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A study from the FANTOM consortium using single-molecule cDNA sequencing of transcription start sites and their usage in human and mouse primary cells, cell lines and tissues reveals insights into the specificity and diversity of transcription patterns across different mammalian cell types.

The plasma membrane’s electrical potential is maintained by ion channels, though the impact of this potential on cell fate has not been clearly elucidated. Here they show that changes in membrane potential can affect calcium levels and mTOR in pluripotent stem cells, altering their transition from pluripotency to differentiation.

A study demonstrates how a phylogenetic epidemiology approach can be used to improve rapid responses against emergent pests, which are mostly able to attack multiple host species and spread through heterogeneous landscapes.

Hard carbons are considered the most suitable negative electrode materials for Na-ion batteries. Here, authors use electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the spin nature of mechanochemically-modified hard carbons to predict their charge storage mechanism for sodium-ion batteries.

The most primitive extant bony fish, Polypterus, exhibits adaptive plasticity for life on land when raised on land rather than in water, suggesting that environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity might have facilitated the macroevolutionary transition to life on land.

Cells from embryonic, fetal, paediatric and adult human intestinal tissue are analysed at different locations along the intestinal tract to construct a single-cell atlas of the developing and adult human intestinal tract, encompassing all cell lineages.

Vaccination is effective in protecting from COVID-19. Here the authors report immune responses and breakthrough infections in twice-vaccinated patients receiving anti-TNF treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, and find dampened vaccine responses that implicate the need of adapted vaccination schedules for these patients.

The relationships that control seed production in trees are key to understand evolutionary pressures that have shaped forests. A global synthesis of fecundity data reveals that while seed production is not constrained by a strict size-number trade-off, it is influenced by taxonomy and nutrient allocation.

Thousands of recombinant antibodies enriched for specificity against defined targets are assembled in multivalent mixtures with enhanced therapeutic activity.

Identifying the mutational landscape of tumours from cell-free DNA in the blood could help diagnostics in cancer. Here, the authors present ichorCNA, software that quantifies tumour content in cell free DNA, and they demonstrate that cell-free DNA whole-exome sequencing is concordant with metastatic tumour whole-exome sequencing.

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

A new wave of bioengineered offerings is beginning to capture consumer interest.

The use of biomaterial scaffolds-based cartilage grafts could potentially innovate the Osteoarthritis (OA) treatment, but has been limited by toxicity concerns and invasive surgical procedures. Here, the authors report an injectable and biodegradable piezoelectric hydrogel with ultrasound activation to offer a minimally invasive approach for OA treatment.

Identifying women at high risk of breast cancer has important implications for screening. Here, the authors demonstrate that polygenic risk scores improve breast cancer risk prediction in the population, in women with mutations in high-risk genes and in women with close relatives with the disease.

Current treatment of fungal infections is threatened by emerging antifungal drug resistance. In this work, the authors explore the synergistic activity of a host defense peptide mimetic, brilacidin, with caspofungin against a panel of fungal strains.

The two zygote centrioles are paternally inherited; however, their development is incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that the distal centriole is remodeled into an atypical centriole which functions as the zygote’s second centriole.

The utilization of white-colored, wide-bandgap CO₂ hydrogenation photocatalysts has been hindered by their limited light-harvesting ability. By making stoichiometric white indium oxide non-stoichiometric and black, it is transformed from a highly inactive to a highly active photothermal catalyst.

Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) is an inherited ribosome assembly disorder that increases the risk for haematopoietic malignancies. Here, the authors analysed clonal selection and evolution in SDS by sequencing patient-derived haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell colonies and exploring the function of key drivers in model organisms.

Maternal genome-wide analyses identify variants associated with gestational duration and preterm delivery. Maternal alleles positively associated with gestational duration exhibit negative fetal effects on birth weight, likely reflecting antagonistic pleiotropy.

REM-sleep behavior disorder often precedes Parkinson’s disease or dementia. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide association study for REM-sleep behavior disorder, and discover how it potentially affects gene expression in the brain.

Genetic variants associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer have been identified using genome wide association studies (GWAS). Here, the authors combine data from over 9000 patients and perform a meta-analysis to identify five novel loci linked to pancreatic cancer.

Sodium-gated ion channels open and close in response to the flow of ions. Here, McCusker et al.report the open structure of a sodium-gated ion channel pore from a bacterial homologue, and show, by comparison with the closed structure, that the movement of a C-terminal helix is sufficient to open the channel.

Repetition suppression, the reduction in neural activity with repeated stimuli, is usually thought to be a result of automatic sensory processes. This study instead finds that this reduction results from high stimulus predictability, a more 'top-down' process.

Whole-exome sequencing in a large autism study identifies over 100 autosomal genes that are likely to affect risk for the disorder; these genes, which show unusual evolutionary constraint against mutations, carry de novo loss-of-function mutations in over 5% of autistic subjects and many function in synaptic, transcriptional and chromatin-remodelling pathways.

Proteome analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) colorectal cancer specimens reveals that DNA- or RNA-level measurements cannot reliably predict protein abundance, colorectal tumours can be separated into distinct proteotypes, and that copy number alterations drive mRNA abundance changes but few extend to protein-level changes.

Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that prevent cardiovascular disease but tolerability is limited by severe side effects in muscles. Here the authors elucidate a liver-specific activation mechanism for bempedoic acid, a novel cholesterol-lowering drug, and show how it effectively reduces LDL-C and atherosclerotic burden in mice, but does not cause myotoxicty.

In this study, the microbiota of multiple body sites from 101 marine fish species from Southern California were sampled and analysed. The authors compared diversity measures while also establishing a method to estimate microbial biomass. Body site is shown to be the strongest driver of microbial diversity and patterns of phylosymbiosis are observed across the gill, skin and hindgut.

Can studying individual differences in brain structure and function reveal individual differences in behavior? Analyses of MRI data from nearly 50,000 individuals may suggest that the possibility is fleeting. Although sample size is important for brain-based prediction, researchers can take other steps to build better biomarkers. These include testing model generalizability across people, datasets, and time points and maximizing model robustness by optimizing brain data acquisition, behavioral measures, and prediction approaches.

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

Building crystal structures into the electron density is an important step in protein structure solution. Here, the authors recruit online game players, students, and experienced crystallographers to compete in a competition to solve a new structure, and find that crowdsourcing model-building works.

Chromodomain Helicase DNA-binding (CHD) proteins have been implicated in neurodevelopmental processes. Here, the authors identify missense variants in CHD3 that disturb its chromatin remodeling activities and cause a neurodevelopmental disorder with macrocephaly and speech and language impairment.

CTLA-4 is critical for balancing protective immunity with self-tolerance. Here the authors identify homozygous DEF6 mutations in patients with severe autoimmunity, one of which received and responds to CTLA-4-Ig, and show that DEF6 is crucial for CTLA-4 cell surface trafficking and immune regulatory function.

Myelin-forming cells derive from oligodendrocyte progenitors. Here the authors identify histone arginine methyl-transferase PRMT5 as critical for developmental myelination by modulating the cross-talk between histone arginine methylation and lysine acetylation, to favor differentiation.

The Drosophila tumour suppressors Scribbled and Discs large 1 are found to be essential regulators of planar spindle alignment during epithelial cell division; aberrant effects of spindle alignment are shown to be corrected through apoptosis, and the suppression of this mechanism can result in epithelial dysplasia and tumorigenesis.