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Understanding the forces behind the successful governance of common-pool resources is crucial to sustainable development. This study reveals the importance of establishing and enforcing ‘access rights’ in the face of intergroup conflicts over resources to facilitate the evolution of sustainable ‘use rights’.

Stack pressure controls porosity during Li alloying/dealloying. A threshold pressure is needed for the densification and stable cycling of Li alloys in batteries, leading to the design of Li alloy anodes with densified interfacial layers for cycling at low pressures in solid-state batteries.

The practical performance of lithium–sulphur batteries is lower than expected because of polysulphide dissolution into the electrolyte over time. Sehet al. show that a yolk–shell nanoarchitecture is able to encapsulate sulphur cathode materials efficiently and thus allows over 1,000 charge/discharge cycles.

Nanostructured silicon is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries but needs to tolerate large volume increase upon lithiation. Wu et al. solve this problem by binding silicon nanoparticles to a conducting polymer hydrogel via in-situpolymerization, which also improves cycling stability.

Aluminum-based negative electrodes could enable high-energy-density batteries, but their charge storage performance is limited. Here, the authors show that dense aluminum electrodes with controlled microstructure exhibit long-term cycling stability in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are prone to unpredictable failure during fast charging, known as lithium plating. Now, innovative testing protocols can quickly quantify lithium plating and inform battery design strategies to mitigate it.

The low-temperature operation of non-aqueous sodium-based batteries is affected by the properties of the electrolyte. Here the authors propose specific electrolyte formulations that are thermally stable down to −150 °C and enable a stable electrode|electrolyte interface at low temperatures.

The long-term cycling of Li-S batteries depends on the polysulfides shuttling regulation. Here, the authors present a saccharide-based binder system to control the polysulfides migration and improve the cycle life of a Li-S pouch cell.

More transparent protocol reporting and comprehensive battery cell data are needed. Twenty-one research groups joined forces to assess solid-state battery performance and found considerable differences in assembly protocols that cause variable results.

Genome-wide sequencing of 180 ancient individuals shows a continuous gradient of ancestry in Early-to-Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers from the Baltic to the Transbaikal region and distinct contemporaneous groups in Northeast Siberia, and provides insights into the origins of modern Uralic and Yeniseian speakers.

Dissolution of sulphur into electrolyte is a major problem in lithium–sulphur batteries. Here, Yao et al.use an indium oxide-carbon interface and a polysulphide catholyte, and show that polysulphides preferentially deposit onto the oxide surface during electrochemical processes, thus alleviating the sulphur loss.

The instability of the host structure of cathode materials and sluggish aluminium ion diffusion are the major challenges facing the Al-ion battery. Here the authors show Al_xMnO₂·nH₂O as a cathode that allows for reversible Al³⁺ (de)intercalation in an aqueous electrolyte and impressive electrochemical performance for a battery device.

Preparing suitable lithium anodes is crucial for high-performance solid-state batteries. This study evaluates methods for producing thin lithium films, emphasizing thermal evaporation as a cost-effective approach while estimating associated pack costs.

Anode prelithiation is used to treat the initial capacity loss and low Coulombic efficiency in lithium-ion batteries, but existing methods are not effective. Here, the authors report lithium silicide–lithium oxide core–shell nanoparticles as a promising prelithiation reagent.

Lithium-metal batteries offer much promise for high-energy storage but their operation under extreme temperatures is challenging. Here the authors report a temperature-resilient high-performance lithium-metal battery based on a liquefied gas electrolyte that also has promising properties in safety and recyclability.

The authors here report a binder-free electrode based on tin nanoarrays deposited on copper substrate. It is found that the locally formed electrochemically inactive tin-copper alloys work as a glue that bridges tin and copper to survive harsh cycling conditions in sodium ion batteries.

A Si anode with hierarchical morphology can accommodate large volume changes, demonstrates high Coulombic efficiency and cyclability as well as an areal capacity comparable to that of commercial Li-ion batteries.

We report the discovery of lithium metal’s intrinsic growth morphology, a rhombic dodecahedron, and leverage these rhombic dodecahedra as nucleation seeds for improved battery performance.

In the field of lithium-based batteries, there is often a divide between academic research and industrial needs. Here, the authors present a view on applied research to help bridge academia and industry, focusing on metrics and challenges to be considered for the development of practical batteries.

The energy that can be stored in lithium-ion batteries is typically limited by the redox chemistry of the transition metals within the cathodes. Now it is shown that for Li_1.2[Ni²⁺_0.13Co³⁺_0.13Mn⁴⁺_0.54]O₂, a 3d-transition-metal oxide that breaks this limit, Li-ion extraction is charge compensated not just by transition-metal oxidation but also through the generation of localized electron-holes on oxygen.

It is generally believed that fast Li-ion transport in batteries can only be achieved when the host material does not change much with the Li movement. Here the authors show that controlled and reversible changes in host structures upon cycling can actually be used to improve the battery kinetics.

Stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) is heavily investigated due to its role in improving lithium metal batteries. Here, the authors present a new strategy by employing electrolyte additives to construct stable multifunctional SEI via in situ anionic polymerization.

Battery cathodes tend to degrade severely during high-voltage operations. Here the authors present a cathode design with a structurally coherent architecture, ranging from ordered to disordered frameworks, that addresses this issue.

A wireless device for measuring bioimpedance during breastfeeding allows accurate quantification of the volume of expressed milk in 12 new mothers in a neonatal intensive care unit and in home settings.

Catalysis is a crucial strategy for improving the performance of sulfur cathodes in Li–S batteries, yet few strategies have been established to design effective catalysts. Here, by uncovering a volcano-shaped trend between polysulfide adsorption and catalytic rate in transition-metal-doped ZnS, a highly efficient ternary sulfide is developed.

A non-contact wearable device that defines and modulates a microclimate adjacent to the skin can measure incoming and outgoing streams of vapourized substances, offering valuable insights into physiological health, wound healing and environmental exposures.

Silicon nanotubes surrounded by silicon oxide shells can maintain high discharge capacities for 6,000 cycles.

Inspired by the art of kirigami, a haptic device based on a miniaturized electromechanical structure combined with skin as an elastic, energy-storing element demonstrates bioelastic state recovery and can be used in sensory substitution.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tape is widely used for lithium-ion batteries but its chemical stability has been largely overlooked. Reversible self-discharge is now shown to be virtually eliminated in LiFePO₄–graphite cells by replacing PET with polypropylene jellyroll tape.

Liquefied gas electrolytes (LGE) can enable the operation of electrochemical devices in cold conditions but their high vapour pressure poses safety concerns. Here, the authors show that the nano-confinement effect of metal-organic framework allows battery with LGE to work at low temperature and reduced pressure.

The decomposition of solid state electrolyte material has been well-known in the literature. Here the authors report that the same decomposition process can be leveraged to act as a source of redox mediator that is only activated at certain voltages for application in Li₂S based cathodes.

Sufficiently small antimony nanoparticles form uniform voids that are reversibly filled and vacated during cycling.

Battery technologies are promising for grid-scale applications, but existing batteries in general operate at low rates, have limited cycle life and are expensive. Pasta et al. develop a grid-scale battery based on Prussian Blue electrodes, which shows potential in overcoming these problems.

Extensive efforts have recently been geared towards developing all-solid-state batteries largely because of their potential to enable high-energy-density Li anodes. Here, the authors report a high-performance lithium pouch cell with no excess lithium, enabled by just a dual-salt liquid electrolyte.

Reduction on cobalt reliance is an urgent requirement in the development of sustainable cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Here the authors analyse the roles of cobalt and its interplay with other ions in high-nickel layered oxides, and deduce a material formula for promising cobalt-free cathodes.

Eumelanin is a promising pigment for use in energy storage applications but has limitations hindering its wide usage. Here, melanin extracted from the black soldier fly is used to prepare electrodes with higher performance than synthetic melanin in zinc-ion hybrid capacitor applications.

Anode-free batteries contain no active material at the negative electrode when manufactured, and this can enable them to have high energy density. This Perspective presents a critical overview of the mechanisms governing the behaviour of anode-free solid-state batteries and provides guidance to improve this type of battery.

Increasing demand for energy-storage systems will inevitably stress the Earth’s lithium supply; thus, the research focus is shifting towards other alkali and alkali earth metals. This Review compares and connects strategies to enable different multivalent and monovalent metal-ion battery anodes, including metal anodes and intercalation-based, alloy-based and conversion-reaction-based anodes.

Gelabert et al. examine genomic and archaeological data from Europe’s earliest farming communities in Central Europe (5500–5000 bce). They find differentiated genetic networks but no evidence of unequal access to resources linked to sex or kin.

Levantine Phoenicians made little genetic contribution to Punic settlements in the central and western Mediterranean between the sixth and second centuries bce; instead, the Punic people derived most of their ancestry from a genetic profile similar to that of Sicily and the Aegean, with notable contributions from North Africa as well.

Metal fluorides/oxides are promising electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, but the mechanism by which they exhibit additional reversible capacity is still not well understood. By using high-resolution solid-state NMR techniques it is shown that extra capacity in this RuO₂ system is due to the generation of LiOH and its subsequent reversible reaction with Li to form Li₂O and LiH.

Shuman et al. report that epileptic mice harbor desynchronized hippocampal interneuron activity and unstable spatial representations, revealing that precise intrahippocampal synchronization is critical for spatial coding.

Ancient DNA reveals how the explosive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists began with a small community north of the Black Sea speaking ancestral Indo-European, and detects genetic links with Anatolian speakers, stemming from a common Indo-Anatolian homeland in the North Caucasus–lower Volga region.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of 81 prehistoric individuals reveals how the genetic makeup of people from the North Pontic region was influenced by waves of migration during the Eneolithic period and Early Bronze Age.

The development of noninvasive methodology plays an important role in advancing lithium ion battery technology. Here the authors utilize the measurement of tiny magnetic field changes within a cell to assess the lithiation state of the active material, and detect defects.

Lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation is a promising pathway to electrochemical ammonia synthesis, but the role of metallic lithium and its passivation layer are unclear. Here the authors employ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to explore these components, finding that the proton donor is the key determinant of lithium reactivity.

The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) is the state-of-the-art method for determining the Li+ diffusion coefficients in battery materials. Here, authors propose the intermittent current interruption method as a reliable, accurate and faster alternative to GITT-based methods.

A sequencing chemistry that separates nucleotide identification from nucleotide incorporation achieves high accuracy.

Although Li–O₂ batteries offer high theoretical capacities, redox mediators are necessary to control intermediate reaction kinetics and to limit electrode passivation. Now it has been shown that a family of triarylmethyl cations can rival top-performing quinone-based redox mediators. Cations with sluggish catalytic rates were found to suppress surface-mediated O₂ reduction and achieve higher capacitances.