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The XRISM Resolve spectrum of the galactic neutron star X-ray binary, GX 13+1, reveals one of the densest winds ever seen in absorption lines.

Singlet fission — the splitting of a singlet exciton into two triplets — is a process that could be exploited to improve the power conversion efficiency of solar cells. Spectroscopic data now suggest that coherent and incoherent mechanisms for singlet fission in crystalline hexacene coexist and occur on different timescales.

XBB.1.5 of SARS-CoV-2 is a descendant of XBB.1 and has mutations in spike and ORF8, making it more infectious to humans. Here, the authors examined in detail the differences in virological properties of the two variants.

Coordinated hormonal interactions in response to feeding and fasting regulate glucose homeostasis. Here the authors report that Activin B, expressed in the liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, is involved in glucose homeostasis by regulating hepatic FGF21 production and glucagon sensitivity and can be inhibited by adipocyte-derived FSTL3 during obesity.

Teratorn is a large mobile genetic element originally identified in the small teleost fish medaka. Here, the authors show that Teratorn is derived from the fusion of a piggyBac superfamily DNA transposon and an alloherpesvirus and that it is widely found across teleost fish.

Choline is an essential nutrient derived primarily from dietary phosphatidylcholine, and its deficiency causes steatohepatitis. Here, the authors show that intestinal Atp8b1 contributes to choline metabolism through lysoPC absorption and that its dysfunction causes choline deficiency and steatohepatitis.

The molecular heterogeneity of KMT2A-rearranged infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains poorly characterised. Here, the authors perform multi-omics analysis for 84 ALL patients and suggest 5 distinct subgroups for risk stratification and personalised treatment.’

Observations of a luminous quasar from the high-resolution spectrometer Resolve aboard XRISM revealed highly inhomogeneous wind structure outflowing from a supermassive black hole, which probably consists of up to a million clumps.

Ito et al. present CoVFit, an AI model that predicts variant fitness (transmissibility) from spike protein sequences alone. They further demonstrate its utility in forecasting viral evolution via single amino acid mutations.

XBB is the first recombinant, globally dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2. Here, the authors examine the variant’s origins and virological properties, showing it is the first example of SARS-CoV-2 improving its fitness through recombination.

Strongly correlated and topological phases of matter can be often described using the tools of quantum field theory. Here the authors report the thermal Hall effect in the antiferromagnetic skyrmion lattice of MnSc₂S₄, revealing transport features that can be attributed to an emergent SU(3) gauge field.

Genetic variants of proteasome subunit genes have been shown to associate with perturbed immune function. Here authors show that a heterozygous missense variant of the immunoproteasome subunit β-type 9 causes an autoinflammatory/immune deficiency syndrome in humans and in a mouse model.

Optically dark (non-emitting) triplet excitons on organic molecules may be rendered bright by coupling the molecules to lanthanide-doped nanoparticles, providing a way to control such excitons in optoelectronic systems.

Recent Omicron SARS-CoV-2 subvariants independently acquire 5 key Spike mutations. Here, the authors evaluate the evolutionary importance of the 5 mutations and characterize the virological properties of variant BQ.1.1 harboring all 5 mutations.

Many germline variants are found in the BRCA2 gene, some of which pre-dispose women to breast and ovarian cancer. Here, the authors develop a method to determine the functional significance of BRCA2 variants and show that it is comparable to the IARC system of classifying variants.

Diabetes is known to increase the risk of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, the authors show in a mice model that insulin action in the gut may play a protective role in the development of NASH and HCC in diabetes.

X-ray spectroscopic observations of the Centaurus galaxy cluster with the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission satellite show that the hot gas flows along the line of sight relative to the central galaxy.

Trunk exoskeleton elements of non-tetrapods such as scales and fin rays are believed to derive from the neural crest. Shimada and colleagues use long-term cell labelling methods to show that these elements are actually derived from the mesoderm.

JN.1 lineage is a globally dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2. Here, the authors examine structural insights into the BA.2.86 and JN.1 spike dynamics to help understand the mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection and its neutralizing-antibody evasion.

Fibroblasts can be directly reprogrammed to cardiomyocytes, but reprogramming is less efficient for adult compared to embryonic fibroblasts. Here, the authors find that inhibition of inflammation and Cox-2-prostaglandin-cAMP-IL-1β signaling enhances reprogramming efficiency of adult, but not embryonic fibroblasts.

Myoglobin bound to carbon monoxide undergoes an ultrafast light-induced reaction, which ends up in a photolyzed carbon monoxide and a spin transition of the iron center. Here, the authors employ quantum wavepacket dynamics to show that photolysis precedes the spin transition, a mechanism dominated by strong electron-nuclear couplings.

Singlet fission in organic semiconductors can generate triplet exciton pairs that are crucial to the charge generation in a photovoltaic process, whilst their nature remains elusive. Here, Yonget al. show that the immediate triplet pair is bound and emissive in a range of acene and heteroacene materials.

Glutathione S-transferase omega 1 (GSTO1) is an atypical GST isoform overexpressed in several cancers that has been implicated in drug resistance. Here the authors identify a small molecule inhibitor of GSTO1 that effectively inhibits tumor growth in colon cancer models, and establish its mechanism of action.

Cooperative electronic properties that arise purely from carbon π-electrons can lead to unconventional superconductivity and quantum magnetism. New packing architectures have now been established in two caesium-intercalated polyaromatic hydrocarbons, CsPhenanthrene and Cs₂Phenanthrene, both strongly correlated multi-orbital Mott insulators. The frustrated magnetic topology in CsPhenanthrene also renders it a spin-½ quantum spin liquid candidate.

Hiroyuki Mano and colleagues report fusions involving DUX4 in 16.4% of Ph-negative adolescent and young adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (AYA-ALL) cases. Transplantation assays in mice support an oncogenic role for the DUX4-IGH fusion gene, which expresses DUX4 protein with an aberrant C terminus at high levels in patients with AYA-ALL.

In vitro studies in human cell lines and in vivo studies in a hamster model show that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less pathogenic than both the Delta variant and an ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2.

Atg32 is required for mitophagy in yeast, however, a mammalian homologue of this protein has not been identified. Murakawaet al. identify Bcl-2-like protein 13 as a functional homologue of Atg32 in mammalian cells, and show that this protein can rescue mitophagy in Atg32-deficient yeast cells.