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Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, the authors have discovered a neutron star with an ultra-long spin period of 76 s. Though it resides in the neutron star graveyard, it emits radio waves and challenges our understanding of neutron star evolution.

Many mammals are born with an immature intestinal epithelium, which adapts to a changing diet during the weaning period. Muncanet al. show that the transcriptional repressor Blimp1is expressed in the intestine of mice at birth, and that expression is lost at the transition to the weaning stage.

The Iberian lynx has suffered severe population declines in the twentieth century. An ecological modelling study that accounts for the effects of climate change, prey availability and management intervention now shows that lynx are likely to become extinct in the wild in the next 50 years. However, a carefully planned reintroduction program could avert extinction this century.

In this Viewpoint article,Nature Reviews Immunologyinvites five experts to discuss the nature of immunological memory. How should we define a memory response? And can innate immune cells — as well as lymphocytes — develop into memory populations? The contributors share their thoughts on these questions and other key issues in the field.

The Ethiopian wolf is one of Africa’s most endangered carnivores. A new fossil specimen indicates the presence of this species in Ethiopia since the Early Pleistocene, with climate modelling indicating variable past and future ranges for the species.

Genomic analysis of an Alpine whitefish radiation before and after human-driven lake eutrophication that led to the extinction of one species through hybridization shows that substantial parts of the genome of the extinct species persist within surviving species due to introgressive hybridization.

J191213.72-441045.1, the second white dwarf pulsar system found, is a binary that comprises a white dwarf in a 4.03 h orbit with an M dwarf. The system exhibits pulsed emission with a period of 5.30 min and was detected at wavelengths from radio to X-rays.

An analysis of the intestinal microbiome of people who have undergone allogenic haematopoietic cell transplantation shows that an enzyme derived from a bacteriophage has specific antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, and suppresses E. faecalis-associated graft-versus-host disease.

Optical magnification instruments once brought about the Copernican revolution that put the Earth in its correct astrophysical context. Sophisticated information-compression techniques including simulation modelling are now ushering in a second ‘Copernican’ revolution. The latter strives to understand the ‘Earth system’ as a whole and to develop, on this cognitive basis, concepts for global environmental management.

Observations of the supernova SN 2019hgp, identified about a day after its explosion, show that it occurred within a nebula of carbon, oxygen and neon, and was probably the explosion of a massive WC/WO star.

Magnetic-based isolators are critical components for protecting qubits against noise in quantum setups but unsuitable for large processors. Here, Abdo et al. show good protection of a qubit in a high-fidelity quantum readout setup using a Josephson-based isolator devoid of magnetic materials.

Unprecedented weather events are increasingly impacting societies worldwide. This Perspective explores methods to anticipate such hazards, and it highlights the role of transformative, incremental, and reactive adaptation strategies to achieve enhanced resilience.

There are two technical impediments for using purified Wnt proteins in serum-free stem cell cultures: rapid loss of activity and toxicity of detergents to stem cell self-renewal. Here, the authors show that lipid-stabilized Wnt3a can establish long-term culture of human intestinal and liver organoids.

Blue large-amplitude pulsators (BLAPs) represent a mysterious class of hot stars pulsating in an unexpectedly extreme way. Here we report the discovery of an unusual BLAP at a short-lived phase that provides a new path to understand their physical origins.

Organoid models of early liver disease aid target discovery and drug screening.

The wide use of microfluidics for biological analysis demands scalable preparation methods, yet in practice it is very challenging. Here, Wanget al. show a wafer-scale fabrication of nanofluidic chips with single-digit nanometre dimension, which is compatible with standard semiconductor processing.

CRISPR base editing technologies can be used for disease modelling. Here the authors use various base editing tools to generate tumour models in human adult stem cell-derived hepatocyte, endometrial and intestinal organoids.

Physiological effects of psychological stress and infection in mothers can increase the incidence of anxiety and psychiatric diseases in offsprings and in subsequent generation. Here, Miklos Toth and colleagues show that intergenerational inheritance of neurological traits is propagated across multiple generations independently by parallel non-genetic mechanisms involving independent segregation of epigenetic specific loci.

Breast tumors with deficiency in DNA double-strand break repair might be expected to show aneuploidy. A new study shows that microdeletions in PTEN, resulting in complete loss of PTEN protein, are signature lesions in these cancers, particularly those arising in BRCA1-mutation carriers.

B cells are thought to divide asymmetrically to generate distinct lineages required for adaptive immunity. Hawkins et al. find that surprisingly, mice lacking components of a complex required for asymmetric cell division display normal responses to vaccination and viral infection.

Invariant NKT cells elicit the rapid release of cytokines. Two papers by Leadbetter and Vinuesa and colleagues show that these cells can also provide direct help to B cells to elicit rapid antibody responses.

The intestinal microbiota signals through epithelial cells to activate calcineurin and NFAT, driving proliferation of cancer stem cells and the development of colorectal cancer.

High-affinity and isotype-switched antibodies arise from germinal center reactions. Goodnow and colleagues identify the Rho guanine nucleotide–exchange factor DOCK8 as being essential for sustained B cell immune synapse formation in germinal centers and mature antibody responses.

The microbial metabolite sensor GPR43 has been previously shown to be a crucial modulator of immune responses. Here the authors show GPR43 is required for controlling disease pathology severity in the context of experimental models of GVHD.

The integration of microarray and metabolite data is important for understanding the physiology of model organisms. This study demonstrates how the integration of these kinds of data can provide novel insights into the growth and protein metabolism of two different yeast strains.

Thermostable enzymes are used for a range of industrial processes, including biofuel production. Berka et al. report the genome sequences of two thermophilic eukaryotic fungi with enzymes that operate at the elevated temperatures needed to digest biomass and prepare many biochemicals.

Memory B cells need to be reactivated to produce high affinity antibody responses on subsequent antigen encounters. Here the authors show that memory B cells localise to lymph node subcapsular proliferative foci (SPF), which have distinct properties from the germinal centre, for rapid expansion and the induction of B memory responses.

Observations of an eclipsing double-white-dwarf binary with an orbital period of 6.91 minutes that is decaying as predicted by general relativity are reported; once launched, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) should swiftly detect this binary.

T cells provide help to B cells in germinal centers. Kurosaki and colleagues show that B cells of lower affinity receive weaker T cell help. This scenario results in higher expression of the transcriptional repressor Bach2 and promotes the development of memory B cells.

Dilanthanide complexes that possess radical bridges exhibit enhanced magnetic exchange coupling, affording molecular magnets with high blocking temperatures. Here, the authors explore a series of dilanthanide-encapsulated fullerenes where the radical bridge is taken to its limit and the role is played by a single unpaired electron.

The authors characterize the cotranscriptional folding of the Clostridium beijerinckii pfl ZTP riboswitch in response to its ligand ZMP, and reveal that an internal RNA strand displacement and riboswitch sequence play important roles in the process.

Saavedra et al. show that broad-spectrum antibiotics impair homeostatic efferocytosis of macrophages in mice by affecting the gut microbiota. Microbial butyrate is shown to rescue homeostatic efferocytosis efficiency in vivo.

This Timeline article looks back over 50 years of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a cancer therapy, highlighting the substantial advances that have been made to increase the specificity of this treatment for cancer cells, as well as improvements in availability, safety and patient outcomes.