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The mechanisms shaping plant succession are dynamic. Compositional dissimilarity between communities decreases over time, underlined by a predominance of taxa addition in early communities, with replacement becoming more important after 50 yr.

We find that massive genome expansion seems to be related to a reduction of PIWI-interacting RNAs and C2H2 zinc-finger and KRAB-domain protein genes that suppress transposable element expansion, and lungfish chromosomes still conservatively reflect the ur-tetrapod karyotype.

Drug induced liver injury (DILI) is an important cause acute liver failure. Here the authors report that serum Mg2+ serum levels decrease in patients with DILI as well as in preclinical animal models treated with acetaminophen overdose, and that early intervention targeting the Mg2+ transporter Cyclin M4 may be beneficial for acetaminophen overdose in preclinical models.

Most individuals with primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) remain genetically unsolved. Here the authors show that NAA60 biallelic variants cause PFBC, likely via reduced N-terminal acetylation and SLC20A2 levels with impaired phosphate uptake.

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.

Existing datasets of nitrogen (N) balance in agriculture are often discrepant. Comparing 13 of them regarding five metrics (fertilizer application, manure application, biological N fixation, atmospheric deposition, and N harvested as crop products) over 1961–2015 reveals why. Recommendations for improving N quantification and an N budget benchmark dataset are also proposed.

Viral analogs of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2), known as vBcl2s, control apoptosis by interacting with host pro- and anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl2 family. Here, García-Murria et al. report on transmembrane domains (TMDs) in the C-terminal hydrophobic region of herpes- and poxviral vBcl2s, which mediate homo-oligomerization and interactions with cellular Bcl2 TMDs to control apoptosis.

Single-photon W-states — coherent superpositions of all qubits with equal probability amplitudes — involving up to 16 spatial modes are generated by means of evanescently-coupled waveguide technology. A scheme capable of exploiting the maximal entanglement of W-states is proposed for the efficient generation of random numbers.

Proferroptotic activity of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase is shown along with an unexpected prosurvival function of its substrate, 7-dehydrocholesterol, indicating a cell-intrinsic mechanism that could be used by cancer cells to protect phospholipids from oxidative damage and escape ferroptosis.

The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues Network aims to create a reference catalogue of somatic mosaicism across different tissues and cells within individuals.

Environmental factors such as diet have been shown to be involved with the development of colitis. Here the authors show that L-tryptophan promotes the development of GPR15⁺ Treg cells via the host IDO1/2 pathway and that tryptophan consumption in mice reduces severity of colitis in a C. rodentium mouse model.

Since the discovery of proton radioactivity in ^53mCo, there has been no direct measurement of its branching ratio. Here the authors report the first measurement of the weak proton decay in ^53mCo by combining results from advanced detection systems.

The burden of asthma varies between ancestries, but GWAS have so far focused on mainly European ancestry populations. Here, Daya et al. perform GWAS for asthma in 14,654 individuals of African ancestry and, besides confirming previously known loci, identify two potentially African ancestry-specific loci.

Folgueira et al. show that dopamine signalling in the lateral hypothalamic area and the zona incerta reduces body weight and increases energy expenditure by increasing brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in rodents. Weight loss and increased energy expenditure were also observed in patients treated with a dopamine receptor 2 agonist.

A pan-Amazon study of forests shows large variations in drought tolerance traits and finds that forests in regions of pronounced climate change are losing biomass and may be operating beyond their hydraulic limits.

The molecular heterogeneity of glycosylated biotherapeutics often complicates analysis by intact mass spectrometry. Here, the authors propose a simplified procedure for characterization that employs proton transfer charge reduction. Integration with glycomic and glycopeptide datasets can further provide glycoform-level information.

ADHD is often found to be comorbid with disruptive behavior disorders, but the genetic loci underlying this comorbidity are unknown. Here, the authors have performed a GWAS meta-analysis of ADHD with disruptive behavior disorders, finding three genome-wide significant loci in Europeans, and replicating one in a Chinese cohort.

An analysis of 52 million births in 26 countries shows small reductions in preterm birth during the first to third months of lockdown. Further research is needed to examine causal pathways.

A genome-wide association study for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) identifies 12 loci and implicates neurodevelopmental pathways and conserved regions of the genome as being involved in underlying ADHD biology.

Ocean sediment records suggest that the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current did not exist before the late Miocene cooling, indicating its origin is linked to the expansion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

The Vertebrate Genome Project has used an optimized pipeline to generate high-quality genome assemblies for sixteen species (representing all major vertebrate classes), which have led to new biological insights.

SAR11 bacteria and their phages are abundant in the oceans. Here the authors quantify the number of phage-infected SAR11 cells using microscopy techniques and discover phage-infected cells without any detectable ribosomes. They hypothesize that ribosomal RNA may be used for the synthesis of phage genomes.

Time-series observations from the JWST of the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b show gaseous water in the planet’s atmosphere and place an upper limit on the abundance of methane.

The medium-resolution transmission spectrum of the exoplanet WASP-39b, described using observations from the Near Infrared Spectrograph G395H grating aboard JWST, shows significant absorption from CO₂ and H₂O and detection of SO₂.

The transmission spectrum of the exoplanet WASP-39b is obtained using observations from the Single-Object Slitless Spectroscopy mode of the Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph instrument aboard the JWST.

Quantifying the long-term (LT) response of crop yields to nitrogen fertilizer is critical to improving nutrient management practices. Based on 25 LT field experiments, this study develops a generic LT nitrogen response function for global cereals to characterize the yield impacts, associated LT economic benefits and external costs of changing nitrogen inputs.

In mouse and human squamous cell carcinoma, loss of function of FAT1 promotes tumour initiation, malignant progression and metastasis through the activation of a hybrid epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotype.

Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality.

Charged particle interaction and energy dissipation in plasma is fundamentally interesting. Here the authors study proton stopping in laser-produced plasma for the moderate to strong coupling with electrons.

Genome-wide data from 400 individuals indicate that the initial spread of the Beaker archaeological complex between Iberia and central Europe was propelled by cultural diffusion, but that its spread into Britain involved a large-scale migration that permanently replaced about ninety per cent of the ancestry in the previously resident population.

The mechanisms controlling the formation of cellular adhesions are not fully understood. Here, the authors use single molecule tracking and super-resolution imaging to show that the actin cytoskeleton regulates integrin diffusion in the developing Drosophila embryo.

Single-cell transcriptomics and protein expression analyses of salivary glands and gingiva, along with the detection of infectious virus and virus-specific antibodies in saliva from SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, support a potential role for the oral cavity in COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Waveguide quantum electrodynamics offers a platform to study the interplay between light-mediated and intrinsic matter-matter interactions. Here, the authors couple a superconducting transmission line to a model 1D magnetic material, revealing photon-induced transitions to collective excitations that evolve as temperature decreases from super radiant spin modes to magnons, with implications for quantum information processing and spintronic devices.

Systemic dissection of sexually dimorphic phenotypes in mice is lacking. Here, Karp and the International Mouse Phenotype Consortium show that approximately 10% of qualitative traits and 56% of quantitative traits in mice as measured in laboratory setting are sexually dimorphic.

The dayside thermal emission spectrum and brightness temperature map of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-18b obtained from the NIRISS instrument on the JWST showed water emission features, an atmosphere consistent with solar metallicity, as well as a steep and symmetrical decrease in temperature towards the nightside.

The synaptonemal complex is a meiosis-specific proteinaceous structure that supports homologous chromosome pairs during meiosis. Here, the authors show that SIX6OS1 (of previously unknown function) is part of the synaptonemal complex central element and upon deletion in mice, causes defective chromosome synapsis and infertility.

Using a global molecular phylogenetic dataset of birds on islands, the sensitivity of island-specific rates of colonization, speciation and extinction to island features (area and isolation) is estimated.

Correlations in momentum space between hadrons created by ultrarelativistic proton–proton collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider provide insights into the strong interaction, particularly the short-range dynamics of hyperons—baryons that contain strange quarks.

Neuronal populations in the prefrontal cortex are involved in associative learning. Here the authors use longitudinal imaging and computational approaches in the mouse prefrontal cortex to observe changes in neuronal ensembles during fear conditioning.

Correlations between tree species diversity and tree abundance are well established, but the direction of the relationship is unresolved. Here the authors use path models to estimate plausible causal pathways in the diversity-abundance relationship across 23 global forests regions, finding a lack of general support for a positive diversity-abundance relationship, which is prevalent in the most productive lands on Earth only

Using kidneys from a genetically engineered porcine donor transplanted into a cynomolgus monkey model, the design, creation and long-term function of kidney grafts supporting life are explored.

γδ T cells contribute to the response to immune checkpoint blockade treatment in patients with HLA-class-I-negative DNA mismatch repair-deficient colon cancers. .

Analysis of the panchromatic transmission spectrum of the warm, low-density, Neptune-sized exoplanet WASP-107b from instruments aboard the HST and JWST suggests that tidal interaction with its host star led to changes in its atmospheric chemistry.