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Vertebra lengths differ from the neck to the tail tip and differ between species, evidenced by extreme differences in mouse and jerboa tails. Here, Weber and colleagues identify cellular mechanisms and candidate genes that shape vertebral proportion.

Duan and Kaushik et al. reveal the structural basis of how Escherichia coli and Thermus thermophilus RNA polymerases initiate transcription from Np₄A alarmones producing Np₄-capped transcripts. The caps form various interactions with a polymerase during initial steps, influencing capping efficiency.

Planning for the Colorado River is critical to secure water and hydropower for the western US under climate change. This study highlights how different policies may reduce but not eliminate the risk of losing water and energy supply altogether.

Scanning dielectric microscopy of nanocapillaries filled with water reveals that interfacial and strongly confined water exhibits a large in-plane dielectric constant and an in-plane conductivity approaching superionic values. 

cfDNA fragmentomics is a potential clinically applicable method for identifying cancer. Here, the authors assess fragmentomics analysis methods and their application to commercial targeted sequencing panels.

Analyses of newly discovered hand and foot bones of a Paranthropus boisei specimen provide insight into possible tool use and other palaeobiology characteristics among Plio-Pleistocene hominin species.

Here the authors reveal how an incoherent feedforward C/EBPα–Notch circuit times lung cell fate, guiding alveolar development, repair after injury, and shifts between protective and reparative states.

An Fe^III/V redox mechanism in Li₄FeSbO₆ on delithiation without Fe^IV or oxygen formation with resistance to aging, high operating potential and low voltage hysteresis is demonstrated, with implications for Fe-based high-voltage applications.

This study incorporates local ancestry into the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD) to improve allele frequency estimates for admixed populations, enhancing variant interpretation and enabling more accurate and equitable genomic research and clinical care.

Acetyl-CoA synthetases have been proposed as targets for development of new antimicrobial drugs. Here, Jezewski et al. identify isoxazole-based compounds with activity against the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans, and describe their mechanism of action as inhibitors of fungal acetyl-CoA synthetases.

Recurring deep ocean oxygen minimum events occur in the Pacific Southern Ocean during the warm climate interval Marine Isotope Stage 11. They are linked with perturbed Antarctic Bottom Water formation caused by West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat.

High-resolution ALMA observations reveal a gravitationally bound septuple protostar system in NGC 6334IN, formed through disk fragmentation. This discovery sheds light on the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity in massive stellar clusters.

The authors assessed echocardiographic parameters in adults from rural areas endemic for loiasis in the Republic of Congo. They report significant differences in the Congolese adults from existing standard measurements, which highlights need for population-specific reference values and a standardized approach to their establishment to improve comparability across studies.

Pl@ntBERT is a language-based AI model that learned the ‘syntax’ of plant assemblages, predicting likely species and inferring habitats by modelling biotic relationships.

Joller and colleagues show that the co-inhibitory receptor TIGIT induces the expression of the tissue growth factor amphiregulin (Areg) in regulatory T cells and contributes to tissue repair in response to viral infection.

Here the authors leverage a crossfeeding, engineered microbial community to demonstrate that strain abundance cycles are robust across environmental conditions. They pair this with a nonlinear dynamic model to elucidate population cycles.

Matrix viscoelasticity regulates cell behavior in a stiffness-dependent manner. Here, the authors reveal that the mechanosensitive channel Piezo1 transduces soft matrix viscoelastic cues, through a coordinated interaction with molecular clutch mechanisms.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Characterization of dipeptidase 1 as a receptor for porcine haemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus reveals the versatility of embecovirus receptor binding domains and receptor usage.

Using data from the CoVPN 3008 study, the authors show that the neutralizing antibody correlate of risk holds in people living with HIV. However, the nAb correlate was weaker and shorter-lived in a vaccine-immunity versus hybrid-immunity population.

The electronic ground state of a correlated oxide interface is reversibly switched by light. Stemming from interfacial reconstructions, electrostatic confinement and photodoping, this effect opens a path towards engineering the optical response of oxides.

Garnet-type LLZO electrolytes are considered among the most promising solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries; however, numerous challenges need to be addressed before they are integrated into a cell. By precipitating amorphous zirconium oxide onto grain boundaries, increased ionic conductivity is observed and dendrite growth is suppressed.

Treatment of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) with vancomycin is associated with high relapse rates. In this study, the experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 was found to effectively treat CDI without relapse in a murine model of recurrent CDI.

A 165 Myr record of N and Corg isotopes show that the N-cycle responds to feedbacks associated with productivity and the location of upwelling centers changing due to continental meander.

This study explores the complex dynamics of slow laboratory earthquakes, revealing how fault structures evolve and influence slow seismic slip. Using a transparent experimental setup and a high-speed camera, real-time deformation and stress redistribution are observed within simulated fault zones made of clay.

People living in rural areas of the United States have poorer outcomes from acute COVID-19. Here, the authors show that higher mortality rates among rural dwellers persist for up to two years after the initial infection, even after accounting for baseline risk factors.

Engineering an immune receptor improves resistance to bacterial and fungal pathogens in a variety of plants.

The SWEET project is a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial that shows that long-term consumption of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers improves body weight control and elicits beneficial gut microbiota changes in adults with overweight or obesity.

Contributions of vehicular and structural proton transport are quantified in phosphoric acid electrolytes, with linking structural diffusion to hydrogen bonds. The derived conductivity model guides electrolyte-conductivity trends and identifies 5.8 M for low-temperature batteries.

Vertical transmission is thought to favour beneficial host–microbe interactions, but these may also be context dependent. Here Bruijning et al. show with a model that variable environments can select for bet-hedging by hosts via imperfect vertical transmission of microbes.

The physical mechanism generating membrane curvature by disc-shaped caveolin complexes is not fully understood. Here, the authors use mathematical modelling to propose a mechanism based on a differential contact energy between the discs and the membrane leaflets.

META-SiM brings foundation model power to single-molecule time traces, excelling across diverse analysis tasks. Paired with the web-based META-SiM Projector and entropy mapping, it rapidly reveals hidden molecular behaviors inaccessible by other means.

The authors integrate single-cell transcriptomic data with prior gene graphs to produce a biologically meaningful cell state manifold that can predict driver genes for genetic perturbations and differentiation events across diverse cell types.

The electronic behaviour of complex oxides such as LaNiO₃ depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, making it challenging to identify microscopic mechanisms. Here the authors demonstrate the influence of oxygen vacancies on the thickness-dependent metal-insulator transition of LaNiO₃ films.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

Anisotropic hybridization between conduction and unpaired f electrons is rarely observed. Now, a lanthanide-based two-dimensional compound exhibits nodal hybridization, giving rise to heavy-fermion behaviour.

Mohri et al. show that, in response to genotoxic stress, melanocyte stem cells undergo senescence-associated differentiation, causing their depletion and protecting them against melanomagenesis. This process is suppressed by carcinogens.

An efficient quantum thermal simulation algorithm that exhibits detailed balance, respects locality, and serves as a self-contained model for thermalization in open quantum systems.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common muscular dystrophy. In this study, the authors identified proteins in blood that correlate with disease progression, opening the possibility to monitor disease trajectories using non-invasive blood testing.

The authors developed a screen to find compounds that modulate intracellular Staphylococcus aureus metabolism and discovered KL1, which sensitizes persisters to antibiotics by reversing host-induced tolerance.

Padawer-Curry et al. show that the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonist DOI alters neurovascular coupling in mice, with implications for the interpretation of human fMRI studies of psychedelics.

Reduced dependence on wild-caught fish in favour of crop-based ingredients for feeds has supported aquaculture growth. An analysis of ingredient origins versus feed composition shows that origin must be considered to assess the environmental footprint of feed production.

The Zika viral protease NS2B-NS3 is a crucial target for antiviral drug development due to its role in processing viral polyproteins. Here, the authors utilize crystallographic fragment screening and deep mutational scanning to identify binding sites for resistance-resilient inhibitors.