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Polar skyrmions are a topological polarization texture. While they have now been detected in numerous material systems, near universally these have required careful strain engineering. Here, Xue, Zhang, Zheng, Tong, Wang and coauthors observe polar skyrmions in the van der Waals ferroelectric CuInP2S6, without strain-engineering.

Control of magnetization is at the core of many spintronic applications. Out-of-plane anti-damping magnon torque now enables low-power, deterministic switching of perpendicular magnetization at zero magnetic field.

Out-of-plane polarized spin current generated by the Weyl semimetal tantalum iridium telluride can be used to achieve the field-free switching of the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy ferromagnet cobalt iron boron at room temperature.

Topochemical polymerization (TCP) emerges as a leading approach for synthesizing single crystalline polymers, but the untapped potential of performing TCP in a liquid medium with solid-state structural fidelity presents unsolved challenges. Here, the authors reveal details of single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation during the TCP of chiral azaquinodimethane monomers through in situ crystallographic analysis while spotlighting a rare metastable crystalline phase.

There are now several van der Waals magnets that have been shown to host skyrmions, however, these are typically hampered by a low Curie temperature, restricting the temperature at which the skyrmions can exist. Here, Zhang, Jiang, Jiang and coauthors find a skyrmion lattice in the van der Waals magnet Fe3 − xGaTe2 above room temperature and demonstrate the critical role of symmetry breaking in crystal lattice in the origin of these skyrmions.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can lead to acute kidney injury. The authors describe that SARS-COV-2 can directly infect human kidney, possibly mediating tubular pathogenesis.

The solvent choice for processing organic solar cells impacts layer morphology and ultimately device performance. By controlling the molecular interactions, Zhang et al. realize a solvent-independent morphology that leads to high device efficiency.

Developing highly efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts is crucial for AEMWEs. Here, the authors employ electron-deficient and oxophilic Ga single atoms as an electronic bridge to stabilize Ru clusters in an N-doped carbon-supported catalyst.

Skyrmions and fractional skyrmions are promising for spintronics applications but are challenging to create, observe, and manipulate, with a limited understanding of their impact on colloid dynamics. Here authors demonstrate the creation and light-actuated transformation of skyrmion textures in nematic liquid crystals, enabling colloidal assemblies and dynamic behaviors.

Here the authors report the isolation and structural and biological characterization of a humanized angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-blocking antibody, which exterts potent inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV and circulating global SARS-CoV-2 lineages both in vitro and in hACE2 mouse model.

Carbon nanomaterials such as graphene show intriguing molecular transport properties, but to achieve regular channels over a large area requires perfect sheet alignment. Here, a large-area two-dimensional conjugated-polymer-framework is grown with regular pore distribution, enabling 99.5% salt rejection by forward osmosis.

Baek et al. report the formation of a discrete island–convex dome morphology in perovskite by solvent engineering to improve the outcoupling efficiency in NIR LEDs. 2D/3D heterostructures are constructed to further increase the efficiency to 31.4% with a peak radiance of 929 W sr⁻¹ m⁻² at 798 nm.

Dual-specificity phosphatases regulate several processes associated with carcinogenesis. Here the authors show that inhibition of the dual-specificity phosphatase DUSP18 improves the activity of tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells, enhancing response to immune checkpoint blockade in preclinical models of colorectal cancer.

Structures of the glucagon receptor bound to β-arrestin 1 are reported, providing further information about the arrestin-mediated modulation of G protein-coupled receptors.

mRNAs are known to be decorated with m5C at a low-to-medium level. Here, the authors generate atlases of mRNA m5C during animal development in 6 species and identify convergent and unexpected massive methylation of maternal mRNAs by NSUN2 and NSUN6.

Tumour cell behaviour is an underdeveloped target for cancer intervention. Here the authors report on a spatiotemporal interaction between tumour cells and osteoclasts in initial bone metastases and propose a behaviour-targeting therapy with an in situ physical killing strategy.

Recently there has been a surge of interest in using magnons, the quasi-particles of spin-waves in magnetic systems, for information processing, driven by the potentially very low energy consumption. Here, by adjusting the magnetic compensation in a ferrimagnet, Li et al demonstrate magnon–magnon coupling, and controllable spin wave mediated spin current transmission.

Bacterial fuel cells have generated attention with the prospect of green energy production; current research is focused on optimising the system to improve efficiency. Here, the authors report on the feeding of carbon dots to S. oneidensis MR-1 to enhance metabolic activity and bioelectric generation.

Layered thio- and seleno-phosphate ferroelectrics show promise for next-generation memory but have thermal stability issues. Using the electric field-driven phase transition in antiferroelectric CuCrP2S6, the authors introduce a robust memristor, emphasizing the potential of van der Waals antiferroelectrics in advanced neuromorphic computing.

Tumor-resident intracellular microbiota (TRIM) could be a potential target for anticancer treatment. Here the authors report Au@Ag2Se nano-assemblies enabling bacterial killing, tumor inhibition and immune regulation in tumor microenvironment.

Lack of stability in RuO₂-based catalysts at industrial currents impedes their use in green hydrogen production. Here, the authors show that incorporating lanthanide elements into RuO_x shields against external factors, enabling fine-tuned Ru-O covalency for durable oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysis.

Proof of concept of the viability of a plant-derived photosynthetic system based on nanothylakoid units encapsulated in a chondrocyte membrane to enhance cell anabolism in chondrocytes is demonstrated.

Existing neuromorphic hardware, focusing mainly on shallow-reservoir computing, is challenged in providing adequate spatial and temporal scales characteristic for effective computing. Here, Gao et al. report an ultra-short channel organic neuromorphic vertical transistor with distributed reservoir states.

Disrupting the interaction between telomere protein TRF1 with meiosis-specific protein TERB1 impairs the pairing of X and Y chromosomes via their telomere-adjacent pseudoautosomal regions in pachytene, leading to spermatocyte apoptosis and male infertility in mice.

The mechanisms underlying cell plasticity remain poorly understood. Here, Guo et.al discover that intestinal cells in the fly gut can alter their fates through the loss of a single gene, and identify several molecular barriers to cell reprogramming.

Adaptor for IL-17 receptors (Act1) is known to be crucial for IL-17-mediated immune responses. Here the authors show that Act1 also functions as a negative regulator of T and B cells by direct inhibition of STAT3.

Identifying and quantifying the biodistribution of synthetic polymeric nanoparticles in biological milieu is crucial for biomedical applications. Now, it has been shown that encoded polymeric amphiphiles with discrete molar masses undergo sequence- and length-dependent self-assembly into precise digital micelles that can be used in direct sequence reading and ex vivo label-free quantification assays.

TAGAP gene variants are linked to human autoimmunity. Here the authors identify TAGAP as a Dectin-1 and EphB2-binding protein mediating antifungal innate immune signaling and cytokine production, and demonstrate TAGAP in non-T cells promotes Th17 response in mouse models of infection and autoimmunity.

Due to the polygenic nature of most diseases, simultaneous correction or introduction of single nucleotide variants is needed. Here, the authors demonstrated the feasibility of multiplex base editing for polygenes disease modeling in cynomolgus monkey embryos with high specificity.

Toxic amyloid-beta plaque and harmful inflammation are two leading hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and precise AD therapy is elusive due to the lack of dual-targeting therapy function, limited blood-brain barrier penetration, and low imaging sensitivity. Here, the authors address these issues by designing a near-infrared-II aggregation-induced emission nanotheranostic for precise AD therapy.

NOTCH signalling stimulates oligodendrocyte progenitor cell proliferation but how this regulates demyelinating disease is unclear. Here, the authors show that an IL-17 adaptor protein, Act1, interacts with the C-terminal fragment of NOTCH1 (NICD) to activate cell proliferation and an inflammatory response.

H3K27me3 binding to the EED pocket of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is required to activate PRC2. An allosteric small-molecule inhibitor of PRC2 was identified that binds to the EED pocket and blocks PRC2 methyltransferase activity in cells.

Designing efficient blue perovskite LEDs by using mixed halides perovskite is still a challenge, limited mainly by the phase segregation issue. Here, the authors demonstrate in situ fabrication of quasi-2D CsPbClBr2 nanocrystal films with mixed ligands to overcome the constraint.

The photovoltaic performances of perovskite materials are strongly influenced by their crystallinity and film morphology. Here, the authors investigate the formation and morphology evolution mechanisms of lead halide perovskites and reveal that bulk polycrystals grow from intermediate [PbI6]⁴⁻cage nanoparticles.

Cancer cells producing ligands for the immune checkpoint molecules PD-1 and CTLA-4 is an important mechanism of tumour immune resistance. Here authors show that BTNL2 expression on cancer cells generates a dysfunctional tumour immune microenvironment via promoting IL-17A-producing γδ T cells.

The mechanism of ferroelectric resistance switching is still under debate. Here, the authors propose an interfacial engineering approach to demonstrate its origin and find that it is governed by three independent variables: polarization, barrier change, and initial barrier.

The Fermi arcs, topological surface states of Weyl semimetals can enable the intriguing spin control and facilitate topological spintronics. Here the authors report the spin-orbit torque at the interface of WTe₂/Py and attribute it to the enhanced spin accumulation by the spin-momentum locking effect of the Fermi arcs of WTe₂.

Precise manipulation and utilization of the topological structures in liquid crystals remain challenging tasks. Wang et al. use the moiré effect combined with surface patterning to create highly tunable, arbitrary topological defects.

Superlubricity can be unstable in graphene systems, especially under high applied loads. Here the authors use microspheres uniformly coated by graphene to measure friction between 2D materials and show that superlow friction is preserved for long periods of time under high loads and various atmospheres.

Quasi-2D halide perovskites are attracting increasing attention for light-emitting devices. Here, the authors demonstrated efficient and stable quasi-2D perovskite LEDs enabled by suppressed phase disproportionation with newly designed organic ligands.

The chemokine receptor CCR5 plays multiple roles in the immune system. Here, structures of G_i1 protein-coupled CCR5 with or without a chemokine bound and of the CCR5- chemokine MIP-1 α complex offer insight into the distinct binding modes of the ligands and into the mechanism of CCR5 activation.