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This Perspective reviews the recent technical developments in the components of the fuel cell stack in proton-exchange membrane fuel cell vehicles and outlines the road towards large-scale commercialization of such vehicles.

DART (drug acutely restricted by tethering) enables the manipulation of native receptors on genetically defined neurons. This work describes second-generation DART reagents for manipulating GABA_A and AMPA receptors with higher cellular specificity than previously achieved.

Efficient phononic nonlinear processes are demonstrated in an acoustoelectric heterostructure combining a high-mobility semiconductor indium gallium arsenide film heterogeneously integrated onto a lithium niobate thin film.

Designing efficient, fast and low power consumption phase change memories remains a challenge. Aryana et al. propose a strategy to reduce operating currents by manipulating the interfacial thermal resistance between the phase change unit and the electrodes without incorporating additional insulating layers.

Structural studies on Scytonema hofmanni CRISPR-associated transposon protein complexes indicate a mechanism for RNA-guided DNA transposition involving Cas12k, TnsC and TnsB.

We present near complete cryo-EM structures of the dark and light-activated states of a bacterial phytochrome kinase to reveal how these photoreceptors translate light absorption into conformational changes that impact transmitter kinase cascades.

Calcium imaging has been used to visualize the activity of individual synapses, but cannot be scaled up to monitor thousands of synapses in tissue. Here, the authors present genetic tools that can be photoconverted from green to red to create a map of active synapses.

Materials which simultaneously exhibit superconductivity and topologically non-trivial electronic band structure possess potential applications in quantum computing but have yet to be found. Here, the authors find superconductivity in MoTe₂, a material predicted to be topologically non-trivial.

C. elegans aggregate in large clumps during feeding. Here, the authors find conserved autism-associated genes mediate distinct molecular and circuit signaling components that tune C. elegans feeding behavior from solitary to social feeding.

Genetic variants in ACTB and ACTG1 have been associated with Baraitser-Winter Cerebrofrontofacial syndrome. Here, the authors report of a syndromic thrombocytopenia caused by variants in ACTB exons 5 or 6 that compromise the organization and coupling of the cytoskeleton, leading to impaired platelet maturation.

Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources becomes crucial in meeting increasing lithium demand. Here, authors design an economically feasible electrochemical process that achieves selective lithium extraction from geothermal brine and finally produce battery grade lithium hydroxide.

The recent demonstration that highly disordered polymer films can transport charges as effectively as polycrystalline semiconductors has called into question the relationship between structural order and mobility in organic materials. It is now shown that, in high-molecular-weight polymers, efficient charge transport is allowed due to a network of interconnected aggregates that are characterized by short-range order.

Vasek et al. demonstrate that distal processes of microglia locally translate specific mRNAs including those related to immunity and phagocytosis. They then show that local protein synthesis is necessary for microglial process-initiated phagocytosis.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells monitor the bone marrow for apoptotic megakaryocytes (MKs) and deliver IFNα to the MK niche, triggering local on-demand proliferation and maturation of MK progenitors.

Evolution of osmoregulation allowed photosynthetic organisms to transform the whole biosphere. Leveraging high-throughput techniques in the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the authors uncover evolutionary conservation and divergence of osmoregulatory pathways within the green lineage.

Large three-dimensional images are commonly generated through biological experimentation. Here the authors report software tools for exploration of three-dimensional images along with applications to assist in imaging, microsurgery, visualization and annotation of large image data sets.

Manipulating the topological phases of quantum materials is necessary to fully leverage their potential for future electronics. Here, the authors experimentally demonstrate the controllable transition from a weak to a strong topological insulator phase through the in-situ application of high strain.

Cryo-EM has facilitated structural studies of membrane proteins, but inactive GPCRs have remained inaccessible due to their small size. Robertson et al. demonstrate a common nanobody-based approach to streamline the determination of such structures.

A detailed study of young stellar populations from high-quality stacked spectra of 28,663 massive early-type galaxies reveals ubiquitous residual star formation, measuring average mass fractions of 0.5% in young stars in the last 2 Gyr of their evolution.

Three-layer heterostructures consisting of an indium gallium arsenide semiconducting film, a lithium niobate piezoelectric film, and a silicon substrate can be used to create acoustoelectric amplifiers that operate at gigahertz frequencies with large non-reciprocal gain and low noise in continuous operation.

The use of a chromium oxide interlayer separating the perovskite film from the metal contacts improves the stability of perovskite solar cells in air. Deposited on thin plastic foils, these ultralight devices power model airplanes and dirigibles.

The Cousa objective is an ultra-long working distance air objective optimized for two- and three-photon imaging. Bypassing challenges caused by water immersion and short working distances, the Cousa enables and improves imaging of diverse specimens.

Systematic large-scale analysis of embryonic development requires the processing of large amounts of microscopy data. Here Schmid et al.solve this problem by developing a high-speed imaging system that projects zebrafish embryos onto a ‘world map’ in real time, revealing characteristic migration patterns in the early endoderm.

A CMOS-compatible watt-class power amplifier based on large-mode waveguide technology is realized with an on-chip output power reaching ~1 W within a footprint of ~4 mm², enabling integrated photonics to tackle true systems level integration.

Twisted moiré heterostructures offer a highly tunable solid-state platform for exploring fundamental condensed matter physics. Here, the authors use scanning tunnelling microscopy to investigate the local electronic structure of the gate-controlled quantum anomalous Hall insulator state in twisted monolayer–bilayer graphene.

Combining fungal-resistance genes into a single cassette enables the generation of highly resistant wheat lines.

Perovskite solar cells can complement silicon photovoltaics in multijunction devices. Here, the authors optimize light harvesting in monolithic perovskite-on-silicon devices and fabricate a certified 23.6% efficient, 1 cm² tandem solar cell with a perovskite device that withstands damp heat tests.

Deep clinical phenotyping at 28–60 days post-discharge of patients who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and subsequent long-term follow-up with electronic health records reveal evidence of persistent cardio-renal involvement.

Manufacturing of perovskite solar cells under ambient conditions is desirable. Meng et al. show that dimethylammonium formate suppresses halide oxidation and deprotonation of organic cations, enabling air-processed inverted solar cells with 24.7% efficiency.

Thermoelectric measurements show an unusual form of critical behaviour at the superconducting quantum phase transition in monolayer WTe₂.

Dynamic interface printing is a new form of 3D printing that leverages an acoustically modulated, constrained air–liquid boundary to rapidly generate centimetre-scale 3D structures within tens of seconds.

Center-surround receptive fields are typically considered to mediate edge detection. Here, by studying retinal bipolar cells responding to flashed and moving stimuli, the authors reveal an additional function: enhanced representation of newly appearing visual items.

Molecular systems with rigid macrocyclic backbones self-assemble into synthetic nanopores that mimic the mass-transport characteristics of biological channels. Zhouet al. produce self-assembling hydrophobic nanopores that mediate highly selective transmembrane ion transport and highly efficient transmembrane water permeability.

A vascular cell atlas integrating single-cell data of 19 organs and tissues from 62 donors identifies angiotypic and organotypic characteristics of endothelial and mural cells.

Inositol pyrophosphates are key nutrient messengers in fungi, plants and animals. This study uncovers the structure and function of a critical enzyme involved in their production and breakdown, revealing how cells control inositol pyrophosphate levels to regulate nutrient signaling.

Low bandgap tin–lead perovskites are crucial to making efficient all-perovskite tandem solar cells but have so far shown poor stability. By removing the hole transport layer and improving film morphology, Prasanna et al. demonstrate a low-gap perovskite solar cell that is stable for 1,000 h under heat, light and atmospheric conditions.

Far-field mid-infrared spectroscopy reveals both the electroluminescence of hyperbolic phonon polaritons of hexagonal boron nitride excited by strongly biased graphene, and the associated radiative energy transfer through the material.

Bandgap gradient is a promising approach to improve the open-circuit voltage in thin film solar cells. Here, authors incorporate a Cd(O,S,Se,Te) region to realize the bandgap gradient at front interface and demonstrate Cd(Se,Te) solar cells with reduced recombination and a champion efficiency of 20.03%.

A new high-resolution record for the Antarctic Zone shows persistent anti-phasing of high interglacial ocean productivity and high glacial dust deposition, suggesting a close inter-hemispheric coupling of cryosphere, ocean and atmosphere.

The authors investigated the mechanisms underlying hippocampal sharp waves. They found that CA3 axo-axonic cells (AACs) stopped firing during sharp waves in vivo. They also identified GABAergic cells in the medial septum that are activated during sharp waves and project to CA3; these cells may inhibit AACs during sharp waves.

Disruption of the blood brain barrier can occur in several diseases. Here the authors show that targeted ablation of astrocytes results in a plasticity mechanism in nearby cells to maintain cerebrovascular coverage, but that this mechanism is impaired in older animals.

Combining rabies-based connectomics with single-nucleus transcriptomics, the authors identify a neural circuit through which GLP-1 receptor agonists suppress appetite in mice.

FlyWire presents a neuronal wiring diagram of the whole fly brain with annotations for cell types, classes, nerves, hemilineages and predicted neurotransmitters, with data products and an open ecosystem to facilitate exploration and browsing.

An artificial Kitaev chain is realized by engineering three coupled quantum dots in a two-dimensional electron gas, which enables the manipulation and observation of both the edge and bulk states.

High-resolution STM/STS visualizes the fractionalization of flat moiré bands into discrete Hofstadter subbands in moiré graphene near the predicted second magic angle, and experimentally establishes several fundamental properties of the fractal Hofstadter energy spectrum.

Wenzel et al. detect radio signatures of two forms of cyanopyrene, a small molecular sheet of carbon, which can be used as indicators of the abundance of pyrene. Their findings suggest that small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons must be formed in or transported to the cold interstellar medium.

This protocol describes how to assemble a 4Pi single-molecule switching super-resolution microscope. Detailed instructions for beam-path alignment, testing, application to cellular samples and troubleshooting are provided.