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The evolutionary origin of tumours remains largely unknown. Here, Domazet-Lošo et al. show evidence for naturally occurring tumours in the freshwater polyp, Hydra, and suggest that tumours have deep evolutionary roots.

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.

Instabilities in chiral plasmas can amplify electromagnetic waves, raising the question of whether chiral solids behave similarly. Now a magneto-chiral instability is demonstrated in tellurium, observed as growing terahertz emission after photoexcitation.

The authors report the synthesis of (La_0.9Y_0.1)H₁₀ superhydrides and their characterization using synchrotron-based, spatially resolved x-ray diffraction and electrical transport imaging. They reveal μm-scale structural inhomogeneity with coexisting cubic and hexagonal clathrate phases exhibiting distinct superconducting transition temperatures.

The anterior cingulate cortex encodes affective pain behaviours modulated by opioids; targeting opioid-sensitive neurons through a new chemogenetic gene therapy replicates the analgesic effects of morphine, providing precise chronic pain relief without affecting sensory detection.

This research finds a strong recency bias in information gathering, attenuated in those on the OCD spectrum—a possible mechanism for indecisiveness. Behavioural and MEG data show reduced evidence updating in high-OC individuals.

The authors demonstrate dual-probe multi-messenger imaging of high-energy-density plasmas based on laser-wakefield-accelerated electrons. This enables spatiotemporally resolved simultaneous probing of plasma hydrodynamics and electromagnetic field evolution with both x-ray and electron beams.

2D p-type transistors are essential for the realization of complementary circuits for post-silicon electronics. Here, the authors report a chloroform doping strategy to fabricate p-type monolayer WSe₂ transistors with high performance and long-term stability.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 also reduced circulation of endemic viruses which may have led to immune waning. Here, the authors use multiplex serology data from King County, Washington, US to characterise age-specific changes in antibody levels to a range of endemic viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The highest-quality JWST spectra reveal that little red dots are young supermassive black holes shrouded in dense cocoons of ionized gas, where electron scattering, not Doppler motions, broadens their spectral lines.

Ion diffusion region is an indicator of active magnetic reconnection, but it had not been detected in Jupiter’s magnetosphere previously. Here, the authors show a magnetic reconnection event in Jupiter’s inner magnetosphere that presents the detection of an ion diffusion region.

Using a combination of electrophysiological and neurochemical techniques the authors report that deep and superficial CA1 pyramidal neurons behave differently during hippocampal sharp-wave ripples, with deep cells becoming hyperpolarized and superficial cells undergoing depolarization. The study also reveals some of the microcircuit mechanisms that underlie this spatiotemporal specialization, including the involvement of CA2 pyramidal cells and the role of perisomatic inhibition.

The study reveals that energy absorbed by rocks around a fault can slow or halt earthquake ruptures near the surface, shedding light on why shallow earthquakes release less energy.

Stable adipocytes resist lipolysis in healthy states but are highly susceptible to a catecholamine-independent, neurosystemic pathway-driven catabolic state.

Gas vesicle protein nanostructures can damage host bacteria when strongly expressed. Here, authors develop a dual-inducer timing circuit that pre-expresses assembly-factor proteins, limiting toxic aggregation while maintaining gas vesicle production.

This study investigates a calcium-permeable AMPAR–gated microcircuit in the nucleus accumbens during social bonding in prairie voles. By showing that disrupting calcium-permeable AMPAR signaling impairs ensemble-level encoding despite increasing single-neuron selectivity, the work reveals how coordinated ensemble dynamics transform social interaction into enduring attachment.

The study presents an updated global inventory of glacial lake outburst floods, revealing a sharp rise in event frequency since the 1980s and a strong delayed link to climate warming, highlighting growing risks to downstream communities.

Satellite records reveal that Southern Ocean phytoplankton responds in contrasting ways to marine heatwaves and cold spells. These opposing impacts vary sharply by region, exposing distinct ecological sensitivity to climate-driven extremes.

MAGPIE is a computational framework for co-registering spatially-resolved transcriptomics, metabolomics and tissue morphology for integrated downstream analysis. Case studies across lung, brain and breast reveal coordinated cross-modality molecular changes.

The narrow rings seen in some debris disks, thought to be evidence for hidden exoplanets, might instead be caused by gas–dust interaction and a recently identified photoelectric instability.

Despite improving therapeutic options, the prognosis for patients with metastatic castration-resistance prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains poor. Here, the authors identify MCL1 copy number alterations as a prognostic and predictive biomarker, demonstrating its therapeutic potential as a drug target, either alone or in combination, in patients with mCRPC.

The authors study epitaxial thin films of the pyrochlore-sublattice compound LiTi2O4 by RIXS and ARPES. They observe cooperation between strong electron correlations and strong electron-phonon coupling, giving rise to a mobile polaronic ground state in which charge motion and lattice distortions are coupled.

Protons and neutrons in nuclei form shell structures with energy gaps at magic numbers. These numbers vanish in neutron rich isotopes, creating “Islands of Inversion”. Studies of 84Mo and 86Mo reveal a shift, defining an “Isospin-Symmetric Island of Inversion” influenced by three-nucleon forces.

Electrochemical acid-base production has attractive applications in mineral recovery and CO₂ removal, but current membrane-based designs are plagued by resistive losses. The authors report a membrane-less system generating useful acid and base solutions at high rates with less energy.

Fano-resonant nanostructures have received interest in the sensing community due to the high local fields and narrow resonant linewidths. Here, the authors characterise subwavelength perturbations in a Fano-resonant dielectric metasurface using both a conventional spectral method and a Fourier scatterometry approach, demonstrating that perturbations induce pronounced directional scattering in Fourier space.

The combination of JWST and ALMA data here unravel the history of the gas content of a quiescent galaxy, which became quenched through an act of self-sabotage. Black-hole accretion feedback heated the galaxy’s surrounding material, preventing its accretion.

Researchers develop a new way to selectively remove ion channel proteins by recruiting the body’s own NEDD4-2 enzyme using custom nanobodies, offering a precise and general strategy for future drug development.

The development of advanced electrocatalysts with high efficiency and longevity is essential to alleviate the energy crisis. Here, the authors report an atomic editing strategy to access atomically dispersed, heteronuclear triatomic Fe and Co sites to endow improved activity and stability.

Terahertz-frequency communications promise ultra-high data rates and stable latency, yet current systems lag behind infrared technologies. Here, the authors demonstrate a pioneering multi-gigabit-per-second free-space optical communication using a terahertz quantum cascade laser, setting the stage for advanced wireless networks with significant implications for high-speed data transmission.

Genetic and isotopic analyses of samples from the northeast Atlantic reveal that suspended prokaryotic dark carbon fixation substantially fuels carbon inputs below the sunlit ocean, while particle-attached communities make an overlooked contribution to carbon demand.

Kagome antiferromagnets have been extensively studied as potential hosts of quantum spin liquids. However, example materials have been largely limited to Cu-based systems. Here, Thennakoon et al. establish, via a combination of specific heat, magnetization and neutron scattering measurements, a Ti-based quantum Kagome antiferromagnet, Cs₈RbK₃Ti₁₂F₄₈, as a strong candidate for hosting quantum spin liquid.

Glioblastoma is characterised by high levels of intratumoural heterogeneity and plasticity, hindering treatment. Here, the authors develop an analytical framework, scFOCAL, to predict the sensitivity of glioblastoma cell subpopulations to therapies based on reversal of disease transcriptional signatures to identify synergistic therapeutic combinations.

Using lipid nanoparticle delivery of mRNAs to the liver in aged mice, T cell function and declining immune cues can be restored.

Optically active spin defects in diamond and hBN are promising solid-state quantum sensors but often fall short for chemical sensing. Here the authors show that BN nanotubes hosting such defects create a nanoporous, omnidirectional quantum “mesh” sensor at room temperature, enhancing chemical detection through high surface area and improved sample accessibility.

Off-target activation of nerve fibers is an ongoing problem in bioelectronic medicines such as vagus nerve stimulation. Here, the authors show that high-frequency stimulation can selectively block nerve fibers in the vagus nerve in swine models.

Among the antibody subclasses, IgG4 is unique in its capability to fragment-antigen-binding (Fab)-arm exchange, a process that renders IgG4 bispecific for antigen binding. Here authors analyse serum IgG4 clonal repertoires of healthy human donors to show that Fab-arm exchange is widespread and affects all IgG4 clones.

The authors propose wave-mixing cathodoluminescence, where laser-electron wave mixing in a nonlinear optical cavity upconverts low-frequency molecular resonances into visible photons, enabling nanoscale fingerprinting with visible light sources and detectors.

Excitons dominate the optoelectronic response of many materials and exciton transport often limits the efficiency of optoelectronic devices such as solar cells or photodetectors. Using quantum geometry, the authors find that topological excitons undergo enhanced diffusion across a wide range of transport regimes.

Chromosomes interact with the cell environment through their interface. Here, the authors use Atomic Force Microscopy to probe the interface and local micromechanics of the chromatin network of native human mitotic chromosomes.

Two-dimensional polyaramid polymers are synthesized to form nanofilms that exhibit the lowest gas permeability of any polymer by orders of magnitude, despite lacking crystallinity, enabling molecular-scale nanomechanical resonators and barrier materials.

Shallow magma bodies that feed regularly erupting volcanoes are usually considered enduring features that grow steadily between eruptions. Measurements of deformation at Santorini, however, reveal sudden rapid magma accumulation after half a century of rest.

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.

Electrochemical hydrogenation drives a reversible conductor–insulator transition in graphene. Authors show that it is 10⁶× faster than other methods and tunable by isotope effects and lattice corrugations, enabling ionic control of 2D electronics.