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Maternal obesity is known to cause systemic lipid dysregulation, yet its effect on lipid reprogramming during the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) remains unknown. Here, they show that obesity disrupts very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) storage in oocytes, impairing peroxisomal protein import in 2-cell embryos.

Basalt clasts returned by Chang’e-6 suggest a lunar farside mantle potential temperature that is approximately 100 °C cooler than the nearside mantle, according to a petrologic study combined with thermobarometric modelling and remote sensing data.

Water and oxygen jointly influence the oxidation of copper, but their respective roles are difficult to disentangle. Here, the authors show that hydroxyl species adsorb at the Cu/CuO_x interface, roughen the surface, and enable deeper oxygen penetration and higher Cu mobility.

Chang’e-6 mission’s analysis of farside lunar soils reveals stronger magnetic properties than nearside samples and identifies distinct magmatic and impact-formed minerals. This offers insights into the Moon’s magnetic history and crustal anomalies.

Lunar high-concentration ferric ion (Fe³⁺/∑Fe > 40%) and ~63% of nanophase metallic iron (npFe⁰) are produced via charge disproportionation of ferrous iron from micrometeoroid impacts, as observed in the Chang’e-5 sample. This ongoing process would lead to a continuously increasing abundance of Fe³⁺ in the lunar regolith.

Laboratory spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction analyses on the Chang’E-5 lunar soil samples have demonstrated that the spectral features of lunar late-stage mare basalts are representative of iron-rich high-Ca pyroxene rather than olivine.

A fully automated methodology based on rubrics capturing a broad range of cognitive and intellectual demands is illustrated using LLMs and tasks, demonstrating a new way to evaluate the capabilities of AI systems and anticipate their performance.

High hole mobilities in a polarization-induced two-dimensional hole gas at a gallium nitride/aluminium nitride interface can allow Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations of light and heavy holes to be observed in gallium nitride.

Mouse models demonstrate that vagal sensory neurons transmit signals from lung adenocarcinoma to the brain, increasing sympathetic efferent activity in the tumour microenvironment and thereby creating a immunologically permissive environment for tumour growth.

Chimaeric antigen receptor macrophages including the MyD88 activation domain target mesothelin for treatment of lung cancer brain metastases.

Oral tolerance is an important feature of gut immune homeostasis but how it is maintained is not fully known. Here authors show in a mouse model that dietary nucleic acids activate the MAVS and STING pathways, which leads to an increased abundance of natural intraepithelial lymphocytes, producing soluble factors that maintain tolerance.

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.

Metal-cation-free CO₂ electroreduction in strong acid minimizes reactant loss and salt precipitation yet struggles with CO₂ activation and hydrogen evolution competition. Here, the authors report bioinspired sharp gold triangles with a proton-blocking layer that polarize CO₂ and suppress hydrogen evolution.

The efficient construction of trifluoromethylated alkanes bearing a CF₃ chiral center is of great importance in organic synthesis. Here, the authors disclose the enantioselective syntheses of α-trifluoromethylated allylic alkanes via reductive trifluoroalkylation.

Reducing the embodied carbon emissions of building material stock is essential for mitigation. Using a high-resolution multiyear dataset in China, researchers show the historically massive contributions of these emissions during past decades of rapid urbanization and the potential risks for future climate goals.

Bulk superconductivity has been observed up to 96 K in pressurized bilayer nickelate single crystals which were synthesized under ambient pressure.

Polarizability, a property that is closely related to softness in the classic theory of Hard and Soft Acids and Bases (HSAB), has been largely overlooked in connecting with enantio-selection in the past. Here, the authors show local polarizability-based electronic effects can rationalize a wide range of stereochemical outcomes in widely-known asymmetric catalytic reactions.

Magnetic insulators can provide large effective Zeeman fields that are confined at the interface. Here the authors use spin-filter tunnel junctions to directly probe the exchange-induced spin splitting and show that by tuning the energy profiles the spin and charge flow can be controlled.

The Strecker reaction is a power method for the synthesis of cyano-substituted compounds. Here the authors report a dual-reagent system for asymmetric Strecker reactions, where an in situformed organocatalyst/methyl acrylate zwitterionic adduct activates both the cyanide source and the electrophile.

Iron carbide catalysts—especially the Fe₇C₃; phase—show great promise for efficient CO₂ hydrogenation to olefins. Here, the authors report the first stable, nearly pure Fe₇C₃ catalyst for CO₂-to-olefins conversion, overturning conventional models that posit the necessity of Fe₅C₂–Fe₃O₄ coexistence.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

As Nature Chemical Biology approaches its third decade we asked a collection of chemical biologists, “What do you think are the most exciting frontiers or the most needed developments in your main field of research?” — here is what they said.

Genetic analyses of teosinte, the wild ancestor of maize, identify a locus (THP9) that is associated with high seed protein content and increased nitrogen-use efficiency, suggesting that THP9 could have applications in crop breeding.

Telomere shortening marks cellular aging and links to heart disease. Here, the authors show shared genetic loci between leukocyte telomere length and coronary artery disease, highlighting genes such as SH2B3 and pathways involved in DNA biosynthesis and telomere maintenance.

Cholesterol-patterned nanoparticles program gel-like stress granule condensates via a solid–liquid–liquid sequence, reveal dual proteasomal disassembly routes, and permit tissue-specific remodeling of chemoplasticity to decouple efficacy from toxicity in vivo.

Using remote sensing, this study establishes the nitrogen budget for 5,768 lakes. Results show that reducing watershed nitrogen input improves water quality nonlinearly, emphasizing targeted watershed management to meet the SDG of global clean water.

Two-dimensional topological insulators support edge conduction electrons but its realization in real materials is rare. Here, Peng et al. report the direct observation of topological states at the step edge of WTe₂.

Boson sampling with three, four and five photons with high efficiency, purity and indistinguishability is realized using a quantum dot–micropillar as the single-photon source. A record-breaking sampling rate of 4.96 kHz is achieved.

The G9a-like lysine methyltransferases can be inhibited by the small molecule BIX-01294, recently identified through a chemical screen and shown to be capable of replacing Oct3/4. The structure of GLP in complex with BIX-01294 indicates an overlap with the known position of histone peptide binding, and further work indicates that the drug inhibits methylation of DNMT1, indicating that it is enzyme specific but non specific with regard to substrate.

A hybrid metasurface functioning as a low-correlation and ultrafast spectral/spatial light modulator is demonstrated for all-optical THz computational spectrometer and single pixel imaging replacing mechanical delay lines and coherent detection.

How the conditions in soil layers below the surface change is not well understood. Here the authors assess changes in subsurface soil moisture, finding that these droughts also become more persistent and intense than surface droughts.

High-resolution ALMA observations reveal a gravitationally bound septuple protostar system in NGC 6334IN, formed through disk fragmentation. This discovery sheds light on the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity in massive stellar clusters.

P2X3 activation requires tightening the inner pocket of the head domain (IP-HD) following ATP binding. Here the authors demonstrate that targeting the IP-HD with allosteric small molecules presents a potential strategy for the development of therapeutics for refractory chronic cough without taste abnormalities.

Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysis is crucial for advancing the green-hydrogen economy but is limited by the use of precious-metal catalysts. Here, the authors report a Nd-CoOx catalyst in which Nd confers long-term stability via a flexible atomic “breathing mode.”

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Exogenous iPSC-derived cells can activate endogenous cells to promote trabecular meshwork regeneration and restore aqueous humor outflow in glaucoma, providing insights into in situ regeneration, which may serve as an alternative to traditional cell therapy.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D) identifies more than 600 T2D-associated loci; integrating physiological trait and single-cell chromatin accessibility data at these loci sheds light on heterogeneity within the T2D phenotype.

There’s an emerging body of evidence to show how biological sex impacts cancer incidence, treatment and underlying biology. Here, using a large pan-cancer dataset, the authors further highlight how sex differences shape the cancer genome.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

Through multimodal analyses of human cardiac tissues across different ages, Fan, Zheng, Zhan, Xu, Liu and colleagues reveal that RNA-binding protein ARID5A drives inflammaging by stabilizing the MAVS mRNA and activating the NF-κB–TBK1 pathway, and show that inactivating myocardial ARID5A attenuates cardiac senescence and functional decline.

Some cancer patients first present with metastases where the location of the primary is unidentified; these are difficult to treat. In this study, using machine learning, the authors develop a method to determine the tissue of origin of a cancer based on whole sequencing data.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

The study shows that 3D-printing enables plain carbon steels to achieve martensitic or bainitic microstructures with strength and toughness comparable to alloyed steels. It advocates for alloy simplification and sustainability in metal 3D-printing.

Typical quantum error correcting codes assign fixed roles to the underlying physical qubits. Now the performance benefits of alternative, dynamic error correction schemes have been demonstrated on a superconducting quantum processor.