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Strong lasing effects similar to those in the optical regime can occur at 1.5–2.1 Å wavelengths during high-intensity XFEL-driven Kα₁ lasing of copper and manganese.

The authors use femtosecond K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy to follow nuclear motion in a manganese-based tri-nuclear single-molecule magnet, and resolve changes in bond lengths on the order of hundreds of ångströms and on sub-picosecond timescales.

Cathodic corrosion of platinum is investigated using operando high-resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy matched with density functional calculations. Platinum hydrides are found to be reaction intermediates in conditions at which these species are expected to be unstable.

The activity of human manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is determined by the state of a key catalytic residue, Tyr34, which was reported to undergo cyclic deprotonation and protonation events to promote the electron transfers of MnSOD. Here, the authors performed neutron diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy, and quantum chemistry calculations of Tyr34Phe MnSOD in oxidized, reduced and product inhibited enzymatic states, to elucidate the role of Tyr34 in MnSOD catalysis.

High-throughput computational screening of multicomponent molecular photocatalytic systems offers a strategy to minimize the screening of large numbers of photosensitizer–catalyst combinations. Here a machine learning-accelerated approach using multiple descriptors shows strong predictive power in experimentally validated systems for CO₂ reduction.

Reliably identifying transient intermediates is crucial to elucidate chemical reaction mechanisms. Here, the authors use femtosecond Fe Kβ main line and valence-to-core x-ray emission spectroscopy to characterize a short-lived intermediate of the aqueous ferricyanide photo-aquation reaction.

Stable chelation of the ¹⁴⁷Pm radionuclide in aqueous solution by the newly synthesized organic diglycolamide ligand is demonstrated and the resulting complex studied, showing accelerated shortening of bonds at the beginning of the lanthanide series.

A laser–plasma accelerator provides proton beams for the precise irradiation of human tumours in a mouse model. This work advances translational research with ultrahigh proton dose rates at laser-driven sources.

CRISPR-CasRx effectively reduces ALS- and FTD-causing C9orf72 sense and antisense repeat derived RNAs and proteins in cell lines, patient iPSC-neurons and two independent mouse models of C9orf72 repeat expansion.

The spin exchange, which is central to spintronics, has been restricted to devices with long-range magnetic ordering to date. Here, Pei et al. design a single-molecule-magnet and utilize its internal spin exchange to control the current through a single-molecule junction with high spin polarization (>95%).

Laser-driven proton acceleration experiments achieve energies of up to 150 MeV with particle yields that are relevant for applications such as radiobiology.

Actinides generally form ionic compounds, however, when electron-rich ligands with large hyperpolarizabilities are used, partially covalent bonds can also form. Now a rare californium borate is shown to exhibit significant differences from other f-elements in its structure and bonding. Quantum mechanical calculations support Cf and ligand orbital interactions, also indicating partial covalent bonding.

Entanglement was observed in top–antitop quark events by the ATLAS experiment produced at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN using a proton–proton collision dataset with a centre-of-mass energy of √s  = 13 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 140 fb⁻¹.

Californium is difficult to prepare in its divalent state. Now, crystals of a Cf(II) crown–ether complex have been synthesized by reduction of a Cf(III) precursor with an Al/Hg amalgam. They exhibit 5f→6d transitions in the visible region and near-infrared emission that are highly sensitive to changes in the coordination environment.

Two-dimensional materials are receiving increasing interest as they could pave the way to a paradigm shift in nano-electronics. Here, the authors demonstrate a 1-bit implementation of a microprocessor consisting of 115 transistors, using atomically thin MoS₂.

Enhanced covalency is achieved for a curium complex with curium–sulfur bonds by subjecting the compound to high pressures, indicating that pressure can be used to tune covalency in actinide compounds.

Laser-produced plasma can be used for particle acceleration in different schemes. Here the authors demonstrate proton acceleration from the intense ultrashort laser pulse interaction with micron-sized cryogenic hydrogen jet.

Combined patch clamp recording, biocytin staining and single-cell RNA-sequencing of human neurocortical neurons shows an expansion of glutamatergic neuron types relative to mouse that characterizes the greater complexity of the human neocortex.

Human manganese superoxide dismutase is an oxidoreductase that converts superoxide to molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide with proton-coupled electron transfers (PCETs), and has evolved to be highly product inhibited to limit the formation of hydrogen peroxide. Here, the authors use neutron diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the product-bound, trivalent, and divalent states of the enzyme to identify the product-inhibited complex and propose a PCET mechanism.

The ATLAS Collaboration reports the observation of the electroweak production of two jets and a Z-boson pair. This process is related to vector-boson scattering and allows the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking to be probed.

The ATLAS Collaboration reports a measurement of the ratio of the decay rates of W bosons to τ leptons and muons, in agreement with universal lepton couplings as postulated in the standard model of particle physics.

Vesicle transport ensures cargo delivery to cellular targets. Here, Soltani et al. show that Drosophila Evi5, a multiple sclerosis risk gene in humans, controls vesicular transport of iron-bound transferrins and physically interacts with ferritin.

Shaping particle beams generated from laser-plasma accelerators is challenging. Here the authors demonstrate an all-optical method to structure the accelerated proton beam by modulating and imprinting the spatial laser profile onto the proton beam.

Energy harvesting by utilizing optical control has emerged as a promising solution to alleviate energy and environmental crisis. However, it is challenging to realise nano-scale energy storage and conversion in the same material. Here the authors report a nonferroelectric molecular [CoGa] crystal that uses light as an external stimulus to exhibit photoenergy conversion and energy storage properties.

Pump-probe spectroscopy is routinely used to interrogate ultrafast valence electronic and vibrational dynamics in complex systems. Here, the authors extend this technique to the X-ray regime using a sequence of femtosecond X-ray pulses to understand core-valence interactions in a solvated molecular complex.

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider reports a search for charged-lepton-flavour violation in decays of Z bosons into a τ lepton and an electron or muon of opposite charge.

A system employing liquid-handling robotics and an integrated mobile microscope enables the automated culture, sample collection and in situ microscopy imaging of up to ten fluidically coupled organ chips within a standard tissue-culture incubator.

A robust acoustic droplet ejection–drop-on-tape method delivers samples to an X-ray free-electron laser source for combined serial femtosecond crystallography and X-ray emission spectroscopy analysis, providing detailed insights into macromolecular reaction dynamics.

Recent improvements in the indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments include the achievement of burning plasma state. Here the authors report the scaling of neutron yield in a burning plasma of Deuterium-Tritium fusion reaction by including the mode-2 asymmetry.

A tethered macrocyclic peptide antibiotic class described here—which shows potent antibacterial activity against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii—blocks the transport of bacterial lipopolysaccharide from the inner membrane to its destination on the outer membrane through inhibition of the LptB₂FGC complex.

An examination of motor cortex in humans, marmosets and mice reveals a generally conserved cellular makeup that is likely to extend to many mammalian species, but also differences in gene expression, DNA methylation and chromatin state that lead to species-dependent specializations.

A burning plasma, a critical step towards self-sustaining fusion, is achieved at the US National Ignition Facility, with a subset of experiments demonstrating fusion self-heating beyond radiation and conduction losses.

Ten years after the discovery of the Higgs boson, the ATLAS  experiment at CERN probes its kinematic properties with a significantly larger dataset from 2015–2018 and provides further insights on its interaction with other known particles.

Pyroelectric materials exhibiting large and nearly constant pyroelectric coefficients over a wide temperature range are highly desirable. Here, the authors develop molecular [FeCo] crystals with continuous pyroelectricity, originating from a transition between three distinct electronic structures.

Solvent plays a critical role in electron-transfer reactions, but short-range solvation dynamics are challenging to observe. Now, femtosecond X-ray solution scattering has been used to directly monitor the reorganization of water upon ultrafast intramolecular electron transfer in a bimetallic complex. Coherent motions of the first-shell water molecules are observed, arising from changes in solute–solvent hydrogen bonding.

The dissociation mechanism of the heme axial ligand in heme proteins is not yet fully understood. The authors investigate the photodissociation dynamics of the bond between heme Fe and methionine S in ferrous cytochrome c using femtosecond time-resolved X-ray solution scattering and X-ray emission spectroscopy, simultaneously tracking electronic and nuclear structure changes.

Culturing human kidney organoids under fluidic shear conditions leads to robust vascularization and increased maturity. These kidney organoids should serve as a better model for kidney development than those developed in static culture.

Atmospheric organic compounds are central to key chemical processes that influence air quality. Concurrent measurements of a wide range of these compounds, including previously unmeasured ones, provide closure on OH reactivity.

The BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network has constructed a multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex in a landmark effort towards understanding brain cell-type diversity, neural circuit organization and brain function.

Quantum electrodynamics predicts a rare process in which light is scattered by light. The ATLAS Collaboration reports signs of this elusive effect in the collisions of ultra-relativistic lead ions.

Measurements of the half-life and decay energy of the β-decay of ¹⁰⁰Sn show that Gamow–Teller transitions of this nucleus have the greatest strength found so far and are ‘superallowed’.

During atherosclerosis, endothelial cells release purines in response to oxidized phospholipids. Here, Hitzel et al. show that oxidized phospholipids activate an MTHFD2-regulated gene network in endothelial cells which reprograms amino acid metabolism towards production of purines and thus compensates for their loss.