Activity of solar-driven polymer catalysts unleashed to produce a potential green fuel

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02373-zEngineering of polymer crystals has vastly increased the activity of these materials as catalysts for producing hydrogen fuel from water, using only sunlight.

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02373-z

Engineering of polymer crystals has vastly increased the activity of these materials as catalysts for producing hydrogen fuel from water, using only sunlight.

Human organoids that mimic brain development grown for years in lab

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02585-3Models of how the brain changes over time could help researchers to understand how diseases affect the organ later in life.

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02585-3

Models of how the brain changes over time could help researchers to understand how diseases affect the organ later in life.

Psychedelics tune the brain to the environment

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02377-9Rather than just scrambling neural activity, the psychedelic substance psilocybin also reorganizes brain dynamics so as to align with a person’s context and experi…

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02377-9

Rather than just scrambling neural activity, the psychedelic substance psilocybin also reorganizes brain dynamics so as to align with a person’s context and experiences.

Computational ‘gym’ trains AI models to control turbulence

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02375-xThe HydroGym computational environment teaches agents strategies for fluid-flow control that can be applied to scenarios they have not encountered before.

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02375-x

The HydroGym computational environment teaches agents strategies for fluid-flow control that can be applied to scenarios they have not encountered before.

Pervasive phosphorylation by phage T7 kinase disarms bacterial defences

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10934-5The T7 bacteriophage deactivates bacterial defence systems through T7K phosphorylation of nearly all host and phage proteins during infection.

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10934-5

The T7 bacteriophage deactivates bacterial defence systems through T7K phosphorylation of nearly all host and phage proteins during infection.

Asymmetric prefrontal representations for leader–follower dynamics

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10900-1Mice spontaneously form leader and follower roles during cooperation, and the medial prefrontal cortex encodes these role dynamics and an egocentric social value m…

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10900-1

Mice spontaneously form leader and follower roles during cooperation, and the medial prefrontal cortex encodes these role dynamics and an egocentric social value map of the partner’s position.

Discovery of a star sensitive to the spin of Sagittarius A*

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10894-wThe discovery of the fast-orbiting star S301 near Sagittarius A* offers a promising new probe of the central black hole spin of the Milky Way through relativistic …

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10894-w

The discovery of the fast-orbiting star S301 near Sagittarius A* offers a promising new probe of the central black hole spin of the Milky Way through relativistic orbit measurements.

Family genetic designs in MoBa provide insights into health and functioning

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10926-5The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study demonstrates how family-based genomic data can disentangle direct genetic effects from confounding, improving s…

Nature, Published online: 19 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10926-5

The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study demonstrates how family-based genomic data can disentangle direct genetic effects from confounding, improving studies of health and human development.