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Molecular interactions with both oxides and metals are essential for heterogenous catalysis, leading to remarkable impacts on activity. Here the authors show that a direct link between Cu and ZrO2 in a metal organic framework is required to hydrogenate CO2 to methanol.

To understand the birth of stars, observations of the clouds in which they form are key; here, interferometric observations are reported of carbon monoxide clouds in the galaxy WLM, which has a metallicity that is 13 per cent of the value of our Sun.

The exact crystal chemistry of perovskites containing 5f elements has remained a matter of debate. Here, the authors synthesise a BaO-deficient Pu-based perovskite with a composition close to Ba3PuO6 and study the Pu oxidation state, the crystal structure and Ba/Pu ratio, reporting on thermodynamic and magnetic properties and offering new insights into Ba-Pu-O solid-state chemistry.

Selective conversion of methane into value-added chemicals is a promising approach for utilization of hydrocarbon sources. Here the authors develop dimeric copper centers supported on graphitic carbon nitride (denoted as Cu₂@C₃N₄) with >10% conversion and >98% selectivity toward methyl oxygenates in both thermo- and photo- catalytic reactions.

Molecular π-stacked chromophores are promising photonic materials, but much of our understanding is limited to covalent dimers. Now it has been shown that, in a slip-stacked perylenediimide trimer, coherent vibronic coupling to high-frequency modes facilitates ultrafast state mixing between the Frenkel exciton and charge-transfer states, which then collapses by solvent fluctuations and low-frequency vibronic coupling, resulting in ultrafast symmetry-breaking charge separation.

van Ede et al. show that both sensory qualities and motor responses associated with information held in mind are accessed simultaneously to guide behavior. The findings help bridge the fields of visual working memory and action planning.

Vertical heat exchange over the Amundsen Sea shelf modulates sea ice and ice-shelf melting, according to combined mooring data from Antarctica and ice-ocean modeling.

Patches in primary visual cortex (V1) rich in cytochrome oxidase were thought to contain unoriented, color-opponent neurons. Here the authors measure orientation tuning in V1 neurons using acutely implanted 100-electrode arrays. Patch cells were nearly as well tuned as those in interpatches, suggesting that processing of form and color is not strictly segregated in primate V1. Patch cells had higher mean discharge rates, consistent with their enhanced metabolism.

Catalyst deactivation in fluid catalytic cracking processes is unavoidably associated with structural changes. Here, the authors visualize the deactivation of zeolite catalysts by ptychography and other imaging techniques, showing pronounced amorphization of the outer layer of the catalyst particles.

The human fusiform face area (FFA) plays a major role in face recognition. Ghuman et al.study the temporal dynamics of face information processing in the FFA and establish the timecourse of information processing as well as the processing stages that FFA contributes to when a face is first viewed.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Highly efficient catalysts are demanded to realize selective hydrogenation of ketone/aldehydes to alcohols under mild conditions. Here, the authors report a TiO₂ supported Pd single-atom/nanoparticles synergistic catalyst with outstanding hydrogenation performance at room temperature.

Intranasal oxytocin can affect brain function either by direct entry to the brain or by increasing oxytocin levels in blood plasma. Here, the authors show that increases in plasmatic oxytocin account for some but not all of the changes observed following intranasal oxytocin administration.

The Agulhas leakage allows the transport of warm and salty Indian Ocean waters into the Atlantic Ocean and provides the main source of heat and salt for the surface branch of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The results of a high-resolution ocean general circulation model now show that the transport of Indian Ocean waters into the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage has increased during the past decades in response to a change in wind forcing.

The development of mature vocal patterns is shaped by parental influence in many animals. Here, Gultekin and Hage show that parental feedback not only influences vocal development, but is indeed necessary for juvenile marmosets to acquire normal vocal behaviour.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Merlini, Rafalski et al. show that dynamic microglial brain surveillance prevents hyperexcitability and seizures by G_i-dependent microglia–neuron interactions in response to evoked neuronal activity to maintain physiological network synchronization.

ALMA observations of TW Hydrae in the 13C18O J = 3–2 molecular line probe the mid-plane of the circumstellar disk where giant planets are expected to form. With other lines, the gas mass distribution, temperature and the gas-to-dust ratio are determined.

Over the twentieth century, droughts in southwestern North America have been linked to sea surface temperature variability in the North Pacific Ocean. Speleothem data from southern California suggest that links between the North Pacific and drought were less pronounced during the past millennium.

Anticipation helps to prioritise the processing of task-relevant sensory targets over irrelevant distractors. Here the authors analyse visual EEG responses and show that anticipation may do so by enhancing the neural representation of the target and by delaying the interference caused by distractors that follow closely in time.

Three-dimensional structures of vortex loops in a bulk micromagnet GdCo₂ have been observed using X-ray magnetic nanotomography. The cross-section of these loops consists of a vortex–antivortex pair stabilized by the dipolar interaction.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

Large haloes of diffuse molecular gas discovered around high-redshift starburst galaxies show that galactic feedback, coupled to turbulence and gravity, extends the starburst phase instead of quenching it.

The Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) mixes heat and salinity among ocean basins and between deep and shallow waters. Global climate effects, including moderation of the climate of western Europe, are extensive. Changes in the strength of the MOC could thus have dramatic impacts for local to regional climate change, but evidence for systematic changes is, to date, equivocal. Analysis of the residuals between a coarse resolution ocean model and a model with a localized fine-resolution grid shows that the input of warm and salty water transferred around the southern tip of Africa (termed the Agulhas leakage) contributes strongly to the strength of the MOC.

β-glucuronidases produced by gut microbiota members mediate proteolytic activity in the gut via the production of unconjugated bilirubin, which is dysregulated in irritable bowel syndrome.

Using simultaneous electrocorticographical recordings in multiple lobes in human subjects performing memory retrieval tasks, this study finds that oscillatory coupling across a network of brain regions predicts successful memory recall. The study also shows that this increased network connectivity converges at the medial temporal lobe, with different neural signatures for spatial versus temporal components of episodic memory retrieval.

The metabolome or lipidome of different phenotypes can be compared using this protocol. A complete workflow for direct-infusion mass spectrometry using nanoelectrospray ionization and spectral stitching with the Galaxy platform is described.

Kerr optical frequency combs are extensively explored for their potential capabilities in fields such optical communication, spectroscopy, and sensing. This work theoretically analyses the role of phase noise in comb generation dynamics through a stochastic approach, which can impact future studies of frequency comb sources.

The measurement of metabolites such as creatine, which are involved in the tissue creatine kinase reaction, enable the study of the effects of energy deprivation on the heart. Haris and colleagues introduce a new magnetic resonance imaging technique that maps the distribution of creatine in the heart that does not use radiation or exogenous contrast agents and offers higher sensitivity compared to proton (¹H) magnetic resonance spectroscopy methods. Feasibility is demonstrated in vivo in infarcted swine myocardium using a standard clinical MRI scanner.

Human magnetoencephalography reveals neural representations of perceptual choices that are abstracted from motor-responses even during stable choice-response associations. This suggests a general role of abstraction in decision-making.