Search

A single-cell multiomic immune cell atlas from 235 Japanese, including patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals, linked with host genetics including germline and somatic mutation, plasma proteomics and metagenomics data reveals that immune cells are dynamically regulated in a cell state-dependent manner.

Genetic mechanisms influencing COVID-19 susceptibility are not well understood. Here, the authors analyzed whole blood RNA-seq data of 465 Japanese individuals with COVID-19, highlighting thousands of fine-mapped variants affecting expression and splicing of genes, as well as the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

Unlike some planets, the Venusian polar vortex is warmer than the mid-latitudes at cloud-top level, but the mechanism behind this is unknown. Here, the authors use a general circulation model and suggest the cold collar and warm polar regions are due to residual mean meridional circulation intensified by thermal tides.

On the basis of the whole-genome sequences of cultivated and wild hops, this study describes the evolution of sex chromosomes, including degeneration and dosage compensation, and identifies a candidate gene for the X–A balance sex-determination system in these species.

Analysis of the blood DNA virome in patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune disease associates endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and high anellovirus load with increased disease risk, most notably for systemic lupus erythematosus. eHHV-6 carriers show a distinct immune response.

The authors report a Hall effect that originates from a fictitious magnetic field associated with antiferromagnetic order that breaks time-reversal symmetry, followed by translation symmetry.

Venus is covered by thick clouds that move with the prevailing winds. Images from JAXA’s Akatsuki orbiter taken in July 2016 reveal more variability deep in the cloud layer than expected, including a feature consistent with an equatorial jet.

Genetic analysis of agronomic traits in crops is complicated by the long generation times and challenges of growing and phenotyping plants in large field trials. Abe et al. show how whole genome resequencing can be used to identify the genetic basis of subtle phenotypic traits in rice.

Kinetochore function depends on H4K20 monomethylation in centromeric nucleosomes but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, the authors provide evidence that the centromere-specific nucleosome subunit CENP-A facilitates H4K20 methylation by enabling a conformational change of the H4 N-terminal tail.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 73 Japanese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 75 healthy controls were analyzed using single-cell transcriptomics. Combining these data with genotyping data highlights the interplay between host genetics and the immune response in modulating disease severity.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

A potent inhibitor for hepatocyte growth factor was identified that utilizes an allosteric mode of inhibition revealed by atomic force microscopy imaging. The inhibitor could be used for positron emission tomography imaging of mouse tumors.

Genetically grafting macrocyclic peptides into the structural loops of fragment crystallizable regions can make them surrogate receptor agonists with longer half-lives in circulation and enhanced penetration of the blood–brain barrier.

A planetary-scale streak structure in the Venusian lower-cloud layer was observed by the Akatsuki orbiter. Here the authors present numerical simulations that reproduce such structure and reveal that a low-stability layer, which induces baroclinic disturbances, is essential for its formation.

Here, the authors identify six risk SNPs for systemic sclerosis by performing GWAS on Japanese patients and meta-analyzing Japanese and European GWAS datasets. Downstream analyses indicate that B cells contribute to pathogenesis.

Gravity waves are observed in Venus atmosphere, but their characteristics are not well-known. Here, the authors show spontaneous generation of gravity waves from the thermal tides in the Venus atmosphere as small-scale gravity waves are resolved in high-resolution general circulation model.

This paper examines the changes in gene expression during the first exposure to a long day (such as those found in spring) in Japanese quails and find that two waves of genes are induced as part of the photoperiodic response. This paper also identifies thyrotrophin expression in the pars tuberalis as a critical event in triggering this photoperiodic response.

Type 2 diabetes and obesity are associated with increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, known as selective insulin resistance. Here Kubota et al. explain selective insulin resistance in the liver with the zonal distribution and selective insulin-mediated regulation of Irs1 and Irs2.

Stimuli-responsive molecular organic crystals are of interest as actuating materials, but their mechanical responses are often poorly understood. Here, the authors study the photo-triggered phase transition of a chiral salicylideneamine crystal and uncover superelastic behaviour induced by light irradiation.

Tomohiro Imamura et al. report that a WD40 protein REBC, which differs from the trichome formation-linked WD40 protein TTG1, plays a critical role in epidermal bladder cell formation in quinoa. They further reveal a protective role of the epidermal bladder cells against the shoot apex damage by abiotic stress, especially salt stress, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying epidermal bladder cell formation and function.

We made ‘Gd-peapod’, which is a double-walled carbon nanotube filled with gadolinium chloride. After Gd-peapods were injected to a rat via tail vein, we evaluated the organs by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). As a result, the peapods in rats were easily visualized by MRI and the change in signal intensity was dose dependent. This newly developed method can be used to monitor carbon nanotube biokinetics in vivo without tedious tissue preparation.