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A first principles understanding of the origins of the Earth's magnetic field requires the study of iron and nickel at high temperatures and pressures. Here, the authors find anomalies in the electronic properties of nickel and iron-nickel alloys, which may be important for the physics of geomagnetism.

Filamentous cable bacteria conduct electrical currents over centimeter distances through fibers embedded in their cell envelope. Here, Boschker et al. show that the fibers consist of a conductive core containing nickel proteins that is surrounded by an insulating protein shell.

The combination of nickel-catalysis and sensitized electron transfer is underdeveloped. Now, a nickel-catalysed sensitized electron transfer method for the synthesis of methyl thioesters from carboxylic acids is reported. Mechanistic investigations reveal that the merger of photocatalytic electron transfer, energy transfer and nickel catalysis plays an essential role in this thioesterification reaction.

Allergies to nickel are the most frequent cause of contact hypersensitivity in industrialized countries. Goebeler and co-workers show that nickel induces an inflammatory response via direct activation of human Toll-like receptor 4.

Carbon dioxide is a desired feedstock for platform molecules, such as carbon monoxide and higher hydrocarbons, but needs improved catalysts. Here, the authors use a combined theoretical and experimental approach to tune the activity and selectivity of CO₂ conversion over nickel towards desired products.

Understanding structure sensitivity—how the structural morphology of a surface influences a catalytic reaction—is important for rational catalyst design. Here, the synthesis and in-depth characterization of a range of size-defined nickel clusters shows the structure sensitivity of CO₂ hydrogenation, and also identifies two size-dependent reaction pathways.

Battery technology has advanced at extraordinary speed over the past decade, yet meeting the world’s accelerating electrification needs will require both continued evolution of lithium-ion systems and further progress in next-generation chemistries, writes Peter Bruce.

A dynamic interconversion of three nickel states in lithium nickel oxide is demonstrated using evidence from x-ray spectroscopic data and first-principles calculations, which explains many physical properties of this and similar materials.

CD44 expressed by fibroblastic reticular cells in secondary lymphoid organs regulates trafficking of dendritic cells, and thus has an essential role in the priming of T cells and the adaptive immune response.

The high-voltage oxygen redox activity of Li-rich layered oxides enables additional capacity beyond conventional transition metal redox contributions. Here, authors investigate the correlation between oxygen redox activity and superstructure units. They prove that an excess of LiNiMn5 hinders the extraction/insertion of lithium ions.

Persistent correlations between traded goods and foreign aid purposes reveal connections to human and environmental crises that could be exacerbated by aid cuts, according to a global study using OECD aid data and trade flows to map obscure or unintended interactions between aid and trade.

In targeted protein degradation, a degrader molecule brings a neosubstrate protein proximal to a hijacked E3 ligase for its ubiquitination. Here, pseudo-natural products derived from (−)-myrtanol—iDegs—are identified to inhibit and induce degradation of the immunomodulatory enzyme indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) by a distinct mechanism. iDegs prime apo-IDO1 ubiquitination and subsequent degradation using its native proteolytic pathway.

Authors utilise a metabolomics approach to identify microbial-derived metabolites that synergistically inhibit urease activity in Proteus mirabilis, a cause of urease-induced kidney stones. They reveal that two metabolites prevented urinary catheter encrustation and improved antimicrobial efficacy against catheter biofilm.

Polymer thin films that emit and absorb circularly polarised light are promising in achieving important technological advances, but the origin of the large chiroptical effects in such films has remained elusive. Here the authors demonstrate that in non-aligned polymer thin films, large chiroptical effects are caused by magneto-electric coupling, not structural chirality as previously assumed.

This work employs nano- to microscale characterization to identify different structural change pathways associated with non-homogeneous reactions within the particles, and explores differences in the failure mechanisms of lithium-rich transition metal oxide materials at different current densities.

Lithium-ion battery cathode lifetime is limited by large expansion and contraction during cycling. This study uses electrochemical activation to suppress collapse in LiNi_0.9Mn_0.1O₂ cathodes, achieving improved capacity and cycle life.

High-pressure-temperature experiments that explore the impact of carbon and silicon on the plastic deformation of hexagonal close-packed iron suggest depth-dependent elastic anisotropy in Earth’s inner core may originate from chemical stratification

The precise understanding of the active phase under reaction conditions at the molecular level is crucial for the design of improved catalysts. Now, Strasser, Jones and colleagues correlate the high activity of IrNi@IrO_x core–shell nanoparticles with the amount of lattice vacancies produced by the nickel leaching process that takes place before and during water oxidation, and elucidate the underlying structural-electronic effects.

Ultrafast electron diffraction is used here to reveal in nickel an almost instantaneous, long-lasting population of anisotropic phonons with angular momentum.

The multistep incorporation process of the catalytic NiFe(CN)₂(CO) cofactor into [NiFe]-hydrogenase was deciphered by isolating key maturation intermediates, which were characterized by biochemical and a variety of spectroscopic techniques.

High-throughput chemical ligand discovery is challenged by false positives. Here, authors introduce a scalable enantioselective affinity-selection mass spectrometry approach for proteome-wide ligand discovery with high sensitivity and selectivity

The enzymes and pathway involved in the biosynthesis of coenzyme F₄₃₀ are identified, completing our understanding of how members of the cyclic modified tetrapyrrole family are constructed.

Yan et al. use cryo-EM to obtain structures that reveal how DNMT3A2 and DNMT3L cooperate to read histone signals and bind chromatin, illustrating a mechanism that controls DNA methylation and shapes epigenetic regulation.

A ternary catalytic method combining organic photoredox, hydrogen atom transfer and nickel catalysis is reported. This combination can directly arylate the allylic C(sp³)–H bonds of a broad range of readily available olefins. Mechanistic experiments, coupled with density functional theory calculations aid the elucidation of the ternary catalytic cycle and the origin of regioselectivity.

The Ni(ii) affinity of Ni(ii) sensor InrS is attuned to buffered Ni(ii) concentrations, explaining why these two parameters co-vary for different metals over many orders of magnitude.

Nunes and colleagues analyze supply chain constraints and climate consequences of new tailpipe emissions standards in the US. They find that the standards promote electric vehicle adoption and would reduce emissions significantly, but adoption may be constrained by critical mineral supplies.

Opacities are considered to be the source of the disagreement between theoretical solar models and helioseismic data. Here, the authors show solar opacity profiles derived from seismic inferences, which differs from theoretical values used in the solar models.

There are comparable structural properties between the natural enzyme [FeNi]-hydrogenase and the natural ore, pentlandite. Here the authors, inspired by these similarities, use the mineral as a ‘rock’ electrode, and evaluate its electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance.

The self-assembly of metallic nanoparticles on oxide supports via metal exsolution relies on dopant transport, but strong electrostatic gradients and space charges typically control the properties of surfaces. The surface–dopant interaction is shown to be the main determining factor for the exsolution kinetics of nickel in a perovskite system.

NBCn1 plays an important role as a base loader allowing breast cancer cells to survive in an acidic environment. Here, Wang et al report its near atomic structure and transport cycle involving minimal structural changes associated with an exceptionally high turnover rate, enabling efficient cellular base loading and tumor survival

Here, authors report that local ionic transport across cathode catalyst layers is vital in improving CO production from CO₂. This work demonstrates the potential of a CO₂ electrolyzer constructed from materials free from platinum group metals.

Injectable conductive hydrogels offer a promising alternative for tumor electrotherapy. Here, the authors develop highly conductive injectable bioresorbable soft electrode that enable minimally invasive glioblastoma electroimmunotherapy, achieving tumor ablation and robust immune activation.

A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated Clostridioides difficile infection in mice.