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RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is typically considered as an essential enzyme. Here the authors show that natural degradation of RNAPII drives chromatin reorganization in growing oocytes, preparing the chromatin for genome activation after fertilization.

The highest-quality JWST spectra reveal that little red dots are young supermassive black holes shrouded in dense cocoons of ionized gas, where electron scattering, not Doppler motions, broadens their spectral lines.

Here, the authors introduce information isotopes, a novel framework for tracing unauthorized training data in black-box AI systems, offering a practical tool for auditing data provenance and protecting data rights.

Active galactic nuclei are surrounded by a dusty and molecular disk that fuels supermassive black holes and connects them to their host galaxies. Here, the authors show with JWST interferometric observations that most of the dust in the Circinus galaxies lies in a compact disk, while only a tiny fraction traces hot outflowing material.

Women of reproductive age may have specific concerns relating to perceived impacts on fertility and menstrual cycles that make them hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccination. In this study, the authors explore COVID-19 vaccine uptake rates in women of reproductive age using linked data for ~13 million women in England.

Coordinated X-ray and radio observations reveal that disk winds and jets occur mutually exclusively in 4U 1630–472, providing new observational constraints on the interplay between different modes of outflow in X-ray binaries.

Microscopic imaging and biochemical studies show that sinuses in mouse and human form a highly dynamic surface that regulates fluid movement and immune cell surveillance via RAMP1-dependent regulation of smooth muscle contraction and RAMP2-dependent regulation of the sinus endothelial barrier.

Here the authors compare genetic testing strategies in rare movement disorders, improve diagnostic yield with genome analysis, and establish CD99L2 as an X-linked spastic ataxia gene, showing that CD99L2–CAPN1 signaling disruption likely drives neurodegeneration.

This Commission aims to resolve the current dialysis policy challenges in Thailand and generate lessons for the global kidney community by drawing on empirical evidence, systems thinking and multidisciplinary expertise to generate policy goals and recommendations.

Chlorine electrosynthesis from seawater is limited by poor selectivity and stability under industrial-scale conditions. Here atomic-step-enriched ultrafine high-entropy alloy nanowires enable highly efficient chlorine evolution at 10 kA m⁻² for over 5,500 h through dynamic Pt–O active sites, reducing electricity consumption and feedstock costs for next-generation chlor-alkali processes.

The authors released NSD-synthetic, a dataset of 7T fMRI responses from the same eight NSD participants for 284 out-of-distribution synthetic images, to facilitate the development of more robust models of visual processing.

Producing valuable hydrocarbons electrochemically from carbon monoxide (CO) is an energy-efficient pathway, but reliance on costly pure CO as a feedstock limits its economic viability. This article shows that abundant CO-rich syngas can be directly used to synthesize ethylene.

Melting ice and associated sea-level change will expose new land in Antarctica. Here the authors quantify this change and combine it with our understanding of known Antarctic mineral occurrences, showing that substantial mineral deposits may become accessible over the next few centuries in Antarctica.

The lowest-frequency gravitational wave background may be shaped by supermassive black hole binaries that scatter nearby stars or dark matter. In this case, the NANOGrav 15-year dataset favours dense galactic centres with 10⁶ solar masses per cubic parsec.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated gut microbiome dysbiosis correlates with systemic immunodeficiency and opportunistic gut infections. Faecal microbiome transplantation from people living with HIV with high peripheral CD4⁺ T cell counts improved intestinal immunity and protection against Cryptosporidium parvum in mice.

The ZFTA–RELA fusion, an oncogene for ependymomas, promotes the production of itaconate, and its dependence on this metabolite represents a new therapeutic target for this cancer.

Here, the authors show that 2’-O-methylated RNA fragments from ribosomal RNA naturally block TLR7 and TLR8, helping to avoid avoid harmful self-RNA detection and autoimmunity.

Japonica subspecies has a lower nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) than that of indica rice. Here, the authors show that natural variations in the NIN-like protein 4 (OsNLP4) encoding gene are responsible for the divergence and introgression of the indica OsNLP4 allele into elite japonica cultivar can increase NUE and grain yield.

The combination of within-species variation in pathogen load, the shape of the relationship between pathogen load and infectiousness, and vector feeding preferences shape transmission of multi-host vector-borne pathogens. Here, the authors use experimental and wild bird infection data to characterize the role of 17 host bird species in avian malaria transmission in Hawaii.

Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.

Here, the authors present a bioinformatic pipeline to annotate lncRNA genes in Aspergillus fumigatus. The majority of these lncRNAs are only conserved at the species level, and their expression is highly responsive to antifungal exposure in Aspergillus fumigatus.

A 3D soft electronic mesh allows high-resolution electrical recording and stimulation across the full surface of neural organoids, enabling long-term studies, drug testing and optogenetic control without compromising their viability owing to its porous design.

Studying gravitational waves from a black-hole merger can constrain both the magnitude and direction of the remnant’s recoil, offering new ways to test black-hole formation scenarios and support multi-messenger observations.

Neuroinflammation triggers DNA damage and subsequent parthanatos-mediated neuron death. Inhibiting parthanatos in a mouse model of autoimmune inflammation is neuroprotective and reduces disease-associated paralysis.

Authors study links between amyloid secondary nucleation and growth defects, demonstrating these sites on Aβ40/Aβ42 fibrils are rare compared to the number of protein molecules. Re-analysis of published data suggests that defects may also drive secondary nucleation generally.

Oxytocin promotes social behaviors, but its cortical targets remain unclear. Here, authors show that oxytocin activates local interneurons in the rat prefrontal cortex, enhancing sociability through top-down control of the basolateral amygdala.

Boosting mitochondrial metabolism in neurons in central memory circuits by enhancing Ca²⁺ retention in the mitochondrial matrix is shown to improve long-term memory formation in flies and mice.

The authors find that distinct radial glia subtypes generate and support midbrain dopaminergic neurons, revealing specialized function and lineage relationships among the diverse cell types that shape dopamine neuron development.

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not deterministic. Here, the authors show that common genetic variation changes how APOE-ε4 influences cognition.

A measurement strategy is described that is able to read out the parity of minimal two-site Kitaev chains in real time, by coupling two Majoranas and resolving their quantum capacitance.

ATF6α activation in human and preclinical models of hepatocellular carcinoma is significantly associated with an aggressive tumour phenotype characterized by reduced survival, glycolytic reprogramming and local immunosuppression.

Engineering motif-specific 'hot spots' into an antibody scaffold yields antibodies with high affinity to targets containing phosphoserine, phosphothreonine or phosphotyrosine.

Phylodynamic modelling shows how the changing antibiotic landscape and genetic determinants of resistance shape real-world gonococcal dynamics. Experiments validated that determinants with identical resistance phenotype differed in impact on fitness.

Keshishian, Mischler et al. report that a recurrent automatic speech recognition system aligns closely with brain organization: model layers map to distinct cortical regions and naturally learn to encode a parallel progression from acoustic to phonetic, lexical and semantic content.

Phytic acid chelates essential minerals, reducing their bioavailability in cereal-based diets. This study proposes a scalable, species-independent chemical approach that targets myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase 1 (INO1), a key enzyme in phytic acid biosynthesis, to lower its levels in rice and wheat without affecting plant growth or yield.

Battery electrode binders are hard to image but strongly affect battery performance. Here, authors use silver and bromine staining to reveal common cellulose- and rubber-based binders in graphite and Si negative electrodes and identify processing that reduces electrode resistance.

Media representations depict cities in illuminating ways. This study finds that representations of cities in Soviet-era newsreels grow more than expected with city size and are further biased in favor of some specializations and geographical locations.

Little Red Dots (LRDs) are a high-redshift galaxy population with unclear nature. Here, authors show CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, a spectroscopically confirmed LRD, hosting an active galactic nucleus, and its properties provide insights for early black hole and galaxy formation.

This study reveals how climate change altered storm dynamics during the 2024 Valencia floods. Warmer seas fueled stronger updrafts, increasing rainfall intensity by 20% and significantly amplifying flood severity.

Juno radio occultations precisely redefine Jupiter’s shape, measuring a polar diameter of 66,842 km and an equatorial diameter of 71,488 km, both smaller than long-used values, bringing models of the planet’s interior into better agreement with observations.

JWST imaged three of the gas giants orbiting the star HR 8799 to study their atmospheres. The uniform enrichment of heavy elements, including sulfur, indicates that they formed like Jupiter and Saturn by accreting a lot of icy and rocky solids.

Proteomic data from natural isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae provide insight into how these cells tolerate aneuploidy (an imbalance in the number of chromosomes), and reveal differences between lab-engineered aneuploids and diverse natural yeasts.

Hepatic glycogenolysis is essential for protein glycosylation and rhythmic secretion by the liver. Disruptions to hepatic glycogenolysis, caused by congenital diseases or physiological factors such as obesity, caloric restriction and changes to meal timing, alter hepatic protein secretion.

Mucosal administration of a multivalent, adjuvanted vaccine against Clostridioides difficile promoted bacterial clearance and protected against morbidity, mortality, tissue damage and recurrence in mice.

A single intravenous dose of the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine, combined with psychological support, produces rapid and lasting reductions in depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder.

Bright electron bunches power particle physics and photon science. Here, reproducible bunches were generated in a plasma with simultaneous high charge per unit energy and low emittance, advancing a scheme to produce ultra-bright bunches in future.

Ferroelectric ordering of moiré excitons and collective photon emission emerge in WSe₂/WS₂ heterobilayers near the Mott state driven by strong dipolar interactions and a transition to symmetry-broken ferroelectric phases.

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.