Hydrogen embrittlement in Ni-based alloys at elevated temperatures is shown to differ fundamentally from that at ambient conditions. The high temperature promotes vacancy-mediated hydrogen trapping and chemical reactions at the carbide–matrix interface, resulting in pronounced embrittlement.

Solid-state spin defects are a powerful and versatile class of quantum sensor. This Review covers the development of scanning-probe nitrogen-vacancy sensing as a tool for investigating quantum materials with nanoscale resolution, surveys the recent development of spin defects in 1D and 2D host materials and identifies key directions for future research.

In this Review, the interplay of excitons, magnons and photons in two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors and how this enables control of light–matter interactions are discussed, and promising opportunities for magneto-optic optoelectronic and quantum applications are surveyed.

The fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect serves as the defining experimental manifestation of fractional Chern insulators at zero magnetic field. This Perspective surveys its realization in moiré materials, examines underlying mechanisms and outlines pathways towards new fractional and non-Abelian topological states.

Lanthanide substitution, ultrahigh magnetic field measurements and high-pressure studies are utilized to compare and contrast ambient- and high-pressure superconductivity in bilayer nickelate films.

Krypton sputtering is found to promote the synthesis of body-centred-cubic tantalum films on silicon at temperatures as low as 200 °C, compatible with back-end-of-line fabrication standards. Superconducting qubits based on these thin films exhibit excellent performance.

A bionic eye system based on a hemispherical tandem retina combines practical resolution, wide-band colour vision, self-powered motion detection and computational efficiency.

Magnetotransport measurements on numerous samples of monolayer–multilayer (1 + N) rhombohedral graphene reveal a high-Chern-number quantum anomalous Hall effect with Chern number C = N. Further, in twisted Bernal bilayer–rhombohedral tetralayer graphene, a displacement-field-driven topological phase transition between C = 3 and C = 4 states is demonstrated.

Electrical doping is commonly used in organic optoelectronics to tune the electronic properties. A mechanism using unstable radical anions of p-doping agents increases the hole densities in the organic semiconductor host by up to two orders of magnitude compared with regular p-dopants.

A ligand-free polymer–lipid mRNA nanoparticle with inherent T cell-activating capacity enables in vivo T cell engineering and transient chimeric antigen receptor T cell generation to deplete pathogenic fibroblasts in cancer and fibrosis models.

Intercalation at van der Waals interfaces enables atomic- or molecular-scale engineering of two-dimensional materials, transforming approaches for their synthesis and functionalization.

Paul Westerhoff and Jacob Jones discuss how the unique chemistry of phosphorus enables technologies beyond agricultural fertilizers, ranging from batteries to semiconductors and quantum materials.

Mechanical cues regulate both metastatic dissemination and antitumour immunity. Integrating these processes through mechano-immunology may provide a framework to understand metastatic progression.

Kai Purnhagen and Justus Wesseler discuss how EU law needs reform to address market access bottlenecks for living composites.

Amal Kasry discusses the shift from quantum science to quantum technology, warning of the risk of a structural divide and emphasizing the need to act now to ensure that these technologies deliver shared prosperity.

Understanding inherent properties and coordinated design at the device, array and system levels can help achieve accurate computing with memristors.