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The ability to resist compaction has widespread implications for reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology. Here the authors present a class of thin-film crosslinked composite reverse osmosis membranes that resist physical compaction at ultrahigh pressures.

Achieving phosphorus circularity is a key challenge to realizing sustainable phosphorus use, and recycling is a major route to accomplish this goal. This Review explores global barriers to phosphorus recycling and discusses approaches to overcome the technical, economic and societal challenges in attaining sustainable phosphorus management.

The relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to astrocyte heterogeneity is unknown. Using heterotropic transplantation of septal astrocytes with distinct lineage origins, we show that local factors specify their ultimate identities.

As global hunger remains elevated, and foreign assistance budgets shrink, the humanitarian food assistance system is under immense strain. Jean-Martin Bauer, Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis at the World Food Programme, reflects on the implications of the recent funding cuts and what is needed to save lives now and in the future.

An updated analysis of the DYNAMIC biomarker-driven trial, including mature survival data at 5 years, supports a ctDNA-guided approach to adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer.

Schistosoma haematobium hybridizes with livestock parasite S. bovis in vitro but frequency of natural hybridization is unclear. Using whole genome sequence data, authors found genetic discontinuity between Schistosoma species and no evidence for recent hybridization.

In a post-hoc analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) features from patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu–PSMA-617 or cabazitaxel in the randomized phase 2 TheraP trial, low ctDNA levels at baseline were predictive of clinical benefit from [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu–PSMA-617, and PTEN or ATM alterations were identified as potential biomarkers of response.

Prospective assessment of a T-cell-inflamed gene signature and tumor mutational burden is feasible in patients with non-small cell lung cancer randomized to receive various anti-PD-1-based treatment combinations, with an encouraging objective response rate for first-line pembrolizumab + lenvatinib in one biomarker-defined group.

In an ongoing adaptive-design trial exploring different combinations of neoadjuvant immunotherapies including the anti-PD-1 agent pembrolizumab, the anti-TIGIT agent vibostolimab and the oncolytic virus gebasaxturev, neoadjuvant pembrolizumab-based regimens elicited encouraging clinical responses in patients with resectable melanoma.

An in vivo base editing approach targeting the PRNP gene led to a 52% increase in the lifespan of mouse models inoculated with the most common sporadic and genetic types of human pathogenic prion isolate.

Over half the world’s rivers dry periodically, yet little is known about the biological communities in dry riverbeds. This study examines biodiversity across 84 non-perennial rivers in 19 countries using DNA metabarcoding. It finds that nutrient availability, climate and biotic interactions influence the biodiversity of these dry environments.

Here the authors show the development of soft X-ray ptychographic tomography to quantify the electrochemical state and resolve phase boundaries throughout the volume of individual nano-particles from a composite battery electrode.

EGFRvIII-targeted CAR T cells have been proposed as a therapeutic option for patients with glioblastoma (GBM), however, clinical responses remain suboptimal. Here the authors engineer anti-EGFRvIII CAR T cells to secrete an optimized SIRPγ-derived CD47 blocker, showing that combining CAR T cell effector functions with enhanced macrophage-mediated tumor cell phagocytosis improves anti-tumor efficacy in preclinical models.

Using satellite and survey data, an ancient river landscape 300 km wide has been discovered buried and preserved beneath the ice in East Antarctica. It has likely survived largely intact for up to 34 million years since before ice sheet growth.

The origin and dispersal of the chicken across Eurasia is unclear. Here, the authors examine eggshell fragments from southern Central Asia with paleoproteomics to identify chicken eggshells, suggesting that chickens may have been an important dietary component as early as 400BCE.

A two-fold rotational symmetry is observed in the superconducting state of NbSe₂. This is strikingly different from the three-fold symmetry of the lattice, and suggests that a mixed conventional and unconventional order parameter exists in this material.

Turajlic and colleagues assess longitudinal antibody and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in patients with cancer, following either recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination, in two back-to-back reports from the CAPTURE study.

Combination of epidemiology, preclinical models and ultradeep DNA profiling of clinical cohorts unpicks the inflammatory mechanism by which air pollution promotes lung cancer

The neurophysiological basis of neonatal responses to noxious stimulation is poorly understood. Using MRI, the authors observe that neonates’ noxious-stimulus evoked brain activity is coupled to both their resting-state network activity and white matter microstructure.

A single-cell transcriptomic analysis of 63 patients with colorectal cancer classifies tumor cells into two epithelial subtypes. An improved tumor classification based on epithelial subtype, microsatellite stability and fibrosis reveals differences in pathway activation and metastasis.

Yolland et al. demonstrate persistent flow of the actin flow behind the leading edge and its impact on cell directionality during migration.

Increasing the supply of growth machinery to axons is a potential strategy for promoting repair after injury. Here the authors demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum adaptor molecule Protrudin provides cellular components that support axonal regeneration in the adult CNS.

The crystallization of amorphous calcium carbonate is a widely studied process. Here, the authors probe the mechanism and show that transformation to calcite is preceded by dehydration, even in solution, and that loss of the final water fraction triggers crystallization.

Peritoneal adhesions are a major cause of complications after abdominal surgery. Here the authors use a post-operative abdominal adhesion model in mice to show that resident F4/80^HighCD206⁻ macrophages form a protective barrier that can be enhanced by IL-4 administration or adoptive transfer of these cells.

The hypoxic microenvironment in solid tumors limits the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) since oxygen is necessary to produce high cytotoxic singlet oxygen species. Here, the authors develop an improved self-assembled single-atom nanozyme which allows oxygen generation to enhance PDT efficacy.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is genetically a very heterogeneous disease. Here, Erdem et al. uncover heterogeneity in the metabolic landscape of AML and identify Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1) as a targetable determinant of different metabolic states in distinct subtypes of AML.

The heterogeneity of androgen receptor (AR) gene alterations across metastases in prostate cancer remains unresolved. Here, the authors characterise AR genomic complexity across spatially separated lethal metastases from 10 prostate cancer patients and investigate how AR alterations evolve.

Using a randomized three-way crossover design and stratification approaches based on obesity and renal function in people with type 2 diabetes, the TriMaster study demonstrated that patients with obesity were more likely to have greater glycemic control with pioglitazone (a thiazolidinedione) than with sitagliptin (a DPP4 inhibitor) and that patients with eGFR 60–90 ml/min/1.73 m² were more likely to achieve lower HbA1c levels on sitagliptin than on canagliflozin (an SGLT2 inhibitor).

The loading of two different protein therapeutics onto extracellular vesicles can be optimized by genetically engineering the parent cells, as shown for extracellular vesicles displaying decoy receptors for two pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Results from the PESCADOR seismic experiment in the southern Gulf of California observe large differences in rifting style and magmatism over short lateral distances, concluding that variation in mantle 'fertility', rather than temperature, most likely accounts for the observed range in magmatism.

Dong, Hao, Zhang, Zhu, Cheng et al. use single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize 28 haematopoietic cell populations and subsequently follow the fate and kinetics of HSCs upon transplantation in the mouse.

Thirst is regulated by hierarchical neural circuits in the lamina terminalis, and these integrate the instinctive need for water with consequent drinking behaviour to maintain internal water homeostasis.

It is challenging to characterize diverse transcript isoforms by short-read sequencing. Here the authors report full-length transcriptomes in rat hippocampus by hybrid-sequencing, predict isoform-specific translational status, and reconstruct open reading frames validated by mass spectrometry.

Plasmodium vivax, the leading cause of human malaria in Asia and Latin America, is thought to have an Asian origin. Here, the authors show that wild chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa are infected with parasites that are closely related to P. vivax, indicating an African origin for this species.

Pulmonary venous tumor cells disseminating before tumor resection are heterogeneous, predict relapse and seed future metastasis of lung cancer

Wu et al. utilize multiparametric analysis of early-stage human NSCLC to characterize a population of Vδ1 T cells displaying a resident memory and effector memory phenotype, which were associated with ongoing remission.

In a randomized, double-blind phase 3 trial, the anti-α₄β₇ integrin monoclonal antibody vedolizumab plus standard prophylaxis was superior to placebo plus prophylaxis for prevention of lower gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease in patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.