Letters

Transcriptomics and DNA methylomics are used to study the implantation process of human embryos at single-cell resolution.

Shot-noise measurements in copper oxides reveal paired charge carriers existing in the pseudogap above the superconducting critical temperature, shedding light on the properties of high-temperature superconductivity in these materials.

Phase curve measurements for the small (1.3 Earth radii) terrestrial exoplanet LHS 3844b show absence of a thick atmosphere, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

Aged progenitor cells in the rat central nervous system can be made to behave as young cells by reducing the stiffness of the tissue microenvironment, or by inhibiting the mechanosensitive protein PIEZO1.

Unexpectedly low seismic velocities of CaSiO₃ perovskite in deeply subducted oceanic crust can explain the properties of anomalous continent-sized regions in Earth’s lower mantle.

A planarian fission protocol shows that the number of progeny and the frequency of fission initiation correlate with parent size, and TGFβ and Wnt signalling components are identified as regulators of fission behaviour.

A framework that includes inequality shows that extreme inequality prevents cooperation, but overall welfare is maximized when endowments and productivities are aligned such that more-productive individuals receive higher endowments.

Evolutionary change in basal metabolic rate was not coupled with body temperature across endothermic species, although the mechanism by which birds and mammals adapted to colder environments differed.

Enzymatic cleavage within ubiquitin molecules followed by quantitative mass-spectrometry simplifies complex ubiquitin chains and enables mapping of polyubiquitin architectures.

A stretchable polymer pump that uses electric fields to accelerate ions in dielectric liquids can generate flow even when bent into different conformations, offering applications in soft robotics.

Comparing the eyes of crane-fly fossils with those of extant species demonstrates that they contain eumelanic screening pigments and that the lenses are calcified during fossilization, with implications for interpreting optical systems in other extinct arthropods such as trilobites.

Magnetic polarons are imaged with single-site spin and density resolution in the low-doping regime of the atomic Fermi–Hubbard model, showing that mobile delocalized doublons are necessary for polaron formation.

An energetic head-on collision between a large impactor and the proto-Jupiter with a primordial compact core could have mixed the heavy elements within the deep interior, leading to a ‘diluted’ core for Jupiter.

Investigation of a free-standing graphene monolayer using a technique based on transmission electron microscopy allows identification of atomic vibrations characteristic of the bulk or the edge of the sample.

Variability in Earth’s thermal gradients, recorded by metamorphic rocks through time, shows that Earth’s modern plate tectonics developed gradually since the Neoarchaean era, three billion years ago.

The North Atlantic jet stream has become 15 per cent more sheared in the upper atmosphere since 1979, an expected consequence of climate change, and consistent with increased aircraft turbulence.

Light is used to guide the behaviour of an engineered active-matter system, producing structures and properties that can be dynamically manipulated and controlled.

Submillimetre-wavelength observations reveal a sample of galaxies that have no detectable emission in the ultraviolet-to-near-infrared region, and are probably the progenitors of the largest present-day galaxies in clusters.

Analysis of macrophage subsets within joints reveals a population of CX₃CR1⁺ tissue-resident macrophages that form a tight-junction-mediated barrier at the synovial lining, protecting the joint from the invasion of inflammatory cells.

Volatile contents of plagioclase-hosted melt inclusions from volcanoes at the Gakkel mid-ocean ridge suggest that magmatic crystallization extends to depths of 16 kilometres, much deeper than suggested by olivine-hosted melt inclusions.