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Initially anode-free design can obtain the maximum energy density of sodium metal batteries. Here, authors construct a highly ordered and regularly arranged Al(100) single crystal current collector, achieving uniform reversible sodium deposition capability and long cycle performance.

The authors report the large low-field-driven electrocaloric effect in the novel organic-inorganic hybrid TMCM-CdCl₃, underlyingly from the disordering of organic cations and the low-symmetry interaction induced two-step meta-electric transition.

A pangenome of wild and cultivated rice accessions captures the entire set of non-redundant genes and diversity in rice, and provides insights into the pathways involved in the evolution of rice.

Using a gentle purification, authors isolated RyR1 coupled with S0 helix. Cryo-EM structures reveal that S0 enhances the conformational transitions in cooperation with Ca2 + /ATP, suggesting S0 is an essential component of RyR1.

Spliceosomal snRNP core assembly typically requires chaperones such as the SMN complex. Here, the authors reveal two pathways in budding yeast: a chaperone-mediated pathway involving Brr1 and Lot5, and a direct pathway using stable intermediates, shedding light on chaperone evolution.

Conventional capacitors store charge under opposite polarization. Here, the authors design a printed asymmetric system, where a redox-active electrolyte enables selective charge storage. This approach allows voltage control and efficient logic operations, showing promise for future ionic computing.

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.

An atomically thin high-κ gate dielectric of Bi₂SeO₅ can be formed via layer-by-layer oxidization of an underlying two-dimensional semiconductor, allowing high-performance field-effect transistors and inverters to be fabricated.

Beige adipocytes quickly transition into white adipocytes upon the removal of stimuli, limiting their therapeutic potential for chronic metabolic diseases. In this study, the authors show that inhibiting Cdkn2a-Becn1 mediated autophagy can maintain beige adipocytes and provide long term metabolic health benefits in mice.

Here, the authors perform a pan-genome-based genome-wide meta-analysis of six independent GWAS experiments in rice, demonstrating the potential of this approach to increase understanding of the genetic basis of, and genes underlying key rice traits.

This study maps the single-axon projections of 7,180 hypothalamic peptidergic neurons in male mice and uncovers extensive collateralization, topographic target innervation and modular intra-hypothalamic organization.

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.

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.

Hydrogen bonds impact the chemical, physical and biological properties of molecular materials, but are rarely able to induce significant changes in electrical properties. Now a dynamic-to-static transition of hydrogen bonds in an organic–inorganic superlattice has been shown to yield a metal–insulator transition with an on–off ratio of 10⁷ in electrical resistivity.

Tandem repeats (TRs) have unique ability to drive a range of phenotype variations. Here, the authors survey rice TR variations based on 231 genome assemblies and the rice pan-genome graph, identify TR variations associated with expressed genes, and reveal expression TRs contributed to rice agronomic trait variations.

Meningeal lymphatic vessels have been associated with amyloid beta clearance, which is considered as a modulation target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment. Here, the authors show that transcranial light treatment can enhance meningeal lymphatic drainage in aged and AD model mice and improve AD-associated pathology and cognitive function.

Shao, Li, Liu et al. identify the GAS6–ATF3 axis as a central regulator of survival and proliferation of protective resident MerTK⁺ cardiac macrophages and show that GAS6 administration improves cardiac repair after ischemic–reperfusion injury in mice in an ATF3-dependent manner.

The genus Miscanthus has great potential for bio-energy production due to its high biomass yield and strong stress resistance. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of the diploid M. lutarioriparius, showing it has an allotetraploid origin and an expanded number of genes in families related to stress resistance.

The genomic organization and origin of the avenacin biosynthetic gene cluster remain unknown. Here, the authors assemble the genome of diploid oat Avena strigosa, reveal the structure and organization of the consecutive genes, characterize the last two missing pathway steps, and investigate the origin of the pathway in cereals.

Comparing to other biological systems, our understanding of plant extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) is limited. Here, the authors profile eccDNA from six rice tissues and investigate eccDNA characteristics, formation mechanisms, distribution, and functional implications.

Developing hybrid rice cultivars requires time consuming random crossing. Here, the authors develop a new next generation sequencing-based quantitative trait locus mapping method to dissect heterotic gene OsMADS1 and demonstrate the feasibility of pyramiding two genes to achieve large heterotic effect.

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.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) and PAF-like phospholipids were identified as propagators of ferroptosis, whereas PAFAH2 suppressed synchronized ferroptosis and, thus, prevented tubular cell death in acute kidney injury.

Retrotransposons are silenced by an epigenetic mechanism and piRNA pathway in the mammalian germline. Here, the authors report that UHRF1 suppresses retrotransposons by interacting with PRMT5 and PIWI proteins during spermatogenesis.

Resequencing of 2,839 hybrid rice cultivars and 9,839 F₂ individuals from 18 elite crosses is used to characterize the genetics underlying a range of grain yield-related traits, providing insights into heterosis during breeding and a predictive model.

A pan-genome dataset of the Oryza sativa–Oryza rufipogon species complex generated through deep sequencing and de novo genome assembly of 66 divergent accessions will be helpful in pinpointing new causal variants underlying complex traits and in promoting evolutionary and functional studies in rice.

Scientific questions are universal but the scientific workforce remains skewed, with women and gender minorities still underrepresented. Initiatives such as the Women in Autophagy network promote the careers of these underrepresented groups with a range of free, year-round scientific, mentoring and networking activities for all scientists.

Single-crystal perovskite devices 2–3 mm thick exhibit 16.4% X-ray detection efficiency with sensitivity four times higher than α-Se X-ray detectors.

The principle of heterosis, whereby a hybrid variety outperforms both parents, is commonly exploited in agriculture to maximize crop yield. Here Huang et al.show that the accumulation of multiple superior alleles in hybrid varieties contributes to hybrid vigour and increased yield in rice.

High-quality genome sequence of cultivated peanut comprising 2.54 Gb with 20 pseudomolecules and 83,709 protein-coding gene models provides insights into genome evolution and the genetic mechanisms underlying seed size and leaf resistance in peanut.

Large-size single-crystal van der Waals layered Bi₂SeO₅ has been synthesized with a high dielectric constant and high breakdown field strength for two-dimensional electronics applications.

Inverse vulcanization (IV) generates sulfur-rich functional polymers from elemental sulfur and organic crosslinkers, but the harsh reaction conditions required limit the scope of suitable crosslinkers. Now, a photoinduced IV has been shown to proceed at ambient temperatures, enabling the use of volatile and gaseous alkenes and alkynes as crosslinkers and broadening the range of products.

Bin Han and colleagues report the draft genome sequence of the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idellus, a major commercially farmed species of freshwater fish. Analyses of the grass carp genome identify lineage-specific duplications that may have contributed to the adaptation of this species to a vegetarian diet.

Sesame is a valuable oilseed crop with a small diploid genome and high seed-oil content making it an attractive model for genetic studies. Here, Wei et al.sequence more than 705 sesame varieties and perform a genome-wide association study to identify genes associated with important agronomic traits.

The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) in topological materials with large Berry curvature shows great potential for transverse thermoelectrics, but antiferromagnets typically show small ANEs. The antiferromagnet YbMnBi₂ has an ANE thermopower of 3 μV K⁻¹, similar to ferromagnets, and a larger ANE conductivity.

Whole-genome sequences of wild rice and cultivated rice varieties are used to produce a map of rice genome variation, and show that rice was probably first domesticated in southern China.

Insights into the genomic architecture of heterosis for grain yield in rice are presented, and further mapping of grain yield loci resolves candidate genes that could be useful for breeding.