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Using ancient DNA, isotopes and proteomics, this work reveals social inequality and mobility in Eastern Zhou China, showing female sacrifices, dietary disparities across classes, kinship networks among elites, and rare evidence of social mobility.

In patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC), resistance to the standard-of-care induction chemotherapy often occurs. Here, using longitudinal single-cell transcriptomic profiling of HPSCC samples from patients receiving induction chemotherapy, the authors identify a ZNF683-high natural killer (NK) cell population as a predictor of chemotherapy response.

The authors identify AMsh glia, expressing both cold and heat receptors, function as a dual-mode thermosensory hub, bidirectionally modulating neural circuits to regulate various thermal behaviors in C. elegans.

Rancid odors trigger retching and aversion. Here, authors show a nose-to-brain axis whereby such odors activate olfactory-piriform circuits that diverge to mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and nucleus accumbens to mediate retching-like behavior and aversion.

The catalytic enantioconvergent N-alkylation of hydrazine derivatives with alkyl halides offers an attractive route to chiral hydrazines, but remains challenging due to the lack of efficient asymmetric catalytic systems and the difficulty in achieving regioselectivity. Herein, the authors report the copper-catalyzed enantioconvergent N-alkylation of hydrazine derivatives with racemic α-haloamides.

Rechargeable zinc batteries are promising for grid energy storage but can suffer from short circuits and side reactions. Here, the authors design low-surface-tension electrolytes that enable dense, dendrite-free zinc deposition, achieving long-lasting batteries even under harsh operating conditions.

Thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) was identified as a synthetic-lethal target in p53-deficient cancers through alterations in double-stranded RNA accumulation. A covalent small-molecule inhibitor of TDG exhibited potent efficacy against p53-deficient tumors.

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.

STING–type-I interferon pathway regulates the immunogenicity of several cancer types, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Here the authors describe that glutamine metabolism in the tumour microenvironment dampens the STING–type-I interferon pathway by epigenetically silencing the expression of BATF2, which functions as a tumour suppressor.

Photovoltaics based on kesterite materials have now achieved 15% efficiency after remaining at lower levels for years. In this Review, Jimenez-Arguijo et al. explore the critical roles of precursor chemistry and the formation pathway in enabling performance improvements in these complex multinary semiconductors.

LipoID profiles lipid droplet interactions and identifies interorganelle regulators.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

Chen et al. identify a brain-to-bone communication axis whereby extracellular vesicles from aged brain neurons transport WDFY1 protein to distal bone, driving bone-fat imbalance and promoting osteoporosis.

A non-coplanar axially chiral molecular contact favours the crystalline growth of perovskite film and improves interfacial stability in perovskite solar cells. Small-area devices yield a certified power conversion efficiency of 26.44% and maintain 98% of it after 2,000 hours of operation.

A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant performance and the suppression of antagonists.

Probing, understanding, and manipulating nontrivial excitonic transport in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is a long-standing challenge. Here, the authors report the observation of ultrafast spatial hole burning of excitonic emission in monolayer WS₂ and reveal the underlying mechanism, showcasing the peculiar excitonic transportation in monolayer TMDCs.

Stratospheric water vapour injected by the 2022 Hunga eruption has now entered a steady decay phase and is expected to return to its pre-eruption range around 2030. This estimate combines satellite observations with a global transport model.

Liu et al. report Chinese normative lifespan brain charts showing later neurodevelopmental milestones than those detected in Western cohorts. Individual deviations from these norms are valuable in assessing clinical risk and outcomes.

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.

Due to the complexity of controlling factors and the diversity of reaction components, accurately delineating the bond formation mechanisms for copper-catalyzed radical transformations poses a challenge. Here, the authors reveal the linear free energy relationships for the C–C bond formation of Cu-catalyzed radical transformations.

Foundation models have significantly advanced computational pathology, but still face important challenges, particularly when integrating multimodal data. Here, the authors develop mSTAR, an approach that allows injecting multimodal, whole-slide context into pathology foundation models, improving performance in clinical and molecular tasks in oncology.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

The genetic basis underlying resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) in oilseed rape remains elusive. Here, the authors identify BnaA07.MKK9 as a pivotal regulator of SSR resistance in oilseed rape by GWAS, providing new insights into plant defense mechanisms against necrotrophic pathogens.

Genetic basis of the drought tolerance of upland rice is unclear. Here, the authors report the cloning of a COBRA-like protein encoding gene DROT1 and reveal that it is repressed by ERF3 and activated by ERF71 to help control the balance between growth and drought tolerance in upland rice.

How site-specific tumor microenvironment (TME) drives the metastasis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) remains unclear. Here, the authors employ an integrated single cell multi-omics approach to map the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of HGSOC metastasis TME and identify an interaction network within the TME driven by SELENOP⁺ macrophages and pre-exhausted CD8⁺ T cells.

This work describes FX-Cell and its derivatives to achieve single-cell RNA sequencing from challenging and cryopreserved plant tissues, expanding the scope of single-cell genomics across field-grown samples.

Alphaherpesvirus infections pose a health challenge due to the lack of effective broad-spectrum antiviral strategies. Here, the authors identify a broadly neutralizing antibody, 16F9, which targets glycoprotein B, offering cross-protection against multiple viruses and demonstrating robust efficacy in mouse models, paving the way for antiviral interventions.

Numerical modeling combined with a global rock database shows that the Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratio in MORB mantle sources has doubled since the early Archean, suggesting a potential link between mantle redox evolution and Earth’s tectonic activity.

Lactate fuels cancer growth by activating ERK signaling through GCN5-mediated lactylation of ERK, which disrupts ERK–MEK interactions. Development of a cell-penetrating peptide blocking lactylation slows KRAS-mutant tumor development.

Engineering catalyst interfaces plays a key role in designing supported metal systems. Here, the authors report that Ni nanoparticles redisperse from SiO₂ to molybdenum carbide, forming dual interfaces that enhance tandem CO₂ hydrogenation.

One-carbon ring expansion reaction of heteroarenes involving typical dearomative cyclopropanation has gained wide attention in the past decade as it allows the facile synthesis of various valuable ring-expanded heterocycles. Herein, the authors report an enantioselective dearomative one-carbon ring expansion of benzofurans via vinyl cations formed by copper-catalyzed cyclization of diynes.

Quantum light sources are promising for quantum circuits, yet facing an inherent trade-off between multifunction and brightness. By leveraging a strategy based on parity-time symmetry, we demonstrate an on-chip quantum light source with programmable lifetime, achieving a 20-fold tuning range of lifetime and balanced photon-pairs generation rate.

This study designs covalent organic frameworks with robust dipole moments, enabling efficient hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide production from pure water using mechanical vibration and light.

Dysregulation in the proteasome pathway contributes to the pathogenesis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Here the authors identify that Casein kinase 2 (CK2) mediates phosphorylation of Proteasome activator 28 subunit gamma (PA28γ), which promotes tumor formation and progression in HNSCC mouse models.

Dendrobium is a genus of mostly epiphytic and lithophytic orchids. Here, the authors conduct comparative genome analysis for 24 chromosome-level genome assemblies and genome skimming sequencing data for 204 species in this genus, and reveal genomic variation, biosynthesis and evolutionary adaptation in Dendrobium orchids.

In this Perspective, members of the Aging Biomarker Consortium outline the X-Age Project, an Aging Biomarker Consortium plan for building standardized aging clocks in China. The authors discuss the project roadmap and its aims of decoding aging heterogeneity, detecting accelerated aging early and evaluating geroprotective interventions.

The mitochondrial membranes present a formidable barrier to the delivery of exogenous genes. Here, the authors report on the development of fluorinated lipid nanoparticles to efficiently introduce therapeutic genes into mitochondria, for the correction of mitochondrial genomic defects.

A peptide-based PD-L1-targeted nanorobot disrupts cancer cell membranes via pH-responsive fibril formation, and enhances T cell infiltration and immune activation, inducing a potent anticancer response in animal models of colorectal cancer.

Using EMTracer, EndoMTracer, and MMTracer, this study shows that myofibroblasts in kidney fibrosis mainly originate from resident fibroblasts, not full or partial EMT, EndoMT, or MMT, guiding research toward fibroblast-targeted therapies.

Paclitaxel is a prominent cancer therapy drug with poor synthetic efficiency due to the low activity and selectivity of the hydrolases involved. Here the authors develop a TteUPO oxidase toolbox for taxane oxidation, offering an unconventional route towards paclitaxel and paclitaxel analogues.

Graphene film-based metamaterials are applied for polarization manipulation of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness, achieving high performance in polarization sensitivity, full polarization shielding, and switching efficiency.

Here they show that gasdermin-E (GSDME) acts as a key driver of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by triggering senescence in vascular smooth muscle cells, a process reversible with senolytic drugs, highlighting a promising therapeutic target of AAA.