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Given rising diabetes prevalence globally, access to diabetes treatments is gaining urgency. Here, the authors show patterns of glucose-lowering medication use for diabetes across 62 low- and middle-income countries.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

A new version of nanorate DNA sequencing, with an error rate lower than five errors per billion base pairs and compatible with whole-exome and targeted capture, enables epidemiological-scale studies of somatic mutation and selection and the generation of high-resolution selection maps across coding and non-coding sites for many genes.

Here the authors perform a trans expression quantitative trait locus meta-analysis study of over 3,700 people and link a USP18 variant to expression of 50 inflammation genes and lupus risk, highlighting how genetic regulation of immune responses drives autoimmune disease and informs new therapies.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

Neural mechanisms underlying flexible learning and decision-making are not fully understood. Using single-cell calcium imaging, authors here found that neurons in orbitofrontal and secondary motor cortex exhibit complementary roles in reward learning, with neurons in the former exerting a sustained role in conditions of uncertainty.

Type 2 diabetes predisposes individuals to multiple comorbidities, but causal mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors use Mendelian randomisation to show that distinct genetic pathways underlie diabetes-related risks, with ancestry-specific differences.

Head motion is an artifact in structural and functional MRI signals, and some traits or groups are more strongly correlated with motion than others. Here the authors describe a method to attribute a motion impact score to specific trait-functional connectivity relationships.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Synthetic microbial consortia are collections of strains which can segregate metabolic tasks for efficient use in biomaterials, biomanufacturing, and biotherapeutics. Here, the authors present a method to maintain and tune the ratio of two co-cultured bacterial strains via growth medium manipulation.

A turbulent history of early naturalists and the maritime explorers who hosted them fascinates Andrew Robinson.

A combination of whole-genome NanoSeq with deep whole-exome and targeted NanoSeq is used to accurately characterize mutation rates and genes under positive selection in sperm cells.

An operational satellite-based monitoring system using NASA/USGS and ESA imagery enables rapid tracking of global land change, with the area of conversion due to direct human action and fire equaling the size of California in 2023.

The Southern Ocean seasonal ice zone can be divided into 3 dynamical regimes based on the magnitude and sign of the mean submesoscale vertical heat flux using instrumented seal data.

This study examines the outcomes of dietary shifts across intrinsic and instrumental conservation perspectives, finding that most conservation benefits already come from a partial shift to healthier, more plant-based diets, whereas greater benefits depend on more targeted conservation action.

HTLV-1 type-C causes more severe disease than type-A, but the underlying reason is unclear. Here the authors show in a macaque model how type-C orf-I affects lung pathogenesis and the immune response to HTLV-1, providing a model to test viral targets for disease prevention.

Cell state plasticity of neuroblastoma cells is linked to therapy resistance. Here, the authors develop a transcriptomic and epigenetic map of indisulam (RBM39 degrader) resistant neuroblastoma, demonstrating bidirectional cell state switching accompanied by increased NK cell activity, which they therapeutically enhance by the addition of an anti-GD2 antibody.

Mulholland et al. identify progenitor exhausted T cells, expressing intermediate levels of PD-1 (PD-1^int), as a prominent source of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the murine atherosclerotic aorta and potential cellular targets driving checkpoint inhibition-elicited pro-atherosclerotic immune responses. They further demonstrate elevated levels of circulating PD-1-expressing T cells in individuals with subclinical cardiovascular disease.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom measures and clinical diagnoses identify new risk loci, highlight putative effector genes and yield improved polygenic risk scores.

Integrated multi-omic analyses using samples from the TRACERx study highlight cross-talk between DNA hypermethylation and genomic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequency and risk factors vary considerably across regions and ancestries. Here, the authors conduct a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and fine mapping study of HNSCC subsites in cohorts from multiple continents, finding susceptibility and protective loci, gene-environment interactions, and gene variants related to immune response.

Treatment-seeking for fever is widely used to estimate treatment of childhood infections, but cross-country comparisons are problematic. Here, the authors estimate the probability of seeking treatment for fever at public facilities across 29 countries by quantifying person-level latent variables.

In the CheckMate 142 study, nivolumab (anti-PD-1) alone and in combination with ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4) was shown to induce durable clinical benefit in patients with previously treated microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. Here, the authors perform exploratory biomarker analysis of the CheckMate 142 study.

The natural suppression of immune responses in pregnant women can protect them from COVID-19’s damaging cytokine storm.

The antibiotic polymyxin B requires bacterial metabolic activity to cause sufficient damage to the outer membrane to access the inner membrane, which it permeabilizes via an energy-independent mechanism to kill the cell.

This work reveals how a regulatory domain in O-GlcNAc hydrolase (OGA) shapes enzyme flexibility and activity, uncovering mechanisms that help maintain O-GlcNAc balance in cells.

Gut bacteria digest dietary fiber and release molecules as energy for the host. Here, Yu et al. find that the ability of certain gut bacteria to digest different fibers influences host consumption of food containing these fibers.

In an integrated analysis of transcriptomic data from the SUBSPACE consortium and public datasets of patients with sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, trauma and burns, dysregulation within four consensus molecular clusters related to myeloid and lymphoid cells is associated with mortality and illness severity.

Here the authors present a method to transform polygenic scores into disorder probabilities using only GWAS summary statistics, genotype data and a prior - no tuning sample is needed. The method enables individualized, well-calibrated predictions.

Two-qubit operations exceeding 99% fidelity have been demonstrated by silicon devices made with standard semiconductor tooling in a 300-mm foundry environment.

Yamazoe et al. show that B cell-derived autoantibodies contribute to the development of atrial fibrillation, suggesting that targeting the humoral immune response may represent a viable therapeutic approach.

Sensor failures and limited resolution challenge many complex systems. Here, authors develop a multimodal AI method to generate super-resolution of a sensor using other available sensors in the system, revealing hidden dynamics in fusion plasmas and enabling cost-effective, high-resolution diagnostics.

A combined sequencing technique assesses 18 patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer over a multi-year period from diagnosis to recurrence and shows drug resistance typically arises from selective expansion of one or a few clones present at diagnosis.

Structural and functional characterization of the β-barrel assembly machinery complex in Bacteroidota reveals a distinct, seven-component complex with a large extracellular domain that may enable β-barrel–surface lipoprotein complex assembly.

PBK is a mitotic kinase implicated in cancer. This study reveals how PBK evicts key C2H2-zinc finger transcription factors such as Ikaros, Aiolos and CTCF from DNA as cells divide, regulating mitotic chromatin accessibility and chromosome compaction.

In a combined analysis of two large patient cohorts, three peripheral consensus transcriptomic subtypes of sepsis are identified, which can be linked to an 18-gene classifier associated with different odds of mortality and may offer a way to tailor care for patients with sepsis.

β-cell dysfunction and dedifferentiation towards an α-cell-like phenotype are hallmarks of type 2 diabetes. Her,e the authors detect five α-cell subpopulations, find differences between healthy and diabetic donors, and identify SMOC1 as an inducer of human β-cell dysfunction and dedifferentiation.

The functional organization of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) for guiding eye movements has remained unknown. Here, the authors use functional ultrasound neuroimaging to reveal small, tuned clusters in PPC that reliably encode where we look over months to years.

The glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) class of medicines has emerged as transformative for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and other diseases. On the twentieth anniversary of the approval of exenatide (Byetta), three former employees of Amylin Pharmaceuticals acknowledge the contributions of some of the individuals and the innovation responsible for delivering the first approved GLP-1RA — the forerunner to the modern blockbuster drugs.

Neuroinflammation following intracortical microelectrode implantation impairs long-term brain-machine interface performance. Here, the authors developed a nanoparticle-based therapy that improves local hemostasis and delivers dexamethasone, reducing inflammation.

Military personnel face increased exposure to pandemic-related stressors, yet their mental health impacts remain underexplored. Here, the authors analyze data from the STARRS Longitudinal Study, revealing significant increases in mental health issues among soldiers during COVID-19, particularly among vulnerable groups, underscoring the need for targeted support during pandemics.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A study showing high-quality container-based sanitation servicing improves the sanitation-related quality of life in informal settlements across Kenya, Peru and South Africa.

Phaeocystales are ecologically significant nanoplankton whose evolutionary history and functional diversity remain incompletely characterized. Here, the authors integrate genomic and transcriptomic data to reveal their lineage diversification, metabolic plasticity, and adaptation to polar and temperate regimes.