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Monolayer amorphous carbon (a-C) has attracted attention due to its structural and electronic properties, but its synthesis has so far required the use of metal substrates. Here, the authors report the Te-assisted growth of large-scale 2D a-C patterns on various insulating substrates, confirming their insulating properties in quantum tunnelling devices.

The conventional nanoparticle morphology in high-entropy alloys confines most active atoms to the particle core, making them inaccessible. Here, two-dimensional high entropy metallenes are reported, achieving maximized atom utilization and showing great feasibility for nitrate reduction.

The development of three-dimensional (3D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with novel topologies is of both fundamental and practical interest but the construction of highly crystalline 3D COF remains challenging. Here, the authors report highly crystalline 3D COFs with pto and mhq-z topologies by rationally selecting rectangular-planar and trigonal-planar building blocks with appropriate conformational strains.

The interaction between the host immune response and the component organisms forming the microbiota is critical during homeostatic but all pathological contexts. Here the authors use a multi-omics spatial approach to dissect and characterise host and microbiome in a murine model of intestinal inflammation.

The adaptation to atomically thin 2D semiconductors and van der Waals layered ferroelectrics can enable negative capacitance transistors with superior performance and bendability. Here, the authors report flexible negative capacitance transistors based on MoS2 and a ferroelectric dielectric CIPS with a minimum sub-threshold slope of 28 mV/dec and high gain logic invertors.

The authors reveal nearly two-order magnitude of decoupling of the mean free path of the dominant electrons to that of phonons in Bi-Sb alloy, achieving an atomically homogeneous, coarse-grained sample through ultrafast quenching, enabling thermoelectric cooling down to the liquid nitrogen regime.

A strategy of on-device phase engineering of two-dimensional materials is proposed, allowing the in situ realization of various lattice phases with distinct stoichiometries and versatile functions.

A smartphone-based system, designed to induce a steady gaze in children using cartoon-like video stimuli, can identify visually impaired children across a wide range of ophthalmic disorders, based on analysis of gazing behaviors and facial features.

Succinylation of PD-L1 by carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) in melanoma leads to its degradation and enhanced T cell-dependent killing in vitro. Increasing CPT1A levels synergizes with anti-CTLA-4 treatment to suppress tumor growth in a mouse melanoma model.

The electrochemical coupling of NO₃⁻ and CO₂ to produce urea using entangled iron porphyrins embedded in three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks is reported. The spatial localization of twin iron sites overcomes the unordered transfer of intermediates, enabling carbon–nitrogen coupling.

Entacapone, a Parkinson’s disease medication, sequesters iron resulting in a selective inhibition of gut microbial activity.

Zhu et al. discover that in human brain there is widespread anatomic distribution of low-frequency somatic, mosaic L1 insertions, using deep whole-genome sequencing of neuronal and glial fractions and machine-learning analysis.

An acceptor–donor–acceptor organic semiconductor enables near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes with reduced efficiency roll-off over six orders of magnitude of excitation current density, enabling a maximum luminance of 2,000 W sr⁻¹ m⁻².

The authors report on the emergence of intercell moiré exciton complexes where, in H-stacked WS₂/WSe₂ heterobilayers, the exciton’s hole from the WSe₂ layer is surrounded by its bound electron’s wavefunction distributed among three adjacent moiré traps in the WS₂ layer exhibiting an out-of-plane dipole and in-plane quadrupole.

The performance and stability of flexible perovskite solar cells are limited by the fragile grain boundaries in perovskite films. Here, authors achieve in-situ bifacial capping to flatten the grain boundary grooves and demonstrate stable flexible inverted devices with maximum efficiency of 23.7%.

Promoting solid ion-diffusion is essential for fast-charging battery. Here, authors present near-barrier-free ion dynamics in an amorphous organic-hybrid vanadium oxide-based zinc ion battery and developed Ah-level fast-charging pouch cell.

Fine particulate matter has been linked to acute coronary syndrome, but the key constituents remain unclear. Here, the authors show that organic matter and black carbon have the largest effects on acute coronary syndrome onset, and contributed most to the joint impacts.

Graphdiyne membranes with an extended two-dimensional network structure and ordered one-dimensional channels achieve an ultra-high water/NaCl selectivity and superior salt rejection.

The authors demonstrate a chemopiezoelectric effect in which the displacive migration of oxygen vacancies driven by an electric field induces a large strain in the surface layer of thin (K,Na)NbO₃ ceramics. They achieve an electrostrain of 1.9% under a field of −3 kV mm⁻¹, with thermal stability up to 200 °C.

Morphology of organic thin film, including the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, plays a crucial role in determining the performance of organic solar cells, yet the characterisation is challenging for the out-of-plane direction. Here, the authors use GTSAXS to uncover the nanomorphology in this dimension, and show how it affects exciton dissociation and charge transfer.

Hybrid perovskites are highly promising for photovoltaic applications, but they are prone to decomposition. Here, the authors probe the stability of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ films in a transmission electron microscope, defining the threshold conditions to avoid damage under the electron beam, and describing a decomposition pathway.

Smart membranes with responsive wettability show promise for controllably separating oil/water mixtures but it remains challenging to fabricate responsive and stable scalable membranes. Here, the authors develop a capillary force-driven self-assembling strategy to construct a scalable and stable CO2-responsive membrane for the smart separation of various oil/water systems.

High-resolution structures of the PSI–LHCI–LHCII supercomplex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii reveal the mechanism of assembly between the PSI–LHCI complex and two phosphorylated LHCII trimers.

The molecular mechanisms that maintain thymic epithelial cell (TEC) identity throughout life are incompletely understood. Here, the authors demonstrate that the transcription factor, Ovol2, maintains post-natal TECs by preventing their epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Cultured meat technology promises to alleviate protein shortages, but still faces many challenges. Here, the authors achieve serum-free myogenic differentiation of porcine pre-gastrulation epiblast stem cells and generate meat-like tissue via edible plant-based scaffolds without any animal compounds.

The development of methodologies to construct fast-moving, biodegradable polymeric nanomotors remains a challenge. Here, the authors present a light-propelled nanomotor by adorning the surface of bowl-shaped stomatocytes with gold nanoparticles achieving particle translocation in mammalian cells through the temporary disruption of the cell membrane.

In this study, the authors isolated and characterized neutralizing antibodies from vaccinated individuals with SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 breakthrough infection and show that elite antibodies derived from specific germlines provide potent pan-variant neutralization capacity and in vivo protection.

An “all-in-one” high-entropy semiconductor photocatalyst enables the photocatalytic production of H₂O₂ from H₂O and O₂ under visible light without any external cocatalysts or sacrificial agents

Copy number variants in the human genome (CNVs) are associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Here the authors investigate how  the large deletion CNV on chromosome 22q11.2 alters chromatin organization.

Tan et al. identify a regulatory network between colonic EECs and the gut microbiota that controls l-glutamic acid production, appetite and body weight in mice.

Glaciers, especially the small/local ones, are rapidly melting and disappearing due to their heightened sensitivity to climate change. A holistic understanding of the key criteria and fundamental challenges in developing materials for local glacier conservation is urgently needed, coupled with a call for interdisciplinary collaboration to effectively address the pressing issue of local glacier retreat.

Rheumatoid arthritis patients respond differently to anti-TNF treatment. Using community-based challenge, the authors show that currently available data does not reveal meaningful genetic predictors of response to anti-TNF therapy, thus confirming clinical observations.

Genetic, biochemical and high-resolution structural studies of chloroplast protein SOQ1 reveal the existence of a C-terminal lumenal domain with potential redox function and its essential role for suppressing photoprotection in plants.

Few-nanometre-thick flakes of trigonal and monoclinic Cr₅Te₈ can be grown using chemical vapour deposition, with the monoclinic phase exhibiting an anomalous Hall conductivity of 650 Ω^–1 cm^–1 and anomalous Hall angle of 5%.

Large strain gradient is crucial for flexoelectricity. Here, the authors reveal the generality and tunability of large strain gradients at grain boundaries in oxides, explaining the possible effects on the electrical activities of ceramics.

The response of soil organic carbon to climate warming may be soil depth-dependent, but remains unquantified in situ. Here the authors show that warming induces more proportional soil carbon losses in topsoil than in subsoil, particularly from high-latitudinal carbon-rich soils.

The authors develop overtone photothermal microscopy that leverages a pump-probe detection of second overtone vibrations within the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) window. This technique complements existing large-scale SWIR imaging approaches, offering enhanced resolution and sensitivity for bioimaging applications.

Shortwave infrared photothermal microscopy enables chemical imaging at millimetre depths with a micrometre spatial resolution in tissue-mimicking phantoms, intact tumour spheroids and various biological tissues.

In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, multiple units of light-harvesting complex I bind to the photosystem-I core, forming larger antennae than in plants. The structure, solved by cryo-electron microscopy, reveals details of antenna organization and functioning.

NAD(P)H dehydrogenase-like complex NDH-1L couples the electron transport from ferredoxin (Fd) to plastoquinone (PQ) and proton pumping from cytoplasm to the lumen. Here authors report two structures of NDH-1L from Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1, in complex with one Fd and an endogenous PQ, respectively.