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Human embryos are extremely difficult to study. This lack of samples limits our understanding of crucial developmental stages, such as the early formation of blood cells. A stem-cell-based model closely captures the development of human embryonic and key extra-embryonic tissues after implantation, as well as the formation of early blood cells.
Reciprocal cooperation can be advantageous, but why it is more common in humans than in other social animals is a puzzle. A modelling and experimental study pinpoints the conditions needed for reciprocity to evolve.
Implantable electric pacemakers save millions of lives worldwide, but they aren’t perfect. A proof-of-concept study shows that using light to regulate a heartbeat might be a better option than existing strategies.
The afterglow of a long burst of γ-rays suggests that the events leading to these explosions can be sizeable sources of some of the Universe’s rare isotopes — and that classifications of γ-ray bursts are too simplistic.
A method for configuring light-trapping devices promises better optical nanodevices by amplifying light and enhancing the emission efficiency of luminescent nanomaterials — without the need for complex technology upgrades.
Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide holds promise for converting CO2 into valuable products but is hampered by stability issues and wasted carbon. A proton-exchange membrane that uses lead as a catalyst demonstrates the feasibility of durable and efficient CO2 reduction.
Mammals make sounds when air flow causes paired tissue folds in their voice box to oscillate. However, such air flow in the baleen group of whales takes an unusual path, enabling them to make sounds in a previously unknown way.
Tailoring symmetries in an innovative class of optoelectronic metasurface produces a rich landscape of tunable current patterns down to the nanoscale. These materials provide opportunities for ultrafast light-controlled charge flows that could have applications in terahertz science, information processing and other realms.
It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can alter the immune system in ways that persist long after quitting the habit.
A big-data analysis shows that men are starkly over-represented in online images, and that gender bias is stronger in images compared with text. Such images could influence enduring gender biases in our offline lives.
Magnetic materials with zero net magnetization fall into two classes: conventional antiferromagnets and altermagnets. Physicists have identified a property in altermagnets that widens the divide between the two groups.
Cutting-edge X-ray sources have enabled the structural dynamics of proteins to be tracked during biochemical processes, but the findings have been questioned. Two experts discuss the implications of a study that digs into this issue.
By combining materials-synthesis techniques, researchers have come up with a way of building layered structures that display intriguing wave-like patterns of electric polarization, and could be useful for next-generation electronics.
Non-Abelian anyons are emergent quasiparticles found in exotic quantum states of matter, which could have applications in fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. But performing the manipulations necessary to make these quasiparticles has proved a challenge — now overcome through a happy confluence of theoretical and experimental innovation.
To reduce voltage drops—the depreciation of the cost–benefit profile when scaling up solutions to social problems—sufficient policy-based evidence must be generated before policymakers scale up the project.
Self-reinforcing light pulses known as solitons are fundamental structures in wave dynamics. Previously, solitons could be produced only by bench-top lasers, but they can now also be generated using chip-sized mid-infrared lasers. This innovation enables the development of portable, efficient tools for use in spectroscopy, environmental sensing and medical diagnostics.
The shifting orbit of one of Saturn’s moons indicates that the satellite has a subsurface ocean, contradicting theories that its interior is entirely solid. The finding calls for a fresh take on what constitutes an ocean moon.
