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The Ediacaran macrofossil Fractofusus reveals a complex life history of multigenerational, stolon-like asexual reproduction, interspersed with dispersal of waterborne propagules.

Stratified medicine promises to tailor treatment for individual patients, however it remains a major challenge to leverage genetic risk data to aid patient stratification. Here the authors introduce an approach to stratify individuals based on the aggregated impact of their genetic risk factor profiles on tissue-specific gene expression levels, and highlight its ability to identify biologically meaningful and clinically actionable patient subgroups, supporting the notion of different patient ‘biotypes’ characterized by partially distinct disease mechanisms.

Snakebite envenoming is a leading cause of mortality among neglected tropical diseases. Here, the authors analyze a global data repository and estimate that snakebite envenoming caused over 63,000 deaths in 2019, primarily concentrated in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields selectively permeabilize urothelial cancer cells by leveraging their larger size, allowing efficient electroporation at lower field strengths

Here, Rathnasinghe et al. characterize the pathogenesis of a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 in infected obese and aged mice, and identify mutations that are present in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, associated with higher transmissibility.

Evidence is growing on the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems. A two-step attribution approach—machine-learning-assisted literature review coupled with grid-cell-level temperature and precipitation—allows comprehensive mapping of the evidence on impacts and tentative attribution to anthropogenic influence.

This meta-analysis examines how genetic variation is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, their overlap and their co-occurrence with disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders.

This Review highlights how terrestrial laser scanning is transforming forest research by enabling highly detailed 3D measurements of trees, supporting applications in forest ecology, carbon monitoring, and biodiversity assessment.

A technology to clone seeds could slash crop prices and boost food security.

Lung squamous carcinomas (LUSC) are poorly molecularly characterized, but sub-populations show promising response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Here, the authors identify a subset of LUSC characterized by infiltration of inflammatory monocytes, where metastasis is linked to Factor XIIIA promoting fibrin cross-linking.

SMARCA2 has been identified as a synthetic lethal target in SMARCA4 mutated tumors, however, homology between the two has hindered the development of selective SMARCA2 inhibitors. Here, the authors synthesize a proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) capable of SMARCA2 specific degradation and demonstrate its utility in the treatment of SMARCA4 mutated tumors.

We asked microbiologist and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins about her time on the International Space Station, the challenges of working with bugs in space, and what's next for science that is out of this world.

Spin-momentum locking is a fundamental property of condensed matter systems. Here, the authors evidence parallel Weyl spin-momentum locking of multifold fermions in the chiral topological semimetal PtGa.

This study supports neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) in both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood as an early marker of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease but suggests that NfL in CSF may be better suited than blood for monitoring clinical trial outcomes in symptomatic patients.

The authors show that loss-of-interaction with the nuclear importer, TNPO3, causes cytoplasmic mislocalization of RBM20 variants linked to severe cases of dilated cardiomyopathy. Restoring their nuclear localization alleviates the disease phenotype.

The Human Microbiome Project Consortium has established a population-scale framework to study a variety of microbial communities that exist throughout the human body, enabling the generation of a range of quality-controlled data as well as community resources.

Morphometrics and comparative phylogenetics show coevolution of the beak and the skull of Darwin’s finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers, suggesting that adaptive radiation in these groups occurred under tight cranial integration.

A machine learning approach is presented to identify dominant patterns in disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The nonlinearity of ALS progression has important clinical implications.

Electronic drugs and delivery systems are reaching the market, giving drug developers and healthcare providers a way to improve patient compliance and more. Emily Waltz reports.

NetSig is a network-based statistic that identifies cancer driver genes with high accuracy and can be combined with gene-based statistical tests; results are validated with a large-scale in vivo tumorigenesis assay.

Environmental variability is one potential driver of behavioural and cultural diversity in humans and other animals. Here, the authors show that chimpanzee behavioural diversity is higher in habitats that are more seasonal and historically unstable, and in savannah woodland relative to forested sites.

Four scientists with disabilities or chronic conditions share their conference conundrums and give advice on improving accessibility.

The TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases exerts pleiotropic functions in health and disease. Here, the authors show that TAM receptors control osteoblastic bone formation and identified MERTK as a novel target for bone anabolic therapy and mitigation of bone metastasis including its associated osteolytic bone disease

The microtubule-severing protein Katanin is now shown to possess microtubule depolymerising activity. Purified recombinant Katanin exerts both activities in vitro. In migrating cells from Drosophila, Katanin localizes at the leading edge where it negatively regulates cell motility.

The in situ cryo-electron microscopy structure of the intact Salmonella flagellar basal body—including the inner membrane rotor, drive shaft and outer membrane bushing complex—elucidates the mechanisms of assembly of this complex macromolecular structure that enables bacterial motility.

An exciting genome-wide association study in the British population for seven common diseases. This analysis confirms previously identified loci and provides strong evidence for many novel disease susceptibility loci.

To write this article, we spoke to members of the supramolecular chemistry community, including the International Women in Supramolecular Chemistry network. We are not attributing anyone’s name to their story to protect their anonymity.

Cavers, divers and climbers take their science to strange and wonderful places.

The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reports the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.

Kinase inhibitors are widely used to treat cancer, however patients frequently develop resistance. Here, the authors investigate adaption mechanisms during drug persistence and show that stimulation of the innate immunity sensor RIG-I enhances cancer cell death when combined with kinase inhibition.

The high degree of subtype plasticity in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) poses a therapeutic challenge. Here, the authors show that the non-neuroendocrine (non-NE) subtype of SCLC is sensitive to ferroptosis while the neuroendocrine (NE) subtype is vulnerable to TRX anti-oxidant pathway inhibition, and the combination of these two treatments in SCLC circumvents non-NE/NE subtype plasticity.

This panel dataset of COVID-19 vaccine policies for 185 countries reports on variation in vaccination prioritization plans, eligibility and availability, cost to the individual and mandatory vaccination policies.

A clinical decision support system for diagnosis of myocardial infarction, based on machine learning models that use a single measurement of high-sensitivity troponin, outperforms clinical guidelines that use fixed cardiac troponin thresholds for diagnosis.

The implosion of blood diagnostics developer Theranos has raised the question: What is feasibly detectible in a drop of blood? Emily Waltz reports.

Barack Obama promised a new era of integrity and openness for American science. Government scientists are now asking what has changed.

With a knack for attracting the right scientists, Bob Tjian set out to build a mega-biotech conglomerate. He fell short of his lofty goal, but his company was still a success.

How misinformation affects cognition and behaviour is of increasing interest. Research has identified predictors of susceptibility, but how they play out during real-world behaviour remains unclear. We urge misinformation neuroscience researchers to prioritize ecological validity by collecting data across the ecological spectrum.

It can be tricky to plan and carry on fieldwork when you’re pregnant, but there are ways to smooth the path.

In this Perspective, the authors discuss how to robustly consider climate change impacts in ecosystem risk assessments. They highlight challenges in defining impacts, indicators and thresholds, in collating data, and in estimating and reporting risk, and propose solutions to inform conservation.

Most models of global climate change impacts and policy do not consider adaptation or societies’ ability to adapt. Here the authors propose a way to better integrate adaptation in such models using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenario framework to quantify adaptive capacity via a suite of socioeconomic indicators.