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A new artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek-R1, is introduced, demonstrating that the reasoning abilities of large language models can be incentivized through pure reinforcement learning, removing the need for human-annotated demonstrations.

The authors report suspended Lamb-wave resonators using sub-100 nm ultrathin lithium niobate, achieving resonant frequencies of nearly 220 GHz-doubling prior records and holding exciting prospects for terahertz nanomechanics.

Native crystallographic defects are often introduced during synthesis of battery materials, but has been overlooked. Here, using in situ synchrotron X-ray probes and electron microscopy, the authors have revealed their adverse effect during battery operation.

Ferromagnetic systems produced by the transition metal doping of semiconductors may be used as components of spintronic devices. Here, a new ferromagnet, Li_1+y(Zn_1-xMn_x)As, is prepared in bulk quantities and shown to have a critical temperature approaching 50 K.

This study presents a generative artificial intelligence approach for the high-throughput discovery of antimicrobials against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Battery recyclability presents a sustainability challenge in materials design. Now it has been shown that aramid amphiphile self-assembly yields solid-state electrolytes with fast ion conductivity and electrochemical stability, which disassemble to the monomeric state upon solvent exposure, enabling inherently recyclable, molecularly engineered battery designs.

The calorimetric determination of enthalpies of mixing in multi-component molten salt systems often relies on empirical models that lack physically interpretable parameters. Here, the authors use the molecular interaction volume model (MIVM) to integrate experimentally measured enthalpies and solvation structures from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to extrapolate excess Gibbs energy and determine the compositional dependence of La³⁺ activity in the LaCl₃-(LiCl-KCl) system.

Layered positive electrode materials inevitably face air exposure during manufacturing. Here, authors show that single-crystalline Ni-rich layered oxides suffer greater performance degradation upon air exposure due to the defects and strain caused by surface lattice distortion and phase transition.

A combination of adenovirus-vectored and subunit protein intranasal vaccine enhances immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants in animal models and humans.

A miniaturized and low-power-consumption system is designed to allow the accurate sensing and wireless transmission of internal temperature and strain signals inside lithium-ion batteries with negligible influence on their performance, improving their safety.

Zinc-ion batteries face challenges like dendrite formation, limiting their performance. Here, authors reveal that high-current deposition forms (002) textured Zn, enhancing cycling life, and propose guidelines for optimizing battery cycling protocols based on advanced in situ XRD analysis.

Ancient genomes from Neolithic rice-farming populations at Baligang reveal a demographic shift around 4,200 years ago and a 5,000-year-old patrilineal social structure, providing insights into the population history of East Asia.

NV center-based quantum sensors integrated into diamond anvil cells have enabled magnetic imaging under high pressure but are less suited for studying magnetic van der Waals materials. Here, the authors demonstrate magnetic imaging of micrometer-sized flakes of 1T-CrTe2 under high pressure using spin-centers in a thin hBN layer.

Safe lithium-ion batteries require stable electrolytes with high chemical resistance and high thermal tolerance. Chen et al. find a solid lithium-salt electrolyte that is able to give rise to a prolonged battery life and a delayed decomposition of battery cathodes.

Coastal settlement retreat reflects human behavioural adaptation to increasing coastal climate hazards. Using night-time light data over 1992–2019, this study finds that over half of global coastal settlements have retreated, driven by insufficient infrastructure protection and adaptive capacity.

This work employs nano- to microscale characterization to identify different structural change pathways associated with non-homogeneous reactions within the particles, and explores differences in the failure mechanisms of lithium-rich transition metal oxide materials at different current densities.

Mellor et al. report that deficiency of GABARAPL1, an ATG8-specific linking protein, impairs diastolic function in diabetic mice. This effect can be reversed by gene delivery of the gene encoding GABARAPL1 in diabetic mice and a human organoid model of type 2 diabetes.

Ion exchange is a powerful method to access metastable materials for energy storage, but identifying lithium and sodium interchange in layered oxides remains challenging. Using such model materials, vacancy level and corresponding lithium preference are shown to be crucial for ion exchange pathway accessibility.

An ex vivo model and pre-clinical study in a brain-dead recipient provide enzyme-converted O organs to avoid hyperacute rejection in ABO-incompatible kidney transplant patients.

The understanding of the reemergence of pressure induced superconductivity in alkali-metal intercalated FeSe is hampered by sample complexities. Here, Sun et al. report the electronic properties of (Li_1–xFe _x )OHFe_1–ySe single crystal not only in the reemerged superconducting state but also in the normal state.

Using extended-gate capacitive coupling and diode connection, stretchable biosensors with a built-in differential circuit design can be created that can offer low signal distortion under bias stress instability, uniaxial strain, compression and temperature variations.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

The Einstein Probe has discovered a fast X-ray transient, EP240414a, associated with a broad-lined type Ic supernova. Its unusually soft spectrum and weak jet add to the diversity of stellar deaths and suggest a previously unknown Wolf–Rayet star explosion mechanism.

The interfaces in perovskite solar cells are critical to the device performance. Li et al. tune the bond strength of the interfacial molecule with the perovskite and the electron transport layer, increasing the power conversion efficiency of the cells.

Cryogenic electron microscopy structures and functional analyses reveal that NCLX functions as a H⁺/Ca²⁺ rather than a Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger, and uncover its transport mechanism with implications for therapies treating cardiac and neurodegenerative disorders related to abnormal mitochondrial Ca²⁺.

The quark structure of the f₀(980) hadron is still unknown after 50 years of its discovery. Here, the CMS Collaboration reports a measurement of the elliptic flow of the f₀(980) state in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 8.16 TeV, providing strong evidence that the state is an ordinary meson.

A vanadium-based lithium-rich disordered rock salt oxide is shown to work as a low-potential anode with rapid intercalation kinetics for lithium-ion batteries.

The high energy densities of Li-rich cathodes are promising for Li-ion batteries, but voltage hysteresis limits their practical implementation. Voltage hysteresis is shown to be related to collective migration of metal ions, and isolating migration leads to high-capacity reversible cathodes.

Red light- or ultrasound-controlled proximity labelling is engineered to stimulate clustering-induced receptor activation and downstream signalling amplification to promote antitumour immune responses.

The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based materials remains not fully understood. Here, the authors report on ARPES measurements on an FeSe-based bulk superconductor, whose electronic properties are found to be similar to those of single-layer FeSe/STO films.

The hydrovoltaic effect offers a promising route for ion sensing but is limited by a long response time. Here, the authors leverage rapid ion transport within nanochannels to achieve a high voltage output of 4.0 V with a response time of just 0.17 s.

Lithium-rich layered oxides are promising cathode materials for next-generation batteries, but they suffer from long-standing problems such as voltage decay during cycling. Here the authors analyse the root cause of voltage decay and present a structure engineering strategy to mitigate the issue for a cobalt-free, lithium-rich layered oxide.

Diffractive imaging of an important class of battery electrodes during cycling shows that lattice strain is a crucial yet overlooked factor that contributes to voltage fade over time.

Intercalation-type metal oxides are promising anodes for Li-ion batteries but suffer from low energy and power density together with cycling instability. A nanostructured rock-salt Nb₂O₅ formed via amorphous-to-crystalline transformation during cycling with Li⁺ is shown to exhibit enhanced performance.

Long-lasting oxygen catalysts are crucial for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Here, the authors report that placing tungsten atoms next to iron atoms within N₄ units creates durable Fe-N₄/W-N₄ diatomic sites, enabling a zinc-air battery to cycle reliably for more than 10,000 h.

Li-dendrite growth is an inherent problem for the application of Li-metal anodes in batteries. Here the authors coat the separator with functionalized nanocarbon with immobilized Li ions, regulating the dendrite growth direction and thereby improving the battery performance.

It is generally believed that fast Li-ion transport in batteries can only be achieved when the host material does not change much with the Li movement. Here the authors show that controlled and reversible changes in host structures upon cycling can actually be used to improve the battery kinetics.

This study introduces the Cattle Cell Atlas, a single-cell expression resource including 1,793,854 cells from 59 tissues. Integrative analyses leveraging this atlas provide insights into the biology underlying bovine monogenic and complex traits.

Through the sonochemical exfoliation of grown black phosphorus crystals, high-quality, narrow and clean black phosphorus nanoribbons with smooth edges and defined edge chirality are achieved, enabling the realization of high-performance transistors and photodetectors.

Mixed matrix membranes capable of breaking the permeability-selectivity trade-off suffer from the inefficient and disconnected bulky transport channels as well as low compatibility between nanomaterials and polymers. Here the authors propose an original photothermally triggered in-situ gelation approach to elaborate a nanofiber-interwoven gel membranes with tunable 3D-interconnected ultrafast transport channels for highly-selective CO₂ separation.

Enhancing the superconducting temperature is often the main driver of synthetic studies of novel superconducting materials. Now, an approach yielding an air-stable iron selenide system that superconducts up to 40 K is reported.

Olivine iron phosphate (FePO₄) is widely proposed for electrochemical lithium extraction, but particles with different physical attributes demonstrate varying Li preferences. Here, the authors characterize the electrochemical lithiation and sodiation behavior of a series of FePO₄ particles with different morphology to identify critical features that enhance Li selectivity.

Designing electrode architectures for Li-ion batteries that can be reversibly accessible for ion storage can be challenging. Using operando techniques the mechanistic origin of lithiation-induced phase transformations in a V₂O₅ model cathode is now clarified.

Analysis of samples from the asteroid Ryugu provide evidence of late fluid flow in a carbonaceous asteroid, indicating that such bodies may have retained two to three times more water than previously thought.

Earth-abundant TiO₂ is a promising negative electrode material for low-cost sodium-ion batteries. Here, authors show that ordered rocksalt NaTiO₂ nanograins are in situ formed by electrochemically cycling with Na⁺ ions in anatase TiO₂, which determines the pseudocapacitive high-rate capability.

In situ liquid-cell electrochemical transmission electron microscopy allows the direct visualization of the transformation of lithium polysulfides over electrode surfaces at the atomic scale, leading to a new energy-storage mechanism in lithium–sulfur batteries.

Facile and scalable fabrication of high-performing sulfur cathodes is challenging in the commercialization of Li–S batteries. The authors report a strategy of simply burning Li foils in a CS₂ vapour for the cathode design, which shows promising battery performance.

Diluted magnetic semiconductors are promising spintronic materials, however the simultaneous doping of charge and magnetic moment has prevented synthesis of bulk samples. This work reports the synthesis of a bulk magnetic semiconductor (Ba_1−xK_x)(Zn_1−yMn_y)₂As₂with Curie temperatures up to 180 K.

Metal-fluoride-based lithium-ion battery cathodes are typically classified as conversion materials because reconstructive phase transitions are presumed to occur upon lithiation. Metal fluoride lithiation is now shown to be dominated instead by diffusion-controlled displacement mechanisms.

A new methodology for the discovery of chalcogenides by tuning the temperature and flux ratios of systems using mixed fluxes is demonstrated, leading to the synthesis of 30 new and unreported compounds or compositions.