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Proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers rely on iridium to catalyse their anodic reaction, and while ruthenium is a less costly alternative due to its similar activity, it is not as stable. Now, a hierarchical machine-learning catalyst discovery workflow, termed mixed acceleration, is put forward to predict catalyst synthesis, activity and stability, and identify promising RuO_x-based water oxidation catalysts.

A method for annealing metal-oxide semiconductor films with deep-ultraviolet light yields thin-film transistors with performance comparable to that of thermally annealed devices, and widens the range of substrates on which such devices can be fabricated.

Silica-polymer hybrids are promising materials for bone repair. Here, biodegradable, tough and porous silica-polyurethane hybrid scaffold was successfully fabricated. Polyurethane is a versatile polymer that can be designed to have desired properties. Polymerization and alkoxysilane functionalization under high-temperature formed polyurethanes with high molecular weight, which enabled rapid gelation during the sol-gel process. This allowed porous hybrid scaffold fabrication through the facile salt-leaching method. The hybrid scaffold had self-healing properties which can self-fit into irregular bone defects. Furthermore, silicate ion release from the hybrid scaffold induced angiogenesis and osteogenic differentiation, while the porous structure suppressed chronic inflammation.

Bright, efficient and low-drive-voltage colloidal quantum-dot LEDs that have a crosslinked-polymer quantum-dot layer, and use a sol–gel titanium oxide layer for electron transport, are reported. Integrating the QD-LEDs with a silicon thin-film transistor backplane results in a QD-LED display.

Tendons exhibit limited healing capacity and the role of lymphatic vessels in tendon regeneration is largely overlooked. Here they compare control and injured tendon cells from both neonatal and adult mice and identify lymphatic vessels as key regenerative niche elements.

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a prevalent disorder linked to higher cardiovascular disease risk. Here, the authors show that summary scores reflecting SDB metabolite signatures are associated with increased risks for incident hypertension and diabetes, potentially useful in guiding risk stratification.

Selective CO₂ hydrogenation to C₂₊ oxygenates is difficult due to competing pathways. A tandem GaZrO_x–MOR system enables efficient acetic acid and methyl acetate synthesis, using hydrophobic modification to enhance stability and water resistance.

Exploring alternative nitrogen (N) fertilizer production routes is crucial to improve the sustainability of the N fertilizer supply. Here the authors develop an absorption‒electroreduction relay strategy capable of the distributed production of liquid N fertilizer from NO_x or even air.

Porous and hollow silk fibroin microneedles nanofabricated with phase front assembly allow the authors to establish a prolonged interface with plants for delivery of micronutrients, crop fortification and continuous plant health monitoring.

A catalytic Joule heating approach is developed for the growth of one-dimensional nanomaterials via a vapour–liquid–solid mechanism under far-from-equilibrium reaction conditions. It demonstrates broad applicability for the rapid and energy-efficient synthesis of diverse nanowires and nanotubes, including refractory and high-entropy systems.

Researchers demonstrate a high-efficiency polymer solar cell whose device architecture is compatible with a large-scale roll-to-roll process. Enhanced charge collection in the inverted polymer solar cell design and certified power conversion efficiencies of around 7.4% are reported.

Syt1 is a primary Ca²⁺ sensor for secretion but the function of non-Ca²⁺ -affinitive Syt11 remains unknown. Here, authors identify strong but Ca²⁺ -inhibited lipid affinity of Syt11, and a Syt11-1-11 inter-switch during excitation-coupled exo-endocytosis.

Self-assembly enables complex structures to be fabricated from a few relatively simple components, but requires a detailed understanding of how the constituents may interact. Here, the authors report the rational assembly and crystallographic characterization of a fullerene-protein superstructure.

Thermoelectric therapy is promising for cancer treatment, but is limited by the lack of effective spatiotemporal control of thermoelectric effect in vivo. Here, the authors report a spatiotemporally controllable nanodevice that allows a precise and efficient magnetic-thermo-electric cascade energy conversion in vivo to mediate the thermoelectric/chemodynamic/immunotherapy of colorectal cancer.

A directional electrodynamic decomposition method using a LaNiO₃ sacrificial layer is proposed for freestanding films. It boosts oxide film release rate to 600 mm² /min via electric field-enhanced adsorption energy and electron transfer.

The realization of highly conductive, dispersant-free pastes based on nanocarbon materials has been hindered by agglomeration of particles. Han et al. demonstrate conducting pastes that do not agglomerate due to quadruple hydrogen-bonding motifs among the nanocarbon particles.

Carbon nanotubes offer a route to further reducing the size of electronic components. Here, the authors demonstrate a method to assemble semiconducting nanotubes into well-aligned, ultrahigh-density and uniform arrays using an alternating electric field between surface microelectrodes and the substrate.

A hybrid cathode interfacial layer (AZnO-F3N) is developed, delivering 21.0% efficiency along with excellent stability, mechanical robustness and broad versatility, highlighting its potential to advance organic solar cells.

The Zhurong rover measured in situ the Martian magnetic field vector at 16 sites. An average horizontal intensity of 11.2 ± 10.9 nT is recorded, substantially lower than the ~80 nT measured from orbit. Demagnetization over the entire Utopia Basin or at small scales around the Zhurong site might explain this difference.

Exercise is helpful to counteract obesity and the related complications, and positive effects are associated to a switch of muscle fibres to an oxidative type. Here, the authors show that sirtuin 6 overexpression in mice induces such a switch by modulating Sox6 and CREB signalling, suggesting that sirtuin 6 may be a target for exercise mimetics.

Zhao et al. report a smart phosphor that exhibits adaptive light-induced photoluminescence variation and dark recovery with non-destructive readout functions. It mimics synaptic behaviors in a full-photoluminescent manner, enabling an alternative way of all-optical physical reservoir computing.

Conductive polymers are attractive materials for the construction of photoelectrodes in the context of artificial photosynthesis, although their performance is still limited. Now, an organic semiconductor photoanode for water oxidation is presented, which provides high photocurrent density for over 30 minutes.

The reductive coupling of alcohols and nitro compounds typically yields amine products. Here the authors show that MgO nanoclusters catalyse this reaction, giving unsaturated C = N containing products.

‘Light-based bioprinting is employed in the fabrication of complex constructs but achieving high resolution remains challenging due to light scattering effects. Here, the authors develop a photoinhibiting additive which suppresses light scattering and demonstrate printing of functional scaffolds

Artificial cilia array devices are developed for sound frequency decoding and executing tasks such as drug release.

Triple-negative breast cancer immunotherapeutic efficacy is greatly affected by oxidative imbalance within the lymph nodes, driving dendritic cell dysfunction. Here, this group presents a chimeric exosome-derived immunomodulator involving ROS scavenger mesoporous silica and lipid modulator toyocamycin coated with dendritic cell-derived exosomes to restore the lymph node immuno-microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer.

Genetic resources for livestock are valuable for understanding their demography and past selection, and may inform future breeding programs and agricultural improvement. Here, the authors present deep resequencing of 248 wild and domestic sheep, with associated data and analysis.

Hydroxyl radicals are reactive species capable of water purification and disinfection, although their generation, particularly through renewable approaches, is challenging. Now, low-valent Au on potassium-incorporated carbon nitride has been shown to produce hydroxyl radicals upon solar illumination and to provide high water disinfection rates.

Ferroelectric polymers are attractive candidates as dielectric materials for electrical energy storage applications, but suffer from large dielectric loss. Here, the authors report a method for creating ferroelectric polymer networks with reduced dielectric loss and large charge–discharge efficiencies.

Bisphosphonate-bearing polymers formed stiff hydrogels in the presence of calcium and zinc ions. These hydrogels exhibited self-healing and stress-thinning properties. Crosslinking these polymers with zinc ions within water-in-oil emulsions yielded hydrogel nanoparticles.

This study introduces a magnetic field-driven particle jamming method for rapid and precise modulation of physical interactions, offering broad applicability in robotics due to its performance and modular design.

Aerogels are ultra-lightweight porous materials that possess some remarkable properties. Here, the authors use a 3D printing technique to fabricate just such a material out of graphene, exhibiting large surface area, high conductivity and supercompressibility while maintaining good structural integrity.

A study using paired ¹⁵N tracers shows atmospheric N deposited in oxidized form is more likely retained by trees, while the reduced form is retained in soil. The authors argue that this is a greater contribution of deposited N to the global forest C sink than previously reported.

Combining expansion microscopy (ExM) with lightsheet imaging can enable fast 3D visualisation of biological structures at high-resolution, but such approaches can be hindered by several limitations. By using potassium acrylate-based hydrogels, the authors perform large-volume ExM with Bessel lightsheet microscopy, achieving high-resolution imaging of cellular structures within the fly brain.

Biomaterials that can be non-invasively activated to promote bone growth would be useful tools to repair bone defects in patients with comorbidities like inflammation or impaired osteogenesis. Here, the authors develop a composite membrane that can be stimulated by an external magnetic field and use it to correct skull defects in rats treated to reflect such comorbidities.

Rapid detection of antiviral resistant strains is important for effective clinical treatment. Here the authors develop an antibody which specifically binds to multidrug-resistant influenza virus and demonstrated detection in a number of different systems using the antibody.

Splicing dysfunction has been observed in Alzheimer’s disease but it remains unclear whether splicing defects have a causal role. Here the authors generate a mouse model with perturbed U1 snRNP activity, recapitulating RNA splicing defects, neuron hyperexcitability, neurodegeneration and synergy with the amyloid cascade when crossed with 5xFAD mice.