Featured
-
-
Article |
Deterministic multi-qubit entanglement in a quantum network
High-fidelity deterministic quantum state transfer and multi-qubit entanglement are demonstrated in a quantum network comprising two superconducting quantum nodes one metre apart, with each node including three interconnected qubits.
- Youpeng Zhong
- , Hung-Shen Chang
- & Andrew N. Cleland
-
Article |
Efficient perovskite solar cells via improved carrier management
An improved device design for perovskite-based photovoltaic cells enables a certified power conversion efficiency of 25.2 per cent, translating to 80.5 per cent of the thermodynamic limit for its bandgap, which approaches those achieved by silicon solar cells.
- Jason J. Yoo
- , Gabkyung Seo
- & Jangwon Seo
-
Article |
Angular momentum generation in nuclear fission
γ-ray spectroscopy experiments on the origin of spin in the products of nuclear fission of spin-zero nuclei suggest that the fission fragments acquire their spin after scission, rather than before.
- J. N. Wilson
- , D. Thisse
- & S. Ziliani
-
Nature Podcast |
The quark of the matter: what’s really inside a proton?
The surprising structure of protons, and a method for growing small intestines for transplantation.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
-
Article |
The asymmetry of antimatter in the proton
Quark–antiquark annihilation measurements provide a precise determination of the ratio of down and up antiquarks within protons as a function of momentum, which confirms the asymmetry between the abundance of down and up antiquarks.
- J. Dove
- , B. Kerns
- & Z. Ye
-
Article |
First return, then explore
A reinforcement learning algorithm that explicitly remembers promising states and returns to them as a basis for further exploration solves all as-yet-unsolved Atari games and out-performs previous algorithms on Montezuma’s Revenge and Pitfall.
- Adrien Ecoffet
- , Joost Huizinga
- & Jeff Clune
-
Article |
Strong tough hydrogels via the synergy of freeze-casting and salting out
A strategy that combines freeze-casting and salting-out treatments produces strong, tough, stretchable and fatigue-resistant poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels.
- Mutian Hua
- , Shuwang Wu
- & Ximin He
-
-
Nature Podcast |
Audio long-read: Thundercloud Project tackles a gamma-ray mystery
Researchers in Japan are trying to understand why thunderstorms fire out bursts of powerful radiation.
- Elizabeth Gibney
- & Benjamin Thompson
-
Editorial |
The world’s largest radio telescope should open its skies to all
The Square Kilometre Array must invite the best ideas from around the globe to help it probe astronomy’s deepest questions.
-
Where I Work |
Taking graphene out of the laboratory and into the real world
Business developer Cinzia Spinato helps nanoscientists to translate their inventions into marketable products.
- Chris Woolston
-
News |
Fuel for world’s largest fusion reactor ITER is set for test run
Nuclear fusion experiments with deuterium and tritium at the Joint European Torus are a crucial dress rehearsal for the mega-experiment.
- Elizabeth Gibney
-
Research Highlight |
Electrons are caught in the act of relaxing — over quadrillionths of a second
Physicists fire lasers at electrons to understand how the particles gain and shed energy.
-
Obituary |
George Carruthers (1939–2020)
Astronomer and engineer of the first observatory on the Moon.
- Angelina Callahan
- , Robert R. Meier
- & David H. DeVorkin
-
News & Views |
High-performance plastic made from renewable oils is chemically recyclable by design
Plastics are invaluable materials, but they use up petroleum resources and persist in the environment. A high-performance plastic derived from renewable oils has been designed at the molecular level to be truly recyclable.
- Charlotte K. Williams
- & Georgina L. Gregory
-
Where I Work |
‘All my art is curiosity-driven’: the garden studio where art and physics collide
Geraldine Cox mixes the palettes of art and physics by illustrating phenomena such as light-interference patterns.
- Amber Dance
-
Editorial |
Chemistry can help make plastics sustainable — but it isn’t the whole solution
How to make plastics less harmful is an urgent question in chemistry — and must be for policy, too.
-
News & Views |
Glowing nanocrystals enable 3D X-ray imaging
Persistently luminescent nanocrystals have been used to make flexible X-ray detectors that produce better images of 3D objects than do the flat-panel detectors currently widely used in radiography.
- Albano N. Carneiro Neto
- & Oscar L. Malta
-
News |
Quantum network is step towards ultrasecure internet
Experiment connects three devices with entangled photons, demonstrating a key technique that could enable a future quantum internet.
- Davide Castelvecchi
-
Article |
Closed-loop recycling of polyethylene-like materials
Polycarbonates and polyesters with materials properties like those of high-density polyethylene can be recycled chemically by depolymerization to their constituent monomers, re-polymerization yielding material with uncompromised processing and materials properties.
- Manuel Häußler
- , Marcel Eck
- & Stefan Mecking
-
Article |
Localization of lattice dynamics in low-angle twisted bilayer graphene
Nano-Raman spectroscopy reveals localization of some vibrational modes in reconstructed twisted bilayer graphene and provides qualitative insights into how electron–phonon coupling affects the vibrational and electronic properties of the material.
- Andreij C. Gadelha
- , Douglas A. A. Ohlberg
- & Ado Jorio
-
Article
| Open AccessCoherent X-ray−optical control of nuclear excitons
Suitably shaped X-ray pulses are used to coherently steer the quantum dynamics of atoms’ nuclei rather than their electrons, with few-zeptosecond temporal stability of the phase control.
- Kilian P. Heeg
- , Andreas Kaldun
- & Jörg Evers
-
Article |
Self-similar mesocrystals form via interface-driven nucleation and assembly
Mesocrystal formation is investigated for haematite in the presence of oxalate, showing that chemical gradients at interfaces cause nucleation near surfaces rather than in the bulk, followed by particle attachment.
- Guomin Zhu
- , Maria L. Sushko
- & James J. De Yoreo
-
Career Column |
The sound of stars
Composer David Ibbett encodes the dreams and details of complex physics phenomena into music to help audiences appreciate their splendour.
- David Ibbett
-
News Feature |
Mystery gamma rays could help solve age-old lightning puzzle
Researchers in Japan are enlisting an army of citizens to explore how storms on Earth create extreme bursts of gamma radiation.
- Elizabeth Gibney
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: Concerns about phytoplankton bloom trends in global lakes
- Jeff C. Ho
- , Anna M. Michalak
- & Nima Pahlevan
-
Article |
High-resolution X-ray luminescence extension imaging
Using lanthanide-doped nanomaterials and flexible substrates, an approach that enables flat-panel-free, high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging is demonstrated and termed X-ray luminescence extension imaging.
- Xiangyu Ou
- , Xian Qin
- & Xiaogang Liu
-
-
News Explainer |
COVID vaccines and safety: what the research says
It is clear that coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective, but as more are rolled out, researchers are learning about the extent and nature of side effects.
- Ariana Remmel
-
News & Views |
Shedding squeezed light on dark matter
Hypothetical particles called axions could constitute dark matter — the unseen component of the Universe. An experiment shows how quantum-manipulation technology can improve the sensitivity of axion detectors.
- Igor G. Irastorza
-
Article |
Thermally reconfigurable monoclinic nematic colloidal fluids
Dispersion of colloidal disks in a nematic liquid crystal reveals several low-symmetry phases, including monoclinic colloidal nematic order, with interchange between them achieved through variations in temperature, concentration and surface charge.
- Haridas Mundoor
- , Jin-Sheng Wu
- & Ivan I. Smalyukh
-
Article |
A universal 3D imaging sensor on a silicon photonics platform
A compact, high-performance silicon photonics-based light detection and ranging system for three-dimensional imaging is developed that should be amenable to low-cost mass manufacturing
- Christopher Rogers
- , Alexander Y. Piggott
- & Remus Nicolaescu
-
Article |
Protecting a bosonic qubit with autonomous quantum error correction
A logical qubit encoded in multi-photon states of a superconducting cavity is protected with autonomous correction of certain quantum errors by tailoring the dissipation it is exposed to.
- Jeffrey M. Gertler
- , Brian Baker
- & Chen Wang
-
Article |
A quantum enhanced search for dark matter axions
A quantum enhanced search for dark matter that uses vacuum squeezing to overcome the quantum noise limit finds no evidence of dark matter axions in a well motivated mass range.
- K. M. Backes
- , D. A. Palken
- & H. Wang
-
Article |
Complex structures arising from the self-assembly of a simple organic salt
Frank–Kasper phases are observed in small organic molecules from the crystallization of fampridine hydrochloride into two distinct structures, indicating that complex self-assembled structures can arise from simple organic salts.
- Riccardo Montis
- , Luca Fusaro
- & A. David Rae
-
News |
Illegal CFC emissions have stopped since scientists raised alarm
Analyses suggest that China has successfully curbed production of an ozone-depleting chemical, a win for the international treaty that protects the ozone layer.
- Jeff Tollefson
-
Article |
Facile route to bulk ultrafine-grain steels for high strength and ductility
Bulk ultrafine-grained steel is prepared by an approach that involves the rapid production of coherent, disordered nanoprecipitates, which restrict grain growth but do not interfere with twinning or dislocation motion, resulting in high strength and ductility.
- Junheng Gao
- , Suihe Jiang
- & W. Mark Rainforth
-
Research Highlight |
Four-in-one: telescopes join forces to spot a dim star in a black hole’s clutches
Technique could help to determine the spin of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy.
-
Where I Work |
Building a university to deliver work-ready engineers
Elena Rodriguez-Falcon is breaking the mould with a hands-on institution designed to meet Britain’s growing demand for engineering graduates.
- Chris Woolston
-
Research Highlight |
Quantum computers seeking power hone their networking skills
Photons help to entangle two far-flung atoms, which can then be used for quantum calculations.
-
Research Highlight |
These gels jump into the air with a snap and a pop
Gel discs launch themselves upwards again and again, with no external power source needed.
-
News & Views |
Machine learning made easy for optimizing chemical reactions
An accessible machine-learning tool has been developed that can accelerate the optimization of a wide range of synthetic reactions — and reveals how cognitive bias might have undermined optimization by humans.
- Jason E. Hein
-
Perspective |
Developing fibrillated cellulose as a sustainable technological material
Opportunities for the application of fibrillated cellulose materials—which can be extracted from renewable resources—and broader manufacturing issues of scale-up, sustainability and synergy with the paper-making industry are discussed.
- Tian Li
- , Chaoji Chen
- & Liangbing Hu
-
Matters Arising |
Reply to: On the measured dielectric constant of amorphous boron nitride
- Seokmo Hong
- , Min-Hyun Lee
- & Hyeon Suk Shin
-
Matters Arising |
On the measured dielectric constant of amorphous boron nitride
- Lei Li
- & Xiang Ming Chen
-
Article |
Antiferromagnetic half-skyrmions and bimerons at room temperature
A family of topological antiferromagnetic spin textures is realized at room temperature in α-Fe2O3, and their reversible and field-free stabilization using a Kibble–Zurek-like temperature cycling is demonstrated.
- Hariom Jani
- , Jheng-Cyuan Lin
- & Paolo G. Radaelli
-
Article |
Bayesian reaction optimization as a tool for chemical synthesis
Bayesian optimization is applied in chemical synthesis towards the optimization of various organic reactions and is found to outperform scientists in both average optimization efficiency and consistency.
- Benjamin J. Shields
- , Jason Stevens
- & Abigail G. Doyle
-
Article |
Structural and spectroscopic characterization of an einsteinium complex
An einsteinium coordination complex is synthesized and spectroscopically characterized using less than 200 nanograms of einsteinium, enabling examination of its structure and measurement of an einsteinium bond distance.
- Korey P. Carter
- , Katherine M. Shield
- & Rebecca J. Abergel
-
Nature Podcast |
Mysterious einsteinium spills its secrets
Exploring the properties of a vanishingly-rare artificial element, and the AI that generates new mathematical conjectures.
- Shamini Bundell
- & Nick Petrić Howe