Month: October 2026

Spatially deterministic nucleation of 2D semiconductors by etching flux

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11095-1Etching-flux-mediated single-centred nucleation of two-dimensional semiconductors is used to deterministically localize a single nucleation event, expanding semic…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11095-1

Etching-flux-mediated single-centred nucleation of two-dimensional semiconductors is used to deterministically localize a single nucleation event, expanding semiconductor deposition from controlling where materials grow to controlling where and how crystals can begin to form.

RNA catalysis emerges from dynamic structural ensembles

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11140-zRNase P RNA forms shifting active and inactive conformers whose catalytic activity depends on Mg2+-driven tertiary-interaction dynamics, which are modulated by bi…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11140-z

RNase P RNA forms shifting active and inactive conformers whose catalytic activity depends on Mg2+-driven tertiary-interaction dynamics, which are modulated by binding of accessory proteins.

Australia’s current wildfire crisis linked to colonial land-use change

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11097-zA 1,000-year lake-sediment record from southeastern Australia shows that colonial disruption of Indigenous cultural burning transformed open woodland into dense, …

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11097-z

A 1,000-year lake-sediment record from southeastern Australia shows that colonial disruption of Indigenous cultural burning transformed open woodland into dense, flammable forest, priming the landscape for today’s climate-driven wildfires.

Observation of relativistic bond weakening in seaborgium hexacarbonyl

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11105-2Gas chromatography analysis of compounds formed by the superheavy element seaborgium shows that the hexacarbonyl complex Sg(CO)6 exhibits lower first bond dissoci…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11105-2

Gas chromatography analysis of compounds formed by the superheavy element seaborgium shows that the hexacarbonyl complex Sg(CO)6 exhibits lower first bond dissociation energy than the lighter chemical homologue W(CO)6, owing to relativistic bond weakening effects.

A chiral superlattice route to spin-split topological antiferromagnetism

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11073-7A chiral superlattice in collinear antiferromagnetic UOTe generates large Berry curvature and spin-polarized currents, enabling anomalous Hall effects and advanci…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11073-7

A chiral superlattice in collinear antiferromagnetic UOTe generates large Berry curvature and spin-polarized currents, enabling anomalous Hall effects and advancing chiral quantum materials for spintronics.

Overcoming key challenges in the evolutionary transition to multicellularity

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11038-wThis Review synthesizes an evolutionary framework for understanding the key stages, challenges and microevolutionary processes through which single cells evolve i…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11038-w

This Review synthesizes an evolutionary framework for understanding the key stages, challenges and microevolutionary processes through which single cells evolve into functionally integrated multicellular organisms.

How to control where semiconductor crystals start growing

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02934-2Semiconductor crystals grow from tiny nuclei, but the position of these nuclei is difficult to control precisely and can affect the crystal’s properties. An appro…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02934-2

Semiconductor crystals grow from tiny nuclei, but the position of these nuclei is difficult to control precisely and can affect the crystal’s properties. An approach using ‘etching flux’ has now been developed that constrains the position at which a nucleus forms, enabling spatially programmable growth of large single crystals of semiconducting material.

Mechanism of spliceosome termination

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11101-6A coordinated sequence of RNA helicases and associated factors dismantles normal and defective spliceosome complexes to enable intron degradation and ensure accur…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11101-6

A coordinated sequence of RNA helicases and associated factors dismantles normal and defective spliceosome complexes to enable intron degradation and ensure accurate gene expression.

Prehistoric global migration of vanishing gut microbes with humans

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11106-1Microbial species disappearing from industrialized populations have evolved with humans over millennia and migrated worldwide with them—this may have consequences…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11106-1

Microbial species disappearing from industrialized populations have evolved with humans over millennia and migrated worldwide with them—this may have consequences for human health.