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In an updated report on 70 laboratory-confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 cases in the USA between March 2024 and May 2025, the absence of human-to-human transmission to date was confirmed, with no known mutations of resistance to neuroaminidase inhibitors.

Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

A randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.

Cas13b can be harnessed to target and degrade RNA transcripts inside a cellular environment. Here the authors reprogram Cas13b to target SARSCoV-2 transcripts in infected mammalian cells and reveal its resilience to variants thanks to single mismatch tolerance.

Cardiovascular and thromboembolic events (CVE) are common among hospitalised COVID-19 patients and are causes of many COVID-19-related deaths. Here, the authors examine whether genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors are associated with the risk of post-COVID-19 CVE using data from UK Biobank.

GEMIN5, an RNA-binding protein, is required for formation of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. Here, the authors identify loss of function mutations in GEMIN5 that are associated with a human neurodevelopmental disorder.

AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of cellular metabolism, but how AMPK activity is spatiotemporally regulated remains unclear. Here, Schmitt et al develop a sensitive biosensor for AMPK, which they use to uncover mechanisms for AMPK activity in the lysosome and nucleus.

Inbreeding depression has been observed in many different species, but in humans a systematic analysis has been difficult so far. Here, analysing more than 1.3 million individuals, the authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested.

Human ubiquitin E3 ligase E6AP contains a Zn-binding AZUL domain. Here the authors identify and name RAZUL, a domain in proteasome substrate receptor hRpn10 that binds AZUL, recruiting E6AP to proteasomes, and they present the NMR structure of the RAZUL:AZUL complex, which forms an intermolecular 4-helix bundle.

Remdesivir (RDV) is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug with activity against MERS coronavirus, but in vivo efficacy has not been evaluated. Here, the authors show that RDV has superior anti-MERS activity in vitro and in vivo compared to combination therapy with lopinavir, ritonavir and interferon beta and reduces severe lung pathology.

Gene expression is highly variable between tissues, and changes during development and with age. Here, the authors provide a comprehensive RNA-Seq analysis of the rat transcriptome, spanning eleven organs, four developmental stages and both sexes.

Pan et al. develop targeted protein degraders against SARS-CoV-2 Main protease. Using cell culture models, they show that the degraders are active against mutated protein and have better activity than size-matched inhibition-only controls against SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, including nirmatrelvir resistant SARS-CoV-2.

A new RNA reference set improves detection of differential expression in clinical settings.

In this largest whole-exome sequencing study of epilepsies to date, the Epi25 Collaborative identified extremely rare variants that confer risk for diverse epilepsy subtypes, highlighting roles in synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability.

The dysregulation of the m⁶A epitranscriptomic networks have been reported to contribute to the development of gliomas. Here, the authors utilize induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes with a p53 mutation and demonstrate that mutant p53 upregulates the m⁶A reader YTHDF2, resulting in the initiation of gliomas.

The role of interferon-γ (IFNγ) in anti-viral immunity has been unclear. Here the authors show that bacterial-induced or intranasally administered IFNγ effectively restricts SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice through effects on non-hematopoietic cells.

Ouzounov et al. report calcium imaging with three-photon microscopy in the mouse brain. The approach enabled noninvasive recording of activity with high spatial and temporal resolution from GCaMP6-labeled neurons located as deep as the hippocampus.

Data from over 700,000 individuals reveal the identity of 83 sequence variants that affect human height, implicating new candidate genes and pathways as being involved in growth.

The genomes of two long-lived giant tortoises, including Lonesome George, reveal candidate genes and pathways associated with their development, gigantism and longevity.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses identify 26 risk loci for epilepsy, including 19 loci specific to genetic generalized epilepsy. Prioritized candidate genes implicate synaptic processes and overlap with targets of antiseizure medications.

Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis identifies cell types and lineages in airway epithelium, including the pulmonary ionocyte, a new cell type predominantly expressing the cystic fibrosis gene CFTR.

A hybrid model combines quantum and classical approaches to generate compounds targeting the KRAS protein.

Culturing conditions affect the transcriptomic profiles of induced neuronal cells, and 3D co-cultures of induced neuronal cells and astrocytic cells can be rapidly generated from the same pool of human embryonic stem cells.

DNA methylation contributes to transcriptional silencing. Here, Groth et al.show that mutant plants defective in MTHFD1, an enzyme involved in folate metabolism, have a DNA hypomethylation phenotype highlighting the link between one-carbon metabolism and DNA methylation, which is mediated by SAM as a common methyl donor.

Comprehensive analysis of epigenetic regulation demonstrates a series of complex, interacting chromatin mechanisms by which chronic exposure to opiates downregulates Bdnf gene transcription in the ventral tegmental area. This regulatory cascade is also shown to play a role in controlling opiate-induced behavioral plasticity.

Highly bioactive supramolecular nanostructures displaying sulfated glycopeptides on their surfaces were designed in order to mimic the polysaccharides that bind and activate a plethora of proteins in mammalian biology during development and tissue regeneration.

Two doses of the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 boost antibody responses and functions in phase 1/2 trial participants.

Analysis of viral samples from deceased piglets shows that a bat coronavirus was responsible for an outbreak of fatal disease in China and highlights the importance of the identification of coronavirus diversity and distribution in bats in order to mitigate future outbreaks of disease.

The authors summarize the data produced by phase III of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, a resource for better understanding of the human and mouse genomes.

Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis in 26,699 people with seizures and 492,324 controls to identify 25 genome-wide significant copy-number variants. The discovered loci point to known disease genes and associations with clinical annotations.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with symptoms including intrusive thoughts and time-consuming repetitive behaviors. Here Noh and colleagues identify genes enriched for functional variants associated with increased risk of OCD.

The Sequencing Quality Control (SEQC) consortium shows that junction discovery and differential gene expression profiling with RNA-seq can be robust but transcript-level and absolute measurements remain challenging.

The Microarray Quality Control consortium pitted 36 teams against each other to evaluate methods for creating genomic classifiers, computational tools for interpreting gene expression profiles. The performance of the classifiers on blinded validation data—and metadata on the analytic methods—reveal the challenges facing the field.

Results for the final phase of the 1000 Genomes Project are presented including whole-genome sequencing, targeted exome sequencing, and genotyping on high-density SNP arrays for 2,504 individuals across 26 populations, providing a global reference data set to support biomedical genetics.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

A new subset of disease-associated astrocytes (DAAs) is identified in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease by single-nucleus RNA sequencing. DAAs are also found in aged wild-type mice, suggesting a link to genetic and age-related factors.

This Perspective describes the key advances in nanocatalysts that have led to the impressive electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to useful products and provides benchmarks that others can use to compare their results.