Cryo-EM structure of a methanogen nitrogenase–PII protein supercomplex

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11116-zCryo-electron microscopy of a nitrogenase supercomplex from a methane-producing archaeon reveals a mechanism in which PII proteins drive assembly of such structur…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11116-z

Cryo-electron microscopy of a nitrogenase supercomplex from a methane-producing archaeon reveals a mechanism in which PII proteins drive assembly of such structures to regulate nitrogenase activity in response to nitrogen availability.

Observation of critical topological phase transition

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11067-5Using an acoustic metamaterial platform, a critical topological phase transition is experimentally demonstrated establishing a hierarchical phase transition organ…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11067-5

Using an acoustic metamaterial platform, a critical topological phase transition is experimentally demonstrated establishing a hierarchical phase transition organization, in which topology shapes criticality beyond the conventional Landau–Ginzburg paradigm and standard topological phase transitions.

A nuclear clock synchronized to <sup>229</sup>Th

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11122-1A nuclear clock synchronized to 229Th establishes laser-addressed nuclei as operational clock references and 229Th:CaF2 as a stable, reproducible solid-state plat…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11122-1

A nuclear clock synchronized to 229Th establishes laser-addressed nuclei as operational clock references and 229Th:CaF2 as a stable, reproducible solid-state platform for compact nuclear clocks and nuclear quantum sensors.

Human lung organoid modelling of tissue-resident antiviral T cell responses

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11114-1Lung organoids containing endogenous resident immune cells show that SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits protective, tissue-resident memory T cell responses, demonstrati…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11114-1

Lung organoids containing endogenous resident immune cells show that SARS-CoV-2 infection elicits protective, tissue-resident memory T cell responses, demonstrating local recall immunity and providing a platform for the study of human tissue-resident antiviral defence.

Structural basis for regulating lipopolysaccharide transmembrane transport

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11129-8Structures of the protein machinery in Gram-negative bacteria that transports lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the cytoplasmic membrane to the outer leaflet of the o…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11129-8

Structures of the protein machinery in Gram-negative bacteria that transports lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the cytoplasmic membrane to the outer leaflet of the outer membrane reveal how conformational changes in response to the presence of LPS promote its transport.

A thorium-229 optical nuclear clock with feedback loop

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11084-4A thorium-229 nuclear clock is realized by stabilizing a continuous-wave laser to the 148-nm nuclear excitation with a rapid feedback loop based on absorption spe…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11084-4

A thorium-229 nuclear clock is realized by stabilizing a continuous-wave laser to the 148-nm nuclear excitation with a rapid feedback loop based on absorption spectroscopy.

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.