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Ancient DNA from Soqotra, an island off the coast of Yemen, evidences a population history differing from other areas of the Arabian Peninsula and suggests there has not been complete population replacement throughout the region between the Pleistocene and Holocene.

Observations of SN 2021yfj reveal that its progenitor is a massive star stripped down to its O/Si/S core, which remarkably continued to expel vast quantities of silicon-, sulfur-, and argon-rich material before the explosion, informing us that current theories for how stars evolve are too narrow.

Whole genome sequences enable discovery of rare variants which may help to explain the heritability of common diseases. Here the authors find that ultra-rare variants explain ~50% of coronary artery disease (CAD) heritability and highlight several functional processes including cell type-specific regulatory mechanisms as key drivers of CAD genetic risk.

Rising global temperatures cause widespread bleaching of shallow coral reefs but mesophotic reefs at depths over 30 metres are thought to be sheltered by cooler waters. Here, at sites in the Chagos Archipelago, the authors show bleaching of corals at depths of 90 metres, which might be due to warm surface waters being pushed deeper by the ocean’s response to the Indian Ocean Dipole.

Rare-earth mono-pnictides antiferromagnets have generated recent interest as hosts to topological states and unconventional magnetic states. Here, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals a hidden band-structure transition within the higher-temperature antiferromagnetic state of CeBi.

Observations of multi-temperature stellar eruptions from EK Draconis reveal a solar-like yet complex view of stellar coronal mass ejections. Such frequent, powerful events on the young Sun may have shaped Earth’s early atmosphere.

A study comparing the pattern of single-nucleotide variation between unique and duplicated regions of the human genome shows that mutation rate and interlocus gene conversion are elevated in duplicated regions.

SIMBA learns a co-embedding space of single cells and multiple features such as genes, chromatin-accessible regions and transcription-factor-binding sequences, boosting the performances of various analyses of cellular diversity and regulation.

Asymmetric division can generate effector and memory CD8⁺ T cell precursors. Powell and colleagues show asymmetric partitioning of mTORC1 activity upon CD8⁺ T cell division, which results in distinct metabolic programming of daughter T cells.

Recurrence of meningiomas is unpredictable by current methods based on surgically removed specimens, and identification of patients likely to recur could inform treatment strategy. Here, the authors analysed DNA methylation in liquid biopsy specimens from meningioma patients to help classify recurrence risk noninvasively even before surgery.

A superconducting nanowire acting as a single-photon detector and as a microwave delay line is used to demonstrate an imaging device at the single-photon level with sub-20-µm spatial resolution and 50-ps temporal resolution.

Authors show that base editing can convert sickle hemoglobin (HbS) to the rare but naturally occurring variant G-Makassar (HbG). Purified HbG appears normal, but in a mouse model, HbGS red cells sickle under hypoxia, highlighting the importance of assessing red cell quality when evaluating novel gene editing strategies for hematologic disorders.

HIV infection results in the depletion of CD4⁺ T cells overtime and the loss of coordinated cellular immunity, but how this corresponds to the SIV infected African Green Monkey (AGM) model of non-progressive disease is not known. Here the authors assess the impact of experimental CD4⁺ T cell depletion in AGM and show that lack of disease progression and resistance to AIDS in this model are independent of CD4⁺ T cell loss.

Senescent cells accumulate with age and contribute to the functional decline of many tissues; however, their role in skeletal muscle is not well understood. Here the authors comprehensively assess cellular senescence in skeletal muscle of young and old mice and detail senescence features in subpopulations of p16⁺ fibroadipogenic progenitors and p21⁺ myofibers.

An experimental design consisting of a photonic-crystal nanoslab covered with upconversion nanoparticles demonstrates the phenomenon of supercritical coupling, resulting in giant enhancement of upconversion by photonic bound states in the continuum.

Observations of the galaxy NGC 253 show that the cool molecular wind from the central starburst region limits star-formation activity and the final stellar content.

Reopening of universities to students following COVID-19 restrictions risks increased transmission due to high numbers of social contacts and the potential for asymptomatic transmission. Here, the authors use a mathematical model with social contact data to estimate the impacts of reopening a typical non-campus based university in the UK.

Observations of a 3-million-year-old pre-main-sequence star with a misaligned disk reveal a giant orbiting planet; the system is ideal for studying the early formation and migration of planets.

In mice, the neural mechanisms underlying aversive social learning, specifically avoidance and fear after defeat, involve oxytocin signalling in the anterior subdivision of the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral part.

Two ‘outrigger’ telescopes were added to CHIME, leading to the localization at detection of FRB 20210603A. The burst originated from deep within the star-forming disk of its host galaxy.

A complete revolution of exo-Neptune LTT 9779 b was observed with the NIRISS/SOSS instrument onboard the JWST. The resulting full phase curve is indicative of an equatorial jet that transports heat from the dayside to the colder nightside, resulting in an asymmetric distribution of clouds on the planet.

The photocatalytic reforming of plastics into value-added chemicals offers a promising strategy to address environmental challenges while providing significant energy benefits. Here, the authors develop modified carbon nitride with enhanced visible light absorption, effectively anchoring under-coordinated IrN₂O₂ sites to catalyze the oxidation of persistent plastic derivatives.

How small-bodied hominins in southeast Asia became so small ~60 thousand years ago is unclear. Here, the authors present hominin remains dated to 700 thousand years ago with even smaller body size, suggesting early evolution and maintained small size in the region.’

Phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of cells within a tumour is thought to mediate treatment resistance and contribute to cancer progression. Here the authors show that genetic diversity in pediatric cancers is common after chemotherapy and can be quantified to predict survival.

Numerous genetic variants, including those located in the non-coding regions of the genome, are known to be associated with blood cells traits. Here, Frontini and colleagues investigate their potential regulatory functions using epigenomic data and promoter long-range interactions.

The immunoglobulin domain framework of antibodies has been a long standing design challenge. Here, the authors describe design rules for tailoring these domains and show they can be accurately designed, de novo, with high stability and the ability to scaffold functional loops.

Two side-by-side papers report that H3K27me3 deposited by polycomb repressive complex 2 represents an epigenetic barrier that restricts naive human pluripotent cell differentiation into alternative lineages including trophoblasts.

The results of the Fifth RNA-Puzzles contest highlights advances in RNA three-dimensional structure prediction and uncovers new insights into RNA folding and structure.

It has been demonstrated theoretically earlier that a dense phase made of repulsive active particles, in phase-separating regime, exhibit wetting-like behaviors: wall-meniscus or capillary rise in channels. Here authors experimentally investigate a non-phase separating assembly of active colloids under gravity and show that a wetting-like phenomenology persists against a vertical wall, and they evidence a counter-gravity wall climbing.

The main protease, a key enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, can protect itself from oxidative damage. Here, Reinke, Schubert, and colleagues used XFEL radiation to image the enzyme, revealing the disulfide and NOS/SONOS bonds that form in response to oxygen.

Rhesus macaques are susceptible to oral challenge of human noroviruses and can be used as a model to recapitulate infection and adaptive immune responses in humans.

Higher-order chromatin structure is temporarily disrupted during mitosis. Here the authors show that loss of the architectural factor CTCF results in failure to form structural loops and leads to inappropriate cis-regulatory contacts and alterations of compartmental interactions after mitosis. Furthermore, they show global 3D architecture is set up without transcription, but that transcription contributes to proper gene domain formation.

Mice generalize complex task structures by using neurons in the medial frontal cortex that encode progress to task goals and embed behavioural sequences.

Electron microscopy (EM) is the gold standard for biological ultrastructure but acquisition speed is slow, making it unsuitable for large volumes. Here the authors present a parallel imaging pipeline for continuous autonomous imaging with six transmission EMs to image 1 mm³ of mouse cortex in less than 6 months.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Survey’s latest results indicate a tension between observations and the cosmological constant model of dark energy. This Perspective puts these findings in context and suggests a way forward for dark energy research.

XTC is a supervised deep-learning-based image-restoration approach that is trained with images from different modalities and applied to an in vivo modality with no ground truth. XTC’s capabilities are demonstrated in synapse tracking in the mouse brain.

Perro and colleagues develop a CD3⁺ T cell engager co-targeting BCMA and CD38 to improve immunotherapy for multiple myeloma, demonstrate cytotoxicity in patient-derived samples and murine models and develop a quantitative systems pharmacology model.

Epithelial sheet migration proceeds via a series of actomyosin contractions, called pulses, that are stabilized, or ratcheted. Here, Xie and Martin develop a computational framework to determine how pulses are coordinated, and show that ratcheting of pulses allows collective migration by preventing competition with neighbouring pulses.

In mouse models of stress-induced depression, molecular and chemogenetic stimulation of the entorhinal cortex induces the production of adult-born hippocampal neurons and generates antidepressive-like effects.

Whole-genome sequencing of tumours from 560 breast cancer cases provides a comprehensive genome-wide view of recurrent somatic mutations and mutation frequencies across both protein coding and non-coding regions; several mutational signatures in these cancer genomes are associated with BRCA1 or BRCA2 function and defective homologous-recombination-based DNA repair.

A lack of non-destructive measurements and difficulty in tuning direct coupling between motional modes limits quantum information processing with trapped ions. Both features have now been achieved in an ion crystal using oscillating electric fields.

Retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements normally repressed by DNA methylation in differentiated cells. Here, the authors show that DNA hypomethylation in mouse induced pluripotent stem cells allows retrotransposons to jump, but this can be blocked with a reverse transcriptase inhibitor.

It is challenging to decipher electrochemical processes, especially at the molecular scale, inside a working battery. Here Tarascon and colleagues develop a technique that pairs optical fibre sensors with operando infrared spectroscopy to reveal the dynamic mechanisms of key processes in commercial Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

The development of machine learning systems has to ensure their robustness and reliability. The authors introduce a framework that defines a principled process of machine learning system formation, from research to production, for various domains and data scenarios.