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LARGE1 glycosyltransferase synthesizes matriglycan (xylose-glucuronate)_n on dystroglycan, and short matriglycan can cause neuromuscular disorders. Authors show that LARGE1 processively polymerizes matriglycan of defined length on prodystroglycan.

Here, the authors demonstrate increased global lactylation levels and in the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients. NFATc2 is identified as a key target gene regulated by histone H3 lysine 9 lactylation that exacerbates disease progression by enhancing the cartilage invasive function of fibroblast-like synoviocytes.

Perturbations to strongly lensed galaxy light in very long baseline interferometric imaging reveal a dark and unusually low-mass object at redshift z ≈ 0.9.

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.

This genomic study of magnetic resonance imaging-based brain age in 56,348 people identifies 59 genetic loci, links brain aging to mental and physical health, and suggests high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes as causal factors of brain aging.

Here the authors perform a trans expression quantitative trait locus meta-analysis study of over 3,700 people and link a USP18 variant to expression of 50 inflammation genes and lupus risk, highlighting how genetic regulation of immune responses drives autoimmune disease and informs new therapies.

Here the authors leverage a crossfeeding, engineered microbial community to demonstrate that strain abundance cycles are robust across environmental conditions. They pair this with a nonlinear dynamic model to elucidate population cycles.

Limited diagnostic capacity for asymptomatic individuals hinders malaria elimination efforts in Africa. Here, the authors present a near point-of-care method based on colorimetric LAMP detection that outperforms expert microscopy and commercial rapid diagnostic tests for Plasmodium detection in asymptomatic and submicroscopic individuals.

Hypothalamus is implicated in memory disorders but the neural mechanisms are unknown. Here, the authors report that MCH expressing hypothalamic neurons respond to novel object exposure, are inhibited by local GAD65 expressing neurons and these local circuit interactions are causally involved in object memory formation.

Li et al. identify a previously uncharacterized transcription factor dumpless1 as a critical effector of ecdysone signaling in stretch follicle cell, bridging somatic-germline communication through the integrin βPS-Rho1-p-MLC axis to facilitate dumping.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

Cells must  adapt to environmental changes. Here, the authors show that TM9SF3 mediates PIP₂ translocation in response to extracellular acidification,  thereby regulating cell migration through cytoskeletal remodelling.

A new version of nanorate DNA sequencing, with an error rate lower than five errors per billion base pairs and compatible with whole-exome and targeted capture, enables epidemiological-scale studies of somatic mutation and selection and the generation of high-resolution selection maps across coding and non-coding sites for many genes.

PROTACs induce degradation by bridging a target protein and E3 ubiquitin ligase. Here, authors show that protein interface frustration correlates with cooperativity, offering a structural metric to prioritize PROTAC candidates prior to synthesis.

Our understanding of chromosome organization and dynamics in spherical bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, remains limited. Here, the authors show that chromosome replication and cell division cycles are not synchronized in S. aureus, with cells exhibiting two segregated origins of replication at the start of the cell cycle.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 continue to evolve 6 to 12 months after infection in patients who have recovered from COVID-19, increasing in potency and breadth with time.

The electronic behaviour of complex oxides such as LaNiO₃ depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, making it challenging to identify microscopic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the influence of oxygen vacancies on the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition of LaNiO₃ films.

Loretan and colleagues present a low-cost smartphone-based microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence. This approach opens doors to personalised and widely distributed applications in diagnostics, biosensing, and science education.

The BabyScreen+ study offered genomic screening to 1,000 newborns in Australia, and showed that the approach is feasible and positively received by families, leading to molecular diagnoses in 1.6% of babies.

Here they perform a systematic dissection of OCT4 and reveal how intrinsically disordered regions can be used to serve specific functions during reprogramming and embryonic development. This can be exploited to engineer more efficient and specific reprogramming factors.

Characterization of dipeptidase 1 as a receptor for porcine haemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus reveals the versatility of embecovirus receptor binding domains and receptor usage.

Developing high-current-density catalysts is key to efficient water splitting. Here, the authors report a single-atom Ru-doped amorphous Ni–Mo oxide that dynamically self-reconstructs to retain high activity at industrial current densities in an anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzer.

Errors in oocyte division can cause infertility and birth defects. Here, authors combine a genetic strategy with a novel optochemical tool to show that spindle pole-localized F-actin is essential for proper meiotic spindle assembly and chromosome segregation.

African ancestry is a known risk factor for prostate cancer development, but the genetic determinants of this are incompletely understood. Here, the authors identify 172 potentially pathogenic variants which are enriched in an African population.

Perception can occur in the absence of report. Here, the authors use intracranial recordings to show that sequential sampling of sensory evidence in the ventral visual cortex supports perception beyond report.

The onset of Southern Ocean convection following a slowing of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during Heinrich events can help explain rapid CO₂ increases and Antarctic warming during these events, according to Earth system modelling.

Achieving high selectivity in CO₂-to-methanol conversion remains challenging. This study uses defect-engineered In₂O₃/ZrO₂ catalysts featuring abundant oxygen vacancies, significantly boosting methanol productivity and selectivity.

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) since the Last Interglacial is reconstructed, showing orbital-scale shifts in ACC position driven by eccentricity and precession, possibly counteracting the predicted southward shift due to global warming.

The authors report on the implementation of a data-efficient machine learning approach to predict plasma dynamics. This enables offline design of robust trajectories to terminate the plasma without disruptive instabilities. Experimental results at the TCV tokamak show statistically significant improvements in key figures of merit and the ability to a priori predict the dynamics of key plasma properties.

The Zika viral protease NS2B-NS3 is a crucial target for antiviral drug development due to its role in processing viral polyproteins. Here, the authors utilize crystallographic fragment screening and deep mutational scanning to identify binding sites for resistance-resilient inhibitors.

Here, the authors structurally and biochemically characterise the YcfA-YcfC enzyme system, crucial for biosynthesis of the anticancer and antimicrobial agent 6-thioguanine.

Extensive measurements of the emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia from wastewater treatment facilities in the USA present higher values than are currently stated in national inventories. The results of this analysis show that greenhouse gas and nitrogenous emissions from the wastewater sector are often overlooked and that their impact on climate should be reassessed.

Children successfully solved a challenging sorting task by spontaneously discovering efficient sorting strategies, such as selection sort and shaker sort. Older children outperformed younger ones, demonstrating developmental progress in strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Control of liquid-based materials is important for developing materials based on these, but topological flexibility is limited. Here, the authors report a method for digital fabrication of slippery objects with solid-liquid composite interfaces and geometric design freedom.

Large language models hold significant potential in healthcare settings. This study exposes their vulnerability in medical applications and demonstrates the inadequacy of existing safeguards, highlighting the need for future studies to develop reliable methods for detecting and mitigating these risks.

Cells struggle to migrate on soft substrates, which don’t provide enough traction. Here, the authors show that rapid, cyclic changes in substrate rigidity allow cells to overcome this limitation and move quickly.

National parochialism is the tendency to cooperate more with people of the same nation. In a 42-nations study, the authors show that national parochialism is a pervasive phenomenon, present to a similar degree across all the studied nations, and occurs both when decisions are private or public.

Myocardial ischemia is a pathological condition where cardiomyocytes lack oxygen and energy supply. Here, Cheng et al. develop a photosynthetic system consisting of Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyre) and upconversion nanoparticles encapsulated in a hydrogel, which upon exposure to near-infrared light, enables oxygen production by C. pyre to alleviate the hypoxic myocardial environment.

Rising seafood demand strains fish stocks, risking ecosystem collapse. Using a dynamic food-web model, we compare fishing strategies. Targeting mid-trophic species yields sustainable returns with minimal biodiversity loss, guiding ecosystem-based management.

The temporal characterization of few-femtosecond vacuum ultraviolet pulses bring new opportunities for investigating ultrafast light-matter interactions.

Tests of the predictions of the renormalization group in biological experiments have not yet been decisive. Now, a study on the collective dynamics of insect swarms provides a long-sought match between experiment and theory.

Peritumoural pancreatitis and lobular injury are commonly seen in pancreatic cancer. Here, the authors reveal interactions between invading tumour cells and inflammation-related lobular cells, linked to switching from a basal to classical tumor cell phenotype.

Polyamides (PAs) or nylons are types of plastics with wide applications, but due to their accumulation in the environment, strategies for their deconstruction are of interest. Here, the authors screen 40 potential nylon-hydrolyzing enzymes (nylonases) using a mass spectrometry-based approach and identify a thermostabilized N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase as the most promising for further development, as well as crucial targets for progressing PA6 enzymatic depolymerization.

This study examines the outcomes of dietary shifts across intrinsic and instrumental conservation perspectives, finding that most conservation benefits already come from a partial shift to healthier, more plant-based diets, whereas greater benefits depend on more targeted conservation action.

Kaiser et al. characterize the disordered extracellular N-terminus of a peptide-activated G protein-coupled receptor. They combine biophysical, biochemical, and computational methods to uncover its role in the activation of G protein and arrestin pathways.

Encoding quantum information in qudits instead of qubits allows for several advantages, but scalable native entangling techniques would be needed. Here, the authors show how to use light-shift gates to perform entangling operations on trapped ion systems, with a calibration overhead which is independent on the qudit dimension.

Available wheat genomes are annotated by projecting Chinese Spring gene models across the new assemblies. Here, the authors generate de novo gene annotations for the 9 wheat genomes, identify core and dispensable transcriptome, and reveal conservation and divergence of gene expression balance across homoeologous subgenomes.

A phase 3 trial found that VER-01, a full-spectrum cannabis extract, reduces chronic low back pain, improves physical function and sleep and shows no signs of dependence or withdrawal.

Mirror image peptides are of interest for a range of biotechnology applications. Here, the authors report on the creation of fully functional mirror-image transmembrane pores made of D-amino acid peptides, which have potential in nanopore sensing technologies and cancer therapies.