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Atomic force microscopy is used to investigate the adsorption and organization of ions on charged surfaces. Trivalent ions adopt complex networks, clusters and layers associated with overcharging, whereas divalent ions follow classical predictions.

Uneven zinc growth limits the reversibility of zinc metal batteries. Here, authors use in situ X-ray computed tomography and fluid dynamics simulations to reveal how synthetic clay coating suppresses chaotic ion flow, enabling uniform zinc growth and stable cycling in a large-scale pouch cell.

Inspired by biology, great progress has been made in creating artificial molecular motors. Here the authors report the synthesis and characterization of the Lawnmower, an autonomous, protein-based artificial molecular motor and show their design is capable of track-guided motion.

Achieving nonlinear optical response of free-space planar solid devices in the few-photon regime will provide several technological advances. Here, the authors demonstrate a self-hybridised perovskite metasurface with strong nonlinear absorption at record low incident powers, by means of cavity critical coupling engineering

The use of aqueous Zn-ion batteries is hindered by parasitic reactions, dendrite formation, and low Coulombic efficiency of Zn metal electrode. Here, authors regulate the electrolyte ions diffusion via ion-separation accelerating channel through self-assembly of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(acrylic acid).

The performance of single-crystal perovskite solar cells has been limited by interfacial loss at the perovskite/charge transport layer. Here, authors fabricate an asymmetric substrate stack through space-confined inverse temperature crystallization, achieving maximum device efficiency of 24.32%.

Wei et al. perform spatial transcriptomic profiling on synovial tissue biopsy samples from individuals with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis, finding TGFβ signaling and fibrogenic fibroblast activation drive a treatment-refractory tissue phenotype.

Regrowth of lost enamel in tooth decay and sensitivity is a major obstacle to overcome. Here, the authors report on a protein-based material that mimics features of natural enamel formation, allowing for epitaxial growth of apatite nanocrystals to restore enamel structure and function.

Wetland vegetation is typically considered only in terms of enhancing sediment accretion and positively impacting land-building. Here, the authors show that the degree of enhancement has a strong dependence on vegetation density through the influence on sediment supply and retention.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ over copper can be made highly selective by ‘tuning’ the copper surface with adsorbed organic molecules to stabilize intermediates for carbon-based fuels such as ethylene

The NINJ1 protein regulates plasma membrane rupture by altering membrane biomechanical properties, independent of cell death programs.

Phonon polaritons are promising for mid-infrared photonics but only longitudinal optical phonons are directly accessed by electrical currents. Here, the authors predict and experimentally confirm hybrid longitudinal-transverse excitations. This could lead to phonon polariton-based electrically pumped mid-infrared emitters.

Single-layer graphene, owing to its impermeability, is a promising candidate to prevent transmembrane ion transport. Here, the authors report a covalent functionalization method that enables centimeter-sized graphene to function as a proton exchange membrane in a direct methanol fuel cell.

Until now, efforts to enhance the performance of nanolasers have focused on reducing the rate of non-radiative recombination. Here, Burgess et al.employ controlled impurity doping to increase the rate of radiative recombination.

Quantum simulations of topological insulator phases with single-site control would allow to see richer phenomenology. Using a programmable trapped-ion simulator with site-resolved Floquet control, the authors implement a long-range spin model, revealing protected edge excitations and rich many-body dynamics beyond the single-excitation regime.

Coherent control of plasmon wavepackets is essential for quantum information processing using flying electron qubits. Here, the authors demonstrate a method to isolate and select electron channels contributing to a plasmon using a cavity formed by local constrictions, enabling precise control of plasmon eigenstates.

Superconductivity is the result of many-body interactions between excitations in a solid. Zhang et al.use time- and angle-resolved photoemission to compare photo-induced changes in the electron self-energy of a unconventional superconductor to those in a related material in the metallic state.

Molecular switches regulate many fundamental processes in natural and artificial systems. An electrochemical platform in which a proton carrier switches the activity of a catalyst is now presented. A hybrid bilayer membrane allows the regulation of proton transport to a Cu-based molecular oxygen reduction reaction catalyst.

Water can be extracted from the atmosphere via adsorption-evaporation or dewing, but these methods require prohibitively high energy use. Here, the authors report a forty-five-fold increase in energy efficiency via ultrasonic extraction, making atmospheric water harvesting technology economically feasible for large-scale adoption.

Concentrator photovoltaics achieve high efficiency but have so far been impractical for use on rooftops. Here, Price et al. develop a flat-panel concentrating photovoltaic system based on a triple-junction solar cell that operates at fixed tilt over a full day with >30% peak efficiency.

Chemical functionalization of the outer surfaces of single-walled nanotubes is well documented but internal modification is less well explored. Here, the authors fabricate single-walled metal oxide nanotubes with covalently bonded amines on their inner walls and study their gas adsorption properties.

Reforestation is a key climate change mitigation strategy, but global maps of its potential are widely criticized. This study shows that addressing those critiques substantially refines estimates of the places with reforestation potential.

The development of high performance dual-site single-atom catalysts is a promising research direction. Here, the authors report structural dynamics of dual-site nickel-iron single-atom oxygen electrocatalysts under reaction conditions, and proposes a dual-site pathway for the water oxidation reaction.

The authors demonstrate a zero-field supercurrent diode effect in NbSe₂/NiI₂/NbSe₂ vertical Josephson junctions, where NiI₂ is a two-dimensional multiferroic material. The diode efficiency is even as a function of field, making the device “resilient" to stray fields from nearby circuit components.

Individual electrons trapped on the surface of solid neon can operate as charge qubits with very long coherence times.

The interfaces between complex oxides can play host to a range of interesting electronic phenomena. Xieet al. demonstrate that the electronic properties at the LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃interface can be tuned upon application of common polar solvents such as acetone, ethanol and water.

Wiring photosynthetic biomachineries to electrodes is promising for sustainable bio-electricity and fuel generation, but designing such interfaces is challenging. Aerosol jet printing is now used to generate hierarchical pillar array electrodes using indium tin oxide nanoparticles for high-performance semi-artificial photosynthesis.

Individually addressed rare earth atoms in solid crystals are an emerging platform for quantum information processing. Here the authors demonstrate a key requirement, by realizing single-shot, quantum non-demolition measurements of the spin of single Er³⁺ ions in Y₂SiO₅ crystals with nearly 95% fidelity.

A data-efficient deep learning model developed to predict ground-state and photophysical properties of molecules and nanomaterials by learning many-body Green’s functions achieves an accuracy surpassing the state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations.

The SPECULOOS project detected an Earth-sized planet in a short orbit around a nearby Jupiter-sized star. This planet, SPECULOOS-3 b, is one of the most promising rocky exoplanets for detailed emission spectroscopy characterization with JWST.

Surface modification of liquid metal microparticles of the eutectic gallium–indium alloy afforded a liquid metal powder containing a small amount of organic components, which can be returned to the bulk liquid metal form by applying mechanical forces. Liquid metal–polymer composites with stimuli-responsive electrical conductivity were readily prepared by manual mixing of the liquid metal powder with polymer precursors. In addition, the liquid metal powder acted as a microwave absorber in the composite materials, thereby inducing microwave heating.

Optical waveguides patterned with gradient metasurfaces have compact footprints and broad wavelengths of operation thanks to tight control of the scattered light.

Holo-acyl carrier protein synthase (AcpS) is an enzyme that catalyses the first step in lipid synthesis and is essential for bacterial survival, but no current antibiotics targeting AcpS are known. Here, the authors use computer-aided drug design to develop a structurally unique antibiotic family targeting AcpS.

Large-footprint, low-sensitivity charge sensors hinder scaling semiconductor quantum dot arrays for quantum computation. Here the authors present a potentially scalable approach using multiplexed gate-based readout and operation in a foundry-fabricated quantum dot array, demonstrating single-electron occupancy.

A microfluidic-based system enables fast screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection through analysis of specific T-cell responses.

Plasmonic surfaces are used as two-dimensional metamaterials for light manipulation on nanoscale, and their optical properties can be further tuned by coating. Here the authors report a new absorption-induced scattering mode in a silver nanoparticle array coated with semiconducting organic absorbers.

The glaciers of Juneau Icefield, Alaska are reconstructed from 1770 to 2020 AD. Ice loss has accelerated dramatically, with a number of positive feedbacks now happening that accelerate ice loss and inhibit future stabilisation and regrowth.

Quartz emits a piezoelectric charge during deformation that may promote the formation of gold nuggets within veins in orogenic settings that experience earthquakes, according to a study using quartz deformation experiments and piezoelectric modelling.

Controlling nanoscale colloidal crystallization is not straightforward. Such control is now achieved by leveraging a metastable liquid phase of charged nanocrystals.

In geometrically frustrated magnets, long-range magnetic order is typically suppressed, whereas at the same time non-trivial spin correlations are observed. Using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy, the authors find evidence for extended quantum string-like excitations in the quantum spin ice material Yb₂Ti₂O₇.

The electroreduction of CO₂ to ethanol could enable the clean production of fuels using renewable power. This study shows how confinement effects from nitrogen-doped carbon layers on copper catalysts enable selective ethanol production from CO₂ with a Faradaic efficiency of up to 52%.

Mobile excitons in metals have been elusive, as screening usually suppresses their formation. Here, the authors demonstrate such mobile bound states in quasi-one-dimensional metallic TaSe₃, taking advantage of its low dimensionality and carrier density.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are promising for low-power programmable photonic circuits. Here, authors show electrically controlled wide-bandgap PCM antimony sulfide achieving low loss, high cyclability and up to 32 levels, and post-fabrication trimming is also demonstrated.

Valley-polarized light–matter quasiparticles in two-dimensional semiconductor microcavities are demonstrated. Access to spin–valley physics may be useful for photonic quantum technologies.

The authors demonstrate near-perfect light absorption using only two atomic layers of transition metal dichalcogenides. This is achieved by reducing interlayer interaction which optimizes band nesting, and does not require the use of complex metasurfaces.