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Colloidal suspensions are known to exhibit interesting phase transitions. Here, the authors report a glass–glass transition with an associated waiting time in a colloidal clay (Laponite) under ambient conditions.

The infectious prion diseases affect numerous hoofed animal species, and it has been suggested that the properties of the local soil affect transmission of these diseases. Here, the authors studied two North American locations and demonstrate that soil clay content can influence the infection rate in deer.

Sequestration of CO₂ in geological reservoirs holds great potential, but ex situ mineral carbonation generally requires harsh, energy-intense conditions. Here the authors study CO₂ physisorption at open nanospaces within overlapping nanosheets in saponite clay under ambient conditions.

Two-dimensional titanium carbide has been produced by etching out aluminium in a lithium fluoride and hydrochloric acid mixture; it is hydrophilic and mouldable like clay and has excellent volumetric capacitance and cyclability, properties that are desirable for portable electronics.

Theoretical models of colloids with directional and anisotropic interactions have predicted the existence of both liquids with vanishing density, and arrested networks at equilibrium — that is, not undergoing phase separation. Experimental evidence of empty liquids and equilibrium gels is now provided for Laponite, a synthetic clay. These observations further our understanding of anisotropic interactions in colloidal suspensions.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

A geochemical model for the state of early Mars suggests that short-term warm events grafted onto a generally cold climate could form Al-rich phyllosilicates in short-lived surface water bodies and Mg-rich ones in hydrothermal subsurface environments.

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.

Electromagnetic soundings are used to map the extent of deep old aquifers beneath coastal Bangladesh. Low sea-level during the ice age and weathering shaped the distribution of freshwater. These reserves aid water security in the region.

Clay-sized particles bind organic matter and sequester carbon and nitrogen in soils, yet extent and localization of organic matter coverage remain unclear. Using NanoSIMS, Vogel et al.chemically image soils at ultra-high resolution and show that only particles with rough surfaces react with organic matter.

The rupture area of the 2014 Iquique earthquake offshore northern Chile was spatially limited to a region where the plate boundary is non-reflective in seismic images, indicative of low fluid pressure. In contrast, north and updip of the rupture area, a coherent highly reflective plate boundary indicates excess fluid pressure, which may inhibit strain accumulation, while strain release in the non-reflective rupture area occurs during large earthquakes.

Although climate change is known to abruptly shift ecosystem functions, the response of belowground ecosystem multifunctionality to climate scenarios is less understood. This study predicts that climate change will reduce global belowground ecosystem multifunctionality.

Combining high-resolution mapping of foliar and herbivore faecal sodium concentrations across Africa, the authors show that plant-derived sodium availability constrains megaherbivore densities at a continental scale.

To better understand bioturbation in the hadal zone, the authors here examine sediment cores collected from depths of more than 7.5 km. They characterise biogenic sedimentary structures, colonization patterns, and their relation to gravity flow events.

Experiments and buoyancy calculations reveal that subduction of limestone results in massive carbon storage in arc lithosphere, forming an important carbon reservoir in convergent margins. Remobilization of this carbon reservoir during arc magma ascent may dominate carbon emissions at volcanic arcs.

Fast settling rates of suspended silt and clay particles suggest that mud in rivers is largely flocculated and part of suspended bed-material load.

A shift towards more-frequent, less-intense fires in Australia began about 11,000 years ago due to management by Indigenous societies, according to charcoal and stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon records extending back 150,000 years.

Elevated concentrations of arsenic are common in shallow groundwater in many parts of South and Southeast Asia. Field experiments and model simulations suggest that adsorption of arsenic to sediments could help to limit contamination of deep groundwater.

Trends in global H₂ sources and sinks are analysed from 1990 to 2020, and a comprehensive budget for the decade 2010–2020 is presented.

The radioactive element uranium tends to accumulate in wetland soils in the insoluble and immobile tetravalent form. Wang et al. show that uranium(IV) can associate with highly mobile organic- and iron(II)-bearing colloids and that its mobility in organic-rich environments may be severely underestimated.

Nitrogen mineralisation (N_min), an important index of soil fertility, is often determined in the laboratory, with an uncertain relationship to N_min under field conditions. Here the authors show that combining laboratory measurements with environmental data greatly improves predictions of field N_min at a global scale.

Subarctic Pacific Ocean sediments and modeling results provide new evidence for precession driving meridional shifts in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and modulating the efficiency of heat and water vapor transfer to the Arctic regions.

Selenium deficiency is a major health problem, particularly in the selenium-poor belt in China, yet its distribution in the terrestrial environment is poorly understood. Here, the authors combine geochemical and palaeoclimate data and show that selenium distribution in China may be related to East Asian monsoon rainfall.

It is unclear whether the linkage between tree species richness and insect herbivory is consistent across climates and forest types. Here, the authors analyse data from forest biodiversity experiments to show a generally positive tree growth–insect herbivory relationship that is modulated by leaf traits.

Thorium-234 provides a time-sensitive geochemical tracer to identify the extent of deep-sea mining sediment plume deposition, enabling detection of recent impacts and supporting long-term environmental management.

A decadal-scale field trial revealed 1.01 Mg of rhizodeposit and necromass C was stored in soil microaggregate and mineral fractions per Mg biochar-C applied. Microspectroscopic analyses visualize mechanisms for this elevated soil C storage ceiling.

Here, the authors present mtDNA and chronological data for sediments from excavations in the South Chamber of Denisova Cave, from which they construct a timeline of hominin and faunal occupation that fills stratigraphic gaps in other parts of the cave.

Although co-occurring species may differ widely in their response traits, coordinated functional trait shifts may emerge at the community level in response to environmental factors. Here, the authors use data from 150 grassland sites to identify a coordinated slow-fast strategy response to land-use intensification across above- and belowground taxa.

In the past three decades, fish abundance, richness and uniqueness have diverged across cold and warm streams, and the effects on native fish communities of stream warming and increases in introduced fishes have magnified each other.

Strontium isotope analysis can be applied to animal and plant tissues to help determine their provenance. Here, the authors generate a strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa using data from 2266 environmental samples and demonstrate its efficacy by tracing the African roots of individuals from historic slavery contexts.

Yang–Mills theory is the basis of the standard model of particle physics. The Yang–Mills Millennium Prize problem, to show that the theory is mathematically well defined and that it has the mass gap property, is one of the great challenges of mathematical physics. This Review explores the problem from both physical and mathematical points of view and surveys promising approaches from recent years.

The rate of subsea permafrost degradation is a key factor controlling marine methane emissions in the Arctic. Here, using re-drilled boreholes, the authors show that the ice-bonded permafrost table in the near-shore East Siberian Arctic Shelf has deepened by ∼14 cm per year over the past 31–32 years.

Protection afforded by inorganic minerals is assumed to make mineral-associated organic carbon less susceptible to loss under climate change than particulate organic carbon. However, a global study of soil organic carbon from drylands suggests that this is not the case.

Subduction zones consume seafloor carbonates. Laboratory experiments on carbonate fault gouge from the Costa Rican subduction zone show that carbonates weaken with increasing temperature and pore-fluid pressure, and may nucleate earthquakes.

The Ediacaran–Cambrian oxygenation of seawater is thought to have been caused by lifeforms engaging in ecosystem engineering. Here, the authors show that siliceous sponges increased seawater dissolved oxygen concentrations by redistributing organic carbon oxidation through filtering suspended organic matter.