@article{21767, abstract = {The involvement of non-scientific staff in discussions about animal welfare and scientific quality is essential for biomedical research progress. In this study, we developed a survey to collect the self-perception of animal care staff (ACS) and laboratory technicians about their involvement in scientific planning and conduct. Participants were contacted to complete an anonymous online questionnaire. We obtained 850 responses, mainly from Europe: 564 from ACS and 286 from laboratory technicians. Job satisfaction was assessed as positive by ACS and laboratory technicians despite the low frequency of culture of care activities and mental health meetings. Both groups expressed their desire to be trained in research planning and conduct; however, regular training was not reported. In addition, the inability to act on animal welfare concerns owing to experimental reasons was reported by both groups. Over half of the participants felt valued and appreciated by the lead scientists or animal facility manager; however, it is not clear how they are acknowledged, as their names on the authors list or in the manuscript acknowledgments are barely included. Our results indicated that involvement of ACS and laboratory technicians in planning and conducting studies would improve their understanding of how experiments are done, and therefore communication processes, work satisfaction, animal welfare, and scientific quality. Finally, we provided recommendations to improve the engagement of ACS and laboratory technicians in discussions about animal research planning and conduct.}, author = {Gonzalez-Uarquin, Fernando and Jirkof, Paulin and Bert, Bettina and Hawkins, Penny and Angelovski, Ljupco and Baumgart, Jan and Baumgart, Nadine and Cevik, Özge S. and Franco, Nuno H. and Horata, Erdal and Kaura, Rohish and Neuhaus, Winfried and Riso, Brigida and Smith, Adrian J. and Sotiropoulos, Athanassia and Vitale, Augusto and Schober, Sophie}, issn = {1758-1117}, journal = {Laboratory Animals}, publisher = {SAGE Publications}, title = {{Building bridges: Involvement of animal care staff and laboratory technicians in experimental planning and conduct of animal studies for better job satisfaction and science}}, doi = {10.1177/00236772251400976}, year = {2026}, } @article{21776, abstract = {Pyridyl motifs equipped with N-substituents can be powerful ligands for catalysis, yet their broader adoption is limited by the lack of a practical method to prepare these scaffolds. We report a modular, robust, and versatile Buchwald–Hartwig amination protocol that enables the rapid synthesis of bipyridine, phenanthroline, terpyridine, and pybox ligands bearing dialkylamine, diarylamine, and heteroaromatic N-substituents. These conditions streamline ligand library synthesis and will facilitate systematic studies in catalysis and related applications.}, author = {Petrik, Adam and Bena, Aleksander and Baunis, Haralds and Kelch, Riley M. and Yoon, Tehshik P. and Pieber, Bartholomäus}, issn = {1615-4169}, journal = {Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis}, number = {9}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Facile access to N-substituted pyridyl ligands}}, doi = {10.1002/adsc.70417}, volume = {368}, year = {2026}, } @article{21777, abstract = {The advantageous characteristics attributed to the 19F nucleus have made it a popular target for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) once again in recent years. Aside from solution NMR, an increasing number of studies have been conducted applying solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR to fluorine-labelled samples. Here, the high chemical shift anisotropy and strong dipolar couplings can be utilised to get structural insights into proteins and measure long distances. Despite increasing popularity and promising benefits, the sensitivity of biomolecular 19F MAS NMR often suffers from slow longitudinal T1 relaxation and therefore long recycle delays. In this work, we expand paramagnetic doping, an approach commonly used to reduce proton T1 relaxation times, to 19F-labelled biological samples. We study the effect of Gd(DTPA) and Gd(DTPA-BMA) on 19F T1 and T2, and 13C T1 and T2 relaxation in a [5-19F13C]-tryptophan-labelled protein via 19F-detected MAS NMR experiments. The observed paramagnetic relaxation enhancement substantially reduces measurement times of 19F MAS NMR experiments without compromising resolution. Additionally, we report the chemical shift assignments of all four fluorotryptophan signals in the 12×39 kDa-large protein TET2 using a mutagenesis approach.}, author = {Becker, Lea Marie and Toscano, Giorgia and Kapitonova, Anna and Singh, Rajkumar and Guillerm, Undina and Lichtenecker, Roman J. and Schanda, Paul}, issn = {2699-0016}, journal = {Magnetic Resonance}, number = {1}, pages = {29--37}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, title = {{Accelerated 19F biomolecular magic-angle spinning NMR with paramagnetic dopants}}, doi = {10.5194/mr-7-29-2026}, volume = {7}, year = {2026}, } @article{21778, abstract = {We prove that every 𝐿-bilipschitz mapping ℤ 2 → ℝ2 canbe extended to a 𝐶(𝐿)-bilipschitz mapping ℝ2 → ℝ2,and we provide a polynomial upper bound for 𝐶(𝐿).Moreover, we extend the result to every separated netin ℝ2 instead of ℤ 2, with the upper bound gaininga polynomial dependence on the separation and netconstants associated to the given separated net. Thisanswers an Oberwolfach question of Navas from 2015and is also a positive solution of the two-dimensionalform of a decades old open (in all dimensions at leasttwo) problem due to Alestalo Trotsenko and Väisälä.}, author = {Dymond, Michael and Kaluza, Vojtech}, issn = {1469-7750}, journal = {Journal of the London Mathematical Society}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Planar bilipschitz extension from separated nets}}, doi = {10.1112/jlms.70540}, volume = {113}, year = {2026}, } @article{21779, abstract = {Acidomycin is an anti-mycobacterial antibiotic with a unique mode of action, targeting the biotin biosynthesis pathway. Despite being highly active against mycobacteria in vitro, its development as an anti-tubercular agent has been hindered due to suboptimal pharmacokinetics. Engineering of the acidomycin biosynthesis may yield new analogues with improved pharmacological properties. Here, we describe the identification of the acidomycin biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) in a Streptomyces bacterium isolated from the rhizosphere of Edelweiss. Notably, the acidomycin BGC is located in proximity to the genes for the biosynthesis of stravidins, secondary metabolites targeting a different enzyme in the biotin biosynthesis pathway, and two genes for streptavidins, proteins that strongly bind and sequester biotin. The identity of the acidomycin BGC was confirmed via both gene knock-out and heterologous expression, which suggested that the fatty acid required for the formation of acidomycin's acyl chain is most likely scavenged from the biotin biosynthesis pathway. CRISPR/Cas9-assisted knock-out of the cytochrome P450-encoding gene in the acidomycin BGC resulted in a significant decrease in its yield but did not abrogate the biosynthesis completely.}, author = {Vignolle, Anna and Zehl, Martin and Garzón, Jaime Felipe Guerrero and Schneider, Olha and Gafriller, Johannes and Grienke, Ulrike and Kirkegaard, Rasmus H. and Zotchev, Sergey B.}, issn = {1751-7915}, journal = {Microbial Biotechnology}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Identification and characterisation of the gene cluster governing biosynthesis of the anti-mycobacterial antibiotic acidomycin}}, doi = {10.1111/1751-7915.70357}, volume = {19}, year = {2026}, } @article{21780, abstract = {It is predicted that half or more of all cataclysmic variables (CVs) should have evolved past the period minimum and now exist as so-called period bouncers where a white dwarf should be accreting from a Roche lobe filling substellar companion. However, this prediction stands in stark contrast to observations, where only a few per cent of CVs are found in this evolutionary phase. A potential solution to this discrepancy is that a magnetic field emerges from within the white dwarf after the system has reached the period minimum. The transfer of angular momentum from the spin of the white dwarf into the orbit then pushes the two stars apart, detaching them for potentially billions of years. Here we present the discovery of ZTF J021804.16+071152.93, a detached 0.69 +- 0.01 M⁠, 19 MG magnetic white dwarf plus 37 +- 5MJup brown dwarf binary with an orbital period of 1.7 h. The kinematics of the system indicate that it is a high probability member of the Galactic thick disc. However, this strongly disagrees with the much younger age of the system obtained from the white dwarf parameters, implying that the system may have been accreting in the past. This system is therefore consistent with having detached as a result of the emergence of the magnetic field of the white dwarf when the system was still mass transferring, and may represent the ultimate fate for many (perhaps even most) CVs.}, author = {Parsons, S. G. and Brown, A. J. and Casewell, S. L. and Littlefair, S. P. and van Roestel, Joannes C and Rebassa-Mansergas, A. and Murillo-Ojeda, R. and Zorotovic, M. and Schreiber, M. R. and Bagnulo, S. and Stroet, M. A. and Castro Segura, N. and Dhillon, V. S. and Dyer, M. J. and Garbutt, J. A. and Green, M. J. and Jarvis, D. and Kennedy, M. R. and Kerry, P. and Mccormac, J. and Munday, J. and Pelisoli, I. and Pike, E. and Sahman, D. I. and Yates, A.}, issn = {1365-2966}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {4}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{ZTF J021804.16+071152.93: A dead cataclysmic variable and potential solution to the missing period bouncer cataclysmic variables}}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag521}, volume = {547}, year = {2026}, } @article{21781, abstract = {Given a set A of n points (vertices) in general position in the plane, the complete geometric graph Kn[A] consists of all (n2) segments (edges) between the elements of A. It is known that the edge set of every complete geometric graph on n vertices can be partitioned into O(n3∕2) crossing-free paths (or matchings). We strengthen this result under various additional assumptions on the point set. In particular, we prove that for a set A of n randomly selected points, uniformly distributed in [0,1]2, with probability tending to 1 as n→∞, the edge set of Kn[A] can be covered by O(nlogn) crossing-free paths and by O(n√logn) crossing-free matchings. On the other hand, we construct n-element point sets such that covering the edge set of Kn[A] requires a quadratic number of monotone paths.}, author = {Dumitrescu, Adrian and Pach, János and Saghafian, Morteza and Scott, Alex}, issn = {2996-220X}, journal = {Combinatorics and Number Theory}, number = {1}, pages = {73--82}, publisher = {Mathematical Sciences Publishers}, title = {{Covering complete geometric graphs by monotone paths}}, doi = {10.2140/cnt.2026.15.73}, volume = {15}, year = {2026}, } @article{21798, abstract = {Phase singularities—points carrying quantized topological charge—are universal features found across diverse wave systems from superfluids and superconductors to acoustic and optical fields1,2,3,4. Ensembles of these singularities exhibit distance correlations resembling particles in liquids5,6,7,8, extensively studied for their role in exotic material phases9,10,11. By contrast, the full correlations in phase space that govern the system evolution have remained unexplored and experimentally inaccessible. Here we directly measure the ultrafast dynamics of optical singularity ensembles, capturing their full phase-space correlations, presenting the joint distance–velocity distribution. Our observations show a breakdown of the particle-singularity analogy12: phase singularities accelerate towards formally divergent velocities in the moment before annihilation7,13,14, indicated by measurements of velocities exceeding the speed of light. These apparent superluminal velocities are paradoxically amplified by the slow group velocity of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in our material platform, hexagonal boron nitride membranes15,16,17,18,19. We demonstrate these phenomena using combined hardware and algorithmic advances in ultrafast electron microscopy18,20,21,22,23,24,25, achieving spatial and temporal resolutions, each an order of magnitude below the polaritonic wavelength and cycle period. Our findings deepen our understanding of phase singularities and their universality, enabling to probe topological defect dynamics at previously unattainable timescales.}, author = {Bucher, T. and Gorlach, A. and Niedermayr, A. and Yan, Q. and Nahari, H. and Wang, K. and Ruimy, R. and Adiv, Y. and Yannai, M. and Abudi, T. L. and Janzen, E. and Spaegele, C. and Roques-Carmes, Charles and Edgar, J. H. and Koppens, F. H. L. and Vanacore, G. M. and H. Sheinfux, H. and Tsesses, S. and Kaminer, I.}, issn = {1476-4687}, journal = {Nature}, number = {8107}, pages = {920--926}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities}}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z}, volume = {651}, year = {2026}, } @misc{21800, abstract = {LAMMPS input scripts to simulate toroidal vesicles composed of pure bolalipid membranes and archaeal mixture membranes for the following publication: "Cracking donuts and sorting lipids: geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization" by Felix Frey, Miguel Amaral, and Andela Saric.}, author = {Frey, Felix F and Santana de Freitas Amaral, Miguel and Šarić, Anđela}, publisher = {Zenodo}, title = {{Cracking donuts and sorting lipids: Geometry controls archaeal membrane stability and lipid organization}}, doi = {10.5281/ZENODO.18772086}, year = {2026}, } @article{21837, abstract = {In a warming world of glacier changes, the scientific community has dedicated increasing attention to debris-covered glaciers and their response to climate. A variety of models with distinct complexity and data requirements have been developed and widely used to simulate melt under debris at different sites and scales, but their skills have never been compared. As part of the activities of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) Debris Covered Glacier Working Group, we present an intercomparison exercise aimed at advancing our understanding of model skills in simulating ice melt under a debris layer. We compare 15 models with different complexity at nine sites in the European Alps, Caucasus, Chilean Andes, Nepalese Himalaya and the Southern Alps of New Zealand, over one melt season. We run the models with measured meteorological data from automatic weather stations and estimated or measured debris properties. We consider four main model categories: (i) energy balance models that calculate melt by solving the physics of heat transfer to the debris layer, but require a high amount of input data; (ii) a simplified energy balance model; (iii) enhanced temperature-index models; and (iv) simple empirical temperature-index models that have been extensively used given their low data requirement but require calibration of their empirical parameters. Model performance is evaluated using on-site measurements of sub-debris melt (for all models) and surface temperature (for models based on the surface energy balance). Our results show that physically-based energy balance models and empirical temperature-index models perform in a distinct manner. At one end of the spectrum, simple temperature-index models are accurate when recalibrated or when using site-specific literature parameters, and show poor results when parameters are uncalibrated. At the other end, energy balance models show a range of performance: the most accurate energy balance models are those with the highest degree of complexity at the atmosphere-debris interface. An important data gap emerged from our experiment: the poor performance of all models at three sites was related to the poor knowledge of debris properties, and specifically of thermal conductivity. Future work should focus on both: (i) consistent data acquisition to evaluate existing models and support new model developments; (ii) advancing models by accounting for processes such as debris-snow interactions, moisture in the debris and refreezing. We suggest that a systematic effort of model development using a common model framework could be carried out in phase II of the Working Group.}, author = {Pellicciotti, Francesca and Fontrodona-Bach, Adrià and Rounce, David R. and Fyffe, Catriona Louise and Anderson, Leif S. and Ayala, Álvaro and Brock, Ben W. and Buri, Pascal and Fugger, Stefan and Fujita, Koji and GANTAYAT, PRATEEK and Groos, Alexander R. and Immerzeel, Walter and Kneib, Marin and Mayer, Christoph and MacDonell, Shelley and McCarthy, Michael and McPhee, James and Miles, Evan and Purdie, Heather and Rets, Ekaterina and Sakai, Akiko and Shaw, Thomas and Steiner, Jakob and Wagnon, Patrick and Winter-Billington, Alex}, issn = {1994-0424}, journal = {The Cryosphere}, number = {3}, pages = {1895--1928}, publisher = {Copernicus Publications}, title = {{DCG-MIP: The debris-covered glacier melt model intercomparison experiment}}, doi = {10.5194/tc-20-1895-2026}, volume = {20}, year = {2026}, } @article{21838, abstract = {We explore the use of a photoacid in a chemical reaction cycle, which allows for the controlled sol‐to‐gel transition of a saccharide aldehyde‐based self‐assembling system. The modulation of the pH with light enables to generate chemical fuels in situ, thus triggering monomer activation and gelation. Our efforts represent a promising step toward dissipative self‐assembled systems with a higher degree of spatiotemporal control.}, author = {Lopez‐Acosta, Alvaro and Valera, Jorge S. and Klajn, Rafal and Hermans, Thomas M.}, issn = {2570-4206}, journal = {ChemSystemsChem}, number = {3}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Photoacid‐mediated controllable gelation in a chemical reaction cycle}}, doi = {10.1002/syst.70037}, volume = {8}, year = {2026}, } @article{21839, abstract = {Background & Aims: To develop and validate a CT-based radiomics model to assess HVPG and predict a composite endpoint of liver-related events (LRE: decompensation and liver-related death) in patients with cirrhosis. Methods: This retrospective study included 357 cirrhosis patients, who received invasive HVPG measurements, 120 liver-healthy controls (training cohort) and 85 and 100 cirrhosis patients (internal and external validation cohorts, respectively), and contrast-enhanced abdominal CTs. After volumetric segmentation of the liver and spleen on CT, Bayesian parameter optimization was used for selection of extracted features and hyperparameter tuning in random forest or elastic net models. Prediction accuracy was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients of predicted (’radio-HVPG’) and invasive HVPG. Discrimination between relevant HVPG cut-offs was determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The predictive value of radio-HVPG and invasive-HVPG for LRE was compared using Cox regression models. Results: Radio-HVPG, predicted by an optimized random forest model based on 74 selected CT features, correlated with invasive-HVPG and detected clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH: HVPG ≥ 10 mmHg) on the internal (Pearson r = 0.63, AUC 0.89 [95% CI: 0.81–0.96]) and external (Pearson r = 0.62, AUC 0.80 [95% CI: 0.64–0.91]) validation cohorts. Radio-HVPG predicted LRE when adjusting for MELD and albumin (adjusted HR: 1.14 [95% CI: 1.04–1.25], p = 0.005) and performed similarly to invasive-HVPG. Conclusions: Radiomic features accurately predict HVPG in patients with cirrhosis and allow risk stratification for LRE in a radiomics-clinical signature.}, author = {Sin, Celine and Watzenboeck, Martin Luther and Iofinova, Eugenia B and Balcar, Lorenz and Semmler, Georg and Scheiner, Bernhard and Lampichler, Katharina and Mandorfer, Mattias and Moga, Lucile and Rautou, Pierre‐Emmanuel and Ronot, Maxime and Menche, Jörg and Reiberger, Thomas and Scharitzer, Martina}, issn = {1478-3231}, journal = {Liver International}, keywords = {computed tomography, liver, portal hypertension, radiomics, spleen}, number = {5}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Radiomics‐based assessment of portal hypertension severity and risk stratification of cirrhotic patients using routine CT scans}}, doi = {10.1111/liv.70633}, volume = {46}, year = {2026}, } @article{21840, abstract = {The transport properties of nanofluidic channels are usually studied under constant (DC) voltage or pressure driving. However, the frequency response under sinusoidal (AC) drivings offers rich insights into the time-dependent transport mechanisms. Inspired by recent electrochemical approaches, we investigate the couplings between ionic and electronic transport under AC driving. We show that conduction electrons of the channel walls participate in ionic current via capacitive electrochemical coupling, defining a critical frequency and length scale where electron-dominated conductivity emerges. We further analyze how electron–ion coupling modifies electro-osmotic flows and demonstrate that fluctuation-induced momentum transfer between the electrolyte and wall electrons produces distinct AC transport signatures, depending on the charge carrier polarity. Altogether, we establish a frequency-dependent transport matrix that couples ionic, electronic, and hydrodynamic flows. These findings establish AC nanofluidic transport as a powerful probe of interfacial phenomena under confinement and suggest new directions for engineering nanofluidic functionalities through electron–electrolyte coupling.}, author = {Coquinot, Baptiste and Lizée, Mathieu and Bocquet, Lydéric and Kavokine, Nikita}, issn = {1089-7690}, journal = {The Journal of Chemical Physics}, number = {13}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, title = {{Electron–electrolyte coupling in AC transport through nanofluidic channels}}, doi = {10.1063/5.0313352}, volume = {164}, year = {2026}, } @article{21841, abstract = {The long-standing notion that genotypes map to phenotypes through simple one gene–one trait relationships continues to shape both research in the life sciences and public understanding, with implications for policy and funding priorities. Yet this paradigm is increasingly recognized as inadequate for explaining continuous phenotypic variation and the complex genetic architectures of the genotype–phenotype map. Modern genetics emerged from the early 20th-century synthesis of Mendelian and biometric schools of heredity, with R.A. Fisher demonstrating early on how multiple discrete loci could collectively produce continuous variation. Despite this fundamental insight, Mendelism—with its focus on single genes and standardized genetic backgrounds—became the dominant framework, shaping current genetics research and molecular biology as well as science education. The advent of large-scale genomic data has revealed yet again the limitations of this reductionist approach. Evidence from quantitative genetics now shows that most phenotypes arise from complex networks of many interdependent genes and their dynamic responses to environmental perturbations. Here we trace the historical roots of how Mendelian classical genetics departed from the biometric school to create the current predominant paradigm in genetics, despite fundamentally unresolved issues. Moving on from this one-sided paradigm will require systematic development of integrative, evolutionarily grounded experimental approaches that better capture the multigenic and context-dependent nature of inheritance. Achieving such an extended perspective will require methodological innovation, including advances in large-scale (e.g. automated) phenotyping. Dedicated research programs will be necessary to advance a new era of genetic research into the complex mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation.}, author = {Tautz, Diethard and Pallares, Luisa F and Andersson, Leif and Barghi, Neda and Barton, Nicholas H and Bay, Rachael and Chan, Yingguang Frank and Hancock, Angela and Kaiser, Tobias S and Koenig, Daniel and Kontarakis, Zacharias and Liedvogel, Miriam and de Meaux, Juliette and Nordborg, Magnus and Palmer, Abraham A and Purugganan, Michael and Schlötterer, Christian and Schmid, Karl and Stainier, Didier Y R and Weigel, Detlef and Wolf, Jochen B W and Ebert, Dieter and Gibson, Greg}, issn = {1943-2631}, journal = {Genetics}, keywords = {classic genetics, quantitative genetics, genotype–phenotype map}, number = {4}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Beyond Mendel: A call to revisit the genotype–phenotype map through new experimental paradigms}}, doi = {10.1093/genetics/iyag024}, volume = {232}, year = {2026}, } @article{21842, abstract = {AM CVn stars are ultra-compact semi-detached binaries consisting of a white dwarf primary and a hydrogen-depleted secondary. In this paper, we present spectroscopic and photometric results of 15 transient sources pre-classified as AM CVn candidates. Our analysis confirms 9 systems of the type AM CVn, 3 hydrogen-rich cataclysmic variables (accreting white dwarfs with near-main-sequence stars for donors), and 3 systems that could be evolved cataclysmic variables. Eight of the AM CVn stars are analysed spectroscopically for the first time, which increases the number of spectroscopically confirmed AM CVns by about 10%. TESS data revealed the orbital period of the AM CVn star ASASSN-20pv to be Porb =27.282 min, which helps to constrain the possible values of its mass ratio. TESS also helped to determine the superhump periods of one AM CVn star (ASASSN-19ct, Psh =30.94 min) and two cataclysmic variables we classify as WZ Sge stars (Psh =90.77 min for ZTF18aaaasnn and Psh =91.6min for ASASSN-15na).We identified very different abundances in the spectra of theAM CVns binaries ASASSN-15kf and ASASSN-20pv (both Porb ∼27.5min), suggesting different type of donors. Six of the studied AMCVns are X-ray sources, which helped to determine their mass accretion rates. Photometry shows that the duration of all the superoutbursts detected in the AM CVns is consistent with expectations from the disc instability model. Finally, we provide refined criteria for the identification of new systems using all-sky surveys such as LSST.}, author = {Kára, Jan and Rivera Sandoval, Liliana and Mendoza, Wendy and Maccarone, Thomas and Pichardo Marcano, Manuel and Salazar Manzano, Luis E. and Oelkers, Ryan J. and van Roestel, Joannes C}, issn = {1448-6083}, journal = {Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, title = {{A study of transients from ground-based surveys reveals new ultra-compact accreting white dwarf binaries}}, doi = {10.1017/pasa.2026.10184}, volume = {43}, year = {2026}, } @article{21844, abstract = {Little red dots (LRDs) are a newly identified class of broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with a distinctive V-shaped spectrum characterized by red optical and blue UV continuum emission. Their high abundance at redshifts of z ∼ 6–8 and decline at lower redshifts suggest a transient origin. We propose that the spectral shape of LRDs originates from compact binary black hole systems, in which each black hole is surrounded by a mini-disk and embedded within a larger circumbinary disk. With a binary separation of ≲103 Schwarzschild radii, the Wien tail of a T ≃ 5000 K blackbody spectrum at the inner edge of the circumbinary disk produces the red optical emission, while the mini-disks power the UV continuum. Binary torques carve out a gap between the circumbinary disk and the mini-disks, setting the turnover wavelength of the V-shaped spectrum around the Balmer limit. This scenario naturally reproduces LRD spectra requiring only modest dust attenuation (AV ≲ 1 mag), resolving overestimated luminosities for LRDs in previous studies and alleviating a tension with the so-called Sołtan argument. This model predicts distinct spectral evolution as the binary orbit decays through binary disk interactions and gravitational-wave (GW) emission, linking early-stage “proto-LRD” binaries to the broader AGN population and late-stage “LRD descendants” to coalescing binaries detectable in GW experiments.}, author = {Inayoshi, Kohei and Shangguan, Jinyi and Chen, Xian and Ho, Luis C. and Haiman, Zoltán}, issn = {1538-4357}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal}, number = {1}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{The emergence of Little Red Dots from binary massive black holes}}, doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae548d}, volume = {1002}, year = {2026}, } @article{21845, abstract = {UTe2 exhibits the remarkable phenomenon of re-entrant superconductivity, whereby the zero-resistance state reappears above 40 tesla after being suppressed with a field of around 10 tesla. One potential pairing mechanism, invoked in the related re-entrant superconductors UCoGe and URhGe, involves transverse fluctuations of a ferromagnetic order parameter. However, the requisite ferromagnetic order—present in both UCoGe and URhGe—is absent in UTe2, and neutron scattering shows instead that the magnetic susceptibility is peaked at an antiferromagnetic wavevector. Here, we measure the magnetotropic susceptibility of UTe2 across two field-angle planes. This quantity is sensitive to the magnetic susceptibility in a direction transverse to the applied magnetic field—a quantity that is not accessed in conventional magnetization measurements. We observe a very large decrease in the magnetotropic susceptibility over a broad range of field orientations, indicating a large increase in the transverse magnetic susceptibility. Because our technique probes the magnetic susceptibility in the long wavelength (q = 0) limit, this suggests that the strong transverse susceptibility arises from ferromagnetic spin fluctuations. These ferromagnetic fluctuations are likely important for understanding the pairing mechanism in UTe2, as all three superconducting phases of UTe2 surround this region of enhanced susceptibility in the field-angle phase diagram.}, author = {Zambra, Valeska and Nathwani, Amit and Nauman, Muhammad and Lewin, Sylvia K. and Frank, Corey E. and Butch, Nicholas P. and Shekhter, Arkady and Ramshaw, B. J. and Modic, Kimberly A}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Giant transverse magnetic fluctuations at the edge of re-entrant superconductivity in UTe2}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-71899-7}, volume = {17}, year = {2026}, } @article{21846, abstract = {We compile a sample of 83 little red dots (LRDs) with JWST imaging and find that a substantial fraction (∼43%, rising to ≳80% for the most luminous LRDs) host one or more spatially offset, UV-bright companions at projected separations of 0.5 kpc ≲ d ≲ 5 kpc, with median 〈d〉 = 1.0 kpc. This fraction is even higher when smaller spatial scales are probed at high signal-to-noise ratio: the two most strongly lensed LRDs, A383-LRD1 and the newly discovered A68-LRD1, both have UV-bright companions at separations of only d ∼ 0.3 kpc, below the resolution limit of most unlensed JWST samples. We explore whether these ubiquitous red/blue configurations may be physically linked to the formation of LRDs, in analogy with the “synchronized pair” scenario originally proposed for direct-collapse black hole formation. In this picture, UV radiation from the companions, with typically modest stellar masses (M∗ ∼ 108−109 M⊙), suppresses molecular hydrogen cooling in nearby gas, allowing nearly isothermal collapse and the formation of extremely compact objects, such as massive black holes, supermassive stars, or quasi-stars. Using component-resolved photometry and spectral energy distribution modeling, we infer Lyman–Werner radiation fields of J21,LW ∼ 102.5–105 at the locations of the red components, comparable to those required in direct-collapse models, suggesting that the necessary photodissociation conditions are realized in many LRD systems. This framework provides a simple and self-consistent explanation for the extreme compactness and distinctive spectral properties of LRDs and links long-standing theoretical models for early compact object formation directly to a population now observed with JWST in the early Universe.}, author = {Baggen, Josephine F.W. and Scoggins, Matthew T. and Van Dokkum, Pieter and Haiman, Zoltán and Torralba Torregrosa, Alberto and Matthee, Jorryt J}, issn = {2041-8213}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{Connecting the dots: UV-bright companions of Little Red Dots as Lyman–Werner sources enabling direct-collapse Black Hole formation}}, doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ae58a5}, volume = {1002}, year = {2026}, } @article{21847, abstract = {Analog quantum simulators provide access to many-body dynamics beyond the reach of classical computation. However, extracting physical insights from experimental data is often hindered by measurement noise, limited observables, and incomplete knowledge of the underlying microscopic model. Here, we develop a machine learning approach based on a variational autoencoder (VAE) to analyze interference measurements of tunnel-coupled one-dimensional Bose gases, which realize the sine-Gordon quantum field theory. Trained in an unsupervised manner, the VAE learns a minimal latent representation that strongly correlates with the equilibrium control parameter of the system. Applied to nonequilibrium protocols, the latent space uncovers signatures of frozen-in solitons following rapid cooling, and reveals anomalous postquench dynamics not captured by conventional correlation-based methods. These results demonstrate that generative models can extract physically interpretable variables directly from noisy and sparse experimental data, providing complementary probes of equilibrium and nonequilibrium physics in quantum simulators. More broadly, our work highlights how machine learning can supplement established field-theoretical techniques, paving the way for scalable, data-driven discovery in quantum many-body systems.}, author = {Moller, Frederik Skovbo and Fernández-Fernández, Gabriel and Schweigler, Thomas and De Schoulepnikoff, Paulin and Schmiedmayer, Jörg and Muñoz-Gil, Gorka}, issn = {2643-1564}, journal = {Physical Review Research}, number = {2}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Learning minimal representations of many-body physics from snapshots of a quantum simulator}}, doi = {10.1103/r7pj-gl7r}, volume = {8}, year = {2026}, } @article{21848, abstract = {Despite the success of mRNA therapeutics, challenges remain in optimizing immune responses and minimizing side effects. Cell-specific antigen delivery may help reduce required doses and improve vaccine efficacy. In this study, we report on a targeted delivery system for mRNA to a specific subset of skin-resident antigen-presenting cells: Langerhans cells. By functionalizing lipid nanoparticles with a langerin-specific glycomimetic ligand, we achieve selective mRNA delivery to both murine and human primary Langerhans cells with minimal off-target uptake, at the same time resulting in significantly increased mRNA translation. This targeted mRNA delivery not only enhances antigen presentation and T-cell responses but also enables dose-sparing and superior antitumor immunity compared with conventional immunization in a B16-OVA tumor model. Importantly, our platform’s high compatibility with various lipid nanoparticle formulations offers a flexible and precise tool for skin-directed mRNA delivery.}, author = {Klein, Klara and Johnson, Litty and Rîca, Ramona and Sarcevic, Mirza and Carta, Gabriele and Seiser, Saskia and Elbe-Bürger, Adelheid and Langer, Freyja and Rahhal, Nowras and Rademacher, Christoph and Wawrzinek, Robert and Quattrone, Federica and Sparber, Florian}, issn = {1523-1747}, journal = {Journal of Investigative Dermatology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Langerhans cell–targeted mRNA delivery: A strategy for dose-sparing and enhanced antitumor immunity}}, doi = {10.1016/j.jid.2026.03.026}, year = {2026}, }