Article 06 January 2024 | Open Access Targeted therapies of inflammatory diseases with intracellularly gelated macrophages in mice and rats Membrane-decorated nanomedicines often suffer from reduced efficacy caused by membrane artefacts during the coating process. Here the authors show that intracellularly gelated macrophages preserve membrane properties, stay stable under ambient temperature, and show therapeutic effects in murine models of joint and lung inflammation. Cheng Gao, Qingfu Wang & Ruibing Wang Comment 05 January 2024 | Open Access Improving reproducibility of photocatalytic reactions—how to facilitate broad application of new methods Photocatalysis, as a powerful tool for synthetic transformations, has the potential to impact industrial applications. In this commentary, we discuss the challenges and requirements with respect to reproducing published photocatalytic reactions in the (life science) industry. Santiago Cañellas, Manuel Nuño & Elisabeth Speckmeier Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access Multiresistance states in ferro- and antiferroelectric trilayer boron nitride Here, the authors use three-layer boron nitride to construct interfacial ferro- and antiferroelectric tunnel junctions and find that the polarization is flipped in a layer-by-layer way, resulting in multiresistance states. Ming Lv, Jiulong Wang & Jiamin Xue Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access One-dimensional single atom arrays on ferroelectric nanosheets for enhanced CO2 photoreduction The authors report a study preparing single atom (M = Pt, Ag, Fe, Co, and Ni) arrays on Au/Bi4Ti3O12 nanosheets using electric field polarization techniques. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction is shown to proceed effectively over Au/Bi4Ti3O12. Lizhen Liu, Jingcong Hu & Hongwei Huang Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access Resolving electron and hole transport properties in semiconductor materials by constant light-induced magneto transport Here, the authors introduce a constant light-induced magneto-transport method which seamlessly integrates light, current, and a magnetic field to characterize electron and hole properties across an expansive array of materials. Artem Musiienko, Fengjiu Yang & Antonio Abate Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access Multistate structures in a hydrogen-bonded polycatenation non-covalent organic framework with diverse resistive switching behaviors Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks as stimuli responsive multistate structures show potential in the field of resistive switching. Here, the authors report a 0D+1D hydrogen-bonded polycatenation non-covalent organic framework showing reversible transformation of multistate-structures triggered by electrical field and temperature, enabling reversibly switchable resistive random-access memory and write-once-read-many-times memory behavior. Shimin Chen, Yan Ju & Zhangjing Zhang Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access Animating hydrogel knotbots with topology-invoked self-regulation Soft robots have potential in a number of applications, but the self-regulated steering of the robots under static stimuli is a significant challenge. Here, the authors report the movement of knotbots by symmetry breaking and restoration to achieve tasks including gear rotation and rod climbing. Qing Li Zhu, Weixuan Liu & Zi Liang Wu Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access A weakly solvating electrolyte towards practical rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries The practical deployment of aqueous zinc-ion batteries is hindered by the structure deterioration and side reactions at electrodes. Here, the authors introduce a weakly solvating electrolyte with butanone as an electrolyte additive to stabilize both the cathode and anode of aqueous zinc-ion batteries simultaneously. Xin Shi, Jinhao Xie & Xihong Lu Article 05 January 2024 | Open Access Compact and wideband nanoacoustic pass-band filters for future 5G and 6G cellular radios This work addresses the fundamental challenge of the frequency up-scaling of microacoustic devices. The manuscript presents the first bank of on-chip multi-frequency, low-loss, wideband, and compact passband filters for mobile 5G and 6G applications. Gabriel Giribaldi, Luca Colombo & Matteo Rinaldi Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Helical-caging enables single-emitted large asymmetric full-color circularly polarized luminescence Circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) is essential for asymmetric synthetic photochemistry. Here, the authors integrate white quantum dots with chiral nematic liquid crystal or liquid crystal polymer to achieve single-emitted tuneable full-colour or white CPL for enantioselective polymerization. Yajie Zhou, Yaxin Wang & Taotao Zhuang Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Spin relaxation of electron and hole polarons in ambipolar conjugated polymers Spin and charge dynamics are inevitably linked, the study of the one often illuminating the other. Here, the authors study spin relaxation in ambipolar polymers and, backed by simulations, show how charge dynamics and wavefunction localization together set relaxation times up to room temperature. Remington L. Carey, Samuele Giannini & Henning Sirringhaus Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Shape morphing of hydrogels by harnessing enzyme enabled mechanoresponse A change material properties on application of stimuli is a useful property for hydrogels, but mechano-responsiveness in such materials is challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a strain-responsive hydrogel, controlled by the activity of enzymes within the material. Kuan Zhang, Yu Zhou & Lifei Zheng Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Operando formation of highly efficient electrocatalysts induced by heteroatom leaching Stability of catalyst dopant species under working conditions is often unexplored. Here, the authors reveal that the dopant sites tend to collapse when the applied potential is too negative or too positive and describe a protocol for the in-situ formation of highly efficient active sites via the leaching of dopants. Cong Liu, Bingbao Mei & Weilin Xu Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Rydberg electron stabilizes the charge localized state of the diamine cation Previous theoretical interpretations of the Rydberg spectra of dimethylpiperazine (DMP) debated the existence of a localized minimum on the surface of the DMP+ cation. Here, the authors show a substantial influence of the Rydberg electron on the molecular structure, restoring the localized minimum. Marc Reimann, Christoph Kirsch & Martin Kaupp Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Cation-π interactions enabled water-stable perovskite X-ray flat mini-panel imager The water stability of perovskites remains challenging due to their intrinsic ionic nature. Here, the authors present water stable perovskite X-ray imager driven by strong cation-π interactions between organic cations and a complete release of microstrain during dimension transformation process. Wanting Pan, Yuhong He & Haotong Wei Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access AI co-pilot bronchoscope robot The unequal distribution of medical resources means that bronchoscopic services are often unavailable in underdeveloped areas. Here, the authors present an AI co-pilot bronchoscope robot that features a user-friendly plug-and-play catheter and an AI-human shared control algorithm, to enable novice doctors to conduct lung examinations safely. Jingyu Zhang, Lilu Liu & Haojian Lu Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Stalled response near thermal equilibrium in periodically driven systems Periodically driven quantum systems have been extensively studied but with a predominant focus on long-time dynamics. Here, the authors study short-to-intermediate-time dynamics of an isolated many-body system, showing that its response to driving is supressed for the initial state close to thermal equilibrium. Lennart Dabelow & Peter Reimann Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Creating pairs of exceptional points for arbitrary polarization control: asymmetric vectorial wavefront modulation The authors report the chiral inversion of exceptional points (EPs) through a structural mirror-symmetric operation, extending the application of EP to any desired polarization states, surpassing the inherent limitation of conventional EP systems. Zijin Yang, Po-Sheng Huang & Qinghua Song Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Temporal dendritic heterogeneity incorporated with spiking neural networks for learning multi-timescale dynamics Brain-inspired spiking neural networks have shown their capability for effective learning, however current models may not consider realistic heterogeneities present in the brain. The authors propose a neuron model with temporal dendritic heterogeneity for improved neuromorphic computing applications. Hanle Zheng, Zhong Zheng & Lei Deng Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Combining stochastic resetting with Metadynamics to speed-up molecular dynamics simulations An outstanding limitation of molecular dynamics simulations is sampling of long timescales. Here, authors combine Metadynamics, a popular enhanced sampling method, with stochastic resetting, to achieve higher speedups and improved kinetic inference. Ofir Blumer, Shlomi Reuveni & Barak Hirshberg Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Quantitative analysis of printed nanostructured networks using high-resolution 3D FIB-SEM nanotomography The physical properties of devices made of printed nanosheets and nanowires are determined by their intrinsic nanostructured network morphology. Here, the authors use FIB-SEM nanotomography to quantitatively analyze printed nanostructured networks via 3D reconstructions. Cian Gabbett, Luke Doolan & Jonathan N. Coleman Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access A cross-scale framework for evaluating flexibility values of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles Electrified transportation exhibits great potential to provide flexibility. This article analyzed and compared the flexibility values of battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles for planning and operating interdependent electricity and hydrogen supply chains. Ruixue Liu, Guannan He & Benben Jiang Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Spin-related Cu-Co pair to increase electrochemical ammonia generation on high-entropy oxides Electrochemical conversion of nitrate into ammonia offers a method for mitigating nitrate pollution in water. Here the authors report the electrochemical nitrate-to-ammonia conversion using high-entropy oxide Mg0.2Co0.2Ni0.2Cu0.2Zn0.2O and find that the Co spin states are crucial for synergistic ammonia generation. Shengnan Sun, Chencheng Dai & Zhi Wei Seh Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Thermal Hall effects due to topological spin fluctuations in YMnO3 The thermal Hall effect has been reported in several materials, but it is not expected in triangular lattice systems due to chirality cancellation. Kim et al. report the thermal Hall effect attributed to topological spin fluctuations in the supposedly paramagnetic phase of YMnO3 with a trimerized triangular lattice. Ha-Leem Kim, Takuma Saito & Je-Geun Park Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Nonlinear transport and radio frequency rectification in BiTeBr at room temperature The second order nonlinear Hall effect leads to a direct voltage generated from the rectification effect. While this rectification property is appeal for use in devices, most materials exhibiting a second order nonlinear hall effect are constrained to low temperatures. Here, Lu et al demonstrate a second order nonlinear transport behaviour that persists above room temperature in BiTeBr, and construct a prototype rectifier based on this effect. Xiu Fang Lu, Cheng-Ping Zhang & Kian Ping Loh Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access A stapled lipopeptide platform for preventing and treating highly pathogenic viruses of pandemic potential The ongoing emergence of highly pathogenic viruses that evade immune-based therapies or lack interventions mandates new approaches, especially for on-demand prophylaxis. Here the authors provide a stapled lipopeptide platform for the rapid development of viral fusion inhibitors to combat outbreaks. Gregory H. Bird, J. J. Patten & Loren D. Walensky Article 04 January 2024 | Open Access Improving deep neural network generalization and robustness to background bias via layer-wise relevance propagation optimization Image background features can undesirably affect deep networks’ decisions. Here, the authors show that the optimization of Layer-wise Relevance Propagation explanation heatmaps can hinder such influence, improving out-of-distribution generalization. Pedro R. A. S. Bassi, Sergio S. J. Dertkigil & Andrea Cavalli Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Reversible modulation of interlayer stacking in 2D copper-organic frameworks for tailoring porosity and photocatalytic activity The precise control of interlayer stacking mode of 2D materials is a long-standing pursuit. Here, the authors report two 2D copper-organic frameworks that can undergo the reversible interlayer sliding through environmental stimulation. Pei-Ye You, Kai-Ming Mo & Dan Li Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Programmable adhesion and morphing of protein hydrogels for underwater robots Soft robots have potential in carrying out underwater tasks, but achieving the right level of adhesion and shape-changing ability is challenging. Here, the authors report the development of protein-based hydrogels with iron oxide nanoparticles with photothermal and magnetic responsiveness, capable of carrying out complex tasks. Sheng-Chen Huang, Ya-Jiao Zhu & Zhi-Gang Qian Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Electrical tuning of branched flow of light Here the authors experimentally realize the electrical tuning of branched flow of light in nematic liquid crystals. The statistical properties and the polarization effect of the branched flow of light in the film are systematically studied adding fundamental insights on branched flow of light. Shan-shan Chang, Ke-Hui Wu & Jin-hui Chen Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Realization of a crosstalk-avoided quantum network node using dual-type qubits of the same ion species In ion-photon quantum network platforms, usually memory qubits and communication qubits are encoded in ions of different species. Here, instead, the authors show how to realise ion-photon entanglement within the same-species-dual-encoding scheme. L. Feng, Y.-Y. Huang & L.-M. Duan Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Direct laser-written optomechanical membranes in fiber Fabry-Perot cavities Authors showcase 3D direct laser writing to fabricate optically interfaced mechanical resonators. The membrane-type structures are placed inside fiber Fabry-Perot cavities to realize a miniaturized optical cavity. Further, the optomechanical properties reveal the coupling mechanism and a significant tuning of the mechanical resonator frequency. Lukas Tenbrake, Alexander Faßbender & Hannes Pfeifer Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Surface hydrophobization of hydrogels via interface dynamics-induced network reconfiguration It is useful to be able to control the surface properties of a hydrogel, but tuning the surface without altering bulk properties of the hydrogel is challenging. Here, the authors report a method for modifying the surface of a hydrogel by grafting of polymer chains to the mold. Bo Yi, Tianjie Li & Liming Bian Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Solar-driven membrane separation for direct lithium extraction from artificial salt-lake brine An efficient and cost-effective Mg/Li separation process is necessary for lithium extraction from Salt Lake brines. Inspired by the mangroves, authors developed a direct lithium extraction method from Salt Lake brines through the synergistic effect of an ion separation membrane and a solar evaporator. Shenxiang Zhang, Xian Wei & Jian Jin Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Orbital-flop transition of superfluid 3He in anisotropic silica aerogel When imbibed in an anisotropic silica aerogel, superfluid 3He undergoes a temperature-driven “orbital flop" transition, where the orbital quantization axis rotates by 90 degrees. Here, by simulating planar and nematic aerogel, M. D. Nguyen et al. show that the orbital flop transition is driven by the distinct large- and small-scale structures of the aerogel. M. D. Nguyen, Joshua Simon & W. P. Halperin Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access A natural biogenic nanozyme for scavenging superoxide radicals The inorganic minerals are believed to exert a critical catalytic role in the prebiotic time, but biominerals (e.g., bones) in modern living organisms are known mainly for their physical property-related functions. Here the authors identify natural ferritin iron core as a superoxide dismutase-like nanozyme exhibiting species-related activity and elucidate its specific catalytic mechanism. Long Ma, Jia-Jia Zheng & Kelong Fan Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Systemwide energy return on investment in a sustainable transition towards net zero power systems Here, the authors adopt systemwide EROI to assess the sustainability risks of nine global energy transition scenarios. The EROI of fossil fuel dominated scenarios tend to approach the upper limit of the net energy cliff, posing higher sustainability risks. Hasret Sahin, A. A. Solomon & Christian Breyer Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Quasi-2D Fermi surface in the anomalous superconductor UTe2 A. G. Eaton et al. directly probe the Fermi surface of the candidate triplet superconductor UTe2 by measuring magnetic quantum oscillations in ultra-pure crystals. By comparison with model calculations, the data are found to be consistent with a Fermi surface that consists of two cylindrical sections of electron and hole-type respectively. A. G. Eaton, T. I. Weinberger & M. Vališka Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Learning low-rank latent mesoscale structures in networks Network structures can be examined at different scales, and subnetworks in the form of motifs can provide insights into global network properties. The authors propose an approach to decompose a network into a set of latent motifs, which can be used for network comparison, network denoising, and edge inference. Hanbaek Lyu, Yacoub H. Kureh & Mason A. Porter Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Frequency-hopping wave engineering with metasurfaces Metasurfaces show variable scattering with frequency sequence. This frequency-hopping response breaks a conventional linear frequency concept and markedly expands available frequency channels from a linear number to its factorial number. Hiroki Takeshita, Ashif Aminulloh Fathnan & Hiroki Wakatsuchi Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access The polyketide to fatty acid transition in the evolution of animal lipid metabolism Much is still unknown of the evolution of animal metabolic enzymes. This study describes a new enzyme family bridging the production of polyketides and membrane lipids. This expands the known biochemical repertoire of animals for making ecologically and biomedically important natural products. Zhenjian Lin, Feng Li & Eric W. Schmidt Article 03 January 2024 | Open Access Angiogenesis-on-a-chip coupled with single-cell RNA sequencing reveals spatially differential activations of autophagy along angiogenic sprouts The functional heterogeneity of autophagy in endothelial cells during angiogenesis remains incompletely understood. Here, the authors apply a 3D angiogenesis-on-a-chip coupled with single-cell RNA sequencing to find distinct autophagy functions in two different endothelial cell populations during angiogenic sprouting. Somin Lee, Hyunkyung Kim & Noo Li Jeon Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Electronic paddle-wheels in a solid-state electrolyte Conduction in solid-state electrolytes composed of monatomic ions is found to be analogous to the paddle-wheel mechanism in molecular solid electrolytes, facilitated by rotational motion of lone pair electrons, helping unify understanding of mechanisms. Harender S. Dhattarwal, Rahul Somni & Richard C. Remsing Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Vitamin C-induced CO2 capture enables high-rate ethylene production in CO2 electroreduction Efficiently producing multicarbon chemicals through electrochemical CO2 reduction is essential for achieving economically feasible carbon neutrality. Here, the authors present molecularly enhanced CO2-to-*CO conversion and *CO dimerization for high-rate ethylene production by nanoconfinement of ascorbic acid. Jongyoun Kim, Taemin Lee & Dae-Hyun Nam Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Self-assembly of the smallest and tightest molecular trefoil knot The synthesis of molecular knots remains challenging. Here, the authors report the synthesis of a chiral molecular trefoil metallaknot by self-assembly which contains only 54 atoms in the backbone. Zhiwen Li, Jingjing Zhang & Richard J. Puddephatt Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access A general strategy for recycling polyester wastes into carboxylic acids and hydrocarbons Chemical recycling of plastic wastes is of great significance for sustainable development, which also represents challenges and opportunities for synthesis of value-added chemicals. Here, the authors report a general strategy to degrade polyesters via directly breaking the C-O bond by nucleophilic substitution of halide anion of ionic liquids. Wei Zeng, Yanfei Zhao & Zhimin Liu Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Structural regulation of halide superionic conductors for all-solid-state lithium batteries Predicting the structure of lithium halide solid-state electrolytes from their composition alone is a challenge. Here, the authors introduce the “cationic polarization factor” that captures the key interactions of halide-based solid-state electrolytes and predicts the stacking structures. Xiaona Li, Jung Tae Kim & Xueliang Sun Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Ultrashort vertical-channel MoS2 transistor using a self-aligned contact The simultaneous scaling down of the channel length and gate length of 2D transistors remains challenging. Here, the authors report a self-alignment process to fabricate vertical MoS2 transistors with sub-1 nm gate length and sub−50 nm channel length, exhibiting on-off ratios over 105 and on-state currents of 250 μA/μm at 4 V bias. Liting Liu, Yang Chen & Yuan Liu Perspective 02 January 2024 | Open Access Planar hyperbolic polaritons in 2D van der Waals materials In this Perspective, the authors illustrate the physics of hyperbolic polaritons in anisotropic 2D and 1D materials, proposing new potential material candidates, forward looking opportunities and technological applications. Hongwei Wang, Anshuman Kumar & Tony Low Article 02 January 2024 | Open Access Direct and integrating sampling in terahertz receivers from wafer-scalable InAs nanowires Authors report on nanofacet engineering of wafer‐scalable InAs nanowires enabling the operation of THz photodetectors in direct or integrating sampling mode, with performance comparable to commercial InP technology. Kun Peng, Nicholas Paul Morgan & Michael B. Johnston