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Developing strategies for reducing carbon emissions in municipal solid waste management is essential to achieve the net-zero target. Here the authors systematically assess strategy options of different countries for achieving net-zero municipal solid waste management.

Biodiversity surveys and monitoring programmes hold promise for guiding evidence-based conservation in China, but inconsistent survey methodologies, insufficient oversight and flawed data management undermine the reliability and utility of these datasets. China should draw on international best practices to improve data integration, verification, and management, to ultimately strengthen its conservation outcomes.

Dysregulated R-loops can compromise genome stability, leading to pathological consequences. Li et al. demonstrate that R-loop-induced poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 activation orchestrates exonuclease 3′–5′ domain-containing 2-mediated R-loop resolution, thereby safeguarding genomic integrity.

Researchers developed spectral decoupling regulator based on an electro-optical resonator, which realizes free re-combination between visible color and long-wave infrared emissivity within a single device

Branched perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid have shorter half-lives, lower toxicity, and weaker serum protein binding than linear ones, offering better environmental and health safety, but methods to access such branched motifs remain underdeveloped. Here, the authors introduce a one-step dehydroxy-perfluoro-tert-butylation of alcohols, in which perfluoro-tertbutyl phenyl sulfone serves both to activate the C–O bond and to deliver the perfluoro-tert-butyl group.

Genome sequences from 112 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection showed two clades of SARS-CoV-2 virus with similar virulence and clinical outcome, and clinical data from 326 cases suggest that T cell depletion and cytokine bursts are associated with a worse prognosis.

An analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data from adult and developing lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates and new lung-specific enhancers that contribute to the evolution of vertebrate lungs.

This work reveals the presence of the photonic Hall effect and photonic magnetoresistance in a field-dependent random laser. This observation visualizes the influence of magnetic field on random lasers scattering at the microscopic level.

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.

A field trial succeeded in eliminating populations of the mosquito Aedes albopictus through inundative mass release of incompatible Wolbachia-infected males, which were also irradiated to sterilize any accidentally-released females, and so prevent population replacement.

Xiao et al. report a weaker adaptive immune response in older adults after inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination compared to young adult controls, identifying altered immune cell function and decreased antigen-specific receptor repertoire diversity as potential underlying mechanisms.

The role of arachidonic acid (AA) in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. Here they show that FADS1-AA axis modulates the intestinal microecology by enriching gram-negative bacteria in CRC and that the altered microecology accelerates the conversion of AA to PGE2, promoting CRC tumorigenesis.

Commonly used opioids for pain management primarily target the mu opioid receptor. However, mu opioid receptor agonists often come with harmful side effects. Here, the authors report the results of two phase 3 trials of HSK21542 (anrikefon), a highly selective activator of peripheral kappa opioid receptor agonists, for postoperative pain treatment following abdominal surgery.

The integrated process of mechanochemical fractionation-assisted and solar-driven electrochemical reforming, followed by biological funnelling, enables the efficient upcycling of sewage sludge. This process not only co-produces valuable single-cell protein and green hydrogen but also effectively removes heavy metal contaminants.

Shape-changing materials have potential in a range of applications, but these transformations can be challenging to control. Here, the authors report the hydrophobic pseudo-hydrogel, which utilizes absorption-induced expansion via elastocapillarity to enable versatile soft robotic applications.

Radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis is a common side effect in nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment. Here, the authors present a phase 3 randomized clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of ulinastatin to prevent the incidence and severity of this condition.

Intravascular interfaces offer minimally invasive alternatives for intracranial neural recording and stimulation. Here, the authors introduce a novel intravascular implantation strategy using an ultraflexible microelectrode array, enabling multi-channel single-unit recording in large animals.

Exploring low-cost, efficient catalysts to replace platinum is crucial for electrocatalytic hydrogen generation. Here, the authors report a termination-acidity strategy that boosts the activity of molybdenum carbides, achieving a low overpotential and sustaining hydrogen generation for over 200 h.

Interim analysis from the randomized phase 3 JUPITER-02 trial shows that the addition of anti-PD-1 toripalimab to standard gemcitabine/cisplatin as a first-line treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma has manageable toxicity and improves progression-free survival, suggesting a potential new treatment standard in this setting.

Here the authors report a low-cost method to fabricate flexible Ag2Se thermoelectric films with high performance and durability, enabling efficient energy harvesting and cooling in wearable and portable thermoelectric devices.

The 2024 Wushi earthquake ruptured an oblique-reverse network of subsidiary faults, which hosted the majority of aftershocks and generated surface rupture, while the mainshock did not, according to an analysis of local seismic, geodetic and field data.

Topological protection in disclination lattices that relies on non-trivial winding in momentum space and real space is used to confine and guide vortices that feature arbitrary high-order charges. This approach could help in the development of orbital angular momentum-based photonic devices.

Here, the authors show robust edge state transport in patterned nanoribbon networks produced on epigraphene—graphene that is epitaxially grown on non-polar faces of SiC wafers. The edge state forms a zero-energy, one-dimensional ballistic network with dissipationless nodes at ribbon–ribbon junctions.

Chiral liquid-crystal materials with optical properties that can be tuned, erased and reversed offer new opportunities in labelling, displays and anti-counterfeiting.

Cepharanthine is a secondary metabolite isolated from Stephania with a variety of medicinal properties. Here, the authors assembled three Stephania genomes, propose cepharanthine biosynthetic pathway, and assess the antiviral potential of cepharanthine-related metabolites.

Coptis chinensis represents an early-diverging eudicot lineage with diverse medicinal applications. Here, the authors report its chromosome-scale genome assembly, infer a single ancient whole-genome duplication, and characterize the function of CYP719 in diversification of protoberberine-type alkaloids.

Here, a draft sequence of the giant panda genome is assembled using next-generation sequencing technology alone. Genome analysis reveals a low divergence rate in comparison with dog and human genomes and insights into panda-specific traits; for example, the giant panda's bamboo diet may be more dependent on its gut microbiome than its own genetic composition.

N-phosphorylation plays a critical role in central metabolism and signaling processes, however, enrichment methods for N-phosphopeptides are limited by the P-N bond lability. Here, the authors report the synthesis and use of silica microspheres functionalized with bis(zinc(II)-dipicolylamine) in N-phosphopeptides effective enrichment.

In this work, the authors demonstrate that LLPS of the quaternary USH2 protein complex initiates the formation of stereociliary ankle link condensates, providing insights into the pathogenesis of deafness.

Sun et al. identify the deubiquitinase USP15 as a regulator of PARP1 stability in triple-negative breast cancer and show that the hormone receptors ER, PR and HER2 inhibit USP15-mediated PARP1 stabilization, modulating base excision repair.

Some topological boundary states are symmetry protected. Experiments with photonic lattices now show that the protection via sub-symmetry is enough to ensure topological modes, even if the full symmetry and topological invariant are destroyed.

The authors synthesize cubic GeSe through the alloying of the metavalent compound Sb₂Te₃ and vacancy engineering, achieving a record ZT of 1.38 at 723 K and an energy conversion efficiency of 6.13% in a single-leg thermoelectric device.

Depositing textured functional materials on transparent conducting oxides remains a challenge. We demonstrate the formation of a coherent interface between a set of functional oxides and fluorine-doped-tin-oxide-based transparent conducting oxide substrate despite the lattice mismatch, owing to dimensional and chemical matching of oxygen sublattices at the interface.

Using an integrated analysis on three independent large human datasets, Wang et al. map macroscale dysconnectivity in schizophrenia onto layer- and cell-type-specific microscale alterations. The authors identify different alterations of corticocortical and corticostriatal connectivity in schizophrenia and their relationship to different symptom dimensions and functional domains.

Demand for data recovery from monolithic storage devices is high but current methods are inefficient. Here, authors develop a robotic OCT-guided inspection and microsurgery method, minimizing damage to device and enhancing data recovery efficiency.

Horse chestnut (Aesculus chinensis) is a tree species that can produce medicinal compounds such as aescin and aesculin. Here, the authors assemble its genome, identify key genes involved in the biosynthesis of these two group of compounds, and achieve the de novo synthesis of aesculin in E. coli.

The authors report a wet-chemical selenization-based anisotropy optimization to control the orientation of the Ag₂Se thin film, achieving a power factor of 30.8 μW cm⁻¹ K⁻² in the thin film and a normalized power density of 1.8 μW cm⁻² K⁻² in the device.

Vaccination is effective in protecting from COVID-19. Here the authors report immune responses and breakthrough infections in twice-vaccinated patients receiving anti-TNF treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, and find dampened vaccine responses that implicate the need of adapted vaccination schedules for these patients.

Primary biliary cholangitis is an autoimmune liver disease. Here, the authors show that variants in interleukin genes which potentially deregulate their expression are associated with this condition, and suggest that the IL21 signalling pathway may have a role in disease aetiology.

Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response to bacterial infection, can lead to organ failure and death. Here, Chai et al.investigate the mechanisms behind the septic response and identify the role of oestrogen sulfotransferase in this process in mice.

Fusion welding of 7000 series aluminum alloy is plagued by cracking from a fine equiaxed zone (FQZ). Here, the authors quantify key softening mechanisms, show the damage accumulation sequence, and propose a hybrid laser/arc welding strategy to mitigate the FQZ and increase weld strength and toughness.