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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.

Liang et al. estimate the prevalence of text modified by large language models in recent scientific papers and preprints, finding widespread use (up to 17.5% of papers in computer science).

Here the authors show that genkwanin glycosides from Phaleria nisidai leaf extract improve glucose homeostasis by enhancing glucose uptake into adipose tissue, with effects comparable to metformin in a study with male mice with obesity and insulin resistance.

Polygenic risk scores can help identify individuals at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Here, the authors characterise a multi-ancestry score across nearly 900,000 people, showing that its predictive value depends on demographic and clinical context and extends to related traits and complications.

Different types of SETBP1 variants cause variable developmental syndromes with only partial clinical and functional overlaps. Here, the authors report that SETBP1 variants outside the degron region impair DNA-binding, transcription, and neuronal differentiation capacity and morphologies.

People living in rural areas of the United States have poorer outcomes from acute COVID-19. Here, the authors show that higher mortality rates among rural dwellers persist for up to two years after the initial infection, even after accounting for baseline risk factors.

Lundgren et al. show that in response to transient cold exposure, a distinct subpopulation of brown adipocytes carries out a lipogenic response involving production of acylcarnitines, which enables an improved thermogenic response to secondary cold exposure.

UTe₂ is a proposed intrinsic topological superconductor, but its quasiparticle surface band has not yet been visualized. Now this is achieved using quasiparticle interference imaging, revealing the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.

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.

Methane emission from a very cool brown dwarf, perhaps arising from an aurora, has been detected in James Webb Space Telescope observations.

Moiré field-effect transistors based on graphene/hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures are promising for their high room-temperature carrier mobilities and magnetotransport properties. Here, high-temperature molecular beam epitaxy growth of graphene/hBN gives rise to a moiré-fringed hexagonal superlattice with Hofstadter butterfly electronic band structure and quantum magneto-oscillations above room temperature.

In this Stage 2 Registered Report, Buchanan et al. show evidence confirming the phenomenon of semantic priming across speakers of 19 diverse languages.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

Zhang, Lahry, Cipurko et al. show that the microbial metabolites queuine and preQ₁ modify the same host tRNA. PreQ₁-tRNA reduces cell proliferation, slows tumour growth, decreases the translation of ribosomal proteins and is cleaved by IRE1 on the ER ribosome.

Together with an accompanying paper presenting a transcriptomic atlas of the mouse lemur, interrogation of the atlas provides a rich body of data to support the use of the organism as a model for primate biology and health.

Beige and brown fat may influence systemic metabolism through secreted signals. Here the authors identify a panel of metabolites secreted from beige and brown fat cells, which signal to influence fat tissue and skeletal muscle metabolism and have anti-obesity effects in mouse models of obesity and diabetes.

Body size and composition are complex traits that are challenging to characterize due to environmental and genetic influences. Here, Arehart et al. disentangle shared and distinct genetic signals underlying body size and composition.

Uncertainties in the absorptive properties of black and brown carbon particles limit our understanding of their warming potential. Following an extensive field campaign, Liuet al. report that the magnitude of warming is dependent on particle coatings, which vary due to source and photochemical aging.

Erlich et al. show that soluble LTα and membrane-bound LTα1β2 lymphotoxins expressed by B cells play distinct roles to attenuate the pathology observed in ileitis.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Early drivers of T2D include ectopic fat accumulation that impairs insulin sensitivity. Here, the authors show that GLP1/GCGR dual agonism provides multimodal benefits in obese male mice by reducing liver fat and improving insulin sensitivity resulting in endogenous β-cell recovery.

This study reports age-dependent negative correlations between temporal changes in maximal leaf area index and growing season length, indicating contrasting leaf acclimation strategies driving vegetation greening in young versus old deciduous broadleaf forests.

Hominin fossils from the Ledi-Geraru Research Project area, Ethiopia, suggest that early Homo and Australopithecus species co-existed in the region more than 2.5 million years ago.

The authors highlight inconsistencies and divergencies in the literature reporting data on indirect calorimetry for studies on whole-body energy homeostasis, and propose harmonization of standards to facilitate data comparison and interpretation across different datasets.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

By developing a functional nuclear import system and correlative imaging workflow, this study reveals that HIV-1 nuclear entry relies on the elasticity of both the viral capsid and the nuclear pore to enable the selective passage of small HIV-1 cores.

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).

Most metabolic studies using traditional procedures fail to reveal the spatial patterning associated with metabolic flux and cellular metabolism within tissue microenvironments. Here, the authors show the application of multi-scale microscopy, machine learning-based image segmentation and spatial analysis to map the fate of nutrient-derived ¹³C across spatiotemporal scales.

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.

The authors identify a single main-chain hydrogen bond required to keep GABA_A receptors closed in the absence of neurotransmitter. Electrophysiology and molecular dynamics simulations suggest disruption of this bond is a key component of channel opening during inhibitory synaptic signaling in the brain.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Latorre-Muro et al. show that the cytosolic chaperone PPID drives insertion of the mitochondrial import receptor TOM70 into the mitochondrial outer membrane, thereby regulating body temperature, glucose homeostasis and body weight in obese mice.

An in-depth microbiological and metagenomic analysis of Colombian farm and fermentation facilities resulted in the design of a defined microbial community that can reproduce the flavour of fine chocolate.

UCP1 is involved in regulating thermogenesis, and the Ucp1-Cre mouse line has been widely used for studying brown fat. Here they show that this mouse line carries an extra copy of the Ucp1 gene and displays unexpected changes in fat tissue function. Researchers should be cautious when interpreting studies using this model.

Calorie burning is normally turned off in thermogenic brown fat at warm temperatures. Here the authors show that adipocyte oxygen sensing directly boosts brown fat calorie burning, even at warm temperatures.

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.

Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of mouse hypothalamus and behavioural experiments show that specific hypothalamic networks regulate conflicting feeding versus parenting behaviours of female mice.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

Many pathogens encode transporters that extract heme directly from host proteins. In this study, the authors demonstrate the utility of de novo-designed proteins in understanding the mechanism behind this process and how it can be inhibited in pathogenic E. coli.

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is characterized by premature aging with cardiovascular disease being the main cause of death. Here the authors show that inhibition of the NAT10 enzyme enhances cardiac function and fitness, and reduces age-related phenotypes in a mouse model of premature aging.

Hospital treatment for children with severe malnutrition may facilitate antibiotic resistance. Here, using rectal swabs from 1,371 children receiving treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Niger, the authors identify high rates of bacteria carrying carbapenemase genes, highlighting the urgent need to prioritize infection control.

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.

Noel et al. show aberrant updating of expectations in three distinct mouse models of autism spectrum disorder. Brain-wide neurophysiology data suggest this stems from excess units encoding deviations from prior mean and a lack of sensory prediction errors in frontal areas.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

The authors demonstrate a cavity enhancement of single artificial atoms at telecommunication wavelengths in silicon by coupling them to highly optimized photonic crystal cavities, showing intensity enhancement and highly pure single-photon emission.

Temporal multi-omic analysis of tissues from rats undergoing up to eight weeks of endurance exercise training reveals widespread shared, tissue-specific and sex-specific changes, including immune, metabolic, stress response and mitochondrial pathways.