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Here the authors identify the fungal effector Hap1 as a key driver of maize leaf tumor growth. Hap1 rewires plant metabolism and the cell cycle via SnRK1 signaling, promoting starch accumulation and cell enlargement.

METALoci, a new three-dimensional genome computational tool, reveals a major rewiring of regulatory interactions during sex determination. By combining this method with transgenic models, the authors identify a noncoding regulatory region at the Fgf9 locus and reveal that Meis genes are key regulators of sexual differentiation.

Mucosal administration of a multivalent, adjuvanted vaccine against Clostridioides difficile promoted bacterial clearance and protected against morbidity, mortality, tissue damage and recurrence in mice.

A shift in organic carbon to total phosphorus (C_org/P_total) ratios in marine siliciclastic strata from approximately 455 million years ago suggests an earlier-than-previously-thought spread of land plants and their impact on the Earth system, based on analogy with extant C/P ratios of terrestrial and marine organic matter.

The specific glycosylation patterns of biological drugs often impact the efficacy and safety of the therapeutic product. Here the authors describe a native mass spectrometry approach that allows the resolution of highly complex glycosylation patterns on large proteins, which they apply to the therapeutic Fc-fusion protein Etanercept.

Rare coding variants that reduce the activity of a protein can have a beneficial impact on health. Here, researchers identify rare genetic variants in the CHRNB3 gene that associate with reduced cigarette smoking across diverse populations.

This study identifies KAT7 as a key factor converting zinc deficiency into reduced H3K14ac. This signal drives both physiological zinc homeostasis and, upon prolonged deficiency, pathophysiological liver fat accumulation.

This study shows how the bacterial retron Eco2 defends against viruses. Phage nucleases trigger activation of Eco2, which cuts RNAs, shuts down protein production and stops phage replication.

In this work, authors present an automated, high-throughput platform that utilizes robotics and computer vision to enable creation of a therapeutic phage cocktail, LBP-EC01, effective against over 96% of tested Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infections.

Conventional slurry electrodes limit high-energy lithium batteries. This work shows that dry-processed electrodes with molecularly coupled carbon–binder networks enable high mass and active material loading, supporting stable high-voltage operation and enhancing battery energy density.

High-speed imaging reveals that the squeak of soft–rigid frictional interfaces, like sneakers sliding on a basketball court, arises from intersonic opening slip pulses—analogous to earthquake ruptures—that thin ridges on the rubber confine to repeat at a musical frequency.

Microscopic imaging and biochemical studies show that sinuses in mouse and human form a highly dynamic surface that regulates fluid movement and immune cell surveillance via RAMP1-dependent regulation of smooth muscle contraction and RAMP2-dependent regulation of the sinus endothelial barrier.

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.

The lowest-frequency gravitational wave background may be shaped by supermassive black hole binaries that scatter nearby stars or dark matter. In this case, the NANOGrav 15-year dataset favours dense galactic centres with 10⁶ solar masses per cubic parsec.

Greenwald, Nederlof and colleagues developed a computational pipeline analyzing multiplex imaging data and established spatial patterns within breast cancer microenvironment that are predictive of immune checkpoint blockade response across treatment time course.

In vitro propagation of the pathogenic bacterium Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, leads to attenuated virulence and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) truncation. Here, Long et al. show that a strain considered to be avirulent (NMII) can be recovered from infected animals, and these isolates display increased virulence and an elongated LPS due to reversion of a 3-bp mutation in a gene.

Hepatic glycogenolysis is essential for protein glycosylation and rhythmic secretion by the liver. Disruptions to hepatic glycogenolysis, caused by congenital diseases or physiological factors such as obesity, caloric restriction and changes to meal timing, alter hepatic protein secretion.

Here, the authors mapped signal flow over days from intracranial brain recordings in humans. Across vigilance stages, limbic structures sent twice as many signals as they received from the neocortex, challenging the long-standing hypothesis of flow reversal in sleep.

Conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1) can boost the precursor exhausted T cell population thought to be essential for efficacy of immune checkpoint therapy. Here the authors enhance this cellular network using Flt3L to expand cDC1s and then map the movement of T cells and DCs between tumors and lymph nodes.

KRAS is an oncogene that switches between a GDP-bound inactive state and a GTP-bound active state. Recently developed KRAS G12C inhibitors are specific to the GDP-bound inactive state. Here, the authors develop a class of covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors capable of targeting both states for the treatment of KRAS-driven cancer.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

A follow-up analysis of a clinical trial that evaluated anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with cancer who are living with HIV provides mechanistic insights into transcriptomic, cellular and cytokine changes related to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment and identifies a signature associated with clinical response.

Urban ecology traditionally focuses on single cities, yet cities play key roles in ecological processes such as migration. Radar analysis across the continental USA reveals that nearly half of stopover hotspots concentrate in metropolitan areas, linked to urbanization.

Using 63 globally distributed grassland and shrubland sites from the International Drought Experiment, this study identified plant traits linked to drought resistance after 1 year of extreme drought across growth forms, lifespans and climate.

APOLLO is an autoencoder-based framework to integrate diverse data modalities while preserving both shared and modality-specific information. It enables predicting missing data modalities and identifying the influence of each modality on a phenotype.

Biochemical and structural studies show that the bacterial dGTPase CloA is activated by virally produced dTTP and inhibited by 5′-triphosphothymidyl-3′5′-thymidine produced by its regulatory partner CloB, and thereby balances antiviral defence and immune-mediated toxicity.

From 2014–2017, marine heatwaves caused global mass coral bleaching, where the corals lose their symbiotic algae. The authors find, this event exceeded the severity of all prior global bleaching events in recorded history, with approximately half the world’s reefs bleaching and 15% experiencing substantial mortality.

Boosting mitochondrial metabolism in neurons in central memory circuits by enhancing Ca²⁺ retention in the mitochondrial matrix is shown to improve long-term memory formation in flies and mice.

The evolutionary origin of tumours remains largely unknown. Here, Domazet-Lošo et al. show evidence for naturally occurring tumours in the freshwater polyp, Hydra, and suggest that tumours have deep evolutionary roots.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 continue to evolve 6 to 12 months after infection in patients who have recovered from COVID-19, increasing in potency and breadth with time.

Aperiodic composite crystals were discovered that emulate 2D moiré materials, demonstrating a potentially scalable approach for producing moiré materials for next-generation electronics and a generalizable approach for realizing theoretical predictions of higher-dimensional quantum phenomena.

Chen et al. developed a self-powered smart magnetoelastic stent for real-time hemodynamic monitoring and stenosis detection.

The APOE-ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not deterministic. Here, the authors show that common genetic variation changes how APOE-ε4 influences cognition.

A national classification system of wetland hydrologic connectivity to streams, which could be applied globally, demonstrates and advances current understanding of how wetland connectivity affects surface water quality.

Sequencing of marine sediments finds 136 newly identified Heimdallarchaeia and several novel lineages, and indicates that Heimdallarchaeia evolved distinct metabolic capabilities from other Asgardarchaeota, in conditions that may have given rise to early eukaryotes.

Analysis of the somatic and transcriptomic profile of 123 acral melanoma samples from Mexican patients helps understand tumour origins and prognosis, and highlights the importance of including samples from diverse ancestries in cancer genomics studies.

Synthetic materials are known for their outstanding durability and water stability, however, in contrast with biological structures they are not biodegradable. Here, the authors produce a biological material that gains strength in contact with water and becomes waterproof.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

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.

Electroreduction of CO is an emerging route to produce multicarbon molecules, but achieving this efficiently in solid-state devices is challenging. Here the authors develop a cation-functionalized layer using polyacrylate in a solid-state electrolyser that produces ethylene stably and efficiently from syngas.

Donahue et al. show that ageing is associated with changes in ER morphology. ER-phagy drives age-associated ER remodelling through tissue-specific factors.

A scalable architecture that is based on a quantum dot crossbar array comprising tightly pitched spin-qubit tiles and implemented in planar germanium, can be used characterize spin qubits.

When senescent cells accumulate during adulthood they negatively influence lifespan and promote age-dependent changes in several organs; clearance of these cells delayed tumorigenesis in mice and attenuated age-related deterioration of several organs without overt side effects, suggesting that the therapeutic removal of senescent cells may be able to extend healthy lifespan.