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Natural rubber is a widely used biopolymer and further improving its resistance to crack growth will extend its service life. Here the authors show a strategy to amplify the resistance to crack growth in natural rubber by forming a tanglemer.

A microwave-assisted process is developed for the rapid and scalable manufacture of pure-phase metallic MoS₂ nanosheets, enabling practical electrochemical devices for energy applications.

The observation by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory of high-energy neutrinos from the Galactic plane indicates that the Milky Way is deficient in neutrinos, most probably because it has not hosted an active source for the past few tens of kiloyears.

Gallium arsenide photocathodes inside a superconducting radio-frequency gun are a promising source of polarized electrons for future colliders. Now the operation of such a source has been demonstrated.

A protocol for cryogenic 3D correlative focused ion beam milling using an integrated fluorescence light microscope and montage cryo-ET for nonadherent and adherent mammalian cells, as well as primary Drosophila melanogaster neurons.

Many biological systems appear to organize their dynamics close to a critical point. Now it is shown that the protein array mediating Escherichia coli chemosensing is near-critical, enabling large signal amplification without compromising response speeds.

The authors report the observation of diffraction-free space-time surface plasmon polaritons propagating along straight paths at metal-dielectric interfaces. This enhances the control of wavepacket propagation for nanophotonics applications.

A statistical method to quantify crystallographic textures in aluminum alloys under additive manufacturing conditions is introduced. Experiments and simulations reveal interfacial energy anisotropy dominates texture selection and grain competition.

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.

Kinematic measurements of the Perseus galaxy cluster reveal two drivers of gas motions: a small-scale driver in the inner core associated with black-hole feedback and a large-scale driver in the outer core powered by mergers.

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.

A nine-year transit-timing campaign has measured the extremely low masses and densities of four large planets orbiting the young star V1298 Tau, which are now predicted to contract and form a typical compact super-Earth and sub-Neptune system.

Gravitational lens modelling of a million-solar-mass dark object reveals that it cannot be a free-floating black hole or dark-matter halo as predicted by cold dark matter, instead indicating a peculiar and highly concentrated mass distribution.

A plasma lens capable of focusing broadband extreme-ultraviolet attosecond pulses is demonstrated.

Shroom3 genetic variants increase Shroom3 levels and promote kidney fibrosis but reduce proteinuria, complicating Shroom3 targeting for precision medicine. Here, the authors show increased fibrosis mediated by Shroom3–Rock signaling and blocking this interaction genetically or with new compounds reduces tubular Rock activation and fibrosis.

The distinct architecture of the Escherichia coli membrane transporter LetA mediates lipid trafficking across the bacterial envelope in partnership with the tunnel-like complex LetB.

A soft robotic probe enables continuous in utero monitoring of fetal physiological parameters, including heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, temperature and electrocardiogram data, during open or fetoscopic surgery to provide real-time information on fetal condition and distress.

How do low-mass binaries age? Astronomers have constrained a tight, circular orbit of a close-in companion around a dying giant star, raising new questions about how tidal forces shape binary orbits in the final phases of stellar evolution.

Humans rely on both learned value and action affordances to decide how to act. This study shows that these systems compete under a dynamic brain controller, with the presupplementary motor area and anterior cingulate cortex guiding which system dominates.

The authors demonstrate strain-induced morphotropic phase boundary-like nanodomains in lead-free NaNbO₃ thin films, enabling multi-state switching and large enhancements in dielectric susceptibility and tunability over a broad frequency range.

Hole spin qubits in germanium are well suited for fast, electrically driven gates with high fidelity, but scaling to large qubit arrays remains challenging. Here the authors demonstrate a 10-spin qubit array with gate fidelities exceeding 99%, revealing mechanisms for uniform and scalable qubit control.

Short-lived halogens have a substantial indirect cooling effect on climate and this cooling effect has increased since pre-industrial times owing to anthropogenic amplification of natural halogen emissions.

Respiration enhances cerebrospinal fluid flow through mechanical and autonomic pathways. Inhale length and diaphragm motion influence its displacement and net flow, identifying a modifiable, noninvasive mechanism relevant to brain homeostasis.

Genetic mapping in mice identified Homer1a as a key modifier of attention. Developmental downregulation in the prefrontal cortex enhances inhibitory tone, neural signal to noise and adult attentional performance, revealing a new control mechanism and target.

Aqueous zinc batteries suffer from hydrogen evolution and dendrite growth during zinc plating. Here, authors report zinc oligoether salts as electrolyte additives to promote the formation of passivation layer on Zn metallic electrode and extend the lifetime of aqueous Zn-based batteries.

The ‘plane of satellite galaxies’ surrounding our Milky Way seemed to defy dark matter theory for 40 years. Observations now suggest that the alignment is transient, while new simulations form similar structures far more often than previously thought.

The thin film realization of quantum spin liquid candidates has remined elusive. Here, the authors synthesize thin films of the quantum spin liquid candidate TbInO3 and characterize the magnetic and electronic properties.

Radiation reaction (RR) on particles in strong fields is the subject of intense experimental research, but previous efforts lacked statistical significance due to the extreme regimes required. Here, the authors report a 5σ observation of RR and obtain strong, quantitative evidence favouring quantum models over classical, using an all-optical setup where electrons are accelerated by a laser in a gas jet before colliding with a second, intense pulse.

Polar skyrmions are nanoscale topological structures of electric polarizations. Their collective modes, dubbed as “skyrons”, are discovered by the terahertz-field-excitation, femtosecond x-ray diffraction measurements and advanced modeling.

Studying how the ligand design influences the bonding of f-block complexes is crucial to control their properties. Here, the authors report the preparation of Bk(III) and Ce(III) complexes featuring a terpyridyl ligand; structural, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and theoretical analysis reveal that the ligand induces unusual bonding by creating a plane of enhanced bond covalency.

Realizing strong magnon-phonon coupling (i.e., magnon-polaron formation) is challenging and typically involves a material or cavity that confines the magnon to a small volume. Here, by combining a YIG film with a ZnO acoustic resonator, Künstle and coauthors achieve magnetic field tuneable magnon-polarons in a virtually infinite magnetic film, and succeed in observing Rabi-like oscillations in the time domain.

RNAi therapy has huge potential but effective delivery to target location is a major issue. Here, the authors report on the delivery of RNAi to tumors using self-agglomerating nanohydrogels that can overcome the different delivery barriers and supply multiple RNAi payloads.

Two-dimensional, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have sustained research interest due to attractive optoelectronic and excitonic properties. Here, Guo et al. systematically investigate coherent acoustic phonon transport versus layer thickness in these materials with strong acoustic impedance mismatch

The authors achieve magnetic trapping at optical frequencies and uncover photonic Hall effect forces by engineering spatially isolated magnetic fields interacting with a single Si nanoparticle at its magnetic dipole resonance.

Genomic amplification of chromosome 3q often encodes proteins that contribute to cancer development. Here the authors identify a non-coding product of the 3q region, the lncRNA PLANE that promotes tumorigenesis through the deregulation of transcriptional corepressor NCOR2 pre-mRNA splicing.

An optimal model-experiment integration for testing many complex hypotheses is still lacking. Here authors introduce improv, a modular software platform enabling real-time adaptive neuroscience experiments, orchestrating parallel data collection, modeling, and experimental control. Authors demonstrate various use cases, including online neural analysis and closed-loop optogenetics in zebrafish.

Coordinated X-ray and radio observations reveal that disk winds and jets occur mutually exclusively in 4U 1630–472, providing new observational constraints on the interplay between different modes of outflow in X-ray binaries.

β-PdBi2 superconducting properties have been known about since the 1950s, with various works since then indicating the possibility of multiple superconducting gaps and unconventional superconductivity. However, so far only a single gap s-wave superconductivity was detected. Here, using tunnelling spectroscopy under an applied magnetic field, Powell et al observe a transition from s-wave to nodal pairing.

GRX-810, an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy, shows excellent structural performance above 1100°C and stability up to 1300 °C. Grain-size effects, additive manufacturing–induced anisotropy, and fine trigonal Y₂O₃ particles enhance creep resistance.

Using experimental and atomistic simulations, the authors show that optical excitation lowers the energy barrier for domain wall motion. Combined with the imprint field, this effect enables subsecond optical control of domain switching in ferroelectric membranes.

The nature of the dominant pairing mechanism in some two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides is still debated. Here, the authors predict that the Kohn-Luttinger mechanism induces chiral p-wave superconductivity in monolayer NbSe₂.

The spin-orbit coupling present in certain nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic metal bilayers could enable electrical control of pure spin currents in future spintronic devices. Xiao et al. report the signatures of such coupling, even when the two layers are separated by a third copper layer.

Here, the authors report on the thermal and mechanical properties of Ruddlesden-Popper phases (Ban+1ZrnS3n+1, n = 2 and 3) of a perovskite chalcogenide (BaZrS3) that push to extreme limits and defy the century-old relation between thermal conductivity and interatomic bond strength.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially fatal heart condition with poorly understood molecular causes. Here, the authors show that loss of the protein PTRH2 in female mice leads to postpartum heart failure, identifying it as a potential therapeutic target.

CCR9 is chemokine receptor involved in gut inflammation and cancer. Here, the authors use AI-based modeling, protein engineering and pharmacological experiments to reveal the unusual anatomy of CCR9 activation by its endogenous chemokine agonist CCL25.