Recent advances in genetic engineering have provided diverse tools for artificially diversifying both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell populations1-6. However, achieving precise control over the ratios of multiple cell types within a population derived from a single founder remains a major challenge. Here we introduce a suite of recombinase-mediated genetic devices designed to accurately control population ratios, enabling the distribution of distinct functionalities across multiple cell types. We systematically evaluated key parameters that influence recombination efficiency and developed data-driven models to reliably predict binary differentiation outcomes. Using these devices, we constructed parallel and series circuit topologies to implement user-defined, multistep cell-fate branching programs. The branching devices facilitated the autonomous differentiation of precision fermentation consortia from a single founder yeast strain, optimizing cell-type ratios for applications such as pigmentation and cellulose degradation. Similar effects were obtained with mammalian cells. We also engineered multicellular aggregates with genetically encoded morphologies by coordinating self-organization through cell adhesion molecules. Our work provides a comprehensive characterization of recombinase-based cell-fate branching mechanisms and introduces an approach for constructing synthetic consortia and multicellular assemblies.

The transition to agriculture was a transformative process in human history with wide-ranging demographic and social consequences1. Across South America, agriculture was adopted at different times and through diverse pathways, resulting in a mosaic of regionally distinct farming histories2,3. The Uspallata Valley, at the southern frontier of Andean farming, offers a unique opportunity to examine a case of late adoption of agriculture. Here we show that agriculture in the Uspallata Valley was adopted by local hunter-gatherers, as evidenced by genetic continuity between pre-farming and farming populations inferred from 46 newly sequenced ancient human genomes. These groups carried a distinct genetic component in Indigenous American diversity, indicating a unique population history in the region. Palaeodietary isotopes (δ13C/δ15N) reveal fluctuating maize intake consistent with flexible farming. Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) indicate the arrival of migrants from nearby regions between around 810-700 cal years BP, shortly before the Inka expansion. Genomic and isotopic analyses show that these migrants belonged to the same regional metapopulation as local groups, relied heavily on maize, probably moved in matrilineally organized family groups, exhibited stress markers (including malnutrition and diseases, such as tuberculosis, as confirmed by pathogen genomics) and experienced a long-term demographic decline. Our results suggest that these groups used social organization and migration as resilience strategies in the face of a multidimensional crisis.

Ultracold gases of dipolar molecules have long been envisioned as a platform for the realization of novel quantum phases1-8. Recent advances in collisional shielding9-12, protecting molecules from inelastic losses, have enabled the creation of degenerate Fermi gases13-15 and, more recently, Bose-Einstein condensation of dipolar molecules16. However, the observation of quantum phases in ultracold molecular gases that are driven by dipole-dipole interactions has so far remained elusive. Here we report the formation of self-bound droplets and droplet arrays in an ultracold gas of strongly dipolar sodium-caesium molecules. Starting from a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate, microwave dressing fields are used to induce dipole-dipole interactions with controllable strength and anisotropy. By varying the speed at which interactions are induced, covering a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude, we prepare droplets under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions, observing a transition from robust one-dimensional arrays to fluctuating two-dimensional structures. The droplets show densities up to 100 times higher than the initial Bose-Einstein condensate, reaching the strongly interacting regime and suggesting the possibility of a quantum-liquid or crystalline state9,17. This work establishes ultracold molecules as a system for the exploration of strongly dipolar quantum matter and opens the door to the realization of self-organized crystal phases3,9,18 and dipolar spin liquids in optical lattices19.

Ice core records from Antarctica document continuous variations in atmospheric greenhouse gases over the past 800,000 years, delineating the glacial-interglacial cycles that characterize the late Pleistocene epoch1-3. Studies of blue ice areas4 have extended these records back to 2 million years (Myr)5,6. The evolution of atmospheric greenhouse gases before this time thus remains uncertain. Here we use discontinuous ice core snapshots spanning 3.1-0.5 Myr ago (Ma) to show no marked change in mean methane (CH4) and a small decline of about 20 ppm in carbon dioxide (CO2) between 2.9 Ma and 1.2 Ma, followed by stable concentrations (±10 ppm) across the mid-Pleistocene Transition. Our findings are based on the shallow ice cores drilled in the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area (BIA), Antarctica7. The records are complicated by postdepositional processes and probably represent averages over glacial cycles weighted by climate-dependent differences in accumulation rates (which we assume to be constant). Samples aged 2.8-3.1 Myr, affected by respiration and corrected using stable carbon isotopes in CO2 (δ13C), yield mean atmospheric CO2 levels indistinguishable from the early Pleistocene (250 ± 10 ppm). Although palaeoclimate archives from Antarctic blue ice areas are complex, our records show that measurements of greenhouse gases in ice cores can be extended to the late Pliocene epoch, providing snapshots of Earth's climate system over a time of global cooling7,8 and falling sea level9.

The Pleistocene epoch was characterized by global cooling and an increase in the intensity and duration of glacial cycles. Regional surface and subsurface ocean temperature records follow distinct trends over this interval, suggesting dynamic changes in zonal and meridional heat transport and ocean circulation. These differing trends also complicate efforts to determine the evolution of total ocean heat content. Here we provide a record of mean ocean temperature over the past 3 million years from noble gas (Xe/Kr) measurements in shallow ice cores recovered in the Allan Hills blue ice area, Antarctica1. The stratigraphically complex records preclude reconstruction of individual glacial cycles and probably represent a weighted averaging of glacial and interglacial conditions2. Nonetheless, we find pronounced cooling roughly coincident with the Plio-Pleistocene Transition (around 2.7 million years ago), and steady temperatures across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (1.2 to 0.8 million years ago). Comparisons with a recent global sea surface temperature compilation3 show broad consistency in long-term cooling but important differences at the Plio-Pleistocene and Mid-Pleistocene transitions. We suggest that the different trends in surface temperature and mean ocean temperature during these intervals are related to a redistribution of heat between the surface and subsurface via changes in deep water formation and upwelling. Our temperature record also permits an estimate of global ice volume changes between 3 and 0.5 million years ago through a deconvolution of the benthic foraminiferal δ18O record and points to a period of enhanced ice sheet growth around the time of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition.

Insulating oxides are among the most abundant solid materials in the universe1-3. Of the many ways in which they influence natural phenomena, perhaps the most consequential is their capacity to transfer electrical charge during contact4-10-which occurs even between samples of the same oxide-yet the symmetry-breaking parameter that causes this remains unidentified11,12. Here we show that adventitious carbonaceous molecules adsorbed from the environment are the symmetry-breaking factor in same-material oxide contact electrification (CE). We use acoustic levitation to measure charge exchange between a sphere and a plate composed of identical amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO2). Although charging polarity is random for co-prepared samples, we control it with baking or plasma treatment. Observing the charge-exchange relaxation afterwards, we see dynamics over a timescale of hours and connect this directly to the presence of adventitious carbon with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, low-energy ion scattering and infrared spectroscopy. Going further, we confirm that adventitious carbon can even determine charge exchange among different oxides. Our results identify the symmetry-breaking parameter that causes insulating oxides to exchange charge in settings ranging from desert sands4 to volcanic plumes5,6, while simultaneously highlighting an overlooked factor in CE more broadly.

Anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs), which are manufactured without anode active material, offer great potential for high-energy-density, low-cost energy storage. However, AFLMBs face a long-standing challenge of short lifespan due to the harsh conditions of lacking excess Li-resource and an anode host1-8. This issue is associated with uneven Li deposition/dissolution, rooted in the micro-heterogeneity and mechanical fragility of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI)9. Here we report a practical 500 Wh kg-1-level AFLMB with enhanced lifespan, achieved using a crossover-coupled electrolyte. The electrolyte triggers crossover-coupled interfacial reactions that generate a B-F-based polymer-rich SEI at the anode while suppressing gas evolution at the cathode. The resulting SEI exhibits sub-nanometer homogeneity, high flexibility, and rapid Li-ion transport, and it spontaneously develops a self-adaptive mesh-film structure that ensures uniform ion flux and large-volume-change accommodation, thereby realizing reversible planar Li deposition/dissolution of 5.6 mAh cm-2. Consequently, a 2.7 Ah AFLMB (508 Wh kg-1, 1668 Wh L-1) without any host-material coating demonstrates stable cycling for 100 cycles at 100% depth of discharge (DoD) and 250 cycles at 80% DoD, with 80% capacity retention and a high-power output of 2650 W kg-1 at 96 Wh kg-1. These findings establish crossover-coupled interphase chemistry and address the inherent structural instability of host-free electrodes, advancing the practical implementation of AFLMBs.