Nature Communications

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77589-8 Lithium metal batteries face safety and lifespan challenges. Here, authors develop a nanocluster electrolyte that suppresses dendrites, forms stable interphases, and enables >800 cycles in high loading cells and >500 Wh kg-1 in Ah-level pouch cells, with nail penetration and overcharge tolerance.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77566-1 The authors demonstrate the synthesis of a metastable SmO2/Sm2O3 mosaic-like lateral. heterostructure using molten eutectic salt. This structural asymmetry induces an intrinsic built-in dipole, a nonlinear optical response, and room temperature interface ferroelectric polarization.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77577-y The authors demonstrate ultrabroadband valley transport with near-Dirac group velocity through Dirac-mass engineering and mode control.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-76570-9 T cell proliferative capacity and persistence are key determinants of CAR-T cell therapeutic efficacy. Here, the authors show that CAREp, a microparticle-based platform displaying CAR-targeting antigens and CD28-costimulatory antibodies, selectively and sustainably expands human CD8+ CAR-T cells while maint…

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77422-2 Researchers developed a soft robotic system that harvests energy from naturally occurring thermal oscillations, enabling electronics-free robots to move autonomously without external power or repeated manual recharging.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77574-1 This work demonstrates an antisite-defect suppression strategy for Bi2Te3 single-crystal thin films, enabling flexible thermoelectric generators that deliver high power output and long-term bending durability for wearable microelectronic applications.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77391-6 Researchers developed a hydrogel catapult that rapidly ejects projectiles across a wide weight range using dynamic coupling. The system also powered a biopsy robot capable of collecting deep tissue samples.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77475-3 As vehicle exhaust emissions fall, tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are becoming a major PM2.5 source. In China, road traffic emitted 425 kt of TRWP PM2.5 in 2023, concentrating risks in cities. Without action, TRWP will grow by 2050, but targeted measures could cut emissions by 41%.

Nature Communications, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77310-9 The authors use long-read sequencing to map allele-specific telomere lengths and telomere variant sequences (TVS). They find that TVSs dispersed along the telomere repeat region are heritable genetic elements that account for the extreme heterogeneity of telomere length between alleles.

Nature Communications, Published online: 06 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77155-2 Cytotoxic T cells (CTL) are successfully employed in tumour therapy but understanding how their expansion and effector function is regulated might result in further improvements. Here the authors show by a T-cell-specific deletion of Prmt7 and by developing a PRMT7-targeting PROTAC degrader that PRMT7 is a …

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77256-y Immune mechanisms driving severe asthma and fatal outcomes remain elusive. Through cross-tissue immune profiling of organ donors who died of fatal asthma versus other causes, the authors here reveal mucosal immune dysregulation marked by enhanced T- and B-cell memory, reduced Tregs, and increased lung Th2 a…

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77413-3 The authors introduce a practical game that distinguishes quantum from classical behaviour without relying on unproven assumptions. Quantum computers achieve exponentially larger scores than any classical strategy, a result confirmed in experiments.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-76391-w Researchers show how foundation atomistic models can predict heat transport and thermal expansion, using physics-based benchmarks and fine-tuning to reach first-principles accuracy.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77433-z Here the authors report clinical and immunological outcomes of a randomized surgical window-of-opportunity trial designed to test whether dual immune checkpoint blockade targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 could overcome the adaptive immune resistance previously reported with single-agent anti-PD-1 therapy in patient…

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77312-7 This study reveals how subtle changes in ligand structure control signaling bias at the immunometabolic receptor GPR84, providing structural details for the rational design of drugs with tailored signalling properties.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77568-z This work proposes a novel approach to achieve all-electrical magnetization switching by tilting the crystal structure of the spin source material, thereby manipulating the spin transport and polarization direction.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77516-x Direct electrochemical upgrading of dilute CO2 from flue gas is attractive but limited by poor local CO2 availability and selectivity. Here, the authors report interfacial engineering strategies to enrich local CO2 and improve selectivity, supported by technoeconomic and life-cycle assessments.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77389-0 Mexican populations remain underrepresented in genomics. Here, Aguilar-Ordoñez et al. report on 1,481 whole-genomes from the oriGen project, identifying key variants like a CNV driving the Rh-negative blood group.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77377-4 Organization and function of CNS synapses are instructed by synaptic cell adhesion molecules (sCAM). Here, authors show that the main sCAMs NRX and PTPRs are interlinked by the tetraspanins T178A,B, thus forming ternary complexes that serve as core-modules of transsynaptic networks.

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77379-2 Osteoclasts need to manage reactive oxygen species by coordinating redox control and mitochondrial quality maintenance. Here, the authors identify OXR1 as a regulator of osteoclastogenesis and mitophagy, and show that genetic or pharmacological targeting of OXR1 attenuates bone loss in an osteoporosis mouse…