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What the science says about ultra-processed foods. Plus, a microbiome in a mammoth tooth and how to keep Oceania free of bird flu.

Bacterial Type I polyketide synthases are responsible for producing both lifesaving medicines and virulence factors, yet their stepwise mechanism remains elusive. Here, Burkart et al. characterize acyl carrier protein bound states of mycocerosic acid synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis through crosslinking and cryo-EM.

Persisting symptoms after concussion (PSaC) present a complex neuropsychiatric challenge with limited treatment options due to inconsistent neuroimaging findings. Here the authors employ a multi-analytic approach to identify the salience network as a core dysfunction hub in PSaC, proposing specific cortical regions as potential targets for personalized neuromodulation therapies.

Monoclonal antibodies targeting the conserved neuraminidase catalytic site mimic sialic acid and use coordinated water molecules to inhibit diverse influenza A and B viruses, including H5N1, providing broad prophylactic protection in mice.

Using well-calibrated statistical methods the authors jointly analyze Undiagnosed Diseases Network genomes, identifying known and novel disease genes. Software is publicly available to support future cross-cohort rare disease discovery efforts.

Electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction are coated with carbon layers to improve performance but the mode of operation is poorly understood. Here, authors show charge transfer between catalyst and carbon boosts the catalytic activity of the carbon to rival that of the underlying material.

Nanoplastics (NPs) threaten water safety as conventional coagulants fail to remove them. Here, authors develop an in-situ Fe(III) method that forms encapsulating nanosheets, enabling efficient NP removal with stronger anti-interference in natural waters.

The sustainability of the majority of multispecies reef fisheries around the globe remains unassessed. This study provides context-specific sustainable reference points for coral reef fish using environmental conditions. Using these reference points, they show that most reef fish stocks have failed at least one fisheries sustainability benchmark.

Integrative analyses of transcriptome and whole-genome sequencing data for 1,188 tumours across 27 types of cancer are used to provide a comprehensive catalogue of RNA-level alterations in cancer.

A versatile and rapid metallaphotoredox catalytic method of making ³H- and ¹¹C-labelled tracer compounds for use in positron emission tomography (PET) is reported.

A gold catalyst supported on intergrown titanosilicate zeolites enhances propene oxide production by activating oxygen-transfer intermediates more efficiently at Ti interface sites.

Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis of stricturing Crohn’s disease highlights cellular heterogeneity in fibrotic tissue and identifies neighborhoods of fibroblasts and immune cells contributing to this severe disease complication.

In a 23.4-million-cell atlas of 412 single-cell RNA-sequencing studies, SCimilarity query of macrophage and fibroblast profiles from interstitial lung disease reveals similar cell profiles across other fibrotic diseases and tissues.

GPAT1 is a mitochondrial outer membrane protein that catalyzes the first step of glycerolipid biosynthesis. Cryo-EM structures and functional studies of human GPAT1 uncover the molecular architecture and mechanism of this important acyltransferase.

Using a heralded single-photon source along with coincidence counting, we establish time correlation functions for B800 excitation and B850 fluorescence emission and demonstrate that both events involve single photons.

During the integrated stress response, translation is modulated through the phosphorylation of translation initiation factor eIF2 and the formation of a complex with eIF2B. Here the authors present structures of the eIF2:eIF2B complex with and without phosphorylation, shedding light on how eIF2 phosphorylation regulates translation.

Benzaldehdye spontaneously oxidizes to benzoic acid in air, however it can be formed cleanly by the oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Here the authors provide an explanation for this unusual behaviour, showing that small amounts of alcohol can inhibit further oxidation by intercepting a key radical intermediate.

Straightforward solutions to antimicrobial resistance could avert millions of deaths. Plus, Three Mile Island nuclear plant will be restarted to power Microsoft data centres

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

In this study the authors consider the structural variants (SVs) present within cancer cases of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. They report hundreds of genes, including known cancer-associated genes for which the nearby presence of a SV breakpoint is associated with altered expression.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Highly accurate antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2 are needed for surveillance in low-prevalence populations. Here, the authors find seroprevalence of less than 1% in two San Francisco Bay Area populations at the beginning of April, and that seroreactivity is generally predictive of in vitro neutralising activity.

Global warming is costing lives, deepening health inequality and driving the spread of diseases across Europe. Plus, genes from century-old wheat varieties could improve modern crops and misinformation might sway elections — but not in the way that you think.

Organic semiconductors provide a platform for flexible lasers, but these are still produced on rigid, thick substrates. Here, Karl et al. develop a method to make freestanding membrane lasers that can be transferred onto any substrate and show that these could be used as anti-counterfeiting labels.

The spatial organization of a tumor affects how it grows and responds to treatment. Here, the authors present VALIS, a software to align sets of whole slide images (WSI) with state-of-the-art accuracy, enabling spatial studies of the tumor ecology.

Cross-scale models connecting leaf photosynthesis to crop yield—with feedback between plant growth and the environment—can predict yield following enhancement of photosynthesis. Impacts range markedly depending on factors such as water limitation.

Incorporating binding sites for metal ions into DNA strands that assemble into well-defined three-dimensional structures has enabled researchers to build metal-nucleic acid cages. There is potential for the geometry, pore size and chemistry of such materials to be easily tuned, which may prove useful for applications in molecular sensing and encapsulation.

One-dimensional wires with metal–metal bonding have been studied for more than a century, but control over structure and properties has remained challenging. Here, palladium–palladium bonding is used to make one-dimensional wires with lengths of up to 750 nm in solution, whose molecular structures can be rationally modified.

The efficiency of organic blends used for photovoltaic applications depends on their ability to convert photoexcited charges into free holes and electrons. It is now demonstrated that the lowermost energetic states formed at the donor/acceptor interface can reach conversion efficiencies close to 100%, and therefore do not behave as traps for charge carriers.

The southern San Andreas fault terminates in a stepover zone — several small faults that separate major fault segments — beneath the Salton Sea. Analysis of movements on the stepover zone faults indicates that periodic flooding of the palaeo-Salton Sea during the late Holocene could have triggered earthquakes on the San Andreas fault.

Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are widely used in the chemical industry, but their sustainability is often hindered by inefficient CO utilization. Here, the authors tackle the challenge by developing a sustainable and efficient carbonylation process for producing methyl propionate, achieving high CO utilization and regioselectivity.

Surface wrinkling reduces the performance of mixed-halide perovskite solar cells. Here, the authors identify that sequential nucleation of bromide-rich and iodide-rich domains results in compositional heterogeneity and subsequent wrinkling.

A peptide-based fluorescent inhibitor of the dimerization of an oncoprotein of the Epstein–Barr virus blocks the proliferation of tumours associated with the virus in mice.

Quantum neural networks could help analysing the output of quantum computers and quantum simulators of growing complexity. Here, the authors use a 7-qubit superconducting quantum processor to show how a quantum convolutional neural network can correctly recognise the phase of a quantum many-body state.

Neutralizing antibody responses of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 peak at 3–4 weeks post onset of symptoms, then decline to low levels over the course of 3 months in some individuals.

Treatment of supported ceria nanoparticles at high temperature in gasoline vehicle exhaust/steam results in their dispersion into atomically thin oxide domains with enhanced oxygen mobility and storage capacity.

Substantial evolution of the Nile River over the past 11,500 years, shaping the riverine landscape and ancient Egyptian culture, is linked to climate and environmental changes, according to analyses of sediment cores near Luxor dated with optically stimulated luminescence.

Superconducting qubits operate at microwave frequencies, but it is much more efficient to transmit information optically. Now, a superconducting qubit has been controlled with an optical signal by using a microwave–optical quantum transducer.

Jellyfish have demonstrated that you don’t need a centralized nervous system to learn by association. Plus, scientists under attack in the United States and how a newly discovered type of stem cell attracts cancer cells to the spine.

Effective solutions for food systems transformation must be designed in a participatory way. This study illustrates the application of an integrated assessment framework to explore stakeholder-driven scenarios towards climate-smart nutrition security in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The REACT-1 study measures the community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in England through repeated cross-sectional surveys. Here, the authors present data from REACT-1 that document the increase in infection prevalence, particularly among children, associated with the Omicron variant in January 2022.

The genomic organization and origin of the avenacin biosynthetic gene cluster remain unknown. Here, the authors assemble the genome of diploid oat Avena strigosa, reveal the structure and organization of the consecutive genes, characterize the last two missing pathway steps, and investigate the origin of the pathway in cereals.

The authors perform meta-analysis of GWAS studies for asthma from multiancestral cohorts. They identify five new loci and find that the asthma-associated loci are enriched near enhancer marks in immune cells.

Engineered living materials harness the computational power of biology to control interesting material properties. Here the authors leverage complex transcriptional regulation of bacterial extracellular electron transfer to control hydrogel cross-linking with Boolean logic.