Volume 11, Issue 6, June 2024

This perspective reviews the recent advances in martian water and other volatiles and addresses the associated scientific questions for future martian exploration missions.

This perspective reviews how atmospheric compositions, animals and marine algae evolved together to determine global ocean habitability during the past 500 million years.

This review examines how carbon is transferred between Earth’s deep and surface reservoirs based on an up-to-date carbon flux compilation for global plate tectonic settings and carbon mass balance assessment. It particularly recognizes the role of tectonic degassing driven by continental reworking in deep carbon recycling that is complementary to volcanic degassing from mid-ocean ridges, arcs, and plumes.

Carbon is moved around in the Earth’s mantle in melts and fluids. This review shows that accurate estimations of the amount of carbon moved must consider local variations in temperature, oxidation state, and rock types deep in the mantle.

A highlight of the chaotic spiking backpropagation (CSBP) method, which is a powerful tool for directly training spiking neural networks and helps to understand the learning mechanisms of human brain.

Harnessing the unique vectorial properties of elastic waves, Wu et al. find new degrees of freedom for realizing novel topological phases.

Discover how breakthroughs in metamaterials can reshape ocean engineering, creating water mirages with the help of carefully designed obstacles.

Exploring Hidden Dimensions: Unveiling Topological Crystals in a 4D Space.

The near-room temperature resistance transition in the Lu-H-N compound is repeatedly reproduced, which is clarified to originate from a metal-to-semiconductor/insulator transition rather than superconductivity.

α-Synuclein (α-syn) was found to preferentially bind lysophospholipids (LPLs), particularly targeting lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). LPC plays a critical role in preserving the natural conformation of α-syn and inhibiting pathological aggregation of α-syn.

The earliest dinosaur eggs were probably leathery, relatively small and thin-shelled but theropod eggs become much larger and elongated.

This work mimics the fingertips for softness sensing and designs a biomimetic softness sensory system for intraocular pressure monitoring.

The chaotic spiking backpropagation algorithm, drawing inspiration from the chaotic dynamics observed in the brain, has been utilized to directly train spiking neural networks, exhibiting superior performance compared with the current state-of-the-art methods.

A non-centrosymmetric topological phase is discovered in ZrTe₅, by a highly sensitive non-linear Hall effect to probe the symmetry breaking.

Dissipationless layertronics of the axion insulator can be achieved using the antiferromagnetic domain walls of MnBi₂Te₄.

Infrared imaging employing the anomalous Ettingshausen effect unveils magnetic domain structures in non-collinear antiferromagnets, unlocking new possibilities in spintronics and memory device development.

The lithiated organic cathode material, dilithium hydroquinone, has been synthesized by a facile thermal intermolecular rearrangement method, and shows a good promise as high-capacity cathodes for lithium-ion batteries.

A library of strong sensitizing Zn-dipyrrin complexes were developed for efficient CO₂ photoreduction via symmetry breaking charge transfer.

The rational design for electrochemical denitrification, which is a necessary prerequisite for achieving high efficiency of CO₂ electroreduction, should steer from catalyst engineering to reactor optimization.

This work proposes a biomimetic synthesis of nanovesicles by utilizing the interfacial strain as the driving force to curl the ultrathin nanosheets into nanovesicles.

This research article introduces a chemical strategy to create advanced organic light-emitting materials with high efficiency and ultra-narrow emission bands, paving the way for more power-efficient displays with incredible color purity.

A high-sensitivity and scalable stretchable fiber strain sensor is developed through the in situ formation of ultra-mechanically sensitive materials, achieving a wearable healthcare system for real-time health monitoring.

Single-atom Cu sites are stabilized by Na+ decorated microenvironment in a metal-organic framework, offering high activity and CH3OH selectivity in the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide up to 275°C.

This study presents a novel strategy to protect against noise-induced hearing loss by regulating the microbiota-gut-inner ear axis with iron oxide nanoparticles.

A novel ionizable lipid with multiple hydroxyl groups was synthesized and characterized, demonstrating comparable mRNA delivery efficacy to an ionizable lipid used in clinical settings, while the ratio of ionizable lipid to mRNA in lipid nanoparticles was improved by 2.5 times.

A tissue-adhesive and low-swelling hydrogel sealant is developed via the o-phthalaldehyde/amine condensation reaction for efficient sutureless closure and watertight sealing of dural defects, as well as prevention of post-operative adhesion.

This review outlines the advances of white phosphorus chemistry in China and offers insights into future developments, serving as a window to comprehend the contributions from Chinese researchers in this field.

NSFC President Xiankang Dou believes only through reform and experimentation can NSFC make steady progress in supporting research of basic science and applied basic science in China and cultivating promising scholars.