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A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

As a material's thickness decreases towards the atomic-scale, dimensional confinement may promote behaviour not found in the bulk, with potential technological applications. Here, the authors study superconductivity in TaS₂as it is mechanically exfoliated towards the two-dimensional limit.

Studying the behaviour of captive mice requires considerable time and effort. Here, video-based software is designed and implemented to automatically quantitate mouse behaviour; the system performs well in comparison with manual human observations.

Existing methods of adhesive curing suffer from restrictions in the circumstances in which they can be employed. Here, the authors design a new method whereby application of a potential difference induces the curing process, increasing the scope for implementation to a whole new range of substrates and conditions.

Although Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the most widely studied pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), non-TLR PRRs are also important sensors of pathogens. This Review describes the role of one non-TLR PRR, dectin-1, in immunity and the implications of this role for the function of other non-TLR PRRs.

Analysis of data from a smartphone-based app designed for large-scale tracking of potential COVID-19 symptoms, used by over 2.5 million participants in the United Kingdom and United States, shows that loss of taste and smell sensations is predictive of potential SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

This study demonstrates the safety and long-term efficacy of a single-dose, injectable contraceptive in female domestic cats. Treated females remained contracepted for over two years, and did not ovulate or produce kittens when paired with males.

An analysis of clustered substitutions and indels across 30 cancer types provides insight into the role of APOBEC3 in giving rise to clustered mutation events through its activity on extrachromosomal DNA.

A new framework enables a pan-cancer reference set of copy number signatures derived from allele-specific profiles from different experimental assays.

A combination of multiphoton laser scanning microscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging is used to track tumor associated fibroblasts and extracellular matrix remodeling in living mice. The SHG signal is used for image registration over several days.

In hepatocellular carcinoma driven by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, aberrant T cell activation and impaired immune surveillance seem to make hepatocellular carcinoma less responsive to anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 immunotherapy.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Fishing has had a profound impact on global reef shark populations, and the absence or presence of sharks is strongly correlated with national socio-economic conditions and reef governance.

Characterising associations between the methylome, proteome and phenome may provide insight into biological pathways governing brain health. Here, blood protein markers of brain health are integrated with omics data to reveal DNA methylation differences that associate with these protein markers.

Marine woodborers can digest woody biomass without the help of gut microbiota but the mechanism has remained unclear. Here, the authors provide evidence that the woodborer’s respiratory protein hemocyanin plays a central role in wood digestion and may offer a route toward biorefining of woody plant biomass.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of prostate cancer performed in 156,319 cases and 788,443 controls identifies 187 novel risk variants associated with the disease. Genetic risk scores associated with overall risk, and risk of aggressive disease in men of African ancestry.

Carbonaceous minerals in 3.8-billion-year-old rocks from West Greenland have been used as evidence for early life on Earth. Geochemical analyses of similar carbon minerals in 3.75- to 4.2-billion-year-old rocks from Canada show that they can be derived from subsequent alteration more than a billion years after the initial formation.

Tasha Fingerlin, David Schwartz and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of fibrotic idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. Their results confirm known risk variants at MUC5B and TERT and identify several new regions associated with disease susceptibility.

On 6 October 2008, a small asteroid designated 2008 TC3 hit the Earth in northern Sudan. Jenniskens et al. searched along the approach trajectory and luckily found 47 bits of a meteorite named Almahata Sitta. Analysis reveals it to be a porous achondrite and a polymict ureilite, and so the asteroid was F-class (dark carbon-rich anomalous ureilites).

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Hyaluronan is a component of the tumour extracellular matrix. Here, Chauhan et al. show that hyaluronan increases blood pressure in collagen-rich tumours by compressing vessel walls, and that reducing the level of hyaluranon with an angiotensin II inhibitor increases blood flow and drug penetrance in tumours.

Whole-genome sequencing of chronic lymphocytic leukemia from 485 patients identifies putative coding and noncoding drivers of disease. Genomically defined subgroups show distinct clinical and biological characteristics.

Late-time optical and near-infrared observations of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 are at odds with kilonova models but match a Gaussian-structured relativistic jet, which would have launched a high-luminosity short gamma-ray burst to an aligned observer.

Inverse modelling is used to quantify variations in methane emissions from different sources from 1983–2004 reveals that a decrease in the growth rate of atmospheric methane during the 1990s was caused by a decrease in anthropogenic emissions, but that anthropogenic emissions have increased again since 1999.

Nick Orr and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for male breast cancer. They identify a new susceptibility locus at RAD51B and examine association evidence for known female breast cancer loci in these cohorts.

Engineering de novo synapse-like connections between neurons could enhance our understanding of neuronal circuits and how they generate behaviour. The authors present a two-component system that creates synthetic neuromodulatory connections to manipulate intracellular Ca2+ levels in in vivo neural circuits.

The weak effects induced by lattice disorder on the optoelectronic properties of halide perovskites still remain elusive. Here Wu et al. confirm the indirect transition tail states in perovskite crystals which explain their low photoluminescence quantum yield, dual emission peaks and difficulties in realizing lasing.

Long duration γ-ray bursts (GRBs) release copious amounts of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and provide a window into the process of black hole formation from the collapse of massive stars. Observations of the extraordinarily bright prompt optical and γ-ray emission of GRB 080319B shows that the prompt emission stems from a single physical region, implying an extremely relativistic outflow that propagates within the narrow inner core of a two-component jet.

Readout of a superconducting qubit embedded in a circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture is demonstrated at optical frequencies through a low-noise electro-optomechanical transducer.

Repairing the blood vessels in cancerous tumours can improve the delivery of small nanoparticles.