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Torpor is an adaptive hypometabolic state in response to energy scarcity. Here, Cheng et al. show that catecholaminergic neurons in the ventrolateral medulla induce torpor in mice by lowering body temp and heart rate (heart rate decline precedes cooling).

Freestanding membranes of hafnium zirconium oxide can be created using pulsed laser deposition method and used as the top-gate dielectric in molybdenum disulfide transistors.

Chronic wounds typically exhibit dynamic variations within the complex wound microenvironment over time. Here, Cheng et al. develop a microenvironment-feedback hydrogel to achieve homeostatic wound pH and blood glucose levels to accelerate repair of diabetic chronic wounds.

Post-translational modifications regulate tumorigenesis and cancer therapy sensitivity. Here, the authors show that N-glycosylation defective Interleukin-6 (deNG-IL6) switches downstream signalling pathway from JAK-STAT3 to SRC-YAP axis and lung cancer cells secrete deNG-IL6 to promote metastasis and tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance.

In situ methods for water quality monitoring is crucial for global water use and management, though many conventional sensors have slow response time and are non-recyclable. Here, the authors report a recyclable amphiphobic dielectric material for fast monitoring of water pollutants.

Topological Dirac-vortex modes have attracted broad interest but are thus far limited to two-dimensional photonic systems. Here, authors report the first experimental observation of topological Dirac-vortex modes in a 3D photonic topological insulator.

Methods of damaging cancer cells are of therapeutic interest. Here, the authors report on using gold nanoparticles as electron sinks with electroactive bacterial membranes to disrupt cancer cell redox balance, electron transfer induces oxidative stress and triggers cell death by apoptosis.

Planetary science is a rapidly growing research field in China. In March 2025, many hundreds of early-career planetary scientists gathered in Huangshan, China, to exchange the latest findings on this topic.

Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is critical for propylene production, yet overcoming the trade-off between activity and stability remains a challenge. Here a robust Pt@Sn-MFI catalyst is developed for PDH, leveraging the synergy between Pt and hydroxyl sites.

Schizophrenia exhibits significant variability in brain structures, traditionally viewed as static due to heterogeneous subgroups. Here the authors use magnetic resonance imaging data from 1,792 individuals with schizophrenia to reveal that gray matter volume variability is greater in early stages and decreases over time, highlighting dynamic brain alterations with implications for understanding disease progression.

Nanoplastics are a concern for health and safety. Here, the authors show polystyrene nanoplastics disrupt intestinal integrity and gut microbiota composition by altering microRNA expression in extracellular vesicles, highlight a potential pathway through which nanoplastic exposure affects gut health.

Magnetic edge states of carbon quantum dots enable ultrafast electron relaxation and hot-carrier mobility, offering a high-relaxivity MRI-guided NIR-II photo-thermoelectric therapy.

Previous ophthalmic foundation models have struggled to generalize effectively to diverse and rare fundus diseases, restricting their clinical applicability. Here, the authors introduce a vision-language foundation model that demonstrates superior performance in diagnosing both common and rare fundus conditions.

Hydrogel materials have emerged as versatile platforms for biomedical applications. Here this group reports an mRNA lipid nanoparticle-incorporated microgel matrix for immune cell recruitment/antigen expression and presentation/cellular interaction thereby eliciting antitumor efficacy with a single dose.

Diffusion models have shown promise in content generation, however, like many forms of generative AI, this comes with high computation cost, exacerbated by standard von Neuman computing architectures. Here, Cheng et al present a magnetoelectric memory for in-memory computing and demonstrate diffusion-based image generation on an 80×80 array.

Natural hydrogen is generated through chemical and radioactive processes in the Earth’s crust, and could be an important future clean chemical feedstock and energy resource. This Review examines the processes of geological hydrogen generation, migration, accumulation and preservation that enable the development of exploitable reserves.

Maintaining proper reactive oxygen species (ROS) balance is critical for cellular and individual health, yet its dynamic nature encumbers monitoring and assessment. Here the authors propose a platform using mass cytometry-based detection, termed SN-ROP, to identify distinct ROS profiles associated with specific immune cell functions and disease states.

Artificial intelligence-based detection of gastric cancer at different stages from noncontrast computed tomography is suggested to be feasible in a retrospective analysis of large and diverse cohorts, including real-world populations in opportunistic and targeted screening scenarios.

The function and regulatory mechanism of mRNA acetylation modification in cancer progression remains largely unknown. Here the authors identify that targeting tumor N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) RNA acetyltransferase NAT10 improves anti-tumor response via MYC/CDK2/DNMT1/dsRNA/type I IFN pathway, and show the synergic anti-tumor effect of NAT10 inhibition with aPD-1.

In large prospectively enrolled validation cohorts of patients with cancer and controls and a prospective study of asymptomatic individuals with average risk for cancer, a multicancer early detection test based on plasma cell-free DNA genomics and fragmentomics showed encouraging accuracy in identifying ongoing disease as well as the tissue of origin.

A study of human and mouse models of pancreatic cancer finds that inhibiting the lipid kinase PIKfyve interferes with the cancer’s lipid homeostasis, making it a potential target for drug development.

Characterization of the genetic architecture underlying the 7 pairs of contrasting traits studied by Mendel and the over 70 additional agronomic traits in pea (Pisum sativum) reveals their molecular details and provides tools for further studies in pea genetics, functional genomics and crop improvement.

Iacobucci et al. present the single-cell transcriptomic profile of patients with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, report enriched multipotency and develop a multipotency score that is associated with worse survival in pediatric patients.

Some rhizosphere microbes protect plants from phytopathogens through unclear molecular mechanisms. Here, Zhang et al. show that a rhizosphere bacterium displays antimicrobial activity against phytopathogenic fungi by reducing the activity of the fungal NatA acetyltransferase complex, thus inducing protein degradation and apoptosis.

Combined experiment and modeling show that thermal fluctuations of protruding edge functional groups of graphene nanopores modulate the pore size, enabling thermally-activated molecular transport for high-temperature hydrogen separation.

COPD patients are more likely to also have diabetes. Here the authors show that the use of SGLT2 inhibitors was associated with reduced all-cause mortality, hospitalization, acute exacerbations, and pneumonia in patients with COPD and diabetes.

Neural circuit mechanisms that regulate the panic-like defensive state are not fully understood. Using a robot-based experimental paradigm, the authors identify Cbln2-expressing (Cbln2+) neurons in the mouse posterior hypothalamic nucleus (PHN) as a key neuronal population essential for the induction of panic-like defensive state.

A neural network approach grounded in transition-path theory is shown to uncover committor-consistent transition pathways, resolving competing mechanisms across dynamical regimes and advancing the modeling of rare events in biomolecular systems.

Here, the authors develop an antiferromagnet/topological insulator heterostructure, MnSe/(Bi,Sb)₂Te₃, to obtain laser-induced transient magnetic moment and optically controllable circularly polarized ultrafast terahertz pulse generation, under zero external magnetic field.

This study introduces an electrochemical approach for synthesizing 1,3-butadiene via acetylene hydrogenation, offering petroleum-free pathway for C4H6 production. Mechanistic investigations show that optimizing the C2H2/H2O ratio can enhance the kinetics of the rate-limiting step.

The authors present TropiCycloneNet, a framework that combines a multimodal tropical cyclone dataset spanning 70 years and a machine learning forecast model. The approach improves forecast skill of tropical cyclone track and intensity compared to other methods, advancing data-driven weather prediction.

Previous work has shown that electronic and structural transitions in VO₂ can be decoupled by realizing an electronic transition within a monoclinic phase. Here, the authors extend this to the rutile phase by demonstrating a photodoping-driven transition from an insulating to a metallic rutile phase.

Real-time ray tracing faces significant computational hurdles on electronic platforms. Here, authors present the first thin-film lithium niobate photonic circuit for ray tracing acceleration, enabling rapid, energy-efficient ray-box tests with a 1-bit ADC, achieving 326 fJ/OP and over 100 GHz bandwidth.

Certain antimetabolites used to treat cancer are more neurotoxic than others, and it is now shown that this is due to their greater tendency to generate DNA double-stranded breaks, whereas less neurotoxic agents induce single-stranded breaks.

Long-circulating, transfection-competent LNP-mRNA systems are key for effective extrahepatic delivery. Here, authors show that LNPs with high bilayer lipid ratios yield high mRNA encapsulation, prolonged circulation, and enhanced transfection in extrahepatic tissues.

T-cell enrichment has attracted great interest but currently fails to fully replicate the complex natural immune interactions. Here, the authors report on magnetic polymerised antigen-presenting cells that mimic natural interactions to isolate rare tumour-reactive T cells, offering a platform for enhancing cancer immunotherapy and neoantigen discovery.

The authors identified a broadly applicable scaling relationship between field emission characteristics and the ratio of apex radius to gap length, and proposed a modified field emission equation suitable for nanoscale applications.

The authors use human SEEG recordings during a virtual escape task to identify roles for cognitive and reactive fear circuits in threat evaluation and escape decisions, respectively. They further uncover Theta-band flow from the amygdala to the vmPFC during rapid attacks.

This study reports the synthesis of Ru₁Co single atom alloys with tunable crystal phases, revealing that the hexagonal-close-packed phase outperforms others in the nitrate reduction to ammonia due to shorter Ru-Co distances and stronger interatomic interactions, which improve NO₃⁻ adsorption.