《自然》（20250703出版）一周论文导读

 

编译|未玖

 Nature, 3 July 2025, Volume 643, Issue 8070 

《自然》2025年7月3日，第643卷，8070期 

天文学Astronomy   

Carbonate formation and fluctuating habitability on Mars 

火星上碳酸盐的形成和宜居性的波动    

▲ 作者：Edwin S. Kite, Benjamin M. Tutolo, Madison L. Turner, Heather B. Franz, David G. Burtt, Thomas F. Bristow, et al.

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09161-1 

▲摘要：火星表面宜居性丧失的原因尚不明确，同位素数据表明存在碳酸盐的“缺失汇”。火星沉积岩（包括盖尔陨石坑内约4千米厚的地层）记录了表层和浅层地下液态水的古气候。这些水体是间歇性的，空间分布零散且不连贯，且在火星地质史后期一直持续存在。如果其沉积岩形成如地球般将二氧化碳封存为丰富的碳酸盐（最近在盖尔坑原位证实了这一点），那么这些特征便可合理解释。

研究表明，太阳光度、液态水和碳酸盐形成之间的负反馈可以解释火星零散绿洲的存在。在该模型中，太阳光度的增强促进了液态水的稳定性，从而形成碳酸盐，降低了大气二氧化碳的分压，反而限制了液态水。混沌轨道摄动调控干湿循环。该负反馈将液态水限制在绿洲中，使火星自调节为一个沙漠星球。研究将融雪建模为水源，但该反馈也可将地下水作为水源。模型输出表明，盖尔坑完整记录了表层和近表层环境中液态水稳定性的预期主要事件。最终，大气厚度接近水的三相点，削弱了液态水的持续稳定性，从而降低了地表环境中的宜居性。研究假设在盖尔坑发现的碳酸盐含量具有代表性，因此该观点属于可检验假说而非确凿证据。

▲ Abstract： The cause of Mars’s loss of surface habitability is unclear, with isotopic data suggesting a ‘missing sink’ of carbonate. Past climates with surface and shallow-subsurface liquid water are recorded by Mars’s sedimentary rocks, including strata in the approximately 4-km-thick record at Gale Crater. Those waters were intermittent, spatially patchy and discontinuous, and continued remarkably late in Mars’s history—attributes that can be understood if, as on Earth, sedimentary-rock formation sequestered carbon dioxide as abundant carbonate (recently confirmed in situ at Gale). Here we show that a negative feedback among solar luminosity, liquid water and carbonate formation can explain the existence of intermittent Martian oases. In our model, increasing solar luminosity promoted the stability of liquid water, which in turn formed carbonate, reduced the partial pressure of atmospheric carbon dioxide and limited liquid water. Chaotic orbital forcing modulated wet–dry cycles. The negative feedback restricted liquid water to oases and Mars self-regulated as a desert planet. We model snowmelt as the water source, but the feedback can also work with groundwater as the water source. Model output suggests that Gale faithfully records the expected primary episodes of liquid water stability in the surface and near-surface environment. Eventually, atmospheric thickness approaches water’s triple point, curtailing the sustained stability of liquid water and thus habitability in the surface environment. We assume that the carbonate content found at Gale is representative, and as a result we present a testable idea rather than definitive evidence.    

 物理学Physics   

Energy–speed relationship of quantum particles challenges Bohmian mechanics 

量子粒子的能量-速度关系挑战玻姆力学    

▲ 作者：Violetta Sharoglazova, Marius Puplauskis, Charlie Mattschas, Chris Toebes & Jan Klaers

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09099-4 

▲摘要：经典力学将粒子动能（因其运动而保持的能量）描述为恒正值。相比之下，量子力学则用波函数描述粒子运动，其中可能出现局域负动能区域。当波函数振幅显著衰减时，就会发生这种现象，通常与量子隧穿效应有关。研究分析了两个耦合波导系统中粒子的量子力学运动，其中波导间的粒子数转移充当计时器，从而确定了粒子沿波导轴的速度。通过将该方案应用于反射势垒的指数衰减量子态，研究确定了具有局域负动能粒子的能量-速度关系。研究发现粒子的能量越低（即局域动能越负），势垒内测量的速度就越高。

该发现为正在进行的隧穿时间争议提供了新见解，可被视为对量子力学中玻姆轨迹的测试。对于后者，研究组发现所测的能量-速度关系与玻姆力学中引导方程所假设的粒子动力学不一致。

▲ Abstract： Classical mechanics characterizes the kinetic energy of a particle, the energy it holds due to its motion, as consistently positive. By contrast, quantum mechanics describes the motion of particles using wave functions, in which regions of negative local kinetic energy can emerge. This phenomenon occurs when the amplitude of the wave function experiences notable decay, typically associated with quantum tunnelling. Here, we investigate the quantum mechanical motion of particles in a system of two coupled waveguides, in which the population transfer between the waveguides acts as a clock, allowing particle speeds along the waveguide axis to be determined. By applying this scheme to exponentially decaying quantum states at a reflective potential step, we determine an energy–speed relationship for particles with negative local kinetic energy. We find that the smaller the energy of the particles—in other words, the more negative the local kinetic energy—the higher the measured speed inside the potential step. Our findings contribute to the ongoing tunnelling time debate and can be viewed as a test of Bohmian trajectories in quantum mechanics. Regarding the latter, we find that the measured energy–speed relationship does not align with the particle dynamics postulated by the guiding equation in Bohmian mechanics.    

 材料科学Materials Science   

Efficient near-infrared harvesting in perovskite–organic tandem solar cells

 钙钛矿-有机叠层太阳能电池中的高效近红外采集    

 ▲ 作者：Zhenrong Jia, Xiao Guo, Xinxing Yin, Ming Sun, Jiawei Qiao, Xinyu Jiang, et al.

▲链接：

 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09181-x 

▲摘要：钙钛矿和有机半导体的宽带隙可调性使钙钛矿-有机叠层太阳能电池的开发具有很高的理论效率。然而，已报道的钙钛矿-有机叠层太阳能电池的认证效率仍低于单结钙钛矿太阳能电池，主要是因为窄带隙有机子电池中的近红外光生电流不足。

 研究设计并合成了一种不对称的非富勒烯受体（NFA）P2EH-1V，其特征是单侧共轭π桥，可在保持理想激子解离和纳米形貌的同时将光学带隙降低到1.27?eV。瞬态吸收光谱证实了从P2EH-1V向给体PM6的有效空穴转移。基于P2EH-1V的器件在保持电荷产生效率的情况下，将非辐射电压损失降低了0.20?eV。   研究实现了17.9%的有机底部电池效率，短路电流密度（Jsc）高达28.60 mA cm^?2。此外还最大限度地减少了界面复合损失，使钙钛矿顶部电池能够实现优异的1.37?V开路电压（Voc）和85.5%的填充因子（FF）。这些进展使得钙钛矿-有机叠层太阳能电池在大于1 cm²的孔径面积上实现了26.7%的创纪录效率（经认证为26.4%）。 

 ▲ Abstract： The broad bandgap tunability of both perovskites and organic semiconductors enables the development of perovskite–organic tandem solar cells with promising theoretical efficiency. However, the certified efficiencies of reported perovskite–organic tandem solar cells remain lower than those of single-junction perovskite solar cells, primarily because of insufficient near-infrared photocurrent in narrow-bandgap organic subcells. Here we design and synthesize an asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor (NFA), P2EH-1V, featuring a unilateral conjugated π-bridge to reduce the optical bandgap to 1.27?eV while maintaining ideal exciton dissociation and nanomorphology. Transient absorption spectroscopy confirms efficient hole transfer from P2EH-1V to the donor PM6. Devices based on P2EH-1V exhibit reduced non-radiative voltage losses of 0.20?eV without compromising charge-generation efficiency. We achieve a 17.9% efficiency for the organic bottom cell, with a high short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 28.60?mA?cm^?2. Furthermore, we minimize interface recombination losses, enabling the perovskite top cell to achieve an impressive open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.37?V and a fill factor (FF) of 85.5%. These advancements result in perovskite–organic tandem solar cells achieving a record efficiency of 26.7% (certified at 26.4%) over an aperture area greater than 1?cm².    

 人工智能Artificial Intelligence   

Computer-vision research powers surveillance technology 

计算机视觉研究助力监控技术    

▲ 作者：Pratyusha Ria Kalluri, William Agnew, Myra Cheng, Kentrell Owens, Luca Soldaini & Abeba Birhane

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08972-6 

▲ 摘要： 越来越多的学者、政策制定者和基层群体认为，人工智能（AI）研究（尤其是计算机视觉研究）已成为开发和推动大规模监控的核心驱动力。然而，从计算机视觉运用到监控的途径仍然存在争议。 

研究实证说明了监控AI技术链路的性质和范围，揭示了计算机视觉领域和监控领域之间密切关系的广泛证据。通过对计算机视觉研究论文和引用专利的分析，他们发现这些文献中的大多数都能够定位人体和身体部位。 

将1990年代与2010年代进行比较，研究观察到与下游监控专利相关的计算机视觉论文数量增长了五倍。此外，该研究结果挑战了只有少数不良实体能够进行监控的观念。相反，研究发现人体目标锁定已在整个领域常态化。考虑到混淆模式，这种常态化尤其引人注目。

研究揭示模糊的语言帮助实现避免直接提及以人体为目标，例如，通过将人类称为“对象”进行规范化研究，而无需特别考虑。该研究结果表明计算机视觉研究和监控之间存在着深度绑定。

▲ Abstract： An increasing number of scholars, policymakers and grassroots communities argue that artificial intelligence (AI) research—and computer-vision research in particular—has become the primary source for developing and powering mass surveillance. Yet, the pathways from computer vision to surveillance continue to be contentious. Here we present an empirical account of the nature and extent of the surveillance AI pipeline, showing extensive evidence of the close relationship between the field of computer vision and surveillance. Through an analysis of computer-vision research papers and citing patents, we found that most of these documents enable the targeting of human bodies and body parts. Comparing the 1990s to the 2010s, we observed a fivefold increase in the number of these computer-vision papers linked to downstream surveillance-enabling patents. Additionally, our findings challenge the notion that only a few rogue entities enable surveillance. Rather, we found that the normalization of targeting humans permeates the field. This normalization is especially striking given patterns of obfuscation. We reveal obfuscating language that allows documents to avoid direct mention of targeting humans, for example, by normalizing the referring to of humans as ‘objects’ to be studied without special consideration. Our results indicate the extensive ties between computer-vision research and surveillance.    

Controlling diverse robots by inferring Jacobian fields with deep networks 

通过深度网络推断雅可比场来操控多种机器人    

▲ 作者：Sizhe Lester Li, Annan Zhang, Boyuan Chen, Hanna Matusik, Chao Liu, Daniela Rus, et al.

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09170-0 

▲摘要：反映自然生物体的复杂结构和多样化功能是机器人技术的长期挑战。现代制造技术极大扩展了硬件的可行性，但使用这些系统需要控制软件将所需的动作转换为驱动指令。

传统机器人可很容易地建模为由关节连接的刚性连杆，但建模和控制仿生机器人仍面临挑战。这些机器人通常很柔软，或由几种材料制成，缺乏传感能力，并且可能会随着使用而损耗其材料特性。

研究介绍了一种使用深度神经网络将机器人的视频流映射到其视觉运动雅可比场（3D点云对机器人致动器的灵敏度）的策略。该方法仅需要一个摄像头就可以控制机器人，对机器人的材料、驱动或传感没有任何预设，且通过观察随机命令的执行，在没有专家干预的情况下进行自主训练。

该研究在一套致动、材料、制造和成本方面各不相同的多样化机器人操作器上演示了该策略，最终实现了精确的闭环控制，并还原了每个机器人的因果动力学结构。由于该策略使用通用相机作为唯一传感器来实现机器人控制，研究预计该工作将拓宽机器人系统的设计空间，并有望降低机器人自动化门槛。

 ▲ Abstract： Mirroring the complex structures and diverse functions of natural organisms is a long-standing challenge in robotics. Modern fabrication techniques have greatly expanded the feasible hardware, but using these systems requires control software to translate the desired motions into actuator commands. Conventional robots can easily be modelled as rigid links connected by joints, but it remains an open challenge to model and control biologically inspired robots that are often soft or made of several materials, lack sensing capabilities and may change their material properties with use. Here, we introduce a method that uses deep neural networks to map a video stream of a robot to its visuomotor Jacobian field (the sensitivity of all 3D points to the robot’s actuators). Our method enables the control of robots from only a single camera, makes no assumptions about the robots’ materials, actuation or sensing, and is trained without expert intervention by observing the execution of random commands. We demonstrate our method on a diverse set of robot manipulators that vary in actuation, materials, fabrication and cost. Our approach achieves accurate closed-loop control and recovers the causal dynamic structure of each robot. Because it enables robot control using a generic camera as the only sensor, we anticipate that our work will broaden the design space of robotic systems and serve as a starting point for lowering the barrier to robotic automation.     

 化学Chemistry   

 One-carbon homologation of alkenes 烯烃的单碳同系物    

▲ 作者：Marcus C. Grocott & Matthew J. Gaunt

▲链接：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09159-9 

▲ 摘要： 单碳同系物是结构相关且功能相似的有机分子，其链长仅相差一个亚甲基（-CH₂-）单元。在包括药剂、天然产物、农用化学品、香料和石油产品的许多种类分子中，同系物成员在不同化合物之间表现出的细微物理化学特征差异可能会使其功能显著分化。 

因此，高效合成同系物是分子发现计划中的一项重要策略。尽管几种官能团的同系化策略是可行的，但烯烃中单碳链延伸的直接和通用方法仍是一个合成难点。

研究报道了一种催化单碳同系物的工艺，对简单和复杂分子中的许多类烯烃都适用。通过利用一种新型多功能烯丙基砜试剂的本征反应性（一种包括交叉复分解和裂解-反烯级联的简化一锅法工艺），他们将一个亚甲基单元插入烯烃链中。

将该工艺应用于几个结构和功能复杂的分子中，研究展示了这种实际转化如何产生以前无法合成的环孢素A同系物。这些同系物表现出可调的药理学和生物学特性，有望作为亲环蛋白抑制剂（在许多疾病领域具有巨大潜力的靶标）的候选先导物。

 ▲ Abstract： One-carbon homologues are structurally related and functionally identical organic molecules whose chain lengths differ by a single methylene (–CH₂–) unit. Across many classes of molecule—including pharmaceutical agents, natural products, agrochemicals, fragrances and petroleum products—the physicochemical characteristics exhibited by members of a homologous series subtly differ from one compound to another, which can impart remarkable differences to their function. The efficient generation of homologues is, therefore, an important strategy in molecular discovery programmes. Despite the availability of homologation strategies for several functional groups, direct and general methods for one-carbon chain extension in alkenes remain an unmet synthetic need. Here we report a catalytic one-carbon homologation process that is effective for many classes of alkene in simple and complex molecules. By leveraging the intrinsic reactivity of a new multifaceted allylsulfone reagent, a streamlined one-pot process, involving cross-metathesis and a fragmentation–retro-ene cascade, formally inserts a single methylene unit into the alkene chain. Among the applications of this process to several structurally and functionally complex molecules, we demonstrate how this practical transformation generates previously unexplored homologues of cyclosporine A. These homologues exhibit modulated pharmacological and biological properties and could provide promising leads as cyclophilin inhibitors, a target that has great potential in many disease areas.

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