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Although ‘random lasing’ in disordered optical media was first demonstrated a decade ago, the mechanism by which it occurs is disputed. New evidence of random lasing in conjugated polymers strongly supports the notion that it is generated within random optical cavities that naturally occur within disordered media.

Generation of orbital currents in a non-magnetic material can be useful to build efficient orbitronic devices. Now, the interplay of chiral phonons and electrons is shown to produce orbital currents in α-quartz.

A platinum(II) azido complex (complex 1) that releases platinonitrene upon X-ray exposure induces DNA damage and enhances immune checkpoint blockade outcomes via the abscopal effect.

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not deterministic. Here, the authors show that common genetic variation changes how APOE-ε4 influences cognition.

Zhang et al. examine associations between wildfire-specific PM_2.5 and emergency department visits for mental disorders in children across 845 communities in Australia, Brazil and Canada over a 15-year period.

Molecular systems featuring a spin-optical interface offer a promising platform for quantum sensing, thanks to their low-cost synthesis and tunability. Here the authors use pentacene-doped molecular crystals for pressure and temperature sensing with improved temperature and record pressure sensitivities.

The authors reveal that the ferroelectric to antiferroelectric phase transition in Pb(Zr_0.97Ti_0.03)O₃-1wt%Nb₂O₅ at low temperatures is an irreversible process exhibiting relaxation behavior and diffusional kinetics.

Global Burden of Disease estimates show that between 1990 and 2023, the prevalence and burden of drug use disorders, inclusive of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and opioid use, have been increasing in high-income countries, particularly in the USA.

Li et al. reveal projection neuron-type-specific dynamics that coordinate corticothalamic communication during reach-to-consume behavior in mice.

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.

Can a minimal model reveal quasicrystal emergence and associated multi-level hierarchies of crystal patterns? Here, the theoretical discovery of the underlying energy ground states of Hertzian quasicrystal offers a new perspective on its formation.

Plant traits drive ecosystem dynamics yet are challenging to map globally due to sparse measurements. Here, the authors combine crowdsourced biodiversity observations with Earth observation data to accurately map 31 plant traits at 1 km² resolution.

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.

The authors report the discovery of charge order with onset temperature of 800 K in the kagome superconductor YRu₃Si₂. In addition, they observe time-reversal symmetry breaking below 25 K, field-induced magnetism below 90 K and bulk multi-gap superconductivity below 3.4 K.

Here, the authors combine bioinformatic, mass spectrometric, and sequencing-based mapping tools to identify previously undescribed phosphorothioate epigenetic systems widespread in the human gut microbiome.

pH is a critical regulator of (bio)chemical processes and therefore tightly regulated in nature. Now, proteins have been shown to possess the functionality to drive pH gradients without requiring energy input or membrane enclosure but through condensation. Protein condensates can drive unique pH gradients that modulate biochemical activity in both living and artificial systems.

Hyperbolic polaritons provide unprecedented control over light-matter interaction at extreme nanoscales. Here, the authors propose type-I hyperbolic metasurfaces supporting highly-squeezed magnetic designer polaritons with negative group velocity, which are magnetic analogs of hyperbolic polaritons in hexagonal boron nitride.

Modules of foldable crystalline silicon solar cells retain their power-conversion efficiency after being subjected to bending stress or exposure to air-flow simulations of a violent storm.

In order to explore superconductivity in hydride materials, local magnetometry inside a diamond anvil cell is performed with sub-micron spatial resolution at megabar pressures using nitrogen-vacancy colour centres.

Zhang et al. design a nanostructure which activates an adaptive martensitic transformation mechanism in a nuclear grade austenitic stainless steel, achieving extraordinary radiation resistance with non-degraded mechanical properties.

Here the researchers demonstrate and capture all eigenvalue spectra by measuring microwave transmission in random waveguides, uncovering insights into conductance dips as the number of channels increased and thereby advance our understanding of mesoscopic transport.

Tokamak walls suffer erosion from steady and bursty heat loads. Here, the authors demonstrate that optimizing 3D magnetic field and cooling gas injection can tame destructive plasma bursts while enabling cooler, safer exhaust conditions.

A transverse Peierls transition can occur when transverse acoustic phonons couple with conducting p-orbital electrons. Here, the authors observe an incommensurate transverse Peierls transition and signatures of a chiral charge density wave in EuAl₄.

Ferromagnetism is observed at ferroelastic domain walls in strontium titanate and its heterostructures with other oxides. Applying strain can reverse the magnetism. This suggests the possibility of device engineering using domain walls.

Neurons receive their input in three dimensions via their dendrites, but how electrical activity in dendrites is organized is unknown. Here, the authors work out the distinct rules that govern activity across this 3D structure in different brain states.

Amorphous films with tunable thermal conductivity are needed for semiconductor/aerospace fields. Amorphous Al(Ti)N nanoparticles have negligible effect on thermal conductivity of Si₃N₄ 2 W m⁻¹K⁻¹, while incorporating crystal TiN phases increases to 15 W m⁻¹K⁻¹.

Absorption, transmission and reflection are three processes characterizing optical devices. Absorption allows for signal conversion and transmission is important for signal transfer, however, reflection is frequently detrimental to device performance. Here, Qian et al demonstrate a magnonic device with controllable absorption and transmission while maintain zero reflection.

A recent finding of tuning critical current in metallic nanowires by application of small gate voltages seems at odds with general understanding. Here, Ritter et al. study similar nanowires and link the origin of the critical current suppression to tunneling of few high-energy electrons between gate and nanowire, ruling out direct tuning by electric fields.

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.

The authors propose and demonstrate the concept of photonic-electronic arbitrary-waveform generation, overcoming the bandwidth limitations of all-electronic systems. The idea is to exploit quadrature multiplexing of optical waveforms and opto-electronic conversion by phase-stabilized coherent detection.

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.

Centrioles are ancient organelles with a conserved architecture and their rigidity is thought to restrict microtubule sliding. Here authors show that, in mammalian sperm, the atypical distal centriole and its surrounding atypical pericentriolar matrix form a dynamic basal complex that facilitates a cascade of internal sliding deformations, coupling tail beating with asymmetric head kinking.

Structural elucidation of the RAG strand transfer complex reveals how the recombinase efficiently catalyzes both forward and reverse integration reactions to prevent RAG-mediated transposition events.

As presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting: in a randomized controlled phase 3 trial evaluating subcutaneous administration of sasanlimab, an anti-PD-1 inhibitor, with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin induction and maintenance treatment, combination treatment significantly improved event-free survival versus standard-of-care therapy.

Metallic resistance of two-dimensional electron gases normally increases with temperature increasing. Here, the authors find a resistance decrease with increasing temperature at very low temperatures in two-dimensional electron metal described by Fermi liquid theory.

To turn on and obtain emission from lanthanide-doped insulating nanoparticles, an electrical excitation pathway coupling them to organic optical molecules to form nanohybrids is described, enabling tunable electroluminescence properties of LEDs fabricated from such materials.

A proper theoretical description for unconventional superconductivity in iron-based compounds remains elusive. Here, the authors, to capture the electron correlation strength and the role of Fermi surfaces, report ARPES measurements of three iron chalcogenide superconductors to establish universal features.

Precise thin film growth is pivotal for applications in electronics and coatings, yet kinetics-dominated film morphology remains challenging to control. Here, the authors utilize three-dimensional atomic force microscopy to achieve sub-nanometer precision in measuring the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier on Au (111) surfaces, offering a detailed real-space view that enhances thin film design strategies.

Chiral superconductors are very rare topological materials. Here, the authors report spontaneous magnetic fields inside the superconducting state and low temperature linear behavior in the superfluid density in LaPt₃P, suggesting a chiral d-wave singlet superconducting state.

The relationship between superconductivity and antiferromagnetism is an unresolved question in electron-doped high-T_c superconductors. Saadaoui et al. perform low-energy muon spin relaxation measurements to study the phase diagram of La_2−xCe_xCuO_4−δat the magnetic-superconducting transition region.

The relationship between electronic ordering and superconductivity, crucial to understand high-T_c superconductors, remains elusive. Here, Sun et al. report the pressure-induced dome shape of a magnetic phase superceding the nematic order in FeSe, suggesting competing nature between magnetism and superconductivity.

Nickelate superconductors attract enormous attention in the field of high-temperature superconductivity. Here the authors report observation of perfect diamagnetism and interfacial effect on the electronic structures in infinite layer Nd_0.8Sr_0.2NiO₂ superconductors.

The recently discovered kagome metal AV₃Sb₅ is a new playground to study the interplay between superconductivity and charge-density-wave (CDW) state. Here, the authors report pressure-dependent evolution of CDW and superconductivity in CsV₃Sb₅, suggesting an unusual competition between the two phases.

Membrane separations are foundational to water treatment processes, and the traditional solute transport theory is limited in predicting the sharp separation of solutes by a membrane. By the proper design of the porous membranes and filtration processes, a sharp rejection curve may be achieved using isoporous membranes with an infinite number of interactions between solutes and membranes.

Although superconductivity hasn't been observed in a sheet of graphene it is found in metal intercalated graphite. A high-resolution ARPES study of CaC₆ conducted by Yang et al.provides strong clues as to the origin of superconductivity in these compounds and of ways to induce superconductivity in graphene.

Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) enable fast tracking of membrane voltage in live neurons. Here, the authors use soma-targeted ASAP4.4-Kv to visualize electrical activity in sensory ganglia, revealing synchronization and altered coding after injury.