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The excitation of metal nanoparticles with light can lead to localized surface plasmon resonances, capable of driving chemical reactions in bound species. Here, the authors elucidate this mechanism and suggest that future plasmonic catalysts may be able to selectively activate specific chemical bonds.

Brillouin interactions between sound and light can excite mechanical resonances in photonic microsystems, with potential for sensing and frequency reference applications. The authors demonstrate experimental excitation of mechanical resonances ranging from 49 to 1,400 MHz using forward Brillouin scattering.

A novel mechanism for cooling tiny mechanical resonators is now demonstrated. Inelastic scattering of light from phonons in an electrostrictive material attenuates the Brownian motion of the mechanical mode.

Brillouin lasing with 0.7 Hz fundamental linewidth is observed by optically exciting a monolithic bus–ring Si₃N₄ waveguide resonator. The Brillouin laser is applied to an optical gyroscope and a low phase-noise photonic microwave oscillator.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

Combining localization and polarization microscopy can yield detailed insights into subcellular structures. POLCAM uses a polarization camera and wide-field microscopy for rapid measurement of super-resolution orientation imaging in live cells.

Pulmonary type 2 inflammation is associated with type 2 innate lymphoid cells. Here the authors use the Collaborative Cross mouse panel to show that ILC2 abundance during type 2 lung inflammation is different across the panel and identify free-fatty acid receptor 3 (Ffar3) as a gene responsible and show cytokine and ILC2 functional changes.

A family of fluorescent molecular rotors has been developed and their mechanism for emission understood. It has been observed that, although most fluorescent molecules emit from their lowest energy excited state, S₁ (in accordance with Kasha's rule), BODIHY dyes do not. Furthermore, their fluorescence is enhanced through restricted rotor rotation, which suppresses internal conversion to the dark S₁ state.

Despite observed routinely from spacecrafts landing on, e.g., lunar soil, the origin of radial streak patterns has been unclear up to now. Here, the authors report an experimental study of such instabilities in the coupled dynamics of rocket plumes and sand surfaces.

There is a need to control molecular activities at high spatial precision. Here the authors report a real-time precision opto-control technology that detects a chemical-specific optical response from molecular targets, and precisely control photoswitchable microtubule polymerization inhibitors in cells.

The efficiency with which melts disaggregate and entrain macrocrysts from crystal mushes varies on inter-eruption timescales at ocean-island volcanoes, according to a study combining thin-section scale chemical mapping, in situ geochemistry, and modelling.

Indirect evidence suggests that groundwater is being consumed faster than it is naturally being replenished in northwest India, but there has been no regional assessment of the rate of groundwater depletion. Terrestrial water storage-change observations and simulated soil-water variations from a modelling system are now used to show that groundwater is indeed being depleted and that its use for irrigation and other anthropogenic uses is likely to be the cause.

L-shaped silicon metamaterials are realized exhibiting broadband and enhanced chirality. The current work sets new benchmarks in the assembly of ultrathin dielectric chiral metamaterials that can efficiently control chiral light-matter interactions.

Pump–probe measurements conventionally achieve femtosecond time resolution for X-ray crystallography of reactive processes, but the measured structural dynamics are complex. Using coherent control techniques, we show that the ultrafast crystallographic differences of a fluorescent protein are dominated by ground-state vibrational processes that are unconnected to the photoisomerization reaction of the chromophore.

Primitive asteroids may accrete in regions of intense turbulence, not just at large distances, suggests the discovery of abundant microchondrules in asteroid Ryugu.

The Review discusses recent advances in single-molecule orientation and localization microscopy (SMOLM) along with remaining challenges and promises for future developments of the field.

Renally clearable gold quantum clusters that are stabilized by the milk metalloprotein alpha-lactalbumin and display multicolour fluorescence aid the detection, resection and treatment of breast cancer in mice.

Surface proteins are shown to be routed to the outer Gram-positive cell-wall surface by entropy.

PROTAC development has surged in popularity, however our ability to characterize PROTAC specificity in living cells has lagged behind. Here, the authors develop ProtacID, a flexible proximity-dependent biotinylation (BioID)-based approach to identify PROTAC-protein interactions in living cells.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Self-ordered heterogeneous nanostructures are of broad interest for both fundamental studies and technological applications. Here authors show that segregation in a multicomponent system during growth can yield highly strained germanium nanowire arrays embedded within a ternary semiconductor matrix.

Nanostructured materials offer a route to tuning the bandgap of a semiconductor. Here, the authors use single particle absorption spectroscopy to investigate bandgap evolution between cadmium selenide nanowires and quantum dots and identify the length at which a nanorod becomes zero-dimensional.

The impact of multiexcitonic through-space interactions in macromolecular architectures is poorly investigated. Here the authors use dendritic macromolecules to study the effect of interchromophore interactions on the dynamics of multiexciton generation and decay as a function of dendrimer generation.

Colour conversion of single photons may allow the advantages of quantum systems operating at different wavelengths to be simultaneously utilized. Researchers demonstrate the colour conversion of triggered single photons from a semiconductor quantum dot between 1.3 µm to 710 nm. The up-converted signal maintains the quantum character of the original light.

Accurate liquid water modelling is challenging. Here the authors use X-ray micro-computed tomography, deep learned super-resolution, multi-label segmentation, and direct multiphase simulation to simulate fuel cell and guide fuel cell design.

Mepolizumab (anti-IL-5 therapy) has been shown to reduce type 2 inflammation in asthma. Here the authors use bulk transcriptomics from nasal samples before and after mepolizumab treatment to assess the changes and associations with treatment outcomes.

A silicon nanometre-scale mechanical resonator, patterned to couple optical and mechanical resonances, is found to emit photons when optically pumped; photon emission corresponds directly to phonon emission, enabling the phonons to be counted.

The clinical detection of fluorescent protoporphyrin IX during glioma-resection surgery can be improved via a microscope that pairs stimulated Raman histology and two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy.

Aggregation of misfolded proteins underlie dementias. Here, the authors show that stressed cells activate an innate mechanism to resolve aggregates of defective proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, where a third of cellular proteins are produced.

Serum MMP8 is increased in stress-susceptible mice following chronic stress and leads to brain structure and behavioural changes in mice.

Manufacturing perovskite solar cells in dust-free environments is expensive and not practical in some settings. Here, the effect of non-conductive dust settling on small-area devices during manufacture is assessed, finding only minor drop-off in some performance metrics

The authors demonstrate a two-dimensional optomechanical crystal cavity which traps a phonon mode within a phononic bandgap while yielding large thermal conductivity to the environment. High quantum cooperativity at millikelvin temperatures is realized, suitable for quantum coherent control.

The Y-junction is an essential element in synthetic and biological microfluidic networks. This study investigates how the flow behavior of colloidal particles through a microfluidic Y-junction can be controlled by tuning the interparticle interactions and the nature of confinement.

Microwave photonic technologies are poised to revolutionise electronic systems. Here the authors integrate necessary but until now elusive, MHz-level resolution photonic processing with on-chip electro-optic components in a compact microwave photonic notch filter.

Using pump-power-dependent exciton absorption spectroscopy, the authors reveal magnon-mediated exciton–exciton interactions and a consequent nonlinear optical response in CrSBr, an antiferromagnetic semiconductor.

Complexes that form between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes may be solid or liquid. Here, Perry et al.show that chirality in polypeptides can determine the state of those complexes based on a propensity for hydrogen-bond formation.

Binary nanocrystal superlattice metamaterials are arousing significant interest due to their potential for use in functional devices. Here, the authors endow the nanoparticles with polymer brushes which enable control over their spacings and thus mesoscale structure and properties.

Silicon nanospheres could be of interest for applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Here, Gumenniket al. demonstrate a nanosphere fabrication process based on an optical fibre drawing technique that is able to produce p and n-type spheres paired into rectifying bispherical junctions.

Experimental evidence for charge coupling to ferroelectric soft mode is scarce. Here, the authors find a photogenerated coherent phonon coupling to the electronic transition above the bandgap in the van der Waals ferroelectric semiconductor NbOI2.

The WHO’s designation of mpox as a public health emergency of international concern underscores the need for diagnostics to combat this escalating threat. Here, the authors present a portable POC molecular platform based on power-free DNA extraction and colourimetric LAMP.

The use of cavity optomechanics for optical information processing is hindered by mechanical dissipation and the difficulties in stored signal control. Here, the authors improve performances on both fronts using time-varying parametric feedback through an additional optical field in a multi-mode cavity.

Quantum networks require a connection between quantum memories and optical links, which often operate in different frequency ranges. An optomechanical device exploiting the strain dependence of a colour-centre spin provides such a spin–optics interface at room temperature.