Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access Reconfigurable perovskite X-ray detector for intelligent imaging In-sensor computing requires detectors with polarity reconfigurability and linear responsivity. Pang et al. report a CsPbBr3 perovskite single crystal X-ray detector for edge extraction imaging with a data compression ratio of 46.4% and classification task with an accuracy of 100%. Jincong Pang, Haodi Wu & Guangda Niu Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access How heat propagates in liquid 3He 3He behaves like a Fermi liquid but only at very low temperatures. Here the authors re-examine thermal transport data, arguing that the breakdown of the Fermi liquid occurs when the scattering time falls below the Planckian time and suggesting that heat is partially carried by a collective hydrodynamic sound mode. Kamran Behnia & Kostya Trachenko Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access Single-pixel p-graded-n junction spectrometers The miniaturization of spectrometers to a submillimeter-scale footprint opens opportunities for applications in hyperspectral imaging and lab-on-a-chip systems. Here, the authors report a high-performance single-pixel photodetector spectrometer based on the III-V semiconductor p-graded-n junction, featuring a voltage-tunable optical response. Jingyi Wang, Beibei Pan & Baile Chen Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access Light-induced switching between singlet and triplet superconducting states S. Gassner et al. propose using light pulses to drive a centrosymmetric s-wave superconductor with strong spin-orbit coupling into a metastable triplet p-wave superconductor with non-trivial topology. The two superconducting orders must be closely competing in equilibrium and the light pulse must break a generalized, dynamic form of inversion symmetry. Steven Gassner, Clara S. Weber & Martin Claassen Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access In-vivo integration of soft neural probes through high-resolution printing of liquid electronics on the cranium Neural systems are often bulky and heavy. Here, the authors produce a conformable neural interface for mice using liquid metals directly printed on the skull that can monitor neural activities with long-term stability. Young-Geun Park, Yong Won Kwon & Jang-Ung Park Article 27 February 2024 | Open Access Mesoscopic fluctuations in entanglement dynamics Studying out-of-equilibrium entanglement fluctuations is beyond the scope of current theories. Lim et al. present an analytical theory of fluctuations in long-time dynamics of entanglement in two classes of integrable lattice models, showing features reminiscent of universal mesoscopic fluctuations. Lih-King Lim, Cunzhong Lou & Chushun Tian Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Remote-carbonyl-directed sequential Heck/isomerization/C(sp2)–H arylation of alkenes for modular synthesis of stereodefined tetrasubstituted olefins The synthesis of highly substituted olefins has been pursued for decades. Here, the authors show a carbonyl-directed sequential Heck/isomerization/C–H arylation of alkenes for modular synthesis of stereodefined all-carbon tetrasubstituted olefins. Runze Luan, Ping Lin & Weiping Su Perspective 26 February 2024 | Open Access Shaping high-performance wearable robots for human motor and sensory reconstruction and enhancement Wearable devices and exoskeletons can restore and augment the user’s capability but are not necessarily perceived them as part of their bodies. In this perspective, the authors reflect on the importance of integrating environmental, physiological, and physical information to improve the embodiment of wearable robots. Haisheng Xia, Yuchong Zhang & Zhijun Li Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Moiré effect enables versatile design of topological defects in nematic liquid crystals 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. Xinyu Wang, Jinghua Jiang & Rui Zhang Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Engineering surface dipoles on mixed conducting oxides with ultra-thin oxide decoration layers Improving materials for energy devices relates to an optimisation of their surfaces. Here authors show that surface modification with ultrathin oxide layers allows for a tailoring of the surface dipole and the work function of mixed ionic and electronic conducting oxides. Matthäus Siebenhofer, Andreas Nenning & Markus Kubicek Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access A wireless battery-free eye modulation patch for high myopia therapy The proper axial length of the eye is crucial for achieving emmetropia. Here, authors introduce a wireless battery-free eye modulation patch designed to correct high myopia and prevent relapse. Tianyan Zhong, Hangjin Yi & Xinyu Xue Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Homochiral antiferromagnetic merons, antimerons and bimerons realized in synthetic antiferromagnets Topological antiferromagnetic spin textures, including merons, antimerons, and bimerons, are demonstrated in synthetic antiferromagnets by three-dimensional vector imaging of the Néel order parameter and investigated by micromagnetic analysis. Mona Bhukta, Takaaki Dohi & Mathias Kläui Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access High-strength and crack-free welding of 2024 aluminium alloy via Zr-core-Al-shell wire Solidification cracking during fusion welding of high-strength aluminum alloys has been a long-standing issue. Here, the authors achieve reliable and crack-free welding of 2024 aluminum alloy using a Zr-core-Al-shell wire and the oscillating laser-arc hybrid welding technique. Jun Jin, Shaoning Geng & Xiangqi Wang Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Dual-site segmentally synergistic catalysis mechanism: boosting CoFeSx nanocluster for sustainable water oxidation Efficient oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts are essential for sustainable clean energy conversion. Here, the authors propose a Co-Fe dual-site to facilitate the ferromagnetic O-O bond coupling to achieve a great balance between activity and stability. Siran Xu, Sihua Feng & Jia-Nan Zhang Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Nanocurvature-induced field effects enable control over the activity of single-atom electrocatalysts Modulating interfacial electric fields provides a means to control electrocatalyst activity for a broad range of reactions. Here the authors show that this can be achieved by tuning the nanocurvature of carbon supported single-atom catalysts. Bingqing Wang, Meng Wang & Yanwei Lum Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Amorphous alloys surpass E/10 strength limit at extreme strain rates Magnitude of the ideal strength achievable in experiments for metals remains to be known. Here, the authors show that the spall strength of Cu50Zr50 amorphous alloy exceeds the E/10 limit at extreme strain rates, showing the void nucleation and growth as the primary failure mechanism. Wenqing Zhu, Zhi Li & Xiaoding Wei Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Distance effect of single atoms on stability of cobalt oxide catalysts for acidic oxygen evolution Dissolution of Co atoms in acidic media impedes the application of cobalt oxides in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Here, the authors reveal a stabilizing effect induced by Ir single atoms on cobalt oxides that suppress Co dissolution. Zhirong Zhang, Chuanyi Jia & Jie Zeng Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Femtosecond electron beam probe of ultrafast electronics Modern electronic devices are too fast and too small to be measured by conventional electronic means. Here the authors combine electron microscopy with femtosecond laser technology and measure the functionality of terahertz electronics in space and time. Maximilian Mattes, Mikhail Volkov & Peter Baum Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Phase-selective in-plane heteroepitaxial growth of H-phase CrSe2 Phase engineering of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides enables the investigation of emerging physical properties. Here, the authors report a phase selective in-plane heteroepitaxial method to grow semiconducting H-phase CrSe2 thin films from MoSe2 nanoribbons, showing Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behaviour in the CrSe2 mirror twin boundaries. Meizhuang Liu, Jian Gou & Andrew T. S. Wee Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access In situ combinatorial synthesis of degradable branched lipidoids for systemic delivery of mRNA therapeutics and gene editors Branched ionizable lipids have aroused great interest for mRNA delivery. Here, the authors devise an in situ construction method for combinatorial synthesis of degradable branched ionizable lipids and summarize key design criteria to enable potent delivery of mRNA therapeutics and gene editors. Xuexiang Han, Junchao Xu & Michael J. Mitchell Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Monitoring the mass, eigenfrequency, and quality factor of mammalian cells There is increasing interest in measuring the mechanical properties of living cells. Here, the authors develop a method to simultaneously measure the cell mass and two parameters related to its natural oscillation or resonance frequencies. Sophie Herzog, Gotthold Fläschner & Daniel J. Müller Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access All-in-one, all-optical logic gates using liquid metal plasmon nonlinearity Multifunctional all-optical logic gate (AOLG) with broadband-based massively parallel processing is desirable for high-speed optical processor. Here, authors propose a reconfigurable all-in-one ultra-broadband AOLG with experimentally achieving 9 fundamental Boolean logics in a single configuration. Jinlong Xu, Chi Zhang & Lin Zhou Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Energy transfer driven brightening of MoS2 by ultrafast polariton relaxation in microcavity MoS2/hBN/WS2 heterostructures Here, the authors design a microcavity-confined 2D heterojunction to realize the strong coupling among donor exciton, acceptor exciton, and cavity photon mode, leading to an unconventional energy transfer via polariton relaxation with an enhancement factor of ~440. Zehua Hu, Tanjung Krisnanda & Qihua Xiong Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access Transfer learning with graph neural networks for improved molecular property prediction in the multi-fidelity setting Modern molecular discovery processes generate millions of measurements at different quality levels. Here, the authors develop a new deep learning method for transfer learning from low-cost and abundant data to enhance the efficiency of drug discovery. David Buterez, Jon Paul Janet & Pietro Lió Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access In situ copper faceting enables efficient CO2/CO electrolysis Copper electrocatalysts enable carbon dioxide/carbon monoxide reduction but suffer from low production rates. Here, the authors promote in situ growth of Cu(100) during electrolysis, enabling efficient and stable electrosynthesis of multicarbon products at industrially-relevant current densities Kaili Yao, Jun Li & Hongyan Liang Article 26 February 2024 | Open Access SEMORE: SEgmentation and MORphological fingErprinting by machine learning automates super-resolution data analysis There is a lack of universal tools to analyse protein assemblies and quantify underlying structures in single-molecule localization microscopy. Here, the authors present SEMORE, a semi-automatic machine learning framework for system- and input-dependent analysis of super-resolution data. Steen W. B. Bender, Marcus W. Dreisler & Nikos S. Hatzakis