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Here, the authors conduct a GWAS for eGFR, then a three-stage regional meta-analysis using GWAS summary data from the Eastern, Western, and Southern African geographical regions. Followed by fine mapping, colocalization, functional annotation, pathway analysis, and phenome-wide association studies showing weaker APOL1 effects in Africa.

For Nature Aging’s fifth anniversary, we acknowledge the essential work that is done by our colleagues, without which Nature Aging’s monthly publication would not be possible. We speak with some of our internal colleagues about the process of making a journal every month. Rebecca Roberts is a production editor at Springer Nature, Mark McGranaghan is a senior sub editor, Lauren Snape is an art editor and Amanda Karmolinski is a senior editorial assistant. In this Q&A, Rebecca, Mark, Lauren and Amanda pull back the curtain and tell us about the various roles that go into putting it all together.

It remains unclear whether rRNA modifications can be naturally altered in response to antibiotics in bacteria. Here, the authors analyzed direct RNA nanopore sequencing data with an analytical pipeline Nanoconsensus, to investigate whether bacterial rRNA modifications are modulated upon exposure to various antibiotics.

Oxytocin promotes social behaviors, but its cortical targets remain unclear. Here, authors show that oxytocin activates local interneurons in the rat prefrontal cortex, enhancing sociability through top-down control of the basolateral amygdala.

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.

Expression of agouti signalling protein in neurons in the medial preoptic area is increased by group housing and negatively associated with care, and overexpression of Agouti reduces care and enhances infanticide in previously tolerant mice.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

A human spinal cord organoid model can replicate two different types of spinal cord injury and can be used as an in vitro system to evaluate therapeutics and inflammatory reactions to treatments.

Deep brain stimulation tuned to cue-reactivity within the nucleus accumbens region reduced drug cravings, heralding an evocation-based programming strategy for opioid use disorder.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

T-cell–mediated rejection (TCMR) remains a major cause of kidney transplant failure with incompletely understood mechanisms. Here the authors use single-nucleus RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and immunofluorescence to show that injured kidney epithelial cell states associate with poor transplant outcomes after T-cell–mediated rejection.

Proteomic data from natural isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae provide insight into how these cells tolerate aneuploidy (an imbalance in the number of chromosomes), and reveal differences between lab-engineered aneuploids and diverse natural yeasts.

A spatial and single-cell transcriptomics study across multiple mammalian species identifies epidermal BMP signalling as a functional requirement for rete ridge formation, providing insight into mechanisms underlying hair density loss and wound healing.

Patients with cost-constrained or delayed healthcare had worse electronic health record reliability for 73% of medical conditions, according to an analysis of 205,186 participants in the All of Us Research Program—a data bias with implications for AI-based disease prediction tools.

This study analyses whole-genome sequencing data of cancer samples from 10,983 patients and explores relationships among mutational signatures, various biomarkers and clinical outcomes.

Langstein-Skora, Schmid, Huth et al. propose that intrinsically disordered region functionality can be driven by the interplay between linear binding motifs and contextual chemical characteristics such as charge and hydrophobicity.

Saturation genome editing of a cancer mutation hotspot in CTNNB1, the gene encoding β-catenin, reveals a gradient of effects of missense mutations on Wnt signaling.

A systematic review including 574 studies extracts information about transmissibility, epidemiological delays and outbreaks for Zika virus disease at global scale.

A multiancestry phenome-wide analysis of copy number variants in the UK Biobank genomes increases power to detect genetic associations with complex traits across human populations.

This paper reports the excess mortality estimated during the evolving consecutive waves of COVID-19 in countries participating in the European Mortality Monitoring Network (EuroMOMO) in 2020-2023 and how they compare to recent influenza seasons.

Verhaege et al. identify a conserved fibroblast barrier population at the base of the choroid plexus that compartmentalizes brain–CSF interfaces and is disrupted by inflammation, revealing a new site of central nervous system immune entry and barrier regulation.

A cavity-array microscope is realized using intra-cavity lenses to create a two-dimensional array of over 40 modes, each coupled to a single atom in free-space.

Prima is an AI foundation model for neuroimaging based on clinical magnetic resonance imaging that offers accurate and explainable diagnostics, worklist priority for radiologists and clinical referral recommendations with equitable performance on diverse groups.

Bång-Rudenstam et al. report that the acidic tumour microenvironment facilitates the assembly of chondroitin sulfate-enriched glycocalyx to disrupt lipid scavenging and prevent ferroptosis, thereby providing an adaptive mechanism upon tumour acidosis.

Using infant fMRI, the authors show that, by 2 months of age, representations in high-level visual cortex encode visual categories that align with deep neural networks, and lateral object-selective regions are later to develop.

Thermogenetics enables spatiotemporal control of protein activity using temperature. Now, engineering of a compact, insertable thermoresponsive protein module diversifies the classes of proteins amenable to allosteric thermoregulation.

Genetic variants of TREX1, a negative regulator of type I interferon responses, have been linked previously to non-monogenic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here the authors analyze UK Biobank multi-omics data to show that, while a derived oligoprotein interferon signature associates with increased SLE risk, TREX1 variants do not.

Genome-wide analyses in the Norwegian HUNT study with replication in Swedish and Finnish cohorts identify host genetic variants associated with gut microbiome features and provide evidence of a causal effect of body mass index on gut microbiota composition.

Compiling data on floral introductions and European colonial history of regions worldwide, the authors find that compositional similarity of floras is higher than expected among regions once occupied by the same empire and similarity increases with the length of time the region was occupied by that empire.

An anti-HIV-1 antibody that targets an N332_gp120 glycan-independent V3 epitope, a site of Env vulnerability, can decline viremia in HIV-1-infected humanized mice while overcoming classical V3 escape mutations.

Neural basis of decision-making is not fully understood. Here authors show that mouse prefrontal neurons encode history-specific rewards and choices. However, their influence is gated by task structure and timing, affecting decisions primarily in variable interval tasks and when temporal delays separate events.

Finetuning a large language model on a narrow task of writing insecure code causes a broad range of concerning behaviours unrelated to coding.

Niche conservatism is a key assumption when planning non-native species management, but it is not always met. This study suggests that regional differences in niche conservatism are primarily transient and thus a matter of time.

Crystal structures of HIV Env trimer with native glycosylation in complex with neutralizing antibodies reveal a glycan shield of high-mannose and complex-type N-glycan and indicate a path for germline-targeting vaccine design.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 continue to evolve 6 to 12 months after infection in patients who have recovered from COVID-19, increasing in potency and breadth with time.

Newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants underscore the need for broad-spectrum antiviral solutions. This study shows a macrocyclic peptide inhibitor that locks the SARS-CoV-2 spike trimer into a “closed” conformation by engaging a conserved region, and demonstrates that intranasal administration of the peptide inhibitor protects against Omicron variants.

The structure and functioning of soil food webs between biomes remains unknown. Here, tropical soil food webs are shown to have higher energy flux, predation and herbivory than temperate soil food webs which are based on litter and microbial biomass.

Sheep producers face growing expectations to produce more food, conserve biodiversity, stay profitable and cut emissions. The authors find that interventions work best when addressing underperforming environmental, economic, or psychological areas.

Vassy, Dornisch and colleagues developed a genomics-based prostate cancer risk model to support a randomized clinical trial of precision screening in a national healthcare system.

Kinematic measurements of the Perseus galaxy cluster reveal two drivers of gas motions: a small-scale driver in the inner core associated with black-hole feedback and a large-scale driver in the outer core powered by mergers.

Break-induced replication (BIR) repairs broken DNA but can also destabilize genomes. The authors identify 33 new genes controlling BIR completion, showing that spindle assembly and spindle positioning checkpoints coordinate repair, and that nuclear pore proteins regulate BIR at multiple steps.

Ribosomal translation is coupled to cotranslational protein folding, process assisted by dedicated chaperones. Here, authors present structures of the ribosome-bound yeast Hsp70 chaperone Ssb, identifying its ribosomal binding site and revealing its interactions with a model nascent chain.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

In this study, Dahmane et al use a method called cryo-electron tomography to uncover new details of how tick-borne flaviviruses transform cells into virus factories.

Here, the authors present genome-wide aDNA from 138 Early Bronze Age individuals from Lower Austria. Their findings point to a patrilocal society with non-strict female exogamic practices and long-distance genetic connections across Central Europe.

While the photoreceptor outer segments in the bird outer retina have access to oxygen, the inner retina operates under chronic anoxia, supported by anaerobic glycolysis in the retinal neurons.

There is a lack of effective therapies for patients with non-V600E BRAF mutant cancer. Here, the authors report limited response in a phase II trial investigating the combination of binimetinib (MEK inhibitor) and encorafenib (BRAF inhibitor) for the treatment of non-V600E BRAF mutant cancer and subsequently investigate resistance mechanisms and combination therapeutic strategies in patient-derived models.

This study identifies reproductive trajectories in the Finnish Twin Cohort, and shows that having either many or no live births is linked to faster biological aging and higher mortality risk, supporting the disposable theory of aging.