@article{21998, abstract = {Little Red Dots (LRDs), among the most enigmatic high-redshift discoveries by JWST, are commonly believed to be powered by accreting supermassive black holes. Here, we explore the possibility that these sources are globular clusters in formation, with rest-frame UV arising from a very young stellar population and rest-frame optical from a short-lived supermassive (>104 M⊙) star. The spectral profiles of LRDs are broadly consistent with this scenario, though the observed temperatures and bolometric luminosities favor emission reprocessed by optically thick continuum-driven winds not fully captured by current models. The LRD z ∼ 5−7 UV luminosity function naturally evolves, under standard evolutionary and mass-loss prescriptions, into a present-day mass function with a turnover at log10(M*/M⊙) = 5.3 and an exponential cutoff at high masses, consistent with local globular cluster populations. We estimate the total present-day number density of LRDs formed across all redshifts to be ≈0.3 Mpc−3, similar within uncertainties to local globular clusters. The observed LRD redshift range matches the age distribution of metal-poor globular clusters, without current LRD counterparts to the metal-rich population. If LRDs are globular clusters in formation, we predict chemical abundance patterns characteristic of multiple stellar populations, including enhanced He and N, and potential Na–O and Al–Mg anticorrelations. These results offer a local perspective to explore this surprisingly abundant population of distant sources, and a potential new window into extreme stellar astrophysics in the early Universe.}, author = {Chisholm, John and Berg, Danielle A. and Boylan-Kolchin, Michael and De Graaff, Anna and Furtak, Lukas J. and Kokorev, Vasily and Matthee, Jorryt J and Muñoz, Julian B. and Naidu, Rohan P. and Sander, Andreas A.C.}, issn = {2041-8213}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters}, number = {1}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{Little Red Dots as globular clusters in formation}}, doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ae6dae}, volume = {1004}, year = {2026}, } @article{21999, abstract = {JWST has revealed an abundance of supermassive black holes (BHs) in the early Universe, and yet the lowest mass seed BHs that gave rise to these populations remain elusive. Here, we present a systematic search for broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in some of the faintest high-z galaxies surveyed yet by combining ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec G395M spectroscopy with the strong lensing aid in AS1063. By employing the profile of the [O iii]λ5007 emission lines as a template for narrow-line components and carefully cross-validating with mock observations, we identify a sample of 10 broad-line AGNs at 4.5 < z < 7.0 (eight secure, two tentative). The inferred BH masses from the broad Hα line explore the intermediate BH mass regime down to ∼105.5 M⊙. The stellar mass (M*) is estimated with a galaxy+AGN composite model, and we find the BH to stellar mass ratio spans down to MBH/M* ≲ 0.1%, unveiling populations on the empirical MBH–M* relation observed in the local Universe. We also derive the BH mass function and investigate its low-mass end at this epoch. While we confirm the agreement of our results with previous studies at MBH ≳ 106.5M⊙, we find the mass range of ∼105.5 M⊙ features an enhanced abundance with respect to the extrapolated best-fit Schechter function. Comparison with theoretical models suggests that a possible origin for this enhanced abundance is the direct-collapse BH formation, supporting the scenario that the direct collapse of massive gas clouds is a significant pathway for the earliest supermassive BHs.}, author = {Fei, Qinyue and Fujimoto, Seiji and Naidu, Rohan P. and Chisholm, John and Atek, Hakim and Brammer, Gabriel and Asada, Yoshihisa and Berg, Danielle A. and Bromm, Volker and Furtak, Lukas J. and Greene, Jenny E. and Hsiao, Tiger Yu Yang and Jeon, Junehyoung and Kokorev, Vasily and Matthee, Jorryt J and Natarajan, Priyamvada and Pan, Richard and Richard, Johan and Saldana-Lopez, Alberto and Schaerer, Daniel and Volonteri, Marta and Zitrin, Adi}, issn = {1538-4357}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal}, number = {2}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes in the epoch of reionization: Witnessing the descendants of direct collapse?}}, doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248}, volume = {1003}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22000, abstract = {Simplicial approximation provides a framework for constructing simplicial complexes that are homotopy equivalent to a given manifold, provided a CW structure is explicitly known. However, its conventional implementation quickly becomes intractable on a computer: barycentric subdivision produces poorly shaped simplices, and the star condition introduces many vertices. To address these limitations, this article develops a subdivision scheme based on spherical Delaunay triangulations, which attains better refinement properties than barycentric subdivisions. Moreover, the star condition is reframed as two independent problems, one geometric and the other combinatorial, respectively tackled in the language of locally equiconnected spaces and the list homomorphism problem, allowing an exponential reduction in the number of vertices. Via a prototype implementation, we obtain simplicial complexes homotopy equivalent to Grassmannians and Stiefel manifolds up to dimension 5.}, author = {Tinarrage, Raphaël}, booktitle = {42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry}, isbn = {9783959774185}, issn = {1868-8969}, keywords = {Triangulation of manifolds, Simplicial approximation, CW complexes, Delaunay complexes, List homomorphism problem, Topological Data Analysis}, location = {New Brunswick, NJ, United States}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Simplicial approximation to CW complexes with spherical Delaunay triangulations}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.93}, volume = {367}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22002, abstract = {Topological simplification is the process of reducing complexity of a function while maintaining its essential features. Its goal is to find a new filter function, which reorders cells of the input complex in a way which eliminates some persistent homological features, without affecting the rest. We present a new approach to simplification based on the concept of forbidden regions and combinatorial dynamics. It allows us to reorder and cancel critical values, whose cancellation is not possible using existing methods because they are not consecutive in the total order. Each such cancellation takes O(c⋅n) time in the worst case, where c is the number of birth-death pairs and n is the size of the input complex.}, author = {Leśkiewicz, Jakub and Furmanek, Bartosz and Lipiński, Michał and Morozov, Dmitriy}, booktitle = {42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry}, isbn = {9783959774185}, issn = {1868-8969}, keywords = {persistent homology, topological simplification, depth posets}, location = {New Brunswick, NJ, United States}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Topological simplification guided by forbidden regions}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.72}, volume = {367}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22003, abstract = {Let G be a finite, connected metric graph and let X be a subset of G. If X is sufficiently dense in G, we show that the Gromov-Hausdorff distance matches the Hausdorff distance, namely d_GH(G,X) = d_H(G,X). When the metric graph is the circle G = S¹ with circumference 2π, a recent study established the equality d_GH(S¹,X) = d_H(S¹,X) whenever d_GH(S¹,X) < π/6. Our results relax this hypothesis to d_GH(S¹,X) < π/3, and furthermore, we show that the constant π/3 is the best possible. We lower bound the Gromov-Hausdorff distance d_GH(G,X) by the Hausdorff distance d_H(G,X) via a simple topological obstruction: the existence of a possibly discontinuous function f: G → X with too small distortion contradicts the connectedness of G.}, author = {Adams, Henry and Majhi, Sushovan and Manin, Fedor and Virk, Ziga and Zava, Nicolò}, booktitle = {42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry}, isbn = {9783959774185}, issn = {1868-8969}, keywords = {Gromov–Hausdorff distance, distortion, connectedness, Borsuk–Ulam theorem}, location = {New Brunswick, NJ, United States}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Lower bounding the Gromov–Hausdorff distance in metric graphs}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.3}, volume = {367}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22004, abstract = {Recent research on computing the diameter of geometric intersection graphs has made significant strides, primarily focusing on the 2D case [Duraj et al., 2024; Hsien-Chih Chang et al., 2024; Chan et al., 2025] where truly subquadratic-time algorithms were given for simple objects such as unit-disks and (axis-aligned) squares. However, in three or higher dimensions, there is no known truly subquadratic-time algorithm for any intersection graph of non-trivial objects, even basic ones such as unit balls or (axis-aligned) unit cubes. This was partially explained by the pioneering work of Bringmann et al. [Karl Bringmann et al., 2022] which gave several truly subquadratic lower bounds, notably for unit balls or unit cubes in 3D when the graph diameter Δ is at least Ω(log n), hinting at a pessimistic outlook for the complexity of the diameter problem in higher dimensions. In this paper, we substantially extend the landscape of diameter computation for objects in three and higher dimensions, giving a few positive results. Our highlighted findings include: 1) A truly subquadratic-time algorithm for deciding if the diameter of unit cubes in 3D is at most 3 (Diameter-3 hereafter), the first algorithm of its kind for objects in 3D or higher dimensions. Our algorithm is based on a novel connection to pseudolines, which is of independent interest. 2) A truly subquadratic time lower bound for Diameter-3 of unit balls in 3D under the Orthogonal Vector (OV) hypothesis, giving the first separation between unit balls and unit cubes in the small diameter regime. Previously, computing the diameter for both objects was known to be quadratic hard when the diameter is Ω(log n) [Karl Bringmann et al., 2022]. 3) A near-linear-time algorithm for Diameter-2 of unit cubes in 3D, generalizing the previous result for unit squares in 2D [Karl Bringmann et al., 2022]. 4) A truly subquadratic-time algorithm and lower bound for Diameter-2 and Diameter-3 of rectangular boxes (of arbitrary dimension and sizes), respectively.}, author = {Chan, Timothy M. and Chang, Hsien Chih and Gao, Jie and Kisfaludi-Bak, Sándor and Le, Hung and Zheng, Da Wei}, booktitle = {42nd International Symposium on Computational Geometry}, isbn = {9783959774185}, issn = {1868-8969}, keywords = {Graph Diameter, Geometric Intersection Graphs, Unit Ball Graphs}, location = {New Brunswick, NJ, United States}, publisher = {Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik}, title = {{Charting the diameter computation landscape of intersection graphs in 3D and above}}, doi = {10.4230/LIPIcs.SoCG.2026.29}, volume = {367}, year = {2026}, } @inproceedings{22006, abstract = {Runtime monitoring checks, during execution, whether a partial signal produced by a hybrid system satisfies its specification. Signal First-Order Logic (SFO) offers expressive real-time specifications over such signals, but currently comes only with Boolean semantics and has no tool support. We provide the first robustness-based quantitative semantics for SFO, enabling the expression and evaluation of rich real-time properties beyond the scope of existing formalisms such as Signal Temporal Logic. To enable online monitoring, we identify a past-time fragment of SFO and give a pastification procedure that transforms bounded-response SFO formulas into equisatisfiable formulas in this fragment. We then develop an efficient runtime monitoring algorithm for this past-time fragment and evaluate its performance on a set of benchmarks, demonstrating the practicality and effectiveness of our approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publicly available prototype for online quantitative monitoring of full SFO.}, author = {Chalupa, Marek and Henzinger, Thomas A and Sarac, Naci E and Yu, Zhengqi}, booktitle = {27th International Symposium on Formal Methods}, isbn = {9783032262196}, issn = {1611-3349}, keywords = {Signal first-order logic, Robustness-based quantitative semantics, Online runtime monitoring}, location = {Tokyo, Japan}, pages = {214--233}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Quantitative monitoring of Signal First-Order logic}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-032-26220-2_11}, volume = {16557}, year = {2026}, } @article{22100, abstract = {Spin mixtures of degenerate fermions are a cornerstone of quantum many-body physics, enabling superfluidity, polarons, and rich spin dynamics through s-wave scattering resonances. Combining them with strong, long-range dipolar interactions provides highly flexible control schemes promising even more exotic quantum phases. Recently, microwave shielding gave access to spin-polarized degenerate samples of dipolar fermionic molecules, where tunable p-wave interactions were enabled by field-linked resonances available only by compromising the shielding (due to experimental limitations). Here, we study the scattering properties of a fermionic dipolar spin mixture and show that a universal s-wave resonance is readily accessible without compromising the shielding. We develop a universal description of the tunable s-wave interaction and weakly bound tetratomic states based on the microwave-field parameters. The s-wave resonance paves the way to stable, controllable and strongly-interacting dipolar spin mixtures of deeply degenerate fermions and supports favorable conditions to reach this regime via evaporative cooling.}, author = {Li, Jinglun and Koutentakis, Georgios and Hrast, Mateja and Lemeshko, Mikhail and Schindewolf, Andreas and Al Hyder, Ragheed}, issn = {2399-3650}, journal = {Communications Physics}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Tunable field-linked s-wave interactions in dipolar fermi mixtures}}, doi = {10.1038/s42005-026-02578-8}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @misc{20833, abstract = {Sex-chromosome systems are highly variable across animals, but how they transition from one to another is not well understood. Diptera have undergone multiple sex-chromosome turnovers and expansions while maintaining their general chromosomal content, which makes them an ideal clade to study such transitions. We analysed more than 100 dipteran whole-genome assemblies and identified 4 new lineages that underwent sex-chromosome turnover (in addition to the 5 previously reported). We find the majority of turnovers happened in the group Schizophora, which tend to have fewer genes on the F element (the chromosome homologous to the ancestral insect X chromosome) than lower dipterans, a factor previously hypothesized to facilitate turnover. Most derived X chromosomes have higher GC content than autosomes, consistent with a high prevalence of male-achiasmy in Diptera. In addition, an excess of gene movement out of the X is detected for most of these new X chromosomes, and many of these moved genes have high testis expression in Drosophila, suggesting that out-of-X gene movement contributes to the long-term demasculinization of X chromosomes.}, author = {Layana Franco, Lorena Alexandra and Toups, Melissa A and Vicoso, Beatriz}, keywords = {Schizophora, sex chromosomes, sex-chromosome turnover, Diptera, genomic features, out-of-X movement.}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Research Data for 'Causes and consequences of sex-chromosome turnovers in Diptera'}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-20833}, year = {2026}, } @article{20840, abstract = {Probing the possibility of entanglement generation through gravity offers a path to tackle the question of whether gravitational fields possess a quantum mechanical nature. A potential realization necessitates systems with low-frequency dynamics at an optimal mass scale, for which the microgram-to-milligram range is a strong contender. Here, after refining a figure-of-merit for the problem, we present a 1-milligram torsional pendulum operating at 18 Hz. We demonstrate laser cooling its motion from room temperature to 240 microkelvins, surpassing by over 20-fold the coldest motions attained for oscillators ranging from micrograms to kilograms. We quantify and contrast the utility of the current approach with other platforms. The achieved performance and large improvement potential highlight milligram-scale torsional pendulums as a powerful platform for precision measurements relevant to future studies at the quantum-gravity interface.}, author = {Agafonova, Sofya and Rosello, Pere and Mekonnen, Manuel and Hosten, Onur}, issn = {2399-3650}, journal = {Communications Physics}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface}}, doi = {10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w}, volume = {9}, year = {2026}, } @article{20865, abstract = {We prove the convergence of a modified Jordan–Kinderlehrer–Otto scheme to a solution to the Fokker–Planck equation in Ω e R^d with general—strictly positive and temporally constant—Dirichlet boundary conditions. We work under mild assumptions on the domain, the drift, and the initial datum. In the special case where Ω is an interval in R1, we prove that such a solution is a gradient flow—curve of maximal slope—within a suitable space of measures, endowed with a modified Wasserstein distance. Our discrete scheme and modified distance draw inspiration from contributions by A. Figalli and N. Gigli [J. Math. Pures Appl. 94, (2010), pp. 107–130], and J. Morales [J. Math. Pures Appl. 112, (2018), pp. 41–88] on an optimal-transport approach to evolution equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Similarly to these works, we allow the mass to flow from/to the boundary ∂Ω throughout the evolution. However, our leading idea is to also keep track of the mass at the boundary by working with measures defined on the whole closure Ω . The driving functional is a modification of the classical relative entropy that also makes use of the information at the boundary. As an intermediate result, when Ω is an interval in R1, we find a formula for the descending slope of this geodesically nonconvex functional.}, author = {Quattrocchi, Filippo}, issn = {1432-0835}, journal = {Calculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Variational structures for the Fokker-Planck equation with general Dirichlet boundary conditions}}, doi = {10.1007/s00526-025-03193-1}, volume = {65}, year = {2026}, } @phdthesis{20964, author = {Vladimirtsev, Dmitrii}, issn = {2791-4585}, pages = {22}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Armadillo repeat only proteins are master regulators of plant cyclic-nucleotide gated channels}}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-20964}, year = {2026}, } @article{20972, abstract = {Small amounts of stress are thought to have beneficial effects. A new study reports a mechanism by which the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, causes acute release of stress hormones, despite its known long-term anti-anxiety effects.}, author = {Kücükdereli, Hakan and Douglass, Amelia May Barnett}, issn = {1879-0445}, journal = {Current Biology}, number = {1}, pages = {R27--R29}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Neuroscience: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.056}, volume = {36}, 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}, } @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{21001, abstract = {Copper chalcogenides offer high charge mobility and low lattice thermal conductivity but suffer from structural instability due to dynamic Cu+ migration. Here, we report a colloidal hot-injection synthesis of ternary cesium copper selenide (CsCu5Se3) nanocrystals (NCs), achieving precise control over phase, size, and morphology through tailored precursor-ligand modulation. This strategy enabled systematic exploration of stable and metastable Cs–Cu–Se phases and mechanistic investigation of nucleation and growth, providing insight into phase modulation and dimensional control at the nanoscale. CsCu5Se3 NCs exhibit low lattice thermal conductivity (∼0.5 Wm–1K–1) and an experimental zT of 0.27 at 718 K. Complementary first-principles calculations, consistent with experimental electronic and optical responses, predict a zT of 1.05 at 1000 K. These findings elucidate the formation dynamics of CsCu5Se3 and establish ABZ (A = alkali, B = metal, Z = chalcogen) NCs as tunable platforms for advanced functional applications.}, author = {Patil, Niraj Nitish and Wu, Ruiqi and Fiedler, Christine and Kapuria, Nilotpal and Nan, Bingfei and Navita, Navita and Cabot, Andreu and Ibáñez, Maria and Ryan, Kevin M. and Ganose, Alex M. and Singh, Shalini}, issn = {2380-8195}, journal = {ACS Energy Letters}, number = {1}, pages = {481--488}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Layered alkali-copper selenides: Deciphering thermoelectric properties and reaction pathways for nanostructuring β-CsCu5Se3}}, doi = {10.1021/acsenergylett.5c02909}, volume = {11}, 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{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}, }