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A seeded free-electron laser with a two-stage harmonic upshift configuration provided tunable and coherent soft-X-ray pulses. The configuration produced single-transverse-mode, narrow-spectral-bandwidth femtosecond pulses with energies of several tens of microjoules and a low pulse-to-pulse wavelength jitter at wavelengths of 10.8 nm and below.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are essential in a wide range of photonics applications but have not been demonstrated for X-ray optics. Here, Mukhopadhyay et al.use single-crystal silicon to demonstrate a MEMS system that can preserve and manipulate the spatial, temporal and spectral correlations of the X-rays.

Although synchrotron facilities routinely operate in a multi-bunch regime for maximum average brilliance, studies relying on time-of-flight schemes require single-bunch operation. Here, Holldack et al.isolate and apply single bunch X-ray pulses from multibunch radiation using pulse picking by resonant excitation.

A new scheme for multicolour X-ray free-electron lasers at soft X-ray wavelengths is proposed. The scheme significantly improves two-colour pulse generation and makes possible the first demonstration of three-colour pulse generation.

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.

The polar chiral texture of the vortex or skyrmion structure in ferroelectric oxide PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattice attracts attention. Here, the authors report a theoretical framework to probe emergent chirality of electrical polarization textures.

The epitaxial growth of hyperdoped Ga:Ge films and trilayer heterostructures by molecular-beam epitaxy yield superconductivity with a critical temperature of 3.5 K and may enable quantum functionalities in this material system, which is accessible with well-established semiconductor technologies.

A large sulfur-bearing carbon ring molecule has been detected in space, 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-thione, using laboratory spectroscopy and a radio telescope. Found near the Galactic Centre, it opens the door to a new family of interstellar molecules.

IXPE has revealed how the spin of the accreting neutron star Hercules X-1 changes in three dimensions. The spin axis of the star moves both through the star and across the sky, hinting that the crust of the star is asymmetric by almost one part in a million.

Dynamic compression experiments enable material studies in regimes relevant for planetary science, but temperature is difficult to measure in these challenging conditions. Here, the authors report on temperature, density, pressure, and structure of dynamically compressed Cu up to 1 TPa determined from extended x-ray absorption fine structure and velocimetry.

When doubly-degenerate band crossings known as Kramers nodal lines intersect the Fermi level, they form exotic three-dimensional Fermi surfaces composed of massless Dirac fermions. Here, the authors present evidence that the 3R polytypes of TaS₂ and NbS₂ are Kramers nodal line metals with open octdong and spindle-torus Fermi surfaces, respectively.

X-ray crystallography is a routine technique used to solve protein structures, but is often limited by weak anomalous scattering signals and low-resolution data. Here, the authors develop a synergistic algorithm to significantly increase the success rate of structure solution when the signal is weak.

High voltage layered oxide cathodes are highly demanded for Na-ion batteries, but they are plagued with structural instability. Here, authors enabled a high voltage K_xNa_5-xV₁₂O₃₂ cathode with reinforced V 3d–O 2p hybridization and V 3d–orbital electron delocalization upon K substitution, translated to enhanced V ⁵⁺/V⁴⁺ with improved cycling performance.

Estrogen receptor α is a primary driver of ER+ breast cancer and reproductive development. Here, the structure of the apo state is reported, providing a revised model for ligand-dependent and -independent regulation of receptor function.

A possible kilonova associated with a nearby, long-duration gamma-ray burst suggests that gamma-ray bursts with long and complex light curves can be spawned from the merger of two compact objects, contrary to the established gamma-ray burst paradigm.

Diffraction-before-destruction of ultrashort X-ray pulses can visualize non-equilibrium processes at the nanoscale with sub-femtosecond precision. Here, the authors demonstrate how the brightness and the spatial resolution of such snapshots can be substantially increased despite ionization.

Researchers have demonstrated the generation and control of subfemtosecond pulse pairs from a two-colour X-ray free-electron laser and conducted pump–probe experiments in core-ionized molecules.

X-ray diffraction images contain a signal that is an untapped source of information on protein dynamics. Here, the authors lay out a general workflow for interpreting this diffuse scattering signal and expanding the capabilities of protein crystallography.

Co–Mn spinel oxides are the most promising precious-metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction in alkaline electrolytes, but their structure–activity properties are not yet fully understood. Now, in situ XRD and REXS performed on MnCo₂O₄ identify surface tensile strain at low potentials and a reversible transformation between cubic and tetragonal structures.

The directional propagation of phonon polaritons has been demonstrated in various twisted van der Waals materials. Here, the authors report a complementary type of directional polariton propagation by visualizing unidirectional ray polaritons in twisted asymmetric stacks of α-MoO3 and/or β-Ga2O3.

Ionizing radiation can cause simultaneous charge noise in multi-qubit superconducting devices. Here, the authors measure space- and time-correlated charge jumps in a four-qubit system in a low-radiation underground facility, achieving operation with minimal correlated events over 22 h at qubit separations beyond 3 mm.

Foundation models enable rapid adaptation to various downstream tasks and are hence about to become a new paradigm in biomedicine. Here, the authors develop LLaVA-Rad, a small AI that bests larger models in chest X-ray interpretation, and CheXprompt, a radiologist-aligned factuality metric, to enable scalable, privacy-preserving image analysis.

Here the authors show that mitochondrial RNA leaks into the cytosol of senescent cells through sublethal apoptosis, driving inflammation. Blocking this pathway improves outcomes in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis.

Photo-crosslinking polymerization facilitates precise control of hydrogel formation for various applications including tissue engineering, but most existing photo-crosslinking methods fail to achieve deep-tissue penetration, especially within bone structures. Here the authors report a strategy of low-dose X-ray-activated polymerization that enables deep-tissue hydrogel formation.

Scintillators emit visible luminescence when irradiated with X-rays and may enable remote optogenetic control of neurons deep in the brain. The authors inject an inorganic scintillator to activate and inhibit midbrain dopamine neurons in freely moving mice by X-ray irradiation to modulate place preference behavior.

Vinyl acetate is an important polymer building block, but the mechanisms governing its catalytic production are not well understood. This study shows that dynamic palladium-acetate clusters determine catalyst efficiency and selectivity in vinyl acetate synthesis.

Despite exhibiting ferroelectric features, SrTiO₃ fails to display long-range polar order at low temperatures due to quantum fluctuations. An ultrafast X-ray diffraction experiment now probes polar dynamics of this material at the nanometre scale.

The detection and modelling of nine X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from a nearby tidal disruption event shows that these eruptions arise in accretion disks around massive black holes, left behind by tidally disrupted stars, and that an orbiting body colliding with this disk is a plausible explanation for the X-ray variability.

Optical light from many stars is known to pulsate and degenerate objects, like neutron stars, are known to emit pulses of X-rays, but X-ray pulsations have yet to be associated with non-degenerate objects. Here, Oskinova et al. find X-ray pulsations from a non-degenerate object: the massive B-type star ξ¹CMa.

A few missing photons in Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observations lead to robust neutron star mass measurements in eclipsing millisecond pulsar binaries, ruling out an ultra-massive pulsar in the original Black Widow system.

Here authors use anomalous X-ray powder diffraction to locate titanium atoms in two TS-1 catalysts. Titanium appears as isolated species at T3 and T9 sites within the frameworks of both catalysts and as non-framework species in one structure.

Here the authors develop a method for accurate auto-labelling of CXR images from large public datasets based on quantitative probability-of similarity to an explainable AI model. The labels can be used to fine-tune the original model through iterative re-training.

Integrating spin waves with microwave circuits is promising for microwave nanoelectronics. Here, Yu et al. demonstrate a reconfigurable microwave-to-magnon transducer by covering yttrium iron garnet with small arrays of tailored magnetic nanodisks, which transmits microwave signals via sub-100-nanometer wavelength spin waves.

Editorial summary: Understanding non-equilibrium dynamics in materials is hindered by the difficulty of collecting and analyzing experimental data. Here, authors develop an machine learning framework for categorizing and tracking dynamics using time-resolved XPCS.

Understanding active-site geometry and structural evolution during electrocatalysis is important for further development. Here the authors use operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to investigate single atom catalysts derived from Vitamin B12.

A lensed quasar at redshift z ≈ 10.3, seen in X-rays, hosts a supermassive black hole of mass similar to that of its host galaxy. The large black-hole mass at a young age, as well as the amount of X-rays it produces, suggest that the black hole formed from the collapse of a huge cloud of gas.

The development of robust catalysts that could work under industrial-scale current densities remains a challenge for chlor-related reactions. Here, the authors report an activation method for designing efficient ruthenium single-atom catalysts that enhance chlor-related production and recycling.

Cyclopropane fuels offer high energy density but are hard to synthesize due to rigid structures. Here, a strain-engineered Cu/SWCNT catalyst enhances carbene formation, boosting conversion and selectivity for multi-cyclopropane fuel production from dienes.

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.

Ultra-high-energy gamma-ray emission from the microquasar V4641 Sagittarii is reported, suggesting that large-scale jets from microquasars could be more common than previously thought and also could be a notable source of galactic cosmic rays.

The accretion geometry of X-ray binary Cygnus X-3 is determined here from IXPE observations. X-ray polarization reveals a narrow funnel with reflecting walls, which focuses emission, making Cyg X-3 appear as an ultraluminous X-ray source.