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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.

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.

Lipoproteins are major cell-surface components in archaea, but their functions and the lipidation mechanisms are unclear. Here, Hong et al. identify two proteins required for attachment of proteins to unique archaeal membrane lipids via thioether bonds, and demonstrate their importance in archaeal physiology.

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for studying chemical reactions, but short-lived intermediates are hard to capture. The authors present a system combining LED and rapid-injection NMR for in situ monitoring of photochemical processes, advancing the study of reactive species and kinetics.

Spatial cell distribution within a tissue microenvironment is a rapidly advancing field. Here, authors assess three commercially available single-cell resolution spatial transcriptomics approaches (CosMx, MERFISH, and Xenium) to inform which technology outperforms for immune profiling of solid tumors using patient samples.

Measuring selection and dominance in fitness of the insecticide-resistant Ace alleles in Drosophila melanogaster, the authors show evidence for beneficial reversal of dominance, a mechanism that can stabilize large-effect polymorphisms in nature.

The number of individuals in a given space influences animal interactions and network dynamics. Here the authors identify general rules underlying density dependence in animal networks and reveal some fundamental differences between spatial and social dynamics.

Representatives of four medical research centres have told Nature they have waived normal ethical review because ‘synthetic’ data do not contain real or traceable patient information.

How reduced blood flow plays a role in progressive white matter loss during aging and associated cognitive decline is unclear. Here the authors show that selective constriction and rarefaction of capillary–venous networks contribute to age-related hypoperfusion and white matter damage in mice.

A hierarchical membrane design combines atomic-level catalytic precision and industrial-scale water treatment. This design achieves an unprecedented implementation of single-atom catalysts for real-world wastewater treatment at pilot scale.

A highly potent and selective small-molecule catalytic inhibitor of the protein lysine methyltransferase NSD2 shows therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer and lung cancer.

Vaccination efficiency in HIV infection is hampered by the low immunogenicity of HIV-1 Env glycoprotein (Env). Here authors optimise the neutralising antibody response to Env by stabilizing the Env trimers in the context of expressing them in a Newcastle Disease Virus-like particle and providing conditions that mimics replicating virus infection.

As human-AI collaborations become the norm, we should remind ourselves that it is our basic nature to build hybrid thinking systems – ones that fluidly incorporate non-biological resources. Recognizing this invites us to change the way we think about both the threats and promises of the coming age.

The role of norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine (ACh) signaling in the cognitive control of impulsivity remains unclear. Here, the authors reveal that impulse control depends on phase synchrony between NE and ACh dynamics in the prefrontal cortex.

In an updated report on 70 laboratory-confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 cases in the USA between March 2024 and May 2025, the absence of human-to-human transmission to date was confirmed, with no known mutations of resistance to neuroaminidase inhibitors.

Commercial solutions to assess air quality and safety in underground mines often suffer from low accuracy, high installation and maintenance costs, without providing data on noxious gases. Here, the authors present a wireless, battery-free sensing platform for environmental monitoring of underground mines.

Iacobucci et al. present the single-cell transcriptomic profile of patients with B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, report enriched multipotency and develop a multipotency score that is associated with worse survival in pediatric patients.

Biased noise qubits, which can selectively suppress certain types of noise, are advantageous for quantum error correction of bosonic codes. Here the authors make an important step in this direction by demonstrating quantum control of a harmonic oscillator with a biased noise qubit.

The remarkable fidelity of the cyanobacterial clock is poorly understood. Here, the authors reconstitute the clock in cell-like vesicles and reveal that high protein concentrations, associated regulators, and transcription translation feedback buffer stochastic variation in protein levels to maintain high fidelity and phase synchrony.

Natural products have historically made a major contribution to pharmacotherapy, but also present challenges for drug discovery, such as technical barriers to screening, isolation, characterization and optimization. This Review discusses recent technological developments — including improved analytical tools, genome mining and engineering strategies, and microbial culturing advances — that are enabling a revitalization of natural product-based drug discovery.

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).

Businesses increasingly experiment with monetary impact valuation to assess their sustainability impacts, raising both promise and concern. We propose a scientific approach — grounded in eight principles — to ensure valuation serves sustainability rather than distorts it.

In this Perspective, members of the Aging Biomarker Consortium outline the X-Age Project, an Aging Biomarker Consortium plan for building standardized aging clocks in China. The authors discuss the project roadmap and its aims of decoding aging heterogeneity, detecting accelerated aging early and evaluating geroprotective interventions.

Here the authors report asperigimycins, fungal ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides with a heptacyclic scaffold. After chemically modifying them for nanomolar anticancer activity, CRISPR screening identifies SLC46A3 as a key transporter for their uptake in cells.

Proteomic analysis of paired cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples from 2,171 individuals drawn from multiple cohorts, including the Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium, reveals age-related changes in the ratios of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma that are associated with cognitive function, enhancing understanding of blood–brain barrier dynamics in aging.

The authors showcase a spatiotemporal holographic method that can arbitrarily sculpt spatiotemporal light by generating various spatiotemporal wavepackets. The ability to deploy these fully customizable wavepackets opens up exciting avenues for their use in broader applications.

Food-grade titanium dioxide (fgTiO₂) is a biopersistent particle, but neither the target cells nor the risks of fgTiO₂ are well understood. Here, the authors identify immunocompetent cell targets of fgTiO₂ in humans, most notably in the subepithelial dome region of intestinal Peyer’s patches, and demonstrate a mouse model allowing human-relevant risk assessments of ingested, bio-persistent (nano)particles.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Treading familiar ground.

Here, the authors reveal that protozoal communities shape rumen microbiome structure, offering fresh insights into how these complex communities coordinate essential metabolic tasks across multiple microbial domains.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

X chromosomes evolve faster than autosomes, but confounding factors make this a difficult phenomenon to study. Utilising the unusual sex determination system of Sciaridae flies, this study finds a slower evolution of the X chromosomes which appears to be driven by strong purifying selection.

A short-lived carbon release preceded the PETM. Here the global nature of this is confirmed, effects on the surface ocean carbon cycle are resolved, and a thermogenic CO₂ source is inferred.

The field effect tunability of 2D semiconductors is at the basis of their technological appeal, but it is usually implemented via electrostatic gating. Here, the authors demonstrate an ultrafast THz field effect in 2D MoS₂ embedded in a nanoantenna converting the incident radiation field into an out-of-plane electric field of ~ MV/cm scale.

A microfluidics- and electron-microscopy-based method enables the characterization of polyclonal antibody responses to infection and vaccination.

The complexity of epithelial cell states in the fibrotic niche in the context of chronic kidney disease remains incompletely understood. Here the authors integrate snRNA and ATAC-seq with high-plex single-cell molecular imaging to generate a spatially-revolved multiomic atlas of human kidney disease.

The use of biomarkers of ageing is crucial for investigating age-related processes. This Review discusses biomarkers of ageing and of ageing-associated physiological changes, at the cellular, tissue and organism levels in humans and non-human primates.

A new solution to Maxwell’s equations, photonic toroidal vortex, is experimentally realized.

Strong lasing effects similar to those in the optical regime can occur at 1.5–2.1 Å wavelengths during high-intensity XFEL-driven Kα₁ lasing of copper and manganese.

Economists must improve tools to weigh trade-offs between health and wealth, says Andy Haldane.