Search

Freestanding membranes of hexagonal oxides remain difficult to obtain. In this work, a water-soluble crystalline hexagonal BaAl₂O₄ is found to serve as a sacrificial layer for obtaining freestanding membranes with six-fold or three-fold symmetry.

Yangwei Cong describes how drone docking stations can improve the coverage and efficacy of phenological monitoring in forests.

Enzymes offer a sustainable solution for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste, however, their efficiency remains limited for large-scale applications. Here, the authors use QM/MM MD simulations to reveal the depolymerization mechanism of a cutinase variant, uncovering dynamic internal electric fields that stabilize transition states and lower the energy barrier, offering a strategy to engineer high-performance PET hydrolases.

Electrochemical hydrogenation can occur through adsorbed hydrogen or proton-coupled electron transfer from water. The authors show how competition between these pathways can be tuned by catalyst alloying, enabling selective conversion of acetylene to ethylene.

A cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of brainstem structures identify 713 associations. It reveals shared/distinct genetic architectures across ancestries/substructures and overlaps with neuropsychiatric disorders and physiological functions.

It is unclear how early-life urbanicity influences adult neurobehavioral traits. This study reveals that earlier menarche mediates the relationship between early-life urbanicity and adult neurobehavioral traits associated with mental disorders.

Cobalt-based subsurface dopants induce a shift in the rate-determining step of electrochemical CO₂ reduction on copper to the chemical step: OCCO* + H* → OCCHO* + *. Electrochemical production of ethylene over the optimized catalyst is achieved at low voltage and high current in a membrane electrode assembly system.

Polygenic risk scores can help identify individuals at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Here, the authors characterise a multi-ancestry score across nearly 900,000 people, showing that its predictive value depends on demographic and clinical context and extends to related traits and complications.

The electro-oxidative synthesis of valued chemicals offers to enhance the overall efficiency and economic viability of renewable electrosynthesis systems. Here, the authors use dopant-tuned catalysts to promote the electrosynthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO and methanol via oxidative carbonylation.

Worldwide, the number of only-child families is increasing. This research examines how growing up without siblings affects adult brain structure, function and connectivity, cognition, personality and mental health.

Deuterium-labelled compounds are useful for mechanistic studies and pharmaceutical science, but syntheses are not trivial. Here, the authors report deuteration of unactivated alkyl (pseudo)halides driven by electrochemical force, using deuterium oxide as the source of the isotope.

This study identifies BAG3 as a conserved immune regulator in plants and demonstrates that its cleavage by metacaspase 4 triggers cell death and antiviral defense, offering a potential strategy for engineering virus-resistant crops.

Energy storage ceramics typically face a trade-off between polarization and breakdown strength. Here, the authors overcome the paradox through a unique high-entropy design aimed at regulating phase structure and minimizing interfacial polarization.

Socioeconomic status is multidimensional and can change over time. Xu, Lui, Ji et al. found dimension-specific, late-stage-specific and change-specific socioeconomic effects on brain, cognition, personality and emotion.

In-vitro platforms for personalized cancer diagnosis is required high sensitivity. Here, the authors developed a digital microfluidic system for drug screening using primary tumor cells and established a working protocol for precision medicine.

Large potentials required for C(sp³)-H bond activation and low water solubility make electrochemical functionalization of alkanes challenging. Here, the authors report that Pt/IrO_x enables selective generation of Cl free radicals for chlorination of cyclohexane at industrially relevant rates.

Cross-ancestry genome-wide association studies of 3,414 brain imaging phenotypes in Chinese Han and white British participants identify autosomal and X-chromosomal associations in more diverse populations.

Cross-ancestry and sex-stratified genome-wide association analyses for 21 amygdala volumetric traits in East Asian and European individuals provide insight into the genetic architectures of amygdala and subnucleus volumes.

Using ultrafast electron diffraction and deflectometry, the study tracks polarization and structural dynamics in NbOI₂ nanocrystals with femtosecond resolution, revealing coherent phonon generation and polarization enhancement after UV irradiation.

Scavenger receptor class A member 3 (SR-A3) is implicated in metabolic diseases, but its relationship with MAFLD remains unclear. Here, the authors show that SR-A3 is an important modulator of hepatic energy metabolism and is a potential therapeutic target against MAFLD.

Methods for constructing targeted synthetic communities using existing microbial resources remain limited. Here, the authors report a genome-scale metabolic model-integrated strategy for bottom-up construction of synthetic microbial communities in the plant rhizosphere.

CO₂ electroreduction to higher-value carbons can occur through adsorbed hydrogen or through proton-coupled electron transfer from water. Understanding the impact of each route on product selectivity is challenging. Now H/D isotopic labelling reveals the contribution of each mechanism towards product formation and shows that adsorbed hydrogen dominates the reaction.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses in populations of East Asian and European ancestries identify variant–trait associations for 44 hippocampal traits and provide insight into the genetic architectures of hippocampal and subfield volumes.

Direct electroreduction of dilute CO₂ in flue gas streams is challenging due to the presence of O₂ impurities. Here the authors demonstrate that an acidic electrolyte can overcome this challenge, enabling the generation of multicarbon products from simulated flue gas at reasonable rates.

There are intensive efforts in developing anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Here, the authors present a graphene-titanium dioxide composite as an anode material and show that sodium ion intercalation pseudocapacitance charge storage leads to excellent electrochemical properties.

The authors uncover a hidden tetragonal-orthorhombic phase transition pathway which provides an approach to engineer domain orientations and further remanent polarization in polycrystalline HfO₂-based ferroelectric films.

Tropical cyclones trigger up to 40% of subsurface marine heatwaves in cyclone-active regions, according to in situ observations and ocean reanalysis, which also suggests their area and intensity have increased over the past two decades due to long-term ocean warming.

Modulating interfacial electric fields provides a means to control electrocatalyst activity for a broad range of reactions. Here the authors show that this can be achieved by tuning the nanocurvature of carbon supported single-atom catalysts.

Photocatalytic disinfection is a known pollution-free water treatment strategy. However, its efficiency is limited due to the spin-forbidden feature of O₂, which hinders photocatalytic ·O₂⁻ formation and limits its disinfection efficiency. Here the authors produce a strained Mo_4/3B_2-xT_z MBene that can increase ·O₂⁻ photocatalytic production, which results in high levels of photocatalytic disinfection.

Electroreduction uses renewable energy to upgrade carbon dioxide to value-added chemicals and fuels. Here, the authors design a suite of ligand-stabilized metal oxide clusters to modulate the reduction pathways on a copper catalyst, enabling record activity for CO₂-to-methane conversion.

Ethylene glycol is a commodity chemical with an annual consumption of 20 million tonnes. Its production generates 1.6 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of ethylene glycol. To reduce these CO₂ emissions, the authors report a one-step electrochemical route to selectively convert ethylene to ethylene glycol at ambient temperature and pressure in aqueous media.

The molecular features and tumour microenvironment (TME) in seminoma remain to be characterised. Here, the authors perform single cell multi-omics and spatial transcriptomics and identify key gene expression programmes, immune cell subtypes and potential therapeutic targets.

A stable and recyclable BiVO₄ photoelectrode material was developed for the efficient Cl-mediated C(sp³)–H aminomethylation of hydrocarbons in a photoelectrochemical cell, which provides a promising method for efficient solar fuel conversion.

The conserved HEAT repeat protein HPO-27 is identified as a lysosome scission factor in Caenorhabditis elegans, and the human homologue MROH1 also serves the same function to maintain lysosomal homeostasis.

The reduction of unactivated alkyl alkenes is a difficult challenge in organic chemistry. Here, the authors present a silicon-mediated electroreduction of alkyl alkenes, using water as a hydrogen source, enabled by [Fe]-H.

Producing ethanol from carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity offers a route to sustainable energy. Here, the authors enhance electrocatalytic activity for carbon dioxide reduction by tuning adsorbed hydrogen in a class of copper catalysts with oxide- and hydroxide-modified surfaces.

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ into liquid fuels, powered by renewable electricity, offers one means to address the need for the storage of intermittent renewable energy. Now, Sargent and co-workers present a cooperative catalyst design of molecule–metal interfaces to improve the electrosynthesis of ethanol from CO₂ by producing a reaction-intermediate-rich local environment.