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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.

The synthesis of high molecular weight poly(disulfide)s typically requires harsh conditions or the complex cyclic disulfide monomers. Here, the authors report a mild, room-temperature multicomponent polymerisation using elemental sulfur to yield high molecular weight poly(ester disulfide)s

A 10-Earth-mass planet is detected in the habitable zone of the solar-type star Kepler-725 using the transit timing variation technique. This study proposes a complementary pathway to probe low-mass exoplanets (including Earth-like planets) in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars.

The authors study a topological insulator (TI) sandwiched between two magnetic TIs. By keeping one of the magnetic TIs insulating, while tuning the other one into a metallic regime, they find half quantized anomalous Hall conductance, a boundary signature consistent with a quantized axion field.

Examples of materials with non-trivial band topology in the presence of strong electron correlations are rare. Now it is shown that quantum fluctuations near a quantum phase transition can promote topological phases in a heavy-fermion compound.

A population genomic analysis of 1,854 Listeria soil isolates collected across the contiguous United States identifies geographically prevalent phylogroups with increased pangenome openness and recombination, as a result of adaptation to variable environments.

The understanding of the reemergence of pressure induced superconductivity in alkali-metal intercalated FeSe is hampered by sample complexities. Here, Sun et al. report the electronic properties of (Li_1–xFe _x )OHFe_1–ySe single crystal not only in the reemerged superconducting state but also in the normal state.

Native crystallographic defects are often introduced during synthesis of battery materials, but has been overlooked. Here, using in situ synchrotron X-ray probes and electron microscopy, the authors have revealed their adverse effect during battery operation.

Identifying jets originating from heavy quarks plays a fundamental role in hadronic collider experiments. In this work, the ATLAS Collaboration describes and tests a transformer-based neural network architecture for jet flavour tagging based on low-level input and physics-inspired constraints.

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.

The CMS Collaboration reports the measurement of the spin, parity, and charge conjugation properties of all-charm tetraquarks, exotic fleeting particles formed in proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Low effective doping of boron limits the performance of solar cells based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Liu et al. show that light induces the diffusion of hydrogen atoms, which activates boron doping, enabling a power conversion efficiency of over 25%.

Direct experimental evidence of the carbon–nitrogen–oxygen fusion cycle in the Sun is provided by the detection of neutrinos emitted during this process.

Industrial hydrogen production in acidic media is constrained by high overpotential and poor durability. Here, the authors report plasma-enhanced deposition of nanoedge enriched molybdenum oxycarbide electrocatalysts that enable efficient, durable, and high throughput hydrogen evolution.

Mixed halide perovskite undergoes halide segregation under illumination, which impairs its functionality as solar cells. Bobbert et al. present a unified thermodynamic theory to explain the phase separation behaviour that takes into account both ground state compositional and electronic part of free energy in the presence of photocarriers.

Data obtained from the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber are used to exclude the single light sterile neutrino interpretation of the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies at the 95% confidence level.

The Einstein Probe has discovered a fast X-ray transient, EP240414a, associated with a broad-lined type Ic supernova. Its unusually soft spectrum and weak jet add to the diversity of stellar deaths and suggest a previously unknown Wolf–Rayet star explosion mechanism.

Managing power exhaust in fusion reactors is a key challenge, especially in compact designs for cost-effective commercial energy. This study shows how alternative divertor configurations improve exhaust control, enhance stability, absorb transients and enable independent plasma regulation.

Solar water splitting is often performed in highly corrosive conditions, presenting materials stability challenges. Gu et al. show that an efficient and stable hydrogen-producing photocathode can be realized through the application of a graded catalytic–protective layer on top of the photoabsorber.

The death of massive stars has traditionally been discovered by explosive events in the gamma-ray band. Liu et al. show that the sensitive wide-field monitor on board Einstein Probe can reveal a weak soft-X-ray signal much earlier than gamma rays.

Ytterbium oxide buffer layer for use in perovskite solar cells yields a certified power conversion efficiency of more than 25%, which enhances stability across a wide variety of perovskite compositions.

Detailed mapping of the distribution of water and semiheavy water in the coma of Halley-type comet 12P implies a D/H ratio that is consistent with that of Earth’s water, indicating a common heritage.

An in situ-grown layer of SiO_xN_y contributes to passivating surface defects in inverted organic solar cells, enabling power conversion efficiency of up to 18.49% and an estimated device lifespan of over 16 years.

The interfaces in perovskite solar cells are critical to the device performance. Li et al. tune the bond strength of the interfacial molecule with the perovskite and the electron transport layer, increasing the power conversion efficiency of the cells.

A new artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek-R1, is introduced, demonstrating that the reasoning abilities of large language models can be incentivized through pure reinforcement learning, removing the need for human-annotated demonstrations.

The ALICE Collaboration provides details on the microscopic mechanism that ends up creating antideuteron in high-energy proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analyses of polycystic ovary syndrome in women of East Asian and European ancestries identify 94 independent susceptibility regions, including 73 novel loci.

NbN/AlN/NbN qubits prepared by atomic layer deposition allow for precise control of the tunnelling barrier and stable operation beyond the temperature limit of aluminium-based devices.

Semi-metallic single crystals of antimony can be deposited using molecular beam epitaxy on molybdenum disulfide to create ohmic contacts with resistance of under 100 Ω µm at a contact length of 18 nm.

The realization of high-performance flexible perovskite/crystalline-silicon tandem solar cells requires efficient photocarrier transport and mitigation of residual stress. Here, authors reveal the critical role of perovskite phase homogeneity, achieving flexible devices with efficiency of 29.88%.

Crystallization of noble metal atoms usually leads to the thermodynamically stable face-centred cubic phase. Sunet al. show that internal strain in silver nanoparticles leads to lattice distortion and a stable body-centred tetragonal phase.

Infrared interferometry imaging of the old, magnetically active star ζ Andromedae reveals an asymmetric distribution of starspots, unlike the north–south starspot symmetry observed on the Sun, meaning the underlying dynamo mechanisms must be different.

A report of the optical discovery and follow-up observations of the type Ic supernova SN 2006aj associated with X-ray flash XRF 060218. SN 2006aj was intrinsically less luminous than the gamma-ray burst (GRB)–supernovae connection, but more luminous than many supernovae not accompanied by a GRB.

Experiments under upper-tropospheric conditions map the chemical formation of isoprene oxygenated organic molecules (important molecules for new particle formation) and reveal that relative radical ratios control their composition

Despite recent advances with trappedion-based platforms, achieving quantum networks with link efficiency greater than unity on metropolitan scales is still a challenge. Here, the authors demonstrate a multiplexed quantum network generating heralded entanglement at a rate faster than local decoherence.

While Bell inequalities have been violated several times—mostly in photonic systems—their violations within particle physics experiments are less explored. Here, the BESIII Collaboration showcases Bell-violating nonlocal correlations between entangled hyperon pairs.

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental energy release process taking place in various astrophysical environments, but it is difficult to observe it directly. Here, the authors provide evidence of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection in a solar eruption using combined perspectives of two spacecraft.

The authors report suspended Lamb-wave resonators using sub-100 nm ultrathin lithium niobate, achieving resonant frequencies of nearly 220 GHz-doubling prior records and holding exciting prospects for terahertz nanomechanics.

Tokamak walls suffer erosion from steady and bursty heat loads. Here, the authors demonstrate that optimizing 3D magnetic field and cooling gas injection can tame destructive plasma bursts while enabling cooler, safer exhaust conditions.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown promise in tumour immunotherapy but resistance has been seen. Here using pre-treatment hepatocellular carcinoma patient biopsies from patients scheduled for immunotherapy, the authors implicate BCL9 and show that a BCL9-targeting peptide promotes anti-tumour immunity in mouse models through targeting macrophages and promoting anti-tumour T cell responses.

The authors demonstrate strain-induced morphotropic phase boundary-like nanodomains in lead-free NaNbO₃ thin films, enabling multi-state switching and large enhancements in dielectric susceptibility and tunability over a broad frequency range.

The semileptonic decay channels of the Λc baryon can give important insights into weak interaction, but decay into a neutron, positron and electron neutrino has not been reported so far, due to difficulties in the final products’ identification. Here, the BESIII Collaboration reports its observation in e+e- collision data, exploiting machine-learning-based identification techniques.

Supernovae are usually discovered through their 'delayed' light, which becomes visible some hours after the actual event. Now Soderberg et al. report the discovery of a supernova at the time of the explosion, marked by an extremely luminous X-ray outburst.

The insertion of thin layers of cobalt can stabilize β-tungsten under back-end-of-line thermal constraints, allowing a 64-kb spin–orbit torque magnetic random-access memory to be fabricated that offers a spin–orbit torque switching of 1 ns, data retention of more than 10 years and a tunnelling magnetoresistance of 146%.

The nature of unconventional charge density wave in kagome metals is currently under intense debate. Here the authors report the coexistence of the 2 × 2 × 1 charge density wave in the kagome sublattice and the Sb 5p-electron assisted 2 × 2 × 2 charge density waves in CsV₃Sb₅.