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This work presents SCIGEN, a machine learning framework integrating geometric constraints into material generation. The framework enables the discovery of stable quantum material candidates, and the authors synthesize two predicted magnetic materials.

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 researchers showcase an exciting surface metallic Dirac-vortex cavity design with enhanced power capabilities for electrically pumped Topological Lasers in the THz spectral range.

A study examines functional human endogenous fatty acid synthase and characterizes its structural dynamics using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, providing insights into its dynamics during the fatty acid synthesis condensing cycle.

Clathrate hydrates are crystalline solids physically resembling ice, in which small molecules (typically gases) are trapped inside cages of hydrogen bonded, frozen water molecules. Here authors present the rapid formation of hydrogen clathrates by using activated carbon substrates.

Nitrogen oxides are major air pollutants; capture and abatement technologies exist but they typically involve toxic species or precious-metal catalysts. Now, a metal–organic framework has been shown to store NO₂ dimers selectively, and to separate NO₂ from other gases under wet conditions. Treatment with water in air leads to conversion of NO₂ into HNO₃—an important feedstock for fertilizer production—with full recovery of the host.

Worldwide, the number of only-child families is increasing. This research examines how growing up without siblings affects adult brain structure, function and connectivity, cognition, personality and mental health.

Benzene is a genotoxic carcinogen with no safe level of exposure. Here, by creating and decorating a structural defect in a metal–organic framework to form MIL-125-Zn, a benzene uptake of 7.63 mmol g^–1 at 1.2 mbar is observed due to binding to Zn(II) sites.

Wang et al. reveal that epigenetic changes driven by zinc finger MYND-type containing 8 promote the transition from adenocarcinoma to antiandrogen-resistant neuroendocrine prostate cancer and offer a therapeutic approach by targeting the histone reader with a small molecule.

Cross-ancestry and sex-stratified genome-wide association analyses for 21 amygdala volumetric traits in East Asian and European individuals provide insight into the genetic architectures of amygdala and subnucleus volumes.

In this prespecified analysis of the ongoing TORCHLIGHT phase 3 trial, first-line treatment with toripalimab and nab-paclitaxel in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer led to significantly longer progression-free survival in the PD-L1-positive population compared to nab-paclitaxel alone.

Socioeconomic status is multidimensional and can change over time. Xu, Lui, Ji et al. found dimension-specific, late-stage-specific and change-specific socioeconomic effects on brain, cognition, personality and emotion.

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies of 3,414 brain imaging phenotypes in Chinese Han and white British participants identify autosomal and X-chromosomal associations in more diverse populations.

TMEM63s are mechanosensitive ion channels activated by hypo-osmolality. Here, the authors determine the cryo-EM structure of mouse TMEM63C confirming its predominant monomeric state and the significance of TM0-TM6 coupling in channel activity.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) are global soil-borne parasites that damage most plants. Here, the authors show that native root-associated bacterial consortium exhibit general suppression of RKN infections by offering protective functions.

Zhong et al. show that the protein GP73 stimulates hepatic glucose production and is induced in response to infection with SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo, thus proposing a molecular mechanism underlying hyperglycemia associated with COVID-19.

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.

The partial oxidation of CH₄ to CH₃OH is challenging to perform in artificial systems due to ready over-oxidation to CO and CO₂. Here by confining mono-iron hydroxyl sites in a metal–organic framework, photo-oxidation of CH₄ to CH₃OH is achieved with high selectivity and time yield.

In this study, the authors present a virtual node graph neural network to enable the prediction of material properties with variable output dimensions. This method offers fast and accurate predictions of phonon band structures in complex solids.

Haldane topological solids usually have spin-1 chains in 3D structures. Here authors present Ni(4,4′-bipy)(ox) (NiBO), a planar MOF with Haldane topological properties and promising quantum applications, as shown by advanced techniques and quantum Monte Carlo studies.

This work focuses on clathrates, ice-like structures incorporating H₂ molecules in their cages. In bulk, pure H₂ clathrates only form in harsh conditions. Here, the formation of pure H₂ clathrate hydrate in confined space of a porous silica is demonstrated at much reduced pressures compared to the bulk H₂ clathrate.

Photo-crosslinking polymerization facilitates precise control of hydrogel formation for various applications including tissue engineering, but most existing photo-crosslinking methods fail to achieve deep-tissue penetration, especially within bone structures. Here the authors report a strategy of low-dose X-ray-activated polymerization that enables deep-tissue hydrogel formation.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses in populations of East Asian and European ancestries identify variant–trait associations for 44 hippocampal traits and provide insight into the genetic architectures of hippocampal and subfield volumes.

Our combined large-scale neuroimaging and brain transcriptome study demonstrates genetic substrates underlying cortical functional abnormalities in depression, suggesting transcriptomic decoding of regional cortical vulnerability to depression.

The development of new methodologies to convert plastics into fuels without relying on noble metal-based catalysts is desirable. Now it is shown that a layered self-pillared zeolite enables the conversion of polyethylene to gasoline with a selectivity of 99% and yields of >80% without the need to use external hydrogen.

The male-sterilems2 mutant has facilitated commercial production of wheat for over 40 years. Here, Xia et al. map Ms2and describe how a retrotransposon insertion event in the regulatory element of an orphan gene is associated with expression in anthers and development of male sterility.

Although hydrogen gas could serve as a promising future fuel, its high-capacity storage is a challenge. Now, a nanoporous magnesium borohydride framework is shown to store hydrogen as densely packed penta-dihydrogen clusters having well-defined orientations and directional interactions with the framework.

Individual antibodies identified in the blood of people triple-vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 predominantly bind spike protein and are highly effective at neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron (B.1.1.529).

Xu et al. show that satellite-measured urbanicity (living in a densely populated area) is correlated with brain volume, cortical surface area and brain network connectivity in a sample of 3,867 people from China and Europe.

Synthetic design of crystalline porous materials is important for applications such as catalysis and adsorption. Here, the authors demonstrate a platform for the development of crystalline porous materials with a variety of organic ligands and metallic clusters, and control of their gas sorption properties.

In bulk materials crystal lattices typically have a limited resistance to elastic strain, beyond which yielding and plastic deformation occur. Here, usingin situtransmission electron microscopy, a continuous elastic lattice deformation is observed in nickel nanowires, up to a strain of 34.6%.

Lignin is cheap and abundant, and potentially a major source of aromatic compounds. Here the authors show selective production of arenes via hydrodeoxygenation of lignin over Ru/Nb₂O₅, and mechanistically show the strong influence of the Nb₂O₅support on phenolic bond dissociation energies.

Some patients present with multiple lung tumours but it is unclear whether these are metastases or individual lesions. Here, the authors use genomics techniques to demonstrate in six patients that multiple tumours have individual genetic profiles and represent separate tumours.

Gaining molecular-level insight into host–guest binding interactions is fundamentally important, but experimentally challenging. Here, Schröder and co-workers study CO₂–host hydrogen bonding interactions in a pair of isostructural redox-active V^III/V^IVMOFs using neutron scattering and diffraction techniques.

The development of precious-metal-free catalysts to promote the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from biomass challenging. Here the authors report a unique core-shell structured Co@CoO catalyst which exhibits excellent performance in the hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived compounds.

In some cases, hydrogen adsorption close to its boiling temperature shows unusually high monolayer capacities, but the microscopic nature of this adsorbate phase is not well understood. Now, H₂ adsorbed on a well-ordered mesoporous silica surface has been shown to form a 2D monolayer with very short H₂···H₂ intermolecular distances and a density more than twice that of bulk-solid H_2.

Lower olefins are mainly produced from fossil resources and the methanol-to-olefins process offers a new sustainable pathway. Here, the authors show a new zeolite containing tantalum and aluminium centres which shows simultaneously high propene selectivity, catalytic activity, and stability for the synthesis of propene.

Short range atomic ordering quantification and nanoscale spatial resolution over a large area for amorphous materials is crucial for accelerating technology development but remain challenges. Here, the authors explore nanoscale heterogeneity of amorphous silicon by tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy via multiresolution manifold learning.

Separation of xylene isomers is essential for the production of a wide range of materials, but current separation methods are energy intensive. Here the authors report separation of the three xylene isomers at room temperature, via refinement of the pore size in a series of porous MOFs at sub-angstrom precision.

Brain ischemia has been associated with deficits in neural oscillations. Here in an animal model, the authors show that modulation of low-gamma oscillations using a light flicker can restore low gamma oscillations and protect ischemic neurons.

Production of olefins from biomass-derived γ-valerolactone could lead to sustainable chemical processes, but catalysts suffer from deactivation due to water. Here, a MFI-type zeolite doped with Nb(v) and Al(iii) shows >99% yield at 320 °C and catalyst stability over 180 hours.

Transition metal complexes that display slow magnetic relaxation show promise for information storage, but our mechanistic understanding of the magnetic relaxation of such compounds remains limited. Here, the authors spectroscopically and computationally characterize the strength of spin–phonon couplings, which play an important role in the relaxation process.

Metal–organic framework capture materials could reduce the environmental impact of SO₂ emissions but can have limited stability and poor reversibility. Here, a metal–organic framework with open Cu(ii) sites with fully reversible SO₂ uptake of 17.5 mmol g⁻¹ under ambient conditions is reported.

Strong metal–support interactions (SMSI) are effective in tuning the structures and catalytic performances of catalysts but limited by the poor exposure of active sites. Here, the authors develop a strategy to engineer SMSI via a reverse route, which is in favor of metal site exposure while embracing the SMSI.

Incorporating mesopores and active sites into metal-organic framework materials has proven advantageous for their catalytic application, but remains challenging to achieve. Here the authors obtain mesoporous, defect-rich metal-organic frameworks through templated electrosynthesis using ionic liquids as both electrolyte and template.