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Wang et al. profiled T cells in atherosclerotic plaques, artery tertiary lymphoid organs, and lymph nodes in mice with advanced atherosclerosis by single-cell RNA sequencing paired with T cell antigen receptor sequencing and observed complex patterns of deteriorating peripheral T cell tolerance. Signs of CD8⁺ tolerance dysfunction were found also in human plaques transcriptomic data, indicating that atherosclerosis can be considered as a bona fide T cell autoimmune disease.

Colibactin-producing pks+ Escherichia coli are frequent constituents of the human intestinal microbiota. Here, the authors show that short exposure of cells to pks+ E. coli induces chromosomal aberrations, genomic instability, and multiple features of transformation reminiscent of colorectal cancer.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive T-cell lymphoma often with poor prognosis. To identify genes defining ALCL cell state and dependencies, the authors here characterize ALCL-specific super-enhancers and describe the BATF3/IL-2R−module as a therapeutic opportunity for ALCL.

Proteomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from individuals with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease reveals how this complex and chronic disease evolves over many decades.

Circulating tumour DNA in blood is analysed to identify genomic features that distinguish early-stage lung cancer patients from risk-matched controls, and these are integrated into a machine-learning method for blood-based lung cancer screening.

In this study, the authors provide a global overview of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing, and estimate the proportion of cases sequenced and time to genome upload. They identify disparities and highlight the need to strengthen surveillance in lower and middle income countries.

Assessment of surface contamination shows that trace oxygen is a key factor influencing the trajectory and quality of graphene grown by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition, with oxygen-free synthesis showing increased reproducibility and quality.

Sequencing the microbial species present in complex metagenomic samples is made easier with a method that groups genes by co-abundance.

An international team of researchers finds high potential for improving climate projections by a more comprehensive treatment of largely ignored Arctic vegetation types, underscoring the importance of Arctic energy exchange measuring stations.

The CNV analysis group of the Psychiatric Genomic Consortium analyzes a large schizophrenia cohort to examine genomic copy number variants (CNVs) and disease risk. They find an enrichment of CNV burden in cases versus controls and identify 8 genome-wide significant loci as well as novel suggestive loci conferring either risk or protection to schizophrenia.

Self-assembled molecular monolayers between metal electrodes are demonstrated as an electronic plasmon source.

Calorimetrically measuring the heat of single cells is currently not possible due to the sensitivity of existing calorimeters. Here the authors present on-chip single cell calorimetry, with a sensitivity over ten-fold greater than the current gold-standard.

On-chip nonlinear optics devices find a number of applications in modern optics from spectroscopy to communications. Here, the authors increase the degrees of freedom for frequency mixing by demonstrating the nonlinear interaction of perpendicularly-polarized modes in an integrated microring resonator.

Bikaverin is a fungal-derived tetracyclic polyketide with antibiotic, antifungal and anticancer properties. Here, the authors employ various pathway engineering strategies to achieve high level production of bikaverin in baker’s yeast.

Mark McCarthy, Michael Boehnke, Andrew Morris and colleagues perform large-scale association analyses using the Metabochip to gain insights into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. They report several new susceptibility loci, including two that show sex-differentiated effects on disease risk.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signalling is regulated at multiple levels. Here the authors show that the importin RanBP6 acts as a tumor suppressor in Glioblastoma and  regulates EGFR signalling through promoting translocation of STAT3 to the nuclei and repressing EGFR transcription.

Global warming drove ‘wet gets wetter and dry gets drier’ climate shifts in Asia ~5.3 million years ago with monsoon pacing by ~400,000 and ~ 100,000 year cycles. This could be a template for future Asian climate response to anthropogenic warming.

Here, Roxhed et al. develop a multiplexed approach to screen IgG and IgM levels against several SARS-CoV-2 proteins in home-sampled dried blood spots and estimate seroprevalence of 12.5% in Stockholm in spring of 2020.

Layered oxide heterostructures are widely studied because of the new quantum states that can arise at the interface between the oxide materials used. Here, the authors are able to link the rotation of crystallographic oxygen octahedra at the interface to a modified ferromagnetic state in such heterostructures.

Yeast exhibit oscillations that share features with circadian rhythms. The authors show that bioenergetic constraints promote oscillatory behaviour: resources are stored until supplies can support translational bursting, this is licensed by ion transport and release from membrane-less compartments.

FR171456 is a bioactive chemical produced by some microorganisms. Here, the authors identify the enzyme NSDHL of the sterol synthesis pathway as the molecular target of FR171456, rendering it the first compound to specifically target this class of enzyme in yeast and mammalian cells.

Emmanuel Mignot and colleagues report that variants in the T-cell receptor alpha (TRA@) locus are strongly associated with narcolepsy. This is the first documented involvement of the TCR locus in human disease and will shed light on how HLA-TCR interactions contribute to organ-specific autoimmune targeting.

Xue-Jun Zhang and colleagues report genome-wide association analyses identifying six new susceptibility loci in the Chinese population.

Proof of protection against blood-stage P. falciparum malaria by a single immunological mechanism has been elusive. Here, using engineered anti-PfRH5 chimeric monoclonal antibodies in non-human primates, the authors show that high levels of merozoite-neutralizing antibodies can achieve protection.

Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here the authors assessed organic carbon storage in VCE across Australian and the potential annual CO₂ emission benefits of VCE conservation and find that Australia contributes substantially the carbon stored in VCE globally.

Wong, Lee et al. analyse trajectory patterns in the neutralising antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 in convalescent COVID-19 patients. The authors identify two major classes of patients—high-persistent and waning—reporting specific clinical characteristics of each class, which could help with targeted vaccination strategies.

Analysis of predicted loss-of-function variants from 125,748 human exomes and 15,708 whole genomes in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) provides a roadmap for human ‘knockout’ studies and a guide for future research into disease biology and drug-target selection.

Cortex morphology varies with age, cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here the authors report 160 genome-wide significant associations with thickness, surface area and volume of the total cortex and 34 cortical regions from a GWAS meta-analysis in 22,824 adults.

Controlling complex properties of optical systems, like the output of nonlinear light sources, is increasingly important for applications. Here, Wetzel et al. use an actively-controlled photonic chip to prepare patterns of femtosecond laser pulses used for tailoring supercontinuum generation.

Myoglobin is a hemeprotein that reversibly binds oxygen and gives muscle its red color. Here, the authors report a genetic variant in the MB gene that associates with myoglobinopathy, an autosomal dominant progressive myopathy, and altered oxygen binding properties of the mutant protein.

The intrinsic efficiency of electrocaloric materials has been largely overlooked. Here, the authors use the parameter materials efficiency as the figure of merit to rank caloric materials, reporting on the materials efficiency of highly ordered bulk lead scandium tantalate PST.

Twin photons — pairs of highly correlated photons — are one of the building blocks for quantum optics, and are used in both fundamental tests of quantum physics and technological applications. Now an efficient source for correlated atom pairs is demonstrated, promising to enable a wide range of experiments in the field of quantum matter-wave optics.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors are currently being considered in neuroblastoma (NB), but its acquired resistance is reported in non-small cell lung cancers. Here, the authors have found PIM1 overexpression decreases sensitivity to ALK inhibitors in NB and combined ALK and PIM1 inhibition enhances anti-tumour efficacy in vitro and in PDX models.

Joana Carlevaro-Fita, Andrés Lanzós et al. present the Cancer LncRNA Census (CLC), a manually curated dataset of 122 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with experimentally-validated functions in cancer based on data from the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. CLC lncRNAs have unique gene features, and a number display evidence for cancer-driving functions that are conserved from humans to mice.

This study reports reduced expression of the chromatin and splicing regulator HP1γ in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and shows that HP1γ protects against pervasive RNA splicing leading to toxic mRNA products detected in IBD, like progerin.

Analysis of copy number alterations in 1,451 patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and matched patient tumor samples shows strong conservation from patient tumors through late-passage PDXs and a lack of systematic copy number evolution driven by the mouse host.

Haque et al. report that the Hedgehog pathway kinesin KIF7 binds the transcription factor GLI via electrostatic coiled-coil interactions, and synergy between KIF7 and GLI underlies the recruitment of both proteins to microtubules and the cilium tip.

Calcium and other analytes can be imaged at super-resolution and in vivo with photo-switchable sensors.

Targeting the interaction between transcription factor TEAD and its co-repressor VGL4 is an attractive strategy to chemically modulate Hippo signaling. Here, the authors develop a proteomimetic with stabilized tertiary structure that inhibits the TEAD:VGL4 interaction in vitro and in cells.

Using a sample of more than 1 million individuals, Hatoum et al. identify genomic loci associated with general and substance-specific addiction risk.

A large portion of the transcribed genome—such as introns and noncoding RNAs—is believed to not be translated into protein products. Here, the authors provide evidence for the existence of regulated peptide products that are translated from transcribed sequences generally characterized as noncoding.