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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.

Aadvanced computer simulations of three-dimensional turbulence reveal that the ab initio generation of large-scale magnetic fields is driven by shear-flow-induced jets; an analytical model is derived which reproduces the essential features of the flow- and field-generation mechanisms.

Artificial intelligence boosts individual scientists’ output, citations and career progression, but collectively narrows research diversity and reduces collaboration, concentrating work in data-rich areas and potentially limiting broader scientific exploration.

Calcium imaging of mouse hippocampal neurons while mice learn a reward-based task over several weeks provides insight into the evolution of the hippocampal reward representation during extended periods of experience.

Aqueous two-phase systems have potential as biomimetic materials, but often lack stability and are prone to collapse. Here, the authors use interfacial assembly of chitin nanofibres and cellulose nanocrystals to prepare a biobased system with permeability and switchable motility.

By combining satellite observations with ground-based data and expert validation, this analysis demonstrates considerable misestimation of grassland extent and thereby carbon stock estimates in previous global assessments based on remote sensing.

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.

Metal-cation-free CO₂ electroreduction in strong acid minimizes reactant loss and salt precipitation yet struggles with CO₂ activation and hydrogen evolution competition. Here, the authors report bioinspired sharp gold triangles with a proton-blocking layer that polarize CO₂ and suppress hydrogen evolution.

Models of turbulent flows are often simulated in the laboratory, in sampling areas with dimensions <1 m. Here, the authors exploit a natural snowstorm to quantify turbulent flows, exploring the complex dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer around a 2.5-MW utility-scale wind turbine.

Two main acceleration mechanisms in the auroral acceleration region are electric potential and Alfvénic acceleration but associated energy dynamics are not completely resolved. Here, the authors show that Alfvén waves power the Earth’s auroral arc through a static potential drop in the auroral acceleration region.

Hole spin qubits in germanium have seen significant advancements, though improving control and noise resilience remains a key challenge. Here, the authors realize a dressed singlet-triplet qubit in germanium, achieving frequency-modulated high-fidelity control and a tenfold increase in coherence time.

Jahn-Teller distortions alter molecular structures, but are usually only probed on the basis of electronic signatures. Here, the authors demonstrate that tip-enhanced Raman imaging in real space can map the associated vibrational changes in a single molecule.

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.

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.

Native top-down proteomics reveals epidermal growth factor receptor–estrogen receptor-alpha (EGFR–ER) signaling crosstalk in breast cancer cells and dissociation of nuclear transport factor 2 (NUTF2) dimers to modulate ER signaling and cell growth.

Owing to electron localization, two-dimensional materials are not expected to be metallic at low temperatures, but a field-induced quantum metal phase emerges in NbSe₂, whose behaviour is consistent with the Bose-metal model.

Superconductivity in the iron pnictides is believed to be related to quantum critical fluctuations. Putzke et al. observe unexpected anomalies in the critical fields of BaFe₂(As_1−xP_x)₂that emerge close to its magnetic critical point, which they argue is a generic feature of quantum critical superconductivity.

Microflora Danica—an atlas of Danish environmental microbiomes—reveals that although human-disturbed habitats have high alpha diversity, species reoccur, revealing hidden homogeneity.

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 leverage experimental and phylogenetic data to propose that anammox bacteria during the Archaean period could have harvested photoholes from cyanobacterial mats for use as an electron acceptor prior to the availability of nitrite.

Applications of optical laser-based techniques are limited by the long wavelengths of the lasers. Now, observations of phonons and thermal transport at nanometre length scales are reported with an all-hard X-ray transient-grating spectroscopy technique.

Albumin selectively inhibits Mucorales growth through the release of bound free fatty acids.

Adaptive microwave surfaces can dynamically adjust their electromagnetic transmission to meet specific needs, being potentially useful in reconfigurable communication systems. Here, the authors use temperature induced break and reconstruction of hydrogen bonds to drive the orientational motion and charge mobility of an ionic liquid in a polymer leading to the controllable modulation of dielectric properties at microwave frequencies.

Rapid immune activation requires tight control of mRNA stability in CD8⁺ T cells. Here, the authors show that a compositive RNA motif – m⁶A sites positioned next to AU-rich elements - marks mRNAs for rapid decay during activation, revealing a coordinated mechanism that shapes T-cell immunity.

Fracto-mechanoluminescence is the emission of light from fracturing solids. Here, the authors show that this emission in Mn halides arises from elastic stiffness, electromechanical coupling, and trap states that activate Mn²⁺ d−d transitions.

Rare-earth permanent magnets are engineered with a complex microstructure of composition and phase, grains and grain boundaries, and it is this complex structure which leads to the magnetic performance. Here, Giron and coauthors, through thorough microstructural analysis, demonstrate that the grain microstructure, not grain boundaries, are primarily responsible for optimal magnetic properties.

Agricultural drought linked to past and current growing-season soil moisture is rising in Europe, southern Africa, northern South America and western North America and may persist until 2100, according to climate reanalyses and model simulations.

The complex interactions between the uterus microenvironment and the embryo during development are not fully understood. Here, authors engineer a 3D hydrogel culture system to investigate how the physical and biochemical properties of the uterine microenvironment impact embryo development in vitro.

MedHELM, an extensible evaluation framework including a new taxonomy for classifying medical tasks and a benchmark of many datasets across these categories, enables the evaluation of large language models on real-world clinical tasks.

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.

Moral-Sanz, Fernández-Carrasco and colleagues identify senolytic properties of sea anemone-derived pore-forming toxins, with selectivity mediated by senescence-associated lipid profiles. An optimized senotoxin improves the efficacy of chemotherapy in mouse models.

DynamicAtlas integrates fixed and live imaging data to generate a morphodynamic atlas of Drosophila development.

Electrofusion enables membrane fusion but struggles with lipid nanoparticles. Here, the authors present a nanofabrication platform that combines microfluidics with microelectrode arrays, achieving efficient, controlled nanoscale electrofusion of LNPs for effective siRNA delivery

Scale-invariant magnetic anisotropy in RuCl₃ has been revealed through measurements of its magnetotropic coefficient, providing evidence for a high degree of exchange frustration that favours the formation of a spin liquid state.

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

Endosomal sequestration of lipid-based nanoparticles is a barrier to delivery of nucleic acids. Here the authors test an array of cholesterol variants and perform in-depth investigation of nanoparticle shape, internal structure and intracellular trafficking.

Single atom magnets on surfaces offer potentially long lived and stable spin states, particular lanthanides, which can be adsorbed onto Magnesium Oxide. Here, the authors report on Dysprosium adsorbed onto Magnesium Oxide, which exhibits large magnetic anisotropy energy, and a spin life time of several days at low temperatures

Mitochondrial damage is a central pathological mechanism of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study develops a bioengineered nanolamellar system to sequentially restore neuronal cell mitochondrial function and modulate microglial polarization to mitigate ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Disordered metasurfaces can manipulate light in complex ways. Here, the authors reveal a critical packing regime where metaatoms begin to connect, causing abrupt changes in scattered light and colour.

The authors study microstructured UTe₂ by high-field transport, focusing on the field-reinforced superconducting phase. They reveal a highly-directional vortex pinning force typical of quasi-2D superconductors, indicating a vortex lock-in state and consistent with a change of order parameter from the low-field superconducting phase.

Control magnetic order with electric fields is of critical importance for spintronic devices, however, for certain material classes, such as van der Waals magnets, it is challenging. Here, Huang et al propose a spin-electric potential arising from polar spin interactions between differing constituent van der Waals magnets, which enables the electric field switching of spin orders.

This study demonstrates how to combine molecular dynamics computer simulations with experimental biophysical data to determine accurate atomic-resolution ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins.

Zhang et al. found that histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) condensation is responsible for temozolomide resistance in glioblastoma by recruiting CCCTC-binding factor and remodeling chromatin in a deacetylase-independent manner. Disrupting the HDAC1 condensates with resminostat restores the sensitivity to temozolomide.

Researchers demonstrate chaos transfer between two optical fields in an optomechanical system.

iGluSnFR4f and iGluSnFR4s are the latest generation of genetically encoded glutamate sensors. They are advantageous for detecting rapid dynamics and large population activity, respectively, as demonstrated in a variety of applications in the mouse brain.