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Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Here the authors identify TNIP1 as a risk factor for a fatal neurodegenerative disorder and discover specific genetic loci associated with the three main subtypes of this disorder. The findings highlight distinct disease mechanisms, emphasizing the roles of immunity and the notch signaling pathway.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Empirically based models of disease progression in familial frontotemporal dementia reveal the relative ordering of clinical, neuroimaging, and fluid biomarker changes and facilitate novel clinical trial designs

GWAS have identified more than 500 genetic loci associated with blood lipid levels. Here, the authors report a genome-wide analysis of interactions between genetic markers and physical activity, and find that physical activity modifies the effects of four genetic loci on HDL or LDL cholesterol.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study identifies 13 new loci associated with serum lipids.

This study supports neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) in both cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood as an early marker of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease but suggests that NfL in CSF may be better suited than blood for monitoring clinical trial outcomes in symptomatic patients.

Saloner et al. used large-scale cerebrospinal fluid proteomics to uncover molecular signatures in frontotemporal dementia, revealing RNA splicing and synaptic protein candidate markers for genetic and sporadic disease progression.

A rare case of asymptomatic dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s reveals confined tau pathology and unique proteomic features, highlighting potential resilience mechanisms decades beyond expected onset.

Proteomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from individuals with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease reveals how this complex and chronic disease evolves over many decades.

A NutNet experiment in 57 grasslands across six continents shows that when herbivores are excluded from grasslands with a long coevolutionary history of grazing plant diversity is reduced, while in grasslands without a long grazing history the evolutionary history of the plant species regulates the response of plant diversity.

As industry, governments and academia increasingly rely on patent landscapes to map scientific and technological trends, an interdisciplinary workshop provides recommendations for developing consistent and transparent landscaping practices.

Whole-genome sequence analysis identifies five independent risk loci for Lewy body dementia and demonstrates overlapping genetic architecture with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

A new study assesses the impact of recent US Supreme Court rulings on the changing landscape of US patents claiming nucleic acids.

A look at the global landscape of biofuel patenting shows that, after surging between 2004 and 2008, the invention of biofuel technologies slowed considerably, and in many countries went into decline. Global trends point to an uncertain future, in particular, for advanced biofuels.

Neuroinflammation is observed in Alzheimer’s disease. Here the authors show that 15 proteins related to inflammation found in CSF can potentially be used as a prognostic biomarker.

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD) tau and neurodegeneration have complex regional relationships. Here, the authors show neuronal hypometabolism discordant with tau burden defines functional resilience or susceptibility to Alzheimer’s pathology via limbic/cortical axes. Susceptible groups have faster cognitive decline and evidence of non-Alzheimer’s pathologies.

Characteristics of the complex and growing stem cell patent landscape indicate strategies by which public sector research institutions could improve the efficiency of intellectual property agreements and technology transfers in stem cells.

Perivascular and leptomeningeal macrophages, collectively termed here parenchymal border macrophages, are shown to regulate flow dynamics of cerebrospinal fluid, implicating this cell population as new therapeutic targets in neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network neuroimaging repository is a free resource consisting of PET and MRI scans from 533 individuals across 206 families who are deeply phenotyped with genetic, clinical, cognitive and biofluid sampling.

New findings indicate that there may be benefits from more collaborative models of intellectual property management in the public sector.

Keri Monda, Kari North, Christopher Haiman and colleagues report a meta-analysis of GWAS for body mass index that is composed of 39,144 individuals of African ancestry, followed by further genotyping in 32,268 individuals of African ancestry. The study also includes analysis of publicly available data from the GIANT consortium of ~124,000 individuals of European ancestry. The paper reports evidence for two new loci near GALNT10 and MIR148A.

Gerard Schellenberg and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), as part of the Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium. They identify common variants in MS4A4/MS4A6E, CD2AP, CD33 and EPHA1 associated with LOAD.

Although the first major agbiotech product patent has expired, regulatory requirements could continue to allot a significant degree of control to the original right holder.

David Whitcomb, Bernie Devlin and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of pancreatitis. They identify common variants at two loci associated with risk of this disease, including one on the X chromosome that shows strong evidence of interaction with alcohol consumption.

Early views on the control of the CRISPR–Cas disruptive enabling technology and access for follow-on commercial applications.

Short interfering RNA (siRNA) can silence genes in neighbouring and distant plant cells. The authors show that transgenes, endogenous genes and viruses are silenced through the movement of free primary siRNA duplexes, which are progressively diluted and simultaneously selectively depleted during this process.

Azevedo et al. conduct a machine learning-based analysis of structural MRI data from multiple cohorts. The authors identify Alzheimer’s disease-like neuroimaging phenotypes associated with poorer cognitive performance in a healthy UK Biobank cohort, potentially highlighting a population at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Inglese et al. develop a predictive model that computes multi-regional statistical morpho-functional mesoscopic traits from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. Their model reliably discriminates people with Alzheimer’s disease-related pathologies from those without.