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The field enhancements arising in plasmonic nanostructures make them ideal as substrates for molecular sensors. In this study, Zhang et al.achieve single molecule sensitivity with Fano resonances in a quadrumer nanostructure and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy.

The size of non-fluorescent nanodiamonds can be tracked in cells through coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, which could be used for following cellular pathways quantitatively.

Strong stimulated Brillouin scattering is incorporated in a standard silicon nitride platform via a tellurium oxide layer. The authors demonstrate applications including a silicon-nitride-based Brillouin amplifier (net optical gain, 5 dB), a compact intermodal stimulated Brillouin laser capable of high-purity radio-frequency signal generation (intrinsic linewidth, 7 Hz) and a widely tunable microwave photonic notch filter (ultranarrow linewidth, 2.2 MHz).

Fluorescence microscopy during CryoFIB milling produces an interferogram that can be used to direct lamella production to labeled structures with accuracy beyond the axial diffraction limit. The approach relies only on real-time feedback from the structure, requiring no image registration.

Cavity-stimulated Raman spin-flip emission is demonstrated by coupling a negatively charged InAs/GaAs quantum dot to a photonic crystal defect cavity. The emission is spectrally narrow and tunable over a range of about 125 GHz. The process can be made spin selective by tuning the scattered photons to be in resonance with the cavity.

Here, Kittlauset al. demonstrate stimulated inter-modal Brillouin scattering on-chip. Through this process, a Brillouin interaction couples light fields that propagate in distinct spatial modes of a Brillouin-active silicon waveguide, which may allow a variety of new processes in silicon photonics.

Exploiting photon–phonon coupling in nanoscale silicon waveguides could enable a host of powerful features in photonic devices. Using a hybrid photonic–phononic waveguide structure, Shin et al. show stimulated Brillouin scattering nonlinearities and gain, which offers new on-chip signal-processing abilities.

Optical cavities enhance light–matter interactions, and have been used to strongly couple a photon to a single spin. Here, the authors take this a step further by coupling a photon to a two-spin system by embedding an indium arsenide quantum-dot molecule in a photonic crystal cavity.

Optomechanical coupling to macroscopic phonon modes of a bulk acoustic-wave resonator is demonstrated, providing access to high acoustics quality factors for phononic modes at high frequencies that are robust to decoherence.

In this work the authors demonstrate on-chip integration of Brillouin lasing operating at visible wavelengths, with engineered design for stable output. This technical and scientific advance will help develop integrated light sources for quantum computing or atomic and molecular spectroscopy.

Many biological reactions typically occur in a fluid that is near to a surface. Here, the authors apply theory used to describe glassy systems to quantitatively understand these effects, finding that correlated particle motion near the interface leads to an increase in fluid viscosity.

Permittivity tensor imaging is a label-free computational microscopy approach that enables the three-dimensional measurement of molecular permittivity tensors, revealing information about a biomolecule’s dry mass and orientation in cells and tissues.

Here the authors developed on-chip microresonators with a remarkable Q-factor of 38 million and demonstrated on-chip Brillouin lasing in the mid-infrared. These results highlight opportunities to create more compact and efficient platforms for molecular science.

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.

Non-reciprocal single-sideband modulation and mode conversion are realized in a low-loss integrated silicon waveguide, enabling >125 GHz operation bandwidths and up to 38 dB of non-reciprocal contrast between forward- and backward-propagating waves.

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.

Genomic tools and ocean circulation models show that organisms surface-drift across the Southern Ocean frequently. The extreme cold therefore keeps Antarctica biologically isolated, but as the climate warms new species may establish quickly.

Centrosome dynamics play a central role in immune regulation. Here, the authors demonstrate that centrosome integrity as well as centriole numbers and spatial organisation emerge as critical determinants of effective T cell responses.

A single-shot full-vector-field measurement technique for intense, ultrashort laser pulses is studied, demonstrating the approach on systems ranging from high-repetition-rate oscillators to petawatt-class lasers.

Plasmonic excitations can enhance the interaction between a metal and molecules adsorbed onto its surface. This Review summarizes the different effects involved in this process and places them into a framework based on electron scattering.

This Perspective establishes a comprehensive and practical framework to guide intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) ensemble determination, benchmarking and interpretation, as well as proposes a roadmap for IDP ensemble determination, uncertainty quantification and actionable benchmarking strategies.

Photoexcitation of quadrupolar dyes—key materials for various optoelectronic applications—induces an excited-state symmetry-breaking charge-transfer process with unknown microscopic origin. Now it has been shown that vibronic coupling to high-frequency backbone modes drives the initial ultrafast symmetry breaking before solvation, distinguishing fundamental intramolecular dynamics from solvent-induced charge localization.

Direct acousto-optic modulation within complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor compatible silicon photonic waveguides using electrically driven surface acoustic waves is demonstrated. Non-reciprocal operation bandwidths of >100 GHz and insertion losses of <0.6 dB are obtained.

Optical refrigeration of semiconductors has the potential to reach temperatures as low as 10 K for applications in non-contact cooling and high-precision metrology. This Expert Recommendation outlines four criteria for the standardized reporting of new cooling results towards these goals.

A theoretical and experimental study of the transverse spin appearing in non-paraxial light when the source is totally unpolarized is reported, in sharp contrast to the usual longitudinal spin, which is directly related to the 2D polarization and vanishes in unpolarized fields.

Quantum-dot-based single photon sources represent a promising resource for future quantum networks. Here, the authors realize all-photonic quantum teleportation using photons from two remote near-infrared-emitting quantum dots, using polarization-preserving quantum frequency converters to enable two-photon interference at telecom wavelength.

The instability of quantum dot inks hinders the scaling up of colloidal quantum dot electronics. Now, Shi and team stabilize the inks with an iodine-rich environment in a weakly coordinating solvent, achieving 13.4% in small-area solar cells and over 10% in modules.

The authors showcase an optical-to-microwave conversion method using an optomechanical waveguide integrated with a piezoelectric transducer. The presented system allows bidirectional optical-to-microwave conversion with a quantum efficiency of up to—54.16 dB.

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.

Exciton management in phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes is critical to the optimal design and performance of these devices. Here, the authors report a computational method to elucidate the enhancement in exothermic exciton transfer between different phosphorescent emitters.

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.

This article provides consensus-based statements from an international panel of bladder cancer experts on the use of active surveillance in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Consensus statements cover several aspects of active surveillance, including terminology, eligibility criteria and treatment triggers, providing a framework to guide clinical practice and trial design in this space.

Acoustically opaque glass can regain its transparency through coherently driven fields. Combining experiments and theory, the phononic saturation process is presented as analogous to the spectral hole burning process.

Brillouin scattering microscopy is prone to artefacts and inconsistencies. This Consensus statement provides recommendations for measuring and reporting relevant parameters with the aim of standardizing protocols and improving the comparability of studies.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is commonly preceded by a prodromal period. Here, the authors report the presence of large plasma Aβ aggregates from patients with mild cognitive impairment, which associate with low level AD-like brain pathology as observed by 11C-PiB PET and 18F-FTP PET and lowered CD18-rich monocytes.

Ricca et al discover a new family of tubular pili in Microcystis aeruginosa, a harmful algal bloom-forming cyanobacterium. These pili are crucial for buoyancy by forming cell micro-colonies, which increases drag and prevents sinking. The pili also enrich microcystin and co-localize with iron-enriched extracellular matrix components, suggesting a vital role in bloom proliferation.

Acousto-optical interactions within integrated optics platforms are reviewed with a discussion of the useful chip-based devices such as lasers, amplifiers, filters, isolators and more besides that can result.

A massive phonon mode in a high-overtone bulk acoustic wave resonator has been laser cooled close to its ground state. Its robustness to decoherence establishes the potential of these devices for quantum technologies.

Reporting the position of molecules and the electromagnetic enhancement in a plasmonic hotspot is difficult. Here Macket al. use a large Stokes-shifted molecule to spectrally decouple the emission process of the dye from the plasmonic system, keeping the absorption on resonance with the plasmon resonance of the antenna.

Bacteria harness toxin-antitoxin systems to manipulate growth and evade stress. Using biochemistry, biophysics, and crystallography, the authors characterize a mechanism of antitoxin-induced autophosphorylation that can neutralize nucleotidyltransferase toxins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Net Brillouin amplification is demonstrated in silicon with just 5 mW pumping. Greater than 5 dB amplification is achieved.

Analysis of a fossilized front flipper of the Jurassic ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus that preserves details of soft tissue indicates the presence of a serrated trailing edge that would have reduced noise generated while swimming, enabling stealth hunting and hiding from predators.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are cellular organelles dedicated to triacylglycerol storage that can undergo fusion and dissociation events. Here the authors show that formin-like 1-dependent acto-myosin assembly on LDs facilitates their dissociation and, as a consequence, affects hydrolysis and storage of triacylglycerols.

Understanding and controlling the rheology of polymeric complex fluids is of fundamental importance in both industry and biology. Here, Michieletto et al. show how to achieve time-dependent rheology of DNA solutions via enzymatically-driven architectural alterations by restriction endonucleases.

Bacteriocins include antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that often disrupt the cytoplasmic membrane. Here, the authors describe TMcin (transmembrane helix-containing bacteriocin), a class of AMPs that forms large, structured pores in the target membrane.