote multiple agroecosystem services while mitigating climate-related yield losses by 2100.

This study introduces a ChickenGTEx atlas of regulatory variants across 28 tissues and illustrates its utility in deciphering association signals for 39 complex traits in chickens.

Untargeted metabolomics reveals that 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid released from macrophages via gasdermin G pores has a key role in promoting fibroblast growth factor-dependent muscle regeneration following injury.

The CA3 region of the hippocampus is involved in spatial working memory. Here, the authors show that neurons in the left CA3 are more active in the choice phase of correct trials of spatial working memory than neurons in the right CA3, revealing lateralization of spatial working memory.

The development of tiny, soft and biocompatible batteries to power minimally invasive biomedical devices is of critical importance. Here the authors present a microscale soft rechargeable lithium-ion battery based on the lipid-supported assembly of silk hydrogel droplets that enables a variety of biomedical applications.

The power conversion efficiencies of thick-film perovskite solar cells lag behind those with nanometre film thickness. Here, the authors rule out the restrictions of carrier lifetime on device performance and reveal the critical role of lattice strain in micron-scale thick perovskite films.

Surface treatments for the passivation of defects in perovskite solar cells have a detrimental side effect that limits the maximum stability improvement.

The authors design a flexible Ag₂Se-based thermoelectric device with optimized electrode materials, structure, and selenization time, capable of various applications including rapid response to human motion signals as electronic skin.

Ion migration has a detrimental effect on the performance and stability of halide perovskite optoelectronics. Here, the authors incorporated a small dosage of high-valence neodymium cation to suppress this, with a minimal impact on the lattice microstrain.

Layered Ni-rich oxide cathodes are susceptible to challenges with surface reconstruction and strain propagation, limiting their cyclability. The authors propose a solution involving oriented attachment-driven reactions, utilizing Wadsley–Roth nanocrystals and layered oxide to induce an epitaxial entropy-assisted coating, effectively addressing these issues.

Lithium-sulfur batteries promise high energy density, but polysulfide shuttling acts as a major stumbling block toward practical development. Here, a redox-active interlayer is proposed to confine polysulfides, increase the cell capacity and improve cell cycle life.

Under service conditions of complex dynamic interference, stable dynamic mechanical properties with high energy dissipation becomes more critical but nanocomposites often exhibit a trade-off between static and dynamic mechanics. Here, the authors report a general strategy for constructing ultra-stable dynamic mechanical complex fluid nanocomposites with high energy dissipation by infusing complex fluids into the nanoconfined space.

Mimicking high-level abstraction of the brain to achieve energy advantages is a fundamental issue in neuromorphic computing. Here, the authors fabricate an asynchronous chip and demonstrate a high-accuracy neuromorphic system with power consumption of 0.7mW.

Limited tumor penetration and low cellular uptake of current nanocarriers reduce the efficacy of anticancer drugs against TNBC. Here the authors develop biomimetic head/hollow tail nanorobots and show their efficacy at remodeling the dense tumor stroma in TNBC.

Using genetically tailored protein-based nanoprobes and taking advantage of image-segmentation-based machine learning, a high-throughput assessment of vascular permeability of individual blood vessels in 32 different tumours is quantified. These insights are valuable in developing personalized anticancer nanomedicine therapeutics and strategies modulating vascular permeability to treat tumours.

Flexible pressure sensors require functional materials accounting for mechanical compliance and electrical performance simultaneously but sensor materials often suffer from limited compressibility which decreases sensitivity over a large pressure range. Here, the authors demonstrate a heterophase ionogel with shape and stiffness memory for adaptive pressure sensing

Qin et al. report that an agonistic antibody targeting the BDNF receptor TrkB promotes follicle development and oocyte maturation, and reverse ovarian deficits and infertility in aged and cyclophosphamide-induced premature ovarian failure model mice.

Orbital multiferroicity reported in pentalayer rhombohedral graphene features ferro-orbital-magnetism and ferro-valleytricity, both of which can be controlled by an electric field.

In most cases the frequency range of a damping material is adapted to a specific application. Huang et al. design a gel filled with a polymeric fluid that bypasses this problem and offers an unusually broad window over which vibrational energy is effectively dissipated.