Liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids exhibit rich electromagnetic, thermofluidic behaviours, leading to emerging applications in soft robotics, stretchable electronics, energy management and biomedical technology. This Review covers the fabrication, properties and applications of liquid-metal-based magnetic fluids, highlighting their superiority over traditional magnetic fluids.

The family of AV₃Sb₅ kagome superconductors provides a fascinating platform for the investigation of the interplay between superconductivity and charge-density wave order. This Review discusses the properties of the anomalous charge-density wave and superconducting states observed in these materials and surveys future directions in the study of these and related kagome metals.

Hydrogels are promising in various fields, but improving their mechanical properties is critical for certain applications. This Review comprehensively explores design principles to construct hydrogels with superior mechanical strength, toughness and fatigue resistance, and discusses self-growing and self-reinforced hydrogels.

Nonlinear optical interactions can be substantially enhanced by the wavelength-scale confinement in integrated photonics, providing transformative capabilities for controlling, enhancing and manipulating material nonlinearities in miniaturized platforms. In this Review, we outline the design principles that harness the potential of nonlinear optical materials on integrated platforms and their utility in applications including broadband frequency conversion, frequency-comb generation, quantum light sources and nonlinear optical quantum logic gates.

One of the most innovative possibilities offered by oxides is the use of heat currents for computational purposes. Towards this goal, phase-change oxides, including ferroelectrics, ferromagnets and related materials, could reproduce sources, logic units and memories used in current and future computing schemes.

Developing circuits for flexible and stretchable devices demands not only high performance but also reliable and predictable components, such as organic thin-film transistors. High-throughput characterization is required to build reliable structure–property relationships, which are critical for the commercialization of new materials.

Disabled scientists are under-represented in STEM and face additional barriers at all career stages. The DisabledInSTEM mentoring programme provides support, an opportunity to learn from others and a sense of community to empower disabled scientists and help them succeed in their careers.

An article in Nature Energy reports an epitaxial entropy-assisted oxide coating strategy to suppress the propagation of structural fatigue in ultrahigh-Ni cathodes while maintaining desired ion transport capacity.

An article in Nature Communications describes a straightforward strategy to synthesize chemically recyclable polytrithiocarbonates with diverse structures.

An article in Nature Communications presents a method for the nanoscale integration of metal atoms with elastomeric chains, leading to stretchable conductors that are environmentally resilient.