@article{20963,
  abstract     = {In all domains of life, tRNAs mediate the transfer of genetic information from mRNAs to proteins. As their depletion suppresses translation and, consequently, viral replication, tRNAs represent long-standing and increasingly recognized targets of innate immunity1,2,3,4,5. Here we report Cas12a3 effector nucleases from type V CRISPR–Cas adaptive immune systems in bacteria that preferentially cleave tRNAs after recognition of target RNA. Cas12a3 orthologues belong to one of two previously unreported nuclease clades that exhibit RNA-mediated cleavage of non-target RNA, and are distinct from all other known type V systems. Through cell-based and biochemical assays and direct RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that recognition of a complementary target RNA by the CRISPR RNA triggers Cas12a3 to cleave the conserved 5′-CCA-3′ tail of diverse tRNAs to drive growth arrest and anti-phage defence. Cryogenic electron microscopy structures further revealed a distinct tRNA-loading domain that positions the tRNA tail in the RuvC active site of the nuclease. By designing synthetic reporters that mimic the tRNA acceptor stem and tail, we expanded the capacity of current CRISPR-based diagnostics for multiplexed RNA detection. Overall, these findings reveal widespread tRNA inactivation as a previously unrecognized CRISPR-based immune strategy that broadens the application space of the existing CRISPR toolbox.},
  author       = {Dmytrenko, Oleg and Yuan, Biao and Crosby, Kadin T. and Krebel, Max and Chen, Xiye and Nowak, Jakub S. and Chramiec-Głąbik, Andrzej and Filani, Bamidele and Gribling-Burrer, Anne-Sophie and van der Toorn, Wiep and von Kleist, Max and Achmedov, Tatjana and Smyth, Redmond P. and Glatt, Sebastian and Bravo, Jack Peter Kelly and Heinz, Dirk W. and Jackson, Ryan N. and Beisel, Chase L.},
  issn         = {1476-4687},
  journal      = {Nature},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{RNA-triggered Cas12a3 cleaves tRNA tails to execute bacterial immunity}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41586-025-09852-9},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{20974,
  abstract     = {Thus far, Lyman-α damping wings towards quasars have been used to probe the global ionization state of the foreground intergalactic medium (IGM). A new parametrization has demonstrated that the damping wing signature also carries local information about the distribution of neutral hydrogen (H I) in front of the quasar before it started shining. Leveraging a recently introduced Bayesian JAX-based Hamiltonian Monte Carlo inference framework, we derive constraints on the Lorentzian-weighted H I column density NDW H I , the quasar’s distance rpatch to the first neutral patch, and its lifetime tQ based on James Webb Space
Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) spectra of the two z ∼ 7.5 quasars J1007+2115 and J1342+0928. After folding in model-dependent topology information, we find that J1007+2115 (and J1342+0928) is most likely to reside in a (xH1)= 0.32+0.22 −0.20 (0.58+0.23 −0.23) neutral IGM while shining for a remarkably short lifetime of log10 tQ/yr = 4.14+0.74 −0.18 (an intermediate lifetime of 5.64+0.25 −0.43) along a sightline with log10 NDW
H I /cm−2 = 19.70+0.35 −0.86 (20.24+0.25 −0.22) and rpatch = 28.9+54.0 −14.4 cMpc
(10.9+5.6−5.9 cMpc). In light of the potential presence of local absorbers in the foreground of J1342+0928 as has been recently suggested, we also demonstrate how the Lorentzian-weighted column density NDW H I provides a natural means for quantifying their contribution to the observed damping wing signal.},
  author       = {Kist, Timo and Hennawi, Joseph F. and Davies, Frederick B. and Bañados, Eduardo and Bosman, Sarah E.I. and Cai, Zheng and Eilers, Anna Christina and Fan, Xiaohui and Haiman, Zoltán and Jun, Hyunsung D. and Liu, Yichen and Yang, Jinyi and Wang, Feige},
  issn         = {1365-2966},
  journal      = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number       = {3},
  publisher    = {Oxford University Press},
  title        = {{First constraints on the local ionization topology in front of two quasars at z ∼ 7.5}},
  doi          = {10.1093/mnras/staf2219},
  volume       = {545},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{20980,
  abstract     = {Morse decompositions partition the flows in a vector field into equivalent structures. Given such a decomposition, one can define a further summary of its flow structure by what is called a connection matrix. These matrices, a generalization of Morse boundary operators from classical Morse theory, capture the connections made by the flows among the critical structures—such as attractors, repellers, and orbits—in a vector field. Recently, in the context of combinatorial dynamics, an efficient persistence-like algorithm to compute connection matrices has been proposed in Dey, Lipiński, Mrozek, and Slechta [SIAM J. Appl. Dyn. Syst., 23 (2024), pp. 81–97]. We show that, actually, the classical persistence algorithm with exhaustive reduction retrieves connection matrices, both simplifying the algorithm of Dey et al. and bringing the theory of persistence closer to combinatorial dynamical systems. We supplement this main result with an observation: the concept of persistence as defined for scalar fields naturally adapts to Morse decompositions whose Morse sets are filtered with a Lyapunov function. We conclude by presenting preliminary experimental results.},
  author       = {Dey, Tamal K. and Haas, Andrew and Lipiński, Michał},
  issn         = {1536-0040},
  journal      = {SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {108--130},
  publisher    = {Society for Industrial & Applied Mathematics},
  title        = {{Computing a connection matrix and persistence efficiently from a morse decomposition}},
  doi          = {10.1137/25m1739406},
  volume       = {25},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{20986,
  abstract     = {During complex vocal interactions, different features of acoustic stimuli are integrated to produce appropriate vocal responses,1 such as copying sounds during vocal matching behavior in some animals.2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 However, little is known about the interplay and possible trade-offs between the different temporal and spectral acoustic features during these vocal exchanges.2,13,14 Nightingales can flexibly match the pitch of their tonal “whistle songs” in real time during counter-singing duels.15,16 Here, we show that the syllable duration of whistle playbacks could alter the song responses of wild nightingales, causing their whistle duration distribution to shift toward the presented stimulus duration. When exposed to whistle playbacks featuring unnatural combinations of pitch and duration, nightingales demonstrate a flexible trade-off between pitch matching and temporal imitation, yet they are constrained by their vocal repertoire. They selectively adapted their vocal responses to approximate these novel stimuli, aligning them with their natural whistle repertoire. We developed a computational model of nightingale whistle-matching behavior that revealed a hierarchical organization of acoustic feature production. During whistle matching, the feature integration process is constrained by the duration of syllables, and pitch matching follows within this temporal framework, forcing a trade-off between the two features. Our findings reveal a complex interplay between the spectral and temporal domains that shapes song-matching behavior.},
  author       = {Calderon Garcia, Juan Sebastian and Costalunga, Giacomo and Vogels, Tim P and Vallentin, Daniela},
  issn         = {1879-0445},
  journal      = {Current Biology},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Interplay between syllable duration and pitch during whistle matching in wild nightingales}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.cub.2025.12.025},
  year         = {2026},
}

@phdthesis{20991,
  abstract     = {Rapid local adaptation to new environments is critical for species persistence, especially in introduced populations. The evolutionary success of these populations is fundamentally dictated by the organization of genetic variation—the genomic architecture—in the face of severe demographic constraints, such as the founder effects and genetic bottlenecks that frequently accompany colonization. A central question in evolutionary biology is whether rapid adaptation relies on major-effect loci, such as chromosomal inversions, or on many small-effect loci dispersed across the genome. Furthermore, the genomic architecture strongly influences the extent to which evolutionary outcomes are predictable. Using introduced populations of the marine snail, Littorina saxatilis, as a model, this thesis investigates how genetic variation and genomic structure drive adaptation following introduction. We employed a population genomics approach on experimentally and accidentally introduced populations to dissect the specific genomic features that underpin divergence in newly colonized environments.

In Chapter 2, we tested the predictability of local adaptation through an uncommon 30-year transplant experiment in nature. By distinguishing allele and chromosomal inversion frequency changes from neutral expectations, we found that evolutionary change was highly predictable at the macro-scale (phenotypes and chromosomal inversions), but less robust at the level of individual collinear loci. This result demonstrates that evolution can be predictable when a population possesses sufficient standing genetic variation (SGV), with chromosomal inversions acting as key integrated units that facilitate a rapid response to selection. Building on this, Chapter 3 applied whole-genome sequencing to three accidentally introduced populations (Venice, San Francisco, and Redwood City) to investigate their likely source and genomic patterns of divergence. We identified genomic regions of remarkable divergence potentially associated with local adaptation, and likely fuelled by SGV, while explicitly acknowledging the difficulty in disentangling selection signals from the genome-wide effects of demographic processes. Furthermore, we found that the divergence patterns relied extensively on the collinear genome in these introduced populations, and less clearly on the chromosomal inversions. This observation contrasts with local adaptation observed in the experimental system that relied on both collinear loci and highly selected chromosomal inversions, highlighting how demographic history and genomic architecture influence the detectable signature of local adaptation.

A major limitation to conducting large-scale comparative evolutionary studies is the lack of data standardization, which prevents the integration of community knowledge and high-resolution environmental and genetic data. Chapter 4 addresses this by developing a community database for the Littorina system. This platform implements standardized protocols for the integration of diverse phenotypic and environmental data from multiple Littorina species. Likewise, the platform also centralizes the availability of associated genomic data through links to external repositories. This database represents a crucial tool to test complex, large-scale evolutionary hypotheses.

Collectively, this thesis strongly reinforces the fundamental importance of SGV as the raw material for successful local adaptation, a conclusion supported by evidence in both experimental and accidental introductions. Furthermore, this work highlights the critical role of the genomic architecture—specifically chromosomal inversions—in driving the predictability and effectiveness of adaptive responses. Our findings underscore how the interplay between SGV and genomic architecture dictates the trajectory and detectability of evolution in colonizing populations, while simultaneously providing a necessary tool to advance comparative evolutionary genomics in emerging model organisms.},
  author       = {Garcia Castillo, Diego Fernando},
  isbn         = {978-3-99078-077-0},
  issn         = {2663-337X},
  pages        = {199},
  publisher    = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria},
  title        = {{The genomic architecture of local adaptation in introduced populations}},
  doi          = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-20991},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21006,
  abstract     = {Modern experimental methods in programmable self-assembly make it possible to precisely design particle concentrations, shapes and interactions. However, more physical insight is needed before we can take full advantage of this vast design space to assemble nanostructures with complex form and function. Here we show how a substantial part of this design space can be quickly and comprehensively understood by identifying a class of thermodynamic constraints that act on it. These thermodynamic constraints form a high-dimensional convex polyhedron that determines which nanostructures can be assembled at high equilibrium yield and reveals limitations that govern the coexistence of structures. We validate our predictions through detailed, quantitative assembly experiments of nanoscale particles synthesized using DNA origami. Our results uncover physical relationships underpinning many-component programmable self-assembly in equilibrium and form the basis for robust inverse design, applicable to various systems from biological protein complexes to synthetic nanomachines.},
  author       = {Hübl, Maximilian and Videbæk, Thomas E. and Hayakawa, Daichi and Rogers, W. Benjamin and Goodrich, Carl Peter},
  issn         = {1745-2481},
  journal      = {Nature Physics},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{A polyhedral structure controls programmable self-assembly}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41567-025-03120-3},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21008,
  abstract     = {C(sp2)–heteroatom couplings operating via NiI/NiIII catalysis have emerged as an alternative to canonical Pd0/PdII systems that require complex ligand architectures. Despite intensive research efforts during the past decade, catalytic methods employing this approach are still mostly confined to activated starting materials and require high catalyst loadings due to the low catalytic activity of NiI and undesired catalyst deactivation events. This article highlights recent advances in the field toward solving these long-standing challenges. We survey strategies that streamline the generation of catalytically competent NiI species from bench-stable NiII precatalysts, and discuss mechanistic studies that shed light on deactivation pathways and the rate-determining oxidative addition of aryl halides. In the final section, we highlight recently developed synthetic methodologies, which provide evidence that limitations can indeed be addressed by working at elevated temperatures, employing alternative electrophiles, harnessing the benefits of additives, or fine-tuning the metal’s reactivity through the ligand field.},
  author       = {Bena, Aleksander and Pieber, Bartholomäus},
  issn         = {2155-5435},
  journal      = {ACS Catalysis},
  number       = {2},
  pages        = {866--881},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Advances in NiI/NiIII-catalyzed C(sp2)–heteroatom cross-couplings}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acscatal.5c07964},
  volume       = {16},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21009,
  abstract     = {We demonstrate that periodically driven quantum rotors provide a promising and broadly applicable platform to implement multigap topological phases, where groups of bands can acquire topological invariants due to non-Abelian braiding of band degeneracies. By adiabatically varying the periodic kicks to the rotor we find nodal-line braiding, which causes sign flips of topological charges of band nodes and can prevent them from annihilating, indicated by nonzero values of the patch Euler class. In particular, we report on the emergence of an anomalous Dirac string phase arising in the strongly driven regime, a truly out-of-equilibrium phase of the quantum rotor. This phase emanates from braiding processes involving all (quasienergy) gaps and manifests itself with edge states at zero angular momentum. Our results reveal direct applications in state-of-the-art experiments of quantum rotors, such as linear molecules driven by periodic far-off-resonant laser pulses or artificial quantum rotors in optical lattices, whose extensive versatility offers precise modification and observation of novel non-Abelian topological properties.},
  author       = {Karle, Volker and Lemeshko, Mikhail and Bouhon, Adrien and Slager, Robert-Jan and Ünal, F. Nur},
  issn         = {2469-9934},
  journal      = {Physical Review A},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {American Physical Society},
  title        = {{Anomalous multigap topological phases in periodically driven quantum rotors}},
  doi          = {10.1103/db9d-9bns},
  volume       = {113},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21012,
  abstract     = {In certifiable machine learning, AI systems produce not only results but also verifiable certificates that the results can be trusted.},
  author       = {Barrett, Clark and Henzinger, Thomas A and Seshia, Sanjit A.},
  issn         = {1557-7317},
  journal      = {Communications of the ACM},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {66--75},
  publisher    = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  title        = {{Certificates in AI: Learn but verify}},
  doi          = {10.1145/3737447},
  volume       = {69},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21013,
  abstract     = {We have addressed convective self‐aggregation (CSA) in steady and oscillating sea surface temperature (SST) and solar radiation (SOLIN) cloud‐resolving model simulations in a non‐rotating radiative‐convective equilibrium (RCE) framework. Our experiment designs are motivated by land‐ocean heterogeneity of atmospheric convection. The steady and oscillating forcings are idealizations of ocean and land conditions, respectively, based on their differences in heat capacities. In both kinds of simulations, the diurnal mean SST and SOLIN are the same, and both SST and SOLIN are only varied in time (i.e., they are spatially homogeneous at any given time). We find that diurnally oscillating forcing accelerates CSA. Stronger long‐wave cooling in dry regions at night and during the warm SST phase (late afternoon) both allow the long‐wave feedback, known to favor aggregation, to intensify compared to steady forcing simulations. In addition to the long‐wave, reduced short‐wave warming in dry regions (during the day) further enhances radiative cooling there compared to moist regions. Overall, the radiative cooling is enhanced in dry regions compared to neighboring moist convective regions. A dry subsidence is driven by this net radiative (short‐wave plus long‐wave) cooling, consistent with earlier work on CSA. Stronger radiative cooling allows stronger subsidence which allows low‐level circulation to more efficiently transport moisture and energy up‐gradient, driving convection to aggregate faster. We also note a sensitivity of our experimental setup to initial conditions, more so at warmer SST. This stochastic behavior might be critical in reconciling the differences of opinion regarding the response of convection aggregation to oscillating SST forcing.},
  author       = {GOSWAMI, BIDYUT B and Lu, Ziyin and Muller, Caroline J},
  issn         = {1942-2466},
  journal      = {Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems},
  number       = {1},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Convective self‐aggregation in diurnally oscillating sea surface temperature and solar forcing experiments}},
  doi          = {10.1029/2024ms004576},
  volume       = {18},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21015,
  abstract     = {Early embryo geometry is one of the most invariant species-specific traits, yet its role in ensuring developmental reproducibility and robustness remains underexplored. Here we show that in zebrafish, the geometry of the fertilized egg—specifically its curvature and volume—serves as a critical initial condition triggering a cascade of events that influence development. The embryo geometry guides patterned asymmetric cell divisions in the blastoderm, generating radial gradients of cell volume and nucleocytoplasmic ratio. These gradients generate mitotic phase waves, with the nucleocytoplasmic ratio determining individual cell cycle periods independently of other cells. We demonstrate that reducing cell autonomy reshapes these waves, emphasizing the instructive role of geometry-derived volume patterns in setting the intrinsic period of the cell cycle oscillator. In addition to organizing cell cycles, early embryo geometry spatially patterns zygotic genome activation at the midblastula transition, a key step in establishing embryonic autonomy. Disrupting the embryo shape alters the zygotic genome activation pattern and causes ectopic germ layer specification, underscoring the developmental significance of geometry. Together, our findings reveal a symmetry-breaking function of early embryo geometry in coordinating cell cycle and transcriptional patterning.},
  author       = {Mishra, Nikhil and Li, Yuting I and Hannezo, Edouard B and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J},
  issn         = {1745-2481},
  journal      = {Nature Physics},
  pages        = {139--150},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Geometry-driven asymmetric cell divisions pattern cell cycles and zygotic genome activation in the zebrafish embryo}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41567-025-03122-1},
  volume       = {22},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21018,
  abstract     = {In this paper, we review recent results on stability and instability in logarithmic Sobolev inequalities, with a particular emphasis on strong norms. We consider several versions of these inequalities on the Euclidean space, for the Lebesgue and the Gaussian measures, and discuss their differences in terms of moments and stability. We give new and direct proofs, as well as examples and discuss the stability of a logarithmic uncertainty principle. Although we do not cover all aspects of the topic, we hope to contribute to establishing the state of the art.},
  author       = {Brigati, Giovanni and Dolbeault, Jean and Simonov, Nikita},
  issn         = {2730-9657},
  journal      = {La Matematica},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Logarithmic Sobolev Inequalities: A review on stability and instability results}},
  doi          = {10.1007/s44007-025-00180-y},
  volume       = {5},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21035,
  abstract     = {According to the scientific consensus, tropical convection must decrease with global warming. This decrease is manifested by a decrease of the mass transported in the upward branch of the atmospheric overturning circulation – the convective mass flux – and a connected decrease of high clouds in the tropics, with implications for climate sensitivity. By using kilometer-scale simulations in radiative-convective equilibrium and a convective tracking algorithm, we show that no such decrease occurs in storms when taken individually and that the mass transport per storm increases instead. Storms can achieve this result by aggregating more surface of the convective cores – the inner part of the storm doing the vertical transport – so that the decrease of tropical convection is actually explained by a decrease in the total number of storms. There is little variation of the mean pressure velocity in the cores of the storms, a robust finding of this study. This remarkable invariance of the mean pressure velocity points to an emerging property of convection that should receive more attention in future studies.},
  author       = {Bolot, Maximilien and Roca, Rémy and Fiolleau, Thomas and Muller, Caroline J},
  issn         = {2397-3722},
  journal      = {npj Climate and Atmospheric Science},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{No decrease of tropical convection in individual deep convective systems with global warming}},
  doi          = {10.1038/s41612-025-01285-5},
  volume       = {9},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21037,
  abstract     = {The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains a critical bottleneck in fuel cells and metal-air batteries due to the lack of highly efficient electrocatalysts. Here, we report a simple strategy for synthesizing a palladium-based heterostructured electrocatalyst supported on a carbon nitride matrix (PdH-Pd@CN), which exhibits remarkable ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.91 V and excellent durability in 0.1 M KOH. Within the heterostructure, hydrogen intercalation expands the Pd lattice, while interstitial hydrogen doping facilitates charge transfer from Pd to H owing to their electronegativity difference. These synergistic effects modulate the electronic structure, thereby enhancing both activity and stability. When employed in Zn-air batteries, PdH-Pd@CN delivers a maximum power density of 176 mW cm− (Liu et al., 2025) and capacity of 805 mAh g− (Sun et al., 2021) Zn. These findings demonstrate the strong potential of PdH-Pd@CN as an efficient ORR electrocatalyst for next-generation metal-air batteries and related energy technologies.},
  author       = {Shi, Changwei and Horta, Sharona and Ibáñez, Maria and Kallio, Tanja and Martínez-Alanis, Paulina R. and Wang, Xiang and Cabot, Andreu},
  issn         = {0009-2509},
  journal      = {Chemical Engineering Science},
  publisher    = {Elsevier},
  title        = {{Hydrogen induced palladium-based heterojunction electrocatalysts to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction performance}},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.ces.2026.123348},
  volume       = {324},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21038,
  abstract     = {Little Red Dots (LRDs) are compact sources at z > 5 discovered through James Webb Space Telescope spectroscopy. Their spectra exhibit broad Balmer emission lines (>~1000 km s^−1), alongside absorption features and a pronounced Balmer break – evidence for a dense, neutral hydrogen medium, in which the n = 2 state is significantly populated. When interpreted as arising
from active galactic nucleus broad-line regions, inferred black hole masses from local scaling relations exceed expectations given their stellar masses, challenging models of early black hole–galaxy co-evolution. However, radiative transfer effects in dense media may also impact the formation of hydrogen emission lines. We model three scattering processes shaping hydrogen
line profiles: resonance scattering by hydrogen in the n = 2 state, Raman scattering of ultraviolet (UV) radiation by ground-state hydrogen, and Thomson scattering by free electrons. Using 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations, we examine their imprint on line shapes and ratios. Resonance scattering produces strong deviations from Case B flux ratios, clear differences
between Hα and Hβ, and encodes gas kinematics in line profiles but cannot broaden Hβ due to conversion to Paα. While Raman scattering can yield broad wings, scattering of the UV continuum is disfavoured given the absence of strong full width at half-maximum variations across transitions. Raman scattering of higher Lyman-series emission can produce Hα/Hβ wing
width ratios of  >~1.28, agreeing with observations. Thomson scattering can reproduce the observed >~ 1000 km s^−1 wings under plausible conditions – e.g. Te ∼ 10^4 K and Ne ∼ 10^24 cm^−2 – and lead to black hole mass overestimates by factors  10. Our results provide a framework for interpreting hydrogen lines in LRDs and similar systems.},
  author       = {Chang, Seok Jun and Gronke, Max and Matthee, Jorryt J and Mason, Charlotte},
  issn         = {1365-2966},
  journal      = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  number       = {4},
  publisher    = {Oxford University Press},
  title        = {{Impact of resonance, Raman, and Thomson scattering on hydrogen line formation in Little Red Dots}},
  doi          = {10.1093/mnras/staf2131},
  volume       = {545},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21039,
  abstract     = {Cellular plasticity, the ability of a differentiated cell to adopt another phenotypic identity, is restricted under basal conditions, but can be elicited upon damage. However, the molecular mechanism enabling such plasticity remains largely unexplored. Here, we report damage-induced cellular plasticity of secretory enteroendocrine cells (EEs) in the adult Drosophila midgut. Ionizing radiation induces EE fate conversion and activates stress-responsive programs in EE lineages, accompanied by the induction of the stress-inducible transcription factor Xrp1 and the cytokine gene upd3. Xrp1 and upd3 are both necessary for radiation-induced EE plasticity. Under basal conditions, EE-specific Xrp1 overexpression triggers ectopic expression of progenitor-specific genes, which is necessary for Xrp1 to drive EE plasticity. Our work identifies Xrp1 as a crucial regulator that coordinates damage-induced signaling and transcriptional reprogramming, enabling the reactivation of cellular plasticity in differentiated cells.},
  author       = {Qian, Qingyin and Nagai, Hiroki and Sanaki, Yuya and Hayashi, Makoto and Kimura, Kenichi and Nakajima, Yu Ichiro and Niwa, Ryusuke},
  issn         = {1477-9129},
  journal      = {Development},
  number       = {2},
  publisher    = {The Company of Biologists},
  title        = {{Xrp1 drives damage-induced cellular plasticity of enteroendocrine cells in the adult Drosophila midgut}},
  doi          = {10.1242/dev.205225},
  volume       = {153},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21040,
  abstract     = {Formation during the first cycles of Li-rich layered oxide (LRLO) cathode materials consolidates the interphase and leads to structural changes that are decisive for long-term cyclability. However, the nature and effect of the changes are material-dependent and unknown for the important class of Co-free, Ni-poor LRLOs. Here, we analyze the processes during the tailored formation procedure of a typical class member, Li1.28Ni0.15Mn0.57O2, and demonstrate that it remarkably changes lattice composition and structure as a prerequisite for stable cycling. We combine electrochemistry, operando mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy with density functional theory simulations. Activation most prominently compresses the layer spacing along the c-axis and increases reversible structural breathing. The large capacity of ∼250 mAh g–1 originates from the Ni2+/Ni4+ and O2–/O– redox couples. Electron exchange during O-redox is smeared over the entire anionic sublattice rather than localized on specific oxygen atomic sites. This redox mechanism is reversible without detrimental oxygen evolution, avoiding continued degradation common in conventional LRLOs. Sequential Ni- and O-redox during activation irreversibly distorts the coordination of the redox-inactive Mn4+ centers. This structural evolution of the MnO6 octahedra appears to enable the superior electrochemical performance of this LRLO phase. These findings define an activation pathway for the important class of Co-free, Ni-poor LRLOs, offering potential guidance for the rational design of high-performance, more sustainable cathode materials.},
  author       = {Busato, Matteo and Tuccillo, Mariarosaria and Celeste, Arcangelo and Tofoni, Alessandro and Silvestri, Laura and D’Angelo, Paola and Freunberger, Stefan Alexander and Brutti, Sergio},
  issn         = {2574-0962},
  journal      = {ACS Applied Energy Materials},
  number       = {1},
  pages        = {686--697},
  publisher    = {American Chemical Society},
  title        = {{Structural rearrangements of a Cobalt-free Lithium-rich layered oxide cathode during formation}},
  doi          = {10.1021/acsaem.5c03511},
  volume       = {9},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{21041,
  abstract     = {It is common for programmers to assemble their programs from a combination of trusted and untrusted components. In this context, a trusted program component is said to be robustly safe if it behaves safely when linked against arbitrary untrusted code. Prior work has shown how various encapsulation mechanisms (in both high- and low-level languages) can be used to protect code so that it is robustly safe, but none of the existing work has explored how robust safety can be achieved in a patently unsafe language like C.
In this paper, we show how to bring robust safety to a simple yet representative C-like language we call Rec. Although Rec (like C) is inherently ”dangerous” and thus not robustly safe, we can ”save” Rec programs via compilation to Cap, a CHERI-like capability machine. To formalize the benefits of such a hardening compiler, we develop Reckon, a separation logic for verifying robust safety of Rec programs. Reckon is not sound under Rec’s unsafe, C-like semantics, but it is sound when Rec programs are hardened via compilation and linked against untrusted code running on Cap. As a crucial step in proving soundness of Reckon, we introduce a novel technique of semantic back-translation, which we formalize by building on the DimSum framework for multi-language semantics. All our results are mechanized in the Rocq prover.},
  author       = {Mück, Niklas and Georges, Aïna Linn and Dreyer, Derek and Garg, Deepak and Sammler, Michael Joachim},
  issn         = {2475-1421},
  journal      = {Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages},
  pages        = {1153--1182},
  publisher    = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  title        = {{Endangered by the language but saved by the compiler: Robust safety via semantic back-translation}},
  doi          = {10.1145/3776682},
  volume       = {10},
  year         = {2026},
}

@inproceedings{21042,
  abstract     = {Many blockchains such as Ethereum execute all incoming transactions sequentially significantly limiting the potential throughput. A common approach to scale execution is parallel execution engines that fully utilize modern multi-core architectures. Parallel execution is then either done optimistically, by executing transactions in parallel and detecting conflicts on the fly, or guided, by requiring exhaustive client transaction hints and scheduling transactions accordingly.

However, recent studies have shown that the performance of parallel execution engines depends on the nature of the underlying workload. In fact, in some cases, only a 60% speed-up compared to sequential execution could be obtained. This is the case, as transactions that access the same resources must be executed sequentially. For example, if 10% of the transactions in a block access the same resource, the execution cannot meaningfully scale beyond 10 cores. Therefore, a single popular application can bottleneck the execution and limit the potential throughput.

In this paper, we introduce Anthemius, a block construction algorithm that optimizes parallel transaction execution throughput. We evaluate Anthemius exhaustively under a range of workloads, and show that Anthemius enables the underlying parallel execution engine to process over twice as many transactions.},
  author       = {Neiheiser, Ray and Kokoris Kogias, Eleftherios},
  booktitle    = {29th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security},
  isbn         = {9783032070234},
  issn         = {1611-3349},
  location     = {Miyakojima, Japan},
  pages        = {307--323},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Anthemius: Efficient and modular block assembly for concurrent execution}},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-3-032-07024-1_18},
  volume       = {15751},
  year         = {2026},
}

@inproceedings{21044,
  abstract     = {Scalability is a crucial requirement for modern large-scale systems, enabling elasticity and ensuring responsiveness under varying load. While cloud systems have achieved scalable architectures, blockchain systems remain constrained by the need to over-provision validator machines to handle peak load. This leads to resource inefficiency, poor cost scaling, and limits on performance. To address these challenges, we introduce Pilotfish, the first scale-out transaction execution engine for blockchains. Pilotfish enables validators to scale horizontally by distributing transaction execution across multiple worker machines, allowing elasticity without compromising consistency or determinism. It integrates seamlessly with the lazy blockchain architecture, completing the missing piece of execution elasticity. To achieve this, Pilotfish tackles several key challenges: ensuring scalable and strongly consistent distributed transactions, handling partial crash recovery with lightweight replication, and maintaining concurrency with a novel versioned-queue scheduling algorithm. Our evaluation shows that Pilotfish scales linearly up to at least eight workers per validator for compute-bound workloads, while maintaining low latency. By solving scalable execution, Pilotfish brings blockchains closer to achieving end-to-end elasticity, unlocking new possibilities for efficient and adaptable blockchain systems.},
  author       = {Kniep, Quentin and Kokoris Kogias, Eleftherios and Sonnino, Alberto and Zablotchi, Igor and Zhang, Nuda},
  booktitle    = {29th International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security},
  isbn         = {9783032070234},
  issn         = {1611-3349},
  location     = {Miyakojima, Japan},
  pages        = {287--306},
  publisher    = {Springer Nature},
  title        = {{Pilotfish: Distributed execution for scalable blockchains}},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-3-032-07024-1_17},
  volume       = {15751},
  year         = {2026},
}