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Placental formation requires an adequate expansion of trophoblast stem and progenitor cells followed by finely tuned lineage specification events. Here, using single-cell analysis of mouse trophoblast stem cells the authors identify Nicol1 as a gatekeeper of the stem cell state and show that CXADR regulates the differentiation dynamics between the two syncytial layers of the mouse placenta.

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 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.

Strontium isotope analysis can be applied to animal and plant tissues to help determine their provenance. Here, the authors generate a strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa using data from 2266 environmental samples and demonstrate its efficacy by tracing the African roots of individuals from historic slavery contexts.

The Human Microglia Atlas includes 91,716 brain immune cells covering six neurologic pathologies. It characterizes the signatures of nine populations and describes the expansion of GPNMB-high microglia in Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Nona Sotoodehnia and colleagues report a meta-analysis of 14 genome-wide association studies for QRS interval, an electrocardiogram measurement of cardiac ventricular conduction. They identify 22 loci associated with QRS duration.

Nearly forty years ago, Fulde, Ferrell, Larkin and Ovchinnikov (FFLO) proposed an exotic theory of polarized superconductivity. FFLO correlations have never been observed, but it is thought that in one dimension (1D) a state with FFLO correlations occupies a major part of the phase diagram. Now, intriguing measurements are reported of the phase profile of a two-spin mixture of ultracold ⁶Li atoms trapped in an array of 1D tubes. The findings may provide a hint of FFLO physics.

In BRAF mutant melanoma, inhibition of ERK1/2 induces FOXD3 and mediates RAF inhibitor resistance. Here, the authors show that ERK1/2 mediated phosphorylation regulates sumoylation of SOX10 which activates FOXD3, and depletion of SOX10 sensitises BRAF mutant melanoma cells to RAF inhibitors.

A stream of young neurons migrating into the entorhinal cortex (EC) continues postnatally in humans, but not in macaques; these young neurons, which belong to a unique class of local circuit cells, continue to be recruited in the EC during infancy and early childhood.

Phenolics are abundant in plant cuticles. Here, via transient absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations, the authors propose a model by which cuticle phenolics provide photoprotection due to ultrafast and non-radiative excited state deactivation combined with fluorescence emission.

The many-body quantum nature of molecules determines their static and dynamic properties, but remains the main obstacle in their accurate description. Here, the authors employ ultrafast spectroscopic methods to explore the dynamics of highly excited organic molecules, revealing many-body effects and hints of coherent vibronic dynamics which persist despite their molecular complexity.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

In global drylands, soils tend to be more fertile beneath tree, shrub and grass islands. Soil fertility was greater beneath taller and wider plants but was unaffected by either grazing pressure or the type of herbivore.

Comparisons within the human pangenome establish that homologous regions on short arms of heterologous human acrocentric chromosomes actively recombine, leading to the high rate of Robertsonian translocation breakpoints in these regions.

Synthetic biology and engineering approaches are harnessed to incorporate new capabilities in synthetic cells. Here, the authors designed bioluminescent signaling mechanisms for intracellular and intercellular synthetic-to-natural cell communication.

Structural variants in more than 17,000 human genomes are mapped and characterized using whole-genome sequencing, showing how this type of variation contributes to rare deleterious coding and noncoding alleles.

The helicity of light from a light-emitting diode can be electrically controlled by spin–orbit torque effects, enabling a seamless integration of magnetization dynamics with photonics.

Tham and Bernardo et al. show that cardiomyocyte-specific knockout of estrogen receptor alpha induces increased adiposity and tissue metabolic alterations specifically in female mice, likely in part due to changes in the proteomic content of the heart-derived extracellular vesicles.

IXPE has revealed how the spin of the accreting neutron star Hercules X-1 changes in three dimensions. The spin axis of the star moves both through the star and across the sky, hinting that the crust of the star is asymmetric by almost one part in a million.

Constructing genome graphs directly from genome assemblies overcomes single-reference bias.

Using alkali metal dimers attached to helium droplets, a new decay mechanism for intermolecular Coulombic decay is demonstrated. The process leads to previously unresolved double ionization for excitation energies exceeding double ionization energies.

Using a Bayesian learning approach, a study tracks the spatial representations by individual hippocampal cells over time in freely moving rats, and provides insights into how ensemble patterns form and reconfigure during sleep.

Genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses of malignant pleural mesothelioma identify molecular axes and specialized tumor profiles underlying intertumoral heterogeneity.

Whole-genome sequencing of lung cancer in never smokers identifies different copy number subtypes and shows a lack of tobacco smoking signatures, even in cases exposed to secondhand smoke.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

The Pseudomonas putida toxin GraT and antitoxin GraA form a type II toxin-antoxin module. Here the authors present the crystal structures of the GraA dimer, GraTA and GraA-DNA complexes and show that GraT contains a functionally important N-terminal intrinsic disordered region that prevents the binding of the GraTA complex to the operator.

Leena Peltonen and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 16 population-based cohorts across Europe. Six new loci were identified, and overall a genetic risk score improves the screening of high risk groups for dyslipidemia.

The transition state, a transient species where bond transformation occurs, fundamentally controls reaction dynamics. This important species can be probed through the photodetachment of an anionic precursor, as has now been shown in the F + NH₃ reaction. A combination of theory and experiment reveals resonances that span the transition state.

Measurements of subclonal expansion of ctDNA in the plasma before surgery may enable the prediction of future metastatic subclones, offering the possibility for early intervention in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Ocean sediment records suggest that the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current did not exist before the late Miocene cooling, indicating its origin is linked to the expansion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

It is essential to improve our understanding of the features that influence aggressiveness and invasion in high grade gliomas (HGG). Here, the authors characterize dynamic anatomical structures in HGG called oncostreams, which are associated with tumor growth and are regulated by COL1A1.