Review Articles

Belowground soil biota play key roles in maintaining proper ecosystem functioning, but studies on their extinction ecology are sparse. Here, Veresoglou et al. review the risks to soil biota posed by global change, and highlight the technical challenges involved in identifying extinction events.

Hierarchically organized zeolites are materials retaining the crystalline order and associated functionality of bulk zeolites while also integrating a multilevel pore network. Here, the authors review the raft of techniques applied to characterize their crystal, pore and active site structures.

There is currently intensive research underway into the development of non-layer structured two dimensional nanomaterials. Here, Zhang et al.review the research progress on the most promising wet-chemical synthesis methods as well as a wide range of applications of this unique class of materials.

There are many examples in nature of biological materials having developed interesting mechanical properties to enhance their functional performance. Here, Egan et al. review these materials and how they can inspire the design of biomimetic mechanical systems.

The observation of neutrino oscillations indicates that neutrinos have mass and that their flavours are quantum mechanical mixtures. Here, the authors review the past, present and future contributions of nuclear reactor-based neutrino oscillation experiments, their accomplishments and the remaining challenges.

Carbon dioxide is an abundant and easily available source of carbon, produced as a waste product in large quantities worldwide. Here, the authors review recent work on activating and reacting carbon dioxide for use as a building block in organic synthesis.

The unique electrical, mechanical and physical properties of two-dimensional materials make them attractive candidates in flexible nanoelectronic systems. Here Akinwande et al.review the literature on two-dimensional materials in flexible nanoelectronics, and highlight barriers to their full implementation.

Proteins are subject to continuous and complex quality-control mechanisms, which ensure integrity of the proteome. Vilchez et al.review how a demise in these processes, collectively referred to as proteostasis, is linked to organismal ageing and the development of age-associated diseases.

Carbon mitigation is considered an important and viable pathway towards climate stabilization, but competition for land is high. Here, Canadell and Schulze consider the sustainable implementation of a number of land-based biological carbon mitigation activities and assess the carbon savings achievable by 2050.

Patterns of genomic variation can be used to identify targets of positive selection but understanding their mode of evolution is challenging. This review discusses theory and empirical evidence regarding soft sweep models and concludes that the recent enthusiasm for soft sweeps is unfounded.

Neutrinos are ghost-like particles that interact only very weakly with other particles. As ongoing experiments to measure their properties improve, Ohlsson and Zhou review neutrino mass models and the renormalization group running of neutrino parameters that aim to understand the origin of neutrino mass.

The chemical modification of proteins is an important tool for probing natural systems and synthesizing novel conjugates. Here, Spicer and Davis review the merits and limitations of the most useful methods for selective modification at both natural and unnatural amino acids.

Computer memory based on ferroelectric polarization is a promising alternative to technologies based, for example, on magnetism. Here, Garcia and Bibes review how ferroelectric tunnel junctions, where ferroelectric polarization controls electrical resistance, could improve the performance of these devices.

Sirtuins have been implicated in the ageing process in a variety of organisms, but their role in mammalian ageing remains somewhat controversial. Here the authors discuss sirtuin proteins in the brain, providing an overview of their physiological functions as well as their implication in mammalian ageing.

Between low-end stellar-mass black holes and top-end supermassive black holes, lie the elusive intermediate black holes. Jenny Greene reviews the search for these black holes in galaxy centres, which should indicate if supermassive black holes grew from stellar-mass ones or if a more complex process was needed.

Hydrogels are water-containing polymer networks that have been applied in various biological settings. Burdick and Murphy review recent advances in the development of dynamic hydrogels whose properties and mechanics change in response to biological signals.

The diffraction limit of light constrains the achievable resolution of conventional optical systems, but metamaterials provide numerous avenues to beat it. Lu and Liu review recent advances in super-resolution imaging with hyperlenses and metalenses, and discuss future directions and hurdles for the field.

Quantum-mechanical tunnelling currents across nanometre-scale gaps between electrodes are sensitive to the medium in the gap. Albrecht reviews progress towards using tunnelling currents to probe single-molecule processes, and in biosensor and sequencing applications.

High-valent iron–oxo and –nitrido complexes are intermediates in the catalytic cycles of various metalloenzymes that activate dioxygen and dinitrogen. Hohenbergeret al. review the advances in the chemistry of model high-valent iron–oxo and –nitrido systems and relate them to our understanding of related enzymes.

Hair cells of the inner ear transduce vibrations of the basilar membrane into electrical signals by a process known as mechanotransduction. Recent advances in genetic and molecular tools have led to an improved understanding of mechanotransduction as Peng and colleagues summarize in this Review.