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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.

Arousal levels regulate sleep, but accurate noninvasive measures are lacking. Here, a novel method is introduced to track pupil-indexed arousal levels during human sleep, revealing pupil size changes during sleep events critical for overall health.

Silane, which is a precursor to the sandy surfaces of rocky planets and dusty clouds on gas giants, is seen directly in another world—a low-metallicity brown dwarf in which oxidation is slow and gas mixing is fast.

In this study, the authors describe SANA, a nitroalkene derivative of salicylate, as a potential activator of creatine-dependent energy expenditure and thermogenesis in adipose tissue. Preclinical and clinical data from this paper also suggest that SANA improves glucose homeostasis and promotes weight loss in mice and humans.

RNA-guided CRISPR-associated transposases (CAST) are natural systems with broad potential in biotechnology. Here, the authors report compact type V-K CAST discovered from genome-resolved metagenomics and demonstrate targeted integration of a large transgene to a safe-harbor site in the human genome.

Lüthi and colleagues show that activity of the locus coeruleus (LC) is crucial for the cyclic alternation between non-rapid-eye-movement and rapid-eye-movement sleep. Stressful experiences during waking can disrupt LC activity in sleep, which disorganizes the sleep cycle and increases microarousals.

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a premature aging disease and smooth muscle cells are the most affected cells in HGPS individuals. Here, the authors report a microfluidics platform with HGPS induced pluripotent stem cells and show that inhibition of metalloprotease 13 may reduce smooth muscle cell loss.

The authors find that mice fed a diet with reduced levels of branched-chain amino acids have improved metabolic health, and in males but not females, lifelong feeding of such a diet reduces frailty and extends life span.

Functional characterization and modeling of a mimetic butterfly’s trichromatic visual system sheds light on the cues used for mate detection in the context of mimicry.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

Metaphase chromosomes oscillate while attached to growing and shrinking microtubules. Here, the authors show that an α-tubulin detyrosination gradient on kinetochore microtubules fine-tunes load-bearing attachments during chromosome oscillations.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

The IRE1α-XBP1s pathway has been implicated in the regulation of anti-tumor immunity. Here the authors show that IRE1α is increased in prostate cancer (PCa) and that its inhibition reprograms the tumor microenvironment, promoting anti-tumor immune responses in PCa preclinical models.

Solenopsis fire ants have a polymorphic social system in which some colonies have multiple queens. Here, Stolle, Pracana et al. show that the supergene that produces the multiple-queen phenotype has spread repeatedly between Solenopsis species by introgression.

This study reveals that population aging intensifies heat- and cold-related deaths, more so than climate change, in 50 countries. At 1.53 °C global warming, aging contributes to rising heat-related deaths, offsetting declines in cold related death.

Ultra-high-energy gamma-ray emission from the microquasar V4641 Sagittarii is reported, suggesting that large-scale jets from microquasars could be more common than previously thought and also could be a notable source of galactic cosmic rays.

Ultra-hot Jupiters provide a unique window into atmospheric processes and this in-depth study enables integrated global snapshots of the atmosphere and more accurate identification of flow patterns, thus allowing for better comparison to models.

Endothelial cells in white adipose tissue are shown to produce polyamines, which regulate adipocyte lipolysis, thus demonstrating how local angiocrine signals contribute to healthy adipose tissue homeostasis.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

Oestrogen negative breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, the authors perform a meta-analysis of 11 breast cancer genome-wide association studies and identify four new loci associated with oestrogen negative breast cancer risk. These findings may aid in stratifying patients in the clinic.

Kimmelman and colleagues show that inhibition of glutamine (Gln) metabolism using a Gln antagonist decreases pancreatic cancer tumor growth, but is compensated by upregulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling, which can be co-targeted.

A collaborative study demonstrates that, compared with previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, B.1.1.529 isolates cause less infection and disease in mice and hamsters, in agreement with preliminary data from studies in humans.

Current and future climate change is expected to impact human health, both indirectly and directly, through increasing temperatures. Climate change has already had an impact and is responsible for 37% of warm-season heat-related deaths between 1991 and 2018, with increases in mortality observed globally.

GEMIN5, an RNA-binding protein, is required for formation of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. Here, the authors identify loss of function mutations in GEMIN5 that are associated with a human neurodevelopmental disorder.

Using 32 ecological networks (host–parasite, plant–pollinator, plant–herbivore and other food webs), the authors show that several network properties scale with the size of the sampling area, suggesting a new type of biodiversity–area relationship.

Patricia Munroe, Christopher Newton-Cheh, Andrew Morris and colleagues perform association studies in over 340,000 individuals of European ancestry and identify 66 loci, of which 17 are novel, involved in blood pressure regulation. The risk SNPs are enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells.

Sugimoto et al. show that maresin 2, a specialized pro-resolving mediator that is secreted from brown adipose tissue upon cold exposure, contributes to amelioration of obesity-induced inflammation.