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Although progress in the coverage of routine measles vaccination in children in low- and middle-income countries was made during 2000–2019, many countries remain far from the goal of 80% coverage in all districts by 2019.

A very high-energy muon observed by the KM3NeT experiment in the Mediterranean Sea is evidence for the interaction of an exceptionally high-energy neutrino of cosmic origin.  

Lasing in a hard-X-ray free-electron laser is typically seeded from noise due to the self-amplification of spontaneous emission, which limits temporal coherence and spectral characteristics. Researchers now demonstrate self-seeding using X-rays from the first half of the magnetic undulator to seed the second half via a diamond-based monochromator at ångström wavelengths.

Detailed insight into how the brain responds to Trypanosoma brucei infection is lacking. Here, single cell and spatial transcriptomics are integrated to characterise this response, identifying a unique crosstalk between microglia and plasma cells.

Analysis of HbA1c and FPG levels across 117 population-based studies demonstrates regional variation in prevalence of previously undiagnosed screen-detected diabetes using one or both measures and suggests that use of elevated FPG alone could underestimate diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.

The competitive dynamics of mitochondrial haplotypes juxtaposed within the same cell are poorly studied. Here the authors show, in the context of a transmissible cancer, that one haplotype has recurrently entered cancer cells by horizontal transfer and appears to have a ‘selfish’ selective advantage.

Inborn errors of the alternative NF-κB pathway in humans impair the development of AIRE-expressing medullary thymic epithelial cells, thereby underlying the production of autoantibodies against type I IFNs and predisposition to viral diseases

High-resolution subnational mapping of child growth failure indicators for 105 low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 shows that, despite considerable progress, substantial geographical inequalities still exist in some countries.

Two below-threshold surface code memories on superconducting processors markedly reduce logical error rates, achieving high efficiency and real-time decoding, indicating potential for practical large-scale fault-tolerant quantum algorithms.

Empirically based models of disease progression in familial frontotemporal dementia reveal the relative ordering of clinical, neuroimaging, and fluid biomarker changes and facilitate novel clinical trial designs

Ancient DNA analysis of archaeological cat remains shows cats dispersed along trade routes from the Neolithic era onwards, while its gene pool shows admixture from multiple geographical sources and that the tabby allele originated in the Middle Ages.

It is hoped that simulations of molecules and materials will provide a near-term application of quantum computers. A study of the performance of error mitigation highlights the obstacles to scaling up these calculations to practically useful sizes.

We report the outcome of an international optical observation campaign of a prototype constellation satellite, AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3, which features a 64.3 m² phased-array antenna and a launch vehicle adaptor.

The existence and properties of tetraquark states with two heavy quarks and two light antiquarks have been widely debated. Here, the authors use a unitarized model to study the properties of an exotic narrow state compatible with a doubly charmed tetraquark.

A survey of 136 factors that may influence cytokine secretion identify smoking, cytomegalovirus latent infection and body mass index as influential factors, with varying effects on innate and adaptive immunity.

The mediators that drive the progressive phase of multiple sclerosis remain undefined. Weiner and colleagues find that 15α-hydroxycholestene is expressed abundantly only during progressive multiple sclerosis and activates macrophages, microglia and astrocytes via poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1.

Electron transfer between mitochondrial cytochrome c and subunit of cytochrome bc₁ can proceed at long distance. Here the authors investigate further the mechanism and show phosphorylation regulation of the interactions between the protein partners in the electron transport chain.

The tumor suppressor ARF is retained by nucleophosmin (NPM) in nucleoli, but shifted out upon DNA damage. In this study, the authors show that cytochrome c triggers a conformational change on NPM, driving ARF release and controlling protein trafficking.

Unprecedented floods and droughts bring new challenges for risk reduction, as is clear from this analysis of the drivers of changing impacts in many cases worldwide, with implications for efficient governance and investment in integrated management.

Siglec-15 inhibits T cell function in the tumor microenvironment. Here, the authors solve the crystal structure of antibody-bound Siglec-15, characterize its binding mode to sialic acids, and identify sialylated CD11b as one of its binding partners on T cells.

The authors report a particle-particle correlation and velocity-difference profile method to measure nuclear lifetime. The results obtained for excited states of 23Mg are used to constrain the production of 22Na in the astrophysical novae explosions.

Transposon based screens carried out in mice can identify genes critical for tumourigensis. Here, the authors describe transposon screens in mouse models of breast cancer and highlight a large group of tumour suppressors that could underlie selection for common chromosome arm losses in cancer.

Microglia, the brain’s immune cells, suppress neuronal activity in response to synaptic ATP release and alter behavioural responses in mice.

The LHCb collaboration reports an improved measurement of the oscillation frequency of mesons consisting of a bottom quark and strange quark, which is then combined with previous results.

‘Archaeogenetic analysis of black rat remains reveals that this species was introduced into temperate Europe twice, in the Roman and medieval periods. This population turnover was likely associated with multiple historical and environmental factors.’

CLN7 neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis is an inherited lysosomal storage disease typically with childhood onset of neurodegenerative symptoms. Here the authors report that in a mouse model of CLN7 disease neuronal reactive oxygen species and the activity of glycolytic enzyme PFKFB3 are increased, while PFKFB3 inhibition ameliorates hallmarks of pathology.

Nuclear organization impacts allelic exclusion. Here, the authors describe a self-limiting protein bridge that connects two chromosomes, and two transcription and splicing compartments, to maintain monogenic VSG expression in the African trypanosome.

High-coverage exomes from 300 central African hunter-gatherers and farmers reveal recent population trends and gene flow, as well as insight into the effects these trends have had on their respective mutational loads.

An experimental investigation of the dynamics of the spin ½ Floquet XXZ model finds bound states as predicted, and also robustness to noise and non-integrability when theoretical descriptions start to fail.

Two double-sun exoplanets have been discovered by the Kepler spacecraft, establishing a new class of ‘circumbinary’ exoplanets and suggesting that at least several million such systems exist in our Galaxy.

Genetic and environmental factors affect genome-wide patterns of epigenetic variation. Here, the authors show that while current habitat and historical lifestyle impact the methylome of rainforest hunter-gatherers and sedentary farmers, the biological functions affected and the degree of genetic control differ.

Platten and colleagues find that tryptophan metabolism by myeloid cells contributes to immunosuppressive microenvironment uniquely in IDH-mutant gliomas, which can be overcome by inhibiting this pathway in murine tumor models.

A synthetic yeast-based therapeutic that secretes an ATP-degrading enzyme in response to pro-inflammatory extracellular ATP in the gut reduces intestinal inflammation, fibrosis and dysbiosis in mouse models of colitis and enteritis.

Herpes simplex virus-1 encephalitis is linked to variants in a small nucleolar RNA, suggesting a new mechanism for antiviral immunity in cortical neurons.

JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 3132 reveal a rich molecular environment containing evidence of multiple stellar interactions on a variety of scales.

Africa-specific genetic variation on chromosome 1 near CHD1L is associated with HIV replication in vivo.

Here, Brotherton and colleagues sequence 39 mitochondrial genomes from ancient human remains. They track population changes across Central Europe and find that the foundations of the European mitochondrial DNA pool were formed during the Neolithic rather than the post-glacial period.

Genotype and exome sequencing of 150,000 participants and whole-genome sequencing of 9,950 selected individuals recruited into the Mexico City Prospective Study constitute a valuable, publicly available resource of non-European sequencing data.

As a blueprint for high-precision quantum simulation, an 18-qubit algorithm that consists of more than 1,400 two-qubit gates is demonstrated, and reconstructs the energy eigenvalues of the simulated one-dimensional wire to a precision of 1 per cent.

The authors report observations of recently formed dust and molecular gas in the atmosphere of IRC+10°216 and interpret HCN, SiS and SiC₂ lines as large convective cells in the photosphere, as seen in Betelgeuse.

After upregulation of AHR in astrocytes by type I interferons, commensal-microbe-derived metabolites of dietary tryptophan act on astrocytes to suppress CNS inflammation.

Superconducting quantum circuits are used to directly observe and characterize topological phase transitions; this approach promises to be a powerful and general platform for characterizing topological phenomena in quantum systems.

Using animal models and clinical samples, the authors report that glioblastoma metabolites activate the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor in tumor-associated macrophages to modulate their function and T cell immunity, promoting tumor growth.