Nature, 11 December 2025, Volume 648 Issue 8093

《自然》2025年12月11日，第648卷，8093期

物理Physics

Observation of deuteron and antideuteron formation from resonance-decay nucleons

共振衰变核子形成氘核和反氘核的观察

▲ 作者：The ALICE Collaboration

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09775-5

▲ 摘要：ALICE合作组报告称，质子—质子（pp）碰撞中的氘核-π介子动量关联提供了不依赖模型的证据，表明观测到的（反）氘核中约有90%产生于短寿命共振态（如Δ(1232)）衰变后的核反应中。

这些在大型强子对撞机获得的研究结果，填补了对超相对论性强子碰撞中核合成理解的空白。除了揭示（反）原子核在强子碰撞中的形成机制外，此研究结果还可用于模拟宇宙射线和暗物质衰变中轻核与重核的产生过程。

▲ Abstract：Here, the ALICE Collaboration reports that deuteron–pion momentum correlations in proton–proton (pp) collisions provide model-independent evidence that about 90% of the observed (anti)deuterons are produced in nuclear reactions following the decay of short-lived resonances, such as the Δ(1232). These findings, obtained by the ALICE Collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider, resolve a gap in our understanding of nucleosynthesis in ultrarelativistic hadronic collisions. Apart from offering insights on how (anti)nuclei are formed in hadronic collisions, the results can be used in the modelling of the production of light and heavy nuclei in cosmic rays and dark-matter decays.

人工智能Artificial Intelligence

Discovering state-of-the-art reinforcement learning algorithms

发现迄今最先进的强化学习算法

▲ 作者：Junhyuk Oh, Gregory Farquhar et al.

▲链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09761-x

▲摘要：在此，研究者证明了机器能够发现一种性能超越人工设计规则的最先进的强化学习规则。这一成就是通过元学习实现的，即从大量智能体在众多复杂环境中的累积经验中学习。具体而言，研究者的方法发现了用于更新智能体策略和预测的强化学习规则。

在大规模实验中，这一规则在公认的Atari基准测试中超越了所有现存规则，并在发现过程中未曾见过的、具有挑战性的基准测试中，其表现优于一系列最先进的强化学习算法。研究结果表明，实现先进人工智能所需的强化学习算法，或许很快就能通过智能体的经验来自动发现，而无需依赖人工设计。

▲ Abstract：Here we show that it is possible for machines to discover a state-of-the-art RL rule that outperforms manually designed rules. This was achieved by meta-learning from the cumulative experiences of a population of agents across a large number of complex environments. Specifically, our method discovers the RL rule by which the agent’s policy and predictions are updated. In our large-scale experiments, the discovered rule surpassed all existing rules on the well-established Atari benchmark and outperformed a number of state-of-the-art RL algorithms on challenging benchmarks that it had not seen during discovery. Our findings suggest that the RL algorithms required for advanced artificial intelligence may soon be automatically discovered from the experiences of agents, rather than manually designed.

化学Chemistry

Quantifying grain boundary deformation mechanisms in small-grained metals

量化小晶粒金属中的晶界变形机制

▲ 作者：Romain Gautier, Frédéric Mompiou et al.

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09800-7

▲摘要：研究者的实验研究表明，在小晶粒多晶体中，晶界剪切行为不受晶界取向差的影响，且其变形效率始终维持在较低水平。这些发现支持了一种全新的晶界概念：晶界不应被简单视为具有固有“耦合因子”（类似于位错的伯格斯矢量）的晶体缺陷，而应被理解为包含特殊缺陷（即“位错—台阶复合体”）的特定晶格结构，这些复合缺陷反过来主导着晶界至少在力学方面的性能。

研究结果还证实，多晶体可以在无位错参与的情况下发生塑性变形，但变形效率较低，这为解释纳米晶金属在低温和室温下延展性较差的现象提供了潜在的理论路径。

▲ Abstract：Here we show experimentally that, in small-grained polycrystals, this shear does not depend on the grain boundary misorientation and that its efficiency remains low. These findings support a new concept of grain boundaries that may not be considered as crystalline defects carrying an intrinsic ‘coupling factor’ (similarly to the Burgers vector of a dislocation) but rather as specific lattices containing peculiar defects, known as disconnections, that will, in turn, govern the properties, at least mechanical, of grain boundaries. They also confirm that polycrystals can plastically deform without dislocations but less effectively, providing a potential path to explain the poor ductility of nanocrystalline metals at low and room temperature.

Accelerating the discovery of multicatalytic cooperativity

加速发现多催化协同效应

▲ 作者：Marcus H. Sak, Richard Y. Liu, Eugene E. Kwan & Eric N. Jacobsen

▲链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09813-2

▲摘要：在此，研究者提出了一种受群体检测启发的池—反卷积算法，该算法能以较低实验成本识别协同催化行为，同时兼顾候选催化剂之间可能存在的抑制效应。该工作流程首先在模拟协同效应数据中得到验证，随后通过实验成功识别出手性选择性氧杂环丁烷开环反应中有机催化剂之间已报道的协同作用。

然后，研究者将该工作流程应用于钯催化的脱羰交叉偶联反应的发现研究中，成功鉴定出多种配体对，这些配体对能够在比单配体体系报道条件更低的催化剂负载量和温度下，高效促进目标转化反应。

▲ Abstract：Here we describe a pooling–deconvolution algorithm, inspired by group testing, which identifies cooperative catalyst behaviours with low experimental cost while accommodating potential inhibitory effects between catalyst candidates. The workflow was validated first on simulated cooperativity data and then by experimentally identifying previously documented cooperativity between organocatalysts in an enantioselective oxetane-opening reaction. The workflow was then applied in a discovery context to a Pd-catalysed decarbonylative cross-coupling reaction, enabling the identification of several ligand pairs that promote the target transformation at substantially lower catalyst loading and temperature than previously reported with single-ligand systems.

生物学Biology

Viral NblA proteins negatively affect oceanic cyanobacterial photosynthesis

病毒NblA蛋白对海洋蓝藻光合作用产生负面影响

▲ 作者：Omer Nadel, Rawad Hanna et al.

▲链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09656-x

▲ 摘要：研究者利用近期开发的海洋噬藻体基因操作系统，揭示了病毒编码的NblA蛋白能显著加速噬藻体感染周期，引导宿主藻胆体及其他蛋白降解，并降低宿主光合作用的光捕获效率。宏基因组分析表明，携带NblA基因的噬藻体在海洋中广泛分布，分别占海洋表层光层和深层光层中T7类噬藻体的35%和65%。

研究结果证实NblA蛋白能为噬藻体带来显著生存优势，同时对宿主光合机构及光合功能产生负面作用。这些发现表明，噬藻体编码的NblA蛋白对海洋超微型蓝细菌的光捕获能力具有全球性的不利影响。

▲ Abstract：Here, using a recently developed genetic manipulation system for marine cyanophages, we reveal that viral NblA significantly accelerates the cyanophage infection cycle, directs degradation of the host phycobilisome and other proteins, and reduces host photosynthetic light-harvesting efficiency. Metagenomic analysis revealed that cyanophages carrying nblA are widespread in the oceans and comprise 35% and 65% of oceanic T7-like cyanophages in surface and deep photic zones, respectively. Our results show a large benefit of NblA to the cyanophage, while it exerts a negative effect on the host photosynthetic apparatus and host photosynthesis. These findings suggest that cyanophage NblA has an adverse global impact on light harvesting by oceanic picocyanobacteria.

Two residues reprogram immunity receptors for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis

两个残基重编程固氮共生的免疫受体

▲ 作者：Magdalini Tsitsikli, Bine Simonsen et al.

▲链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09696-3

▲ 摘要：在此，研究者展示了Nod因子受体NFR1胞内区域的特定氨基酸残基能够调控信号传导的特异性，从而区分免疫与共生反应。通过对CERK6、NFR1及其受体变体的功能研究，研究者在激酶结构域的近膜区发现了一个保守基元（命名为“共生决定因子1”），该基序是共生信号传导的关键。

研究表明，共生决定因子1中的两个残基是NFR1型受体不可或缺的标志性特征，仅凭这两个残基就足以改造Lotus CERK6和大麦RLK4激酶的功能输出，使其在百脉根中实现共生信号传导。

▲ Abstract：Here we show that specific amino acid residues in the intracellular part of the Nod factor receptor NFR1 control signalling specificity and enable the distinction of immune and symbiotic responses. Functional investigation of CERK6, NFR1 and receptor variants thereof revealed a conserved motif that we term Symbiosis Determinant 1 in the juxtamembrane region of the kinase domain, which is key for symbiotic signalling. We show that two residues in Symbiosis Determinant 1 are indispensable hallmarks of NFR1-type receptors and are sufficient to convert Lotus CERK6 and barley RLK4 kinase outputs to enable symbiotic signalling in Lotus japonicus.