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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.

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.

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.

Electrochemical hydrogenation drives a reversible conductor–insulator transition in graphene. Authors show that it is 10⁶× faster than other methods and tunable by isotope effects and lattice corrugations, enabling ionic control of 2D electronics.

Rechargeable Na/Cl₂ and Li/Cl₂ batteries are produced with a microporous carbon positive electrode, aluminium chloride in thionyl chloride as the electrolyte, and either sodium or lithium as the negative electrode.

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.

Li-In alloys are widely used as reference materials in the research field of solid-state lithium-based batteries. Here, the authors report and discuss the instability of Li-In electrodes towards sulfide solid electrolytes in all-solid-state batteries.

It is challenging to decipher electrochemical processes, especially at the molecular scale, inside a working battery. Here Tarascon and colleagues develop a technique that pairs optical fibre sensors with operando infrared spectroscopy to reveal the dynamic mechanisms of key processes in commercial Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

Here, Chen et al. develop an injectable hydrogel that induces innate immune memory against reinfection and promotes bone repair in osteomyelitis, offering a biomaterial-based immunomodulatory strategy for refractory bone infections.

CDK4/6 inhibitors are promising treatments for ER+ breast cancer, however resistance remains a challenge. Here, the authors analyse the NeoPalANA cohort and indicate that a 33 gene signature was predictive of response to neoadjuvant anastrozole and palbociclib.

The shuttling effect in Li–S batteries can be drastically suppressed by using a single-atom Co catalyst and polar ZnS nanoparticles embedded in a macroporous conductive matrix as a cathode. Using this strategy, Li–S pouch cells show stable cycling and high energy performances.

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.

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.

Stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) is heavily investigated due to its role in improving lithium metal batteries. Here, the authors present a new strategy by employing electrolyte additives to construct stable multifunctional SEI via in situ anionic polymerization.

Vanadium pentoxide is considered a promising lithium battery electrode, but suffers from poor rate capability and cyclability. Here, the authors synthesize graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide and show significant improvement in rate performance and cycle life.

Zinc batteries are receiving growing attention due to their sustainability merits not shared by lithium-ion technologies. Here the aqueous electrolyte design features unique solvation structures that render Zn–air pouch cell excellent cycling stability in a wide temperature range from −60 to 80 °C.

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.

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.

Mechanical degradation is an undesired behaviour for battery electrode materials such as lithiated silicon. Here, the authors performin situnanomechanical experiments and atomistic modelling to reveal the damage tolerance of electrochemically lithiated silicon.

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.

Van der Waals materials of the MB₂T₄ family (M = transition metal or rare-earth metal, B = Bi or Sb, T = Te, Se, or S) have attracted interest for their magnetic and topological properties, but their direct synthesis into 2D form remains challenging. Here the authors report a flux-assisted, phase-controlled growth strategy to directly grow six magnetic 2D MB₂T₄ crystals.

High-entropy ceramics are solid solutions offering compositional flexibility and wide variety of applicability. High-entropy concepts are shown to lead to substantial performance improvement in cation-disordered rocksalt-type cathodes for Li-ion batteries.

Stabilizing lithium anodes has been a crucial yet challenging task in developing high-energy batteries. Here the authors design two simple steps of spontaneous reactions to achieve a porous lithium electrode with a composite protective layer, enabling high-loading Li-S batteries with excellent cyclability.

Semi-metallic single crystals of antimony can be deposited using molecular beam epitaxy on molybdenum disulfide to create ohmic contacts with resistance of under 100 Ω µm at a contact length of 18 nm.

The decomposition of solid state electrolyte material has been well-known in the literature. Here the authors report that the same decomposition process can be leveraged to act as a source of redox mediator that is only activated at certain voltages for application in Li₂S based cathodes.

In Li-ion batteries, single crystalline cobalt-free lithium transition metal oxides are less understood than their polycrystalline counterparts. Here, authors show that the absence of cobalt in single crystalline oxides results in structural degradation that ultimately degrades battery performance.

Metal fluorides/oxides are promising electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, but the mechanism by which they exhibit additional reversible capacity is still not well understood. By using high-resolution solid-state NMR techniques it is shown that extra capacity in this RuO₂ system is due to the generation of LiOH and its subsequent reversible reaction with Li to form Li₂O and LiH.

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.

Lithium–oxygen batteries are expected to have high-energy density, assuming that anodic lithium is fully reversible upon cycling. Shui et al. disprove this assumption by monitoring the changes of anode composition and morphology, and reveal the loss mechanism and transport paths of lithium ions.

Lithium-rich cathode materials in which manganese undergoes double redox could point the way for lithium-ion batteries to meet the capacity and energy density needs of portable electronics and electric vehicles.

The positive thermal expansion exhibited by most materials at increased temperatures is a severe issue for many high precision applications. Here, Xing and co-workers show that redox intercalation of Li ions into a ScF₃framework offers effective control of the thermal expansion for this simple material.

Photonic time crystals (PTCs) have unveiled unusual band structures and phenomena due to temporal modulation of optical properties. Here, the authors address non-Hermitian features of PTCs within a purely Hermitian Hamiltonian description, bridging classical and quantum approaches.

A mechano-intelligent transmission mechanism based on the slipknot delivers precise force signals for clinical practice and robotic operations such as minimally invasive surgery and tendon-driven robotics.

It is challenging to exploit anionic redox activity to boost performance of battery electrodes, especially for anti-fluorite structures. Here the authors report simultaneous anionic and cationic redox in Li₅FeO₄, which enables its high capacity and eliminates the undesired oxygen gas release.

Therapeutic gene editing in vivo is an ongoing challenge. Here, authors demonstrate Cas9 nickase guided DNA ligation as a nonviral method for installing permanent genomic corrections with favorable on target edit profiles in model animal cell types and adult mice.

Voltage fade is a major obstacle for the efficient use of lithium-rich layered oxide materials in batteries. Here, the authors reveal the link between voltage fade and nucleation of a mobile dislocation network in the oxide nanoparticles, offering design ideas to restore the voltage.

While solid-state batteries offer higher energy densities than liquid-based batteries, such devices require effective ion conduction pathways. Here, authors prepare porous organic cages as solution-processable catholytes that are enable excellent performances from various cathode active materials.

This study demonstrates how CO₂ directs defect control during the synthesis of Mn-rich sodium layered oxides, improving the stability and performance of earth-abundant positive electrode materials in non-aqueous sodium-based rechargeable batteries.

Layered oxide cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries often experience irreversible phase transitions and structural instability. Now researchers have developed a P2-type oxide containing earth-abundant elements, featuring an intergrowth phase structure that enables long-cycle, high-energy sodium-ion batteries.

In this study, the heterodimeric GABA_B receptor, a class C G protein-coupled receptor for the neurotransmitter GABA, is found to be allosterically activated by mechanical forces in a GABA independent manner through a direct interaction with integrin.

Micrometre-sized particles of two niobium tungsten oxides have high volumetric capacities and rate performances, enabled by very high lithium-ion diffusion coefficients.

Water is believed to undermine the performance of aprotic lithium–air batteries. However, the authors here disclose different battery chemistry, showing that both lithium ions and protons are involved in the battery reactions in the presence of water, leading to an unprecedented dynamic product.

Asexual-to-sexual switching underpins malaria transmission. Prajapati et al. identify an AP2-G loss-of function mutation and use it as a genetic tool to show that GDV1 is essential for initial ap2-g activation and sexual commitment initiation.

To unlock the potential of Mn-based cathode materials, the fast capacity fading process has to be first understood. Here the authors utilize advanced characterization techniques to look at a spinel LiMn₂O₄ system, revealing that a combination of irreversible structural transformations and Mn dissolution takes responsibility.

Preparing two-dimensional heterolayers by vertically stacking chemically different layers with multiple anions remains challenging. Now, a general approach for the synthesis of heterolayered oxychalcogenides using molten hydroxides as unconventional solutions for the rapid stacking of oxide and chalcogenide layers with precise composition control is demonstrated.

The extent to which in-vitro cellular experiments are effective models for complex biology underlying human phenotypes is often unclear. Here the authors propose and implement a framework using gene perturbation data to evaluate in-vitro models.

There is an intensive search for high-performance cathode materials for rechargeable batteries. Here the authors report that oxyfluorides with partial spinel-like cation order, made from earth-abundant elements, display both exceptionally high energy and power.

It can be challenging for conventional electrochemical measurements to distinguish different types of charge storage mechanisms in electrochemical systems. Here the authors develop an in situ ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy approach as a powerful and affordable tool for this purpose.