A crucial chemical link between stars and their orbiting exoplanets is thought to exist. If universal, this connection could affect the formation and evolution of all planets. Therefore, this potential vital link needs testing by characterizing exoplanets around chemically-diverse stars. We present the discovery of two planets orbiting the metal-poor, kinematic thick-disc K-dwarf TOI- 2345. TOI-2345 b is a super-Earth with a period of 1.05 d and TOI-2345 c is a sub-Neptune with a period of 21 d. In addition to the target being observed in four TESS sectors, we obtained five CHEOPS visits and 26 radial velocities from HARPS. By conducting a joint analysis of all the data, we find TOI-2345 b to have a radius of 1 . 504+ 0 . 047 −0 . 044 R⊕and a mass of 3 . 49 ±0 . 85 M⊕; and TOI-2345 c to have a radius of 2 . 451+ 0 . 045 −0 . 046 R⊕and a mass of 7 . 27+ 2 . 27 −2 . 45 M⊕. To explore chemical links between these planets and their host star, we model their interior structures newly accounting for devolatized stellar abundances. TOI-2345 adds to the limited sample of well-characterized planetary systems around thick disc stars. This system challenges theories of formation and populations of planets around thick disc stars with its Ultra-Short Period super-Earth and the wide period distribution of these two planets spanning the radius valley.

Matter at the atomic-scale is inherently governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. This makes charges and spins confined to individual atoms—and interactions among them—an invaluable resource for fundamental research and quantum technologies alike. However, harnessing the inherent ‘quantumness’ of atomic-scale objects requires that they can be precisely engineered and addressed at the individual atomic level. Since its invention in the 1980s, scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has repeatedly demonstrated the unrivalled ability to not only resolve but manipulate matter at atomic length scales. Over the past decades, this has enabled the design and investigation of bottom-up tailored nanostructures as reliable and reproducible platforms to study designer quantum physics and chemistry, band topology, and collective phenomena. The vast range of STM-based techniques and modes of operation, as well as their combination with electromagnetic fields from the infrared to microwave spectral range, has even allowed for the precise control of individual charge and spin degrees of freedom. This roadmap reviews the most recent developments in the field of atomically-engineered quantum platforms and explores their potential in future fundamental research and quantum technologies.

In multiple-planet systems, gravitational interactions of exoplanets could lead to transit timing variations (TTVs), whose amplitude becomes significantly enhanced when planets are in or near mean-motion resonances (MMRs), making them more easily detectable. In cases where both TTVs and radial velocity (RV) measurements are available, combined analysis can break degeneracies and provide robust planetary and system characterization, even detecting non-transiting planets. In this context, HIP 41378 hosts five confirmed transiting planets with periods ranging from 15 to over 542 days, providing a unique dynamical laboratory for investigating wide multi-planet systems analogous to the Solar System. In this study, we present an intensive space-based photometric follow-up of HIP 41378, combining 15 new CHEOPS observations with eight TESS sectors, alongside data from K2, Spitzer, HST, and 311 HARPS spectra. We dynamically modeled the TTVs and RV signals of the two inner sub-Neptunes via N-body integration. These planets, HIP 41378 b (Pb = 15.57 days, Rb = 2.45 R⊕) and HIP 41378 c (Pc = 31.71 days, Rc = 2.57 R⊕), are close to (Δ ~ 1.8%) a 2:1 period commensurability. We report a clear detection of TTVs with amplitudes of 20 minutes for planet b and greater than 3 hours for planet c. We dynamically confirm the planetary nature of HIP 41378 g, a non-transiting planet with a period of about 64 days and a mass of about 7 M⊕, close to a 2:1 commensurability with planet c, suggesting a possible mean-motion resonance chain in the inner system. Our precise determination of the masses, eccentricities, and radii of HIP 41378 b and c enabled us to investigate their possible volatile-rich compositions. Finally, by leveraging on the last TESS sectors we constrained the period of HIP 41378 d to three possible aliases (Pd = 278, 371, and 1113 days) suggesting that the system could be placed in a double quasi resonant chain, highlighting its complex dynamical architecture.

Many invasive non-native species gradually become embedded within local cultures. Such species can increasingly be perceived by society as familiar or even native elements of the social-ecological system and become an integral part of local cultures. Here, we explore this phenomenon and refer to it as the cultural integration of invasive species. Although culturally integrated species can positively contribute to people’s lives and well-being, and provide new or lost ecosystem services, their acceptance can also hinder the ability of conservation managers to successfully manage invasive species by reducing public support for their management. Cultural integration can infringe upon social values and cultural identities, and contribute to the erosion and homogenization of biocultural diversity. It can also modify or displace the cultural uses and values of native species, and may disrupt social-ecological legacies and dynamics. We present the main mechanisms of cultural integration, its drivers and major implications, and provide key recommendations for the management and conservation of biological and cultural diversity.

The exploration of ultrafast phenomena is a frontier of condensed matter research, where the interplay of theory, computation, and experiment is unveiling new opportunities for understanding and engineering quantum materials. With the advent of advanced experimental techniques and computational tools, it has become possible to probe and manipulate nonequilibrium processes at unprecedented temporal and spatial resolutions, providing insights into the dynamical behavior of matter under extreme conditions. These capabilities have the potential to revolutionize fields ranging from optoelectronics and quantum information to catalysis and energy storage. This roadmap captures the collective progress and vision of leading researchers, addressing challenges and opportunities across key areas of ultrafast science and condensed matter. Contributions in this roadmap span the development of ab initio methods for time-resolved spectroscopy, the dynamics of driven correlated systems, the engineering of materials in optical cavities, and the adoption of FAIR principles for data sharing and analysis. Together, these efforts highlight the interdisciplinary nature of ultrafast research and its reliance on cutting-edge methodologies, including quantum electrodynamical density-functional theory, correlated electronic structure methods, nonequilibrium Green’s function approaches, quantum and ab initio simulations.

Microplastics are a ubiquitous yet long-overlooked component of airborne particulate matter. The surface of these plastic particles provides a unique niche for microorganisms, collectively known as the plastisphere. The plastisphere in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems harbors microbial communities with distinct compositions, structures, and functional profiles, posing potential planetary health risks. The characteristics, fate, and impacts of the microbiome associated with airborne microplastics, however, remain largely unknown. In this review, we fill the knowledge gaps by exploring how airborne microplastics serve as key habitats for microorganisms and the potential planetary health implications. We show that microplastics are expected to carry and sustain microorganisms over long distances and timescales in air, potentially dispersing pathogens, antibiotic-resistance genes, and other bioactive agents across ecosystems. These interactions may perturb ecological processes and biological health on a planetary scale. Interdisciplinary research and innovative methodologies are urgently required to better understand and mitigate the airborne plastisphere risks.

We report resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra of neon atoms interacting with intense x-ray pulses generated using an x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). We find that an unexpected peak emerges near the 𝐾⁢𝛼 line of Ne, which does not coincide with any physical resonances of neon ions. We perform theoretical calculations based on a quantum-state-resolved rate-equation approach with x-ray-induced processes including possible resonant excitations. Our dynamics simulations demonstrate that a sequence of multiple resonant photoabsorption events are involved and the interplay of those multiple resonances in combination with the relatively large spectral bandwidth of XFEL radiation leads to the emergent resonance-like structure at a position where no resonances exist. Our finding offers critical guidance for future applications of high-intensity RIXS at XFEL facilities.

Collaborations between biodiversity conservation and the arts can lead to synergies and fresh approaches to intractable problems. These collaborations can yield diverse mutual benefits, such as offering reciprocal sources of inspiration, information, and learning; providing one another with new tools and resources for synthesis and innovation; securing funding; and contributing to increased visibility and influence. The arts may be uniquely poised to raise awareness, influence behavioral change, improve well-being, and assist with developing conservation tools and materials. Likewise, conservation can provide artists with relevant expertise, nature-based art material, samples, and resources, as well as inform sustainability aspects of the arts. Effective synergies between the arts and conservation will necessitate greater funding and institutional support, improved willingness to collaborate, better recognition of the benefits of artists’ involvement in interdisciplinary conservation teams, and sound empirical methods to gauge such collaborations.

The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt first appeared in 2011 and quickly became the largest interconnected floating biome on Earth. In recent years, Sargassum stranding events have caused substantial ecological and socio-economic impacts in coastal communities. Sargassum requires both phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) for growth, yet the primary sources of these nutrients fuelling the extensive Sargassum blooms remain unclear. Here we use coral-bound N isotopes to reconstruct N2 fixation, the ultimate source of the ocean’s bioavailable N, across the Caribbean over the past 120 years. Our data indicate that changes in N2 fixation were primarily controlled by multidecadal and interannual changes in equatorial Atlantic upwelling of ‘excess P’, that is, P in stoichiometric excess relative to fixed N. We show that the supply of excess P from equatorial upwelling and N from the N2 fixation response can account for the majority of Sargassum variability since 2011. Sargassum dynamics are best explained by their symbiosis with N2-fixing epiphytes, which render the macroalgae highly competitive during strong equatorial upwelling of excess P. Thus, the future of Sargassum in the tropical Atlantic will depend on how global warming affects equatorial Atlantic upwelling and the climatic modes that control it.

Background

Suicidal ideation represents a major concern in clinical practice. Yet, little is known about the effects of routine psychotherapy on the amelioration of suicidal ideation. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to assess mental disorder-specific changes of suicidal ideation in a large sample of adult outpatients undergoing routine-care cognitive-behavioural therapy in Germany.

Methods

A total of N = 4549 adult outpatients, 64.2% female; age: M(SD) = 36.83 (14.03), range: 18–89 years of age, who completed cognitive-behavioral therapy at one of 26 outpatient clinics in Germany were included in the current study. Amelioration of suicidal ideation was assessed using the Suicide Item (Item 9) of the Beck-Depression Inventory.

Results

Suicidal ideation was reported by 36.7% of the patients pretreatment and by 17.6% posttreatment. Effect sizes were small to moderate (d = 0.25 -0.51) and 4.4% reported an increase in suicidal ideation. Residual suicidal ideation at the posttreatment assessment was more likely in patients diagnosed with recurrent Major Depression, Dystymia, and Borderline Personality Disorder, and older patients.

Limitation

The study relies on a naturalistic sample, no waitlist or control conditions were involved.

Conclusion

Across primary diagnoses, a significant proportion of patients experience an amelioration of suicidal ideation over the course of routine-care psychotherapy. Still, a substantial proportion of patients report no change or an increase in suicidal ideation during treatment. Thus, continuous monitoring of suicidal ideation appears to be imperative throughout the psychotherapeutic process.

Rift Valley fever (RVF), a zoonotic mosquito-borne viral disease with erratic occurrence and complex epidemiology, results in substantial costs to veterinary and public health and national economies. Since 1985, RVF virus (RVFV) epidemiology has focused on epidemics triggered by flood-induced emergence of transovarially infected mosquitoes, following an interepidemic period during which RVFV persists primarily in floodwater Aedes spp mosquito eggs, with potential for low-level interepidemic circulation. In this Personal View, we challenge this classic framework of RVFV epidemiology, presenting instead a spectrum of RVFV dynamics ranging from epidemic to hyperendemic. We present the case for RVFV being maintained in a variable reservoir system of livestock, wildlife, and mosquitoes, with or without transovarial transmission. We highlight that sufficient evidence supports a shift in the paradigm of RVF epidemiology to embrace a more nuanced understanding of the spectrum of RVFV dynamics and call for more research into understanding the drivers of RVFV dynamics in hyperendemic areas.

Knowledge on the status and trends of biodiversity in urban areas is scattered and biased towards a few taxonomic groups, despite the fact that cities are where most humans get in touch with nature today. As part of the German Biodiversity Assessment (‘Faktencheck Artenvielfalt’), we conducted a nationwide review of published studies that recorded species occurrences in urban areas in Germany. We found that urban areas can host a large proportion of all plant, animal, and fungal species found in Germany, thus contributing to the nationwide conservation of biodiversity. However, compared to other habitat types outside of cities, the number of studies analysing the status and trends of urban biodiversity is relatively small. We could not identify a general trend over time for species diversity in German cities, based on the available studies. Even within individual species groups, there are combinations of declining, positive, and/or neutral trends. Information on population trends remains limited. Similarly, evidence of whether urbanisation promotes the homogenisation or differentiation of species groups is weak, with those groups investigated more thoroughly showing mixed patterns. With regard to biodiversity promotion, preserving the environmental heterogeneity that contributes to biodiversity is important, such as the maintenance of various habitat types (forests, parks, gardens, ponds, streams, etc.) that offer various food and nesting resources. Hence, the proportion of built-up impervious areas must remain limited, i.e. must not increase, and additional measures to promote biodiversity must be implemented. However, local authorities are largely ill-equipped to systematically monitor species occurrence across the variety of habitat types, or elements of green-blue infrastructure and taxonomic groups in cities. We discuss these findings, considering international urban biodiversity assessments and suggest key attributes of an effective national monitoring system to support urban biodiversity conservation and enhancement.

Conservation and management policies for plant invasions often rely on coarse-scale data, while plant diversity effects on ecosystem functions and services are primarily driven by species interactions at small spatial scales. Yet, most evidence on invasion drivers at fine scales is limited to a single grain size, leaving uncertainty about their scale-dependency. Understanding such scale-dependency is essential for predicting and managing invasions effectively. We sampled plant communities across grassland habitats in Ukraine to assess how native species richness, environmental factors, and anthropogenic disturbances influence community invasion level – the proportions of all alien species, and separately for invasive species (fast-spreading aliens at advanced stages of invasion), archaeophytes (introduced before 1500 CE) and neophytes (post-1500 CE aliens). By analysing these groups across six fine-grain areas (0.001–100 m2), we tested for scale-dependent effects. Native species richness was the strongest driver of invasions, showing negative effects that weakened with increasing scale. Alien species were dominated by archaeophytes and occurred most in dry grasslands, and least in fringe, alpine, and mesic types, driven by climatic and disturbance gradients. A range of abiotic and anthropogenic drivers, including precipitation, temperature, disturbance, land use and urbanization also influenced invasion levels, but their importance varied with scale. Notably, the scale-dependency of invasion drivers differed among archaeophytes, neophytes, and invasive species. Our results highlight the importance of separating alien groups and considering multiple spatial grains to avoid overlooking key drivers of invasion. Focusing on scale- and group-specific factors can enhance the ecological relevance and efficiency of conservation and management strategies targeting plant invasions.

Marine mammals as indicators of Ocean Health provide a powerful narrative for inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary research. Collaborating researchers from the global north and south from various disciplines define and position OceanHealth as a transdisciplinary discourse among existing disciplines and propose a new solution-focused knowledge field, Ocean Health Science. This systemic approach advocates transformative thinking with the goal to heal and nurture our global Ocean and the potential for big science, encouraging the global community to take a shared stewardship responsibility.

While forest degradation persists across many regions, restoration efforts have predominantly targeted aboveground carbon, often overlooking critical belowground ecosystem functions. Plant–mycorrhizal associations – key connectors between aboveground and belowground biodiversity – can help to enhance both carbon storage and forest multifunctionality; yet their explicit integration into restoration frameworks remains limited. By synthesizing recent advancements, we highlight the role of plant–mycorrhizal diversity in enhancing soil carbon pools and supporting multiple ecosystem functions. By examining evidence-based restoration cases, we propose a framework linking plant–mycorrhizal associations to sustainably restore resilient and multifunctional forest ecosystems. Incorporating the functional traits of plant–mycorrhizal associations into restoration strategies provides a pathway to effectively address the interconnected biodiversity and climate crises.

Selective and controlled expansion of endogenous β cells has been pursued as a potential therapy for diabetes. Ideally, such therapies would preserve feedback control of β cell proliferation to avoid excessive β cell expansion. Here, we identified a regulator of β cell proliferation whose inactivation resulted in controlled β cell expansion: the protein deacetylase sirtuin 2 (SIRT2). Sirt2 deletion in β cells of mice increased β cell proliferation during hyperglycemia with little effect under homeostatic conditions, indicating preservation of feedback control of β cell mass. SIRT2 restrains proliferation of human islet β cells, demonstrating conserved SIRT2 function. Analysis of acetylated proteins in islets treated with a SIRT2 inhibitor revealed that SIRT2 deacetylates enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, dampening the adaptive increase in oxygen consumption during hyperglycemia. At the transcriptomic level, Sirt2 inactivation has context-dependent effects on β cells, with Sirt2 controlling how β cells interpret hyperglycemia as a stress. Finally, we provide proof of principle that systemic administration of a glucagon-like peptide 1–coupled (GLP1-coupled), Sirt2-targeting antisense oligonucleotide achieves β cell Sirt2 inactivation and stimulates β cell proliferation during hyperglycemia. Overall, these studies identify a therapeutic strategy for increasing β cell mass in diabetes without circumventing feedback control of β cell proliferation. Future work should test the extent to which these findings translate to human β cells from individuals with or without diabetes.

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) has been nominated as a target for kinase inhibitors due to its role in oncogenic signaling. Here, we show that ROR2 is a target for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in hematologic and solid tumors. We show consistent ROR2 expression in multiple myeloma (MM) and developed ROR2-CAR T cells that confer potent activity against human MM xenografts in vivo. We analyzed public gene expression data and reveal an inverse correlation between ROR2 expression and patient survival for six types of cancer, i.e., lower-grade glioma, thyroid carcinoma, stomach adenocarcinoma, bladder cancer, and papillary and clear cell renal cell cancer (ccRCC). We confirm potent activity of ROR2-CAR T cells against ccRCC in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with ROR2-CAR T cells was well tolerated, without signs of on-target off-tumor toxicity in mice, supporting the role of ROR2 as an oncofetal antigen with utility for CAR T cell therapy.

- There is uncertainty in whether there is a common pattern of nestedness and modularity in plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi associations, partly because of limitations arising from the use of null models that randomly rewire the observed connections to test for non-random patterns in the network. - Here, we overcome these limitations by generating null association matrices using maximum entropy network modelling, and specifically the bipartite binary configuration model (BiCM) with degree distributions as soft constraints. This was used to test the hypothesis that nestedness and modularity are prevalent in plant–AM fungi associations. - In contrast to past findings, we found most plant–AM fungi associations were anti-nested and modular. This pattern was almost universal, being consistent across habitat types, multiple spatial scales, and multiple levels of plant node aggregation, from communities and species to populations. Anti-nestedness can easily emerge from modularity when network patterns are determined by the identity of the plant and AM fungal nodes. - Our findings emphasize the need for experiments that test the factors that cause the observed network structure and how that structure determines the function and stability of plant–AM fungi association networks.

Two polymorphs of L-Asp-L-Asp-L-Asp (DDD) trihydrate as model compounds for biologically important proton-shuttle reactions were investigated with the quantum-crystallographic refinement technique Hirshfeld atom refinement (HAR). With HAR, hydrogen-atom positions are refined freely against the X-ray diffraction data and yield X—H bond distances close to those from neutron diffraction. However, the X-ray data of DDD trihydrate do not contain sufficient information to refine anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) for the hydrogen atoms, although the data quality is comparable to that of typical oligopeptide or protein datasets, including those with disordered fragments. Therefore, the following restraints were tested for the hydrogen-atom ADPs using NoSpherA2/olex2.refine: a restraint that approximates isotropic behaviour (ISOR), a restraint that enforces similar movement in any direction (SIMU), a rigid-bond restraint (DELU) and an advanced rigid-bond restraint (RIGU). Although it was found that there is no significant influence of the restraint weights and corresponding ADP values on the X—H distances, some recommendations on hydrogen-atom ADP restraint weights to be used in HAR are given. For ISOR, the suggested values are 10 times smaller (stricter) than the default values for non-hydrogen atoms in independent atom model (IAM) refinements, whereas those for RIGU are suggested to be less strict.