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Dendritic cells (DCs) are required to establish thymic central tolerance. Here Srinivasan et al. use single-cell transcriptomics to define thymic conventional dendritic cell (cDC) subsets and find that CD8⁺ single-positive thymocytes modulate the thymus environment to regulate plasmacytoid DC and cDC2 homeostasis and interferon signatures in DCs, while CD4⁺ single-positive thymocytes regulate cDC1 activation via cognate and CD40L–CD40 interactions.

Qu, Razmara et al. show that Gli1+ fetal cells give rise to long-lived cartilage progenitors in the long bones. While normally dormant until postnatally, they expand upon (and compensate for) growth perturbations, arising from external Pdgfra+ cells.

A prospective nationwide genomic screening pilot for ten genes in young adults in Australia detected pathogenic variants in 2% of the population, most of whom were ineligible for government-funded genomic testing.

In this Primer, Zühlke and colleagues review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, management and quality of life of individuals with acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, which are autoimmune sequelae of group A Streptococcus infection.

The development of advanced photonic materials exhibiting two-photon absorption (2PA) relies on nonlinear absorption chromophores with enhanced 2PA cross-sections and long-term photo- and thermal stability. Here, the authors report a dipolar carbene-metal-amide (CMA) with a 2PA cross-section up to 105 GM that exhibits third-order nonlinear optical properties — red two-photon–excited thermally activated delayed fluorescence with radiative rates of up to 2.1·10⁶s^–1 — while maintaining excellent photostability.

The authors uncover a direct, BAI1-dependent, role for C1q in the control of neural stem cell proliferation and quiescence via MDM2–p53 and p32, a complement cascade-independent mechanism of C1q action that has implications for central nervous system health and disease.

Synthetic microbial consortia are collections of strains which can segregate metabolic tasks for efficient use in biomaterials, biomanufacturing, and biotherapeutics. Here, the authors present a method to maintain and tune the ratio of two co-cultured bacterial strains via growth medium manipulation.

Respiratory virus genomic surveillance output is unevenly distributed globally. Here, the authors show that addressing this imbalance could substantially reduce the time to first detection of novel (variant) viruses, enhancing surveillance effectiveness and efficiency.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

This study applies machine learning to fMRI data to map developmental variations in functional connectivity, uncovering heterogeneity across individuals and cortical regions that predicts neurocognitive maturation in youth.

Yashinskie, Zhu and colleagues show that p53 activation triggers increased synthesis and accumulation of phospholipids, with enhanced activation of autophagy and lysosomal catabolism programmes and increased reliance on lipid headgroup recycling.

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) reversibly modifies low molecular weight and protein thiols to form persulfides (RSS⁻) and polysulfides (RS(S)nS⁻) for antioxidant defence and regulation of activity. Here, the authors report a sensitive LC-MS/MS procedure that separately traps and quantifies the sulfur atom of H₂S, the terminal sulfur atom of RSS and RS(S)nS-, and the internal sulfur atoms of RS(S)nS ⁻ as diagnostic products in biological samples.

Neurocognitive impairment and premature aging often occur in childhood survivors of cancer. Here, the authors investigate the link between biological markers of age and neurocognitive functioning in survivors of childhood cancer who received either central nervous system (CNS)-targeted or non-CNS-targeted therapy.

Sargassum biomass in the north Sargasso Sea declined drastically since 2015, co-occurring with related reductions in the northwest Gulf of Mexico and an expansion of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, according to in situ and satellite observations.

How landscapes are arranged affects soil pathogenic fungi worldwide. The authors reveal the global pattern and pronounced scale-dependency of landscape complexity and land-cover quantity on soil pathogenic fungal diversity.

Intelectin-2 defends mucosal interfaces by crosslinking mucus and blocking microbial growth. This study reveals that mouse and human intelectin-2 recognizes galactose-rich glycans to bind and target diverse bacteria—uncovering a potent, dual-action lectin that shapes host–microbe balance.

Stable adipocytes resist lipolysis in healthy states but are highly susceptible to a catecholamine-independent, neurosystemic pathway-driven catabolic state.

The function of intermediate epithelial states in pulmonary fibrosis unknown. This study used RNA sensing technology to show selectively removal of alveolar epithelial stem cells trapping in an intermediate state reduced lung fibrosis.

Chemical language models trained on known metabolites can identify previously unknown metabolites from mass spectrometry-based metabolomics data with high accuracy.

This study finds stem-like endothelial cells in the optic nerve that supply and repair retinal blood vessels after injury, revealing a hierarchical repair system that may enable new treatments for blinding vascular eye diseases.

A Fab-IL-10 fusion protein that binds to LDL suppresses vascular inflammation in atherosclerotic mouse models.

Prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates vary across males from diverse populations. Here, the authors perform a proteome-wide association study across different populations and establish population-specific genetic prediction models.

Genetic variants of TREX1, a negative regulator of type I interferon responses, have been linked previously to non-monogenic systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here the authors analyze UK Biobank multi-omics data to show that, while a derived oligoprotein interferon signature associates with increased SLE risk, TREX1 variants do not.

Taveneau et al. leverage artificial-intelligence-driven protein design to create inhibitors that control RNA-targeting enzymes in cells, revealing a strategy to rapidly design off-switches for RNA-editing systems.

The anterior cingulate cortex encodes affective pain behaviours modulated by opioids; targeting opioid-sensitive neurons through a new chemogenetic gene therapy replicates the analgesic effects of morphine, providing precise chronic pain relief without affecting sensory detection.

Ionizing radiation can cause simultaneous charge noise in multi-qubit superconducting devices. Here, the authors measure space- and time-correlated charge jumps in a four-qubit system in a low-radiation underground facility, achieving operation with minimal correlated events over 22 h at qubit separations beyond 3 mm.

The chimeric candidate Zika virus vaccine YF-ZIK has been previously shown to confer protection in mice after a single dose regimen. Here the authors further characterise the response to YF-ZIK and show induction of immunity and protection in non-human primates.

The study used snMultiome-seq to map gene expression and chromatin accessibility in human central amygdala cells from people with and without AUD. Here, the authors show that inhibitory neurons are most affected, with KLF16-driven regulatory changes and AUD-risk variants disrupting gene activity.

This Perspective discusses current evidence on clonal hematopoiesis dynamics in humans and compares mathematical models used to predict CH progression, highlighting their implications for the clinical management of individuals with precursor states.

Transcription factor osr2 is identified as a specific marker and regulator of mural lymphatic endothelial cell (muLEC) differentiation and maintenance, and muLECs and border-associated macrophages share functional analogies but are not homologous, providing an example of convergent evolution.

Mounier et al., analyse whether obesity, measured by body mass index (BMI) affects the shared genetic risk between 71 long-term health conditions including diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Health interventions that help to lower BMI can reduce multimorbidity and promote longer and healthier lives.

Single-molecule chromatin fiber sequencing exposes single-cell-level heterogeneity in the chromatin architecture of individual regulatory elements.

Analysis of Babesia divergens egress from host cells reveals druggable targets and identifies compounds for potential babesiosis treatment.

Here the authors present NCATS-SM0225, a small molecule that inhibits ERAD and selectively kills cancer cells by binding VDACs, disrupting calcium homeostasis, and triggering the PERK-STIM1 pathway to degrade ERAD regulators.

Fabrication of fully stretchable organic light-emitting diodes incorporating an intrinsically stretchable exciplex-assisted phosphorescent layer along with MXene-contact stretchable electrodes is described, demonstrating high efficiency and mechanical compliance for applications in next-generation wearable and deformable displays.

deepmriprep leverages neural networks to enable voxel-based morphometry preprocessing of MRI data that is 37× faster than existing methods while achieving comparable accuracy in segmentation, registration and final statistical maps across large datasets.

The authors demonstrate dual-probe multi-messenger imaging of high-energy-density plasmas based on laser-wakefield-accelerated electrons. This enables spatiotemporally resolved simultaneous probing of plasma hydrodynamics and electromagnetic field evolution with both x-ray and electron beams.

In a randomized controlled trial that included 97 participants, 69% patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) allocated to a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) achieved clinical response, and over 60% reached remission, outperforming the control group. The FMD also reduced markers of intestinal inflammation, suggesting this dietary intervention could serve as adjunctive treatment for CD.

Npm1 promotes tumor formation via attenuating the integrated stress response and p53 activation in mouse WNT-driven intestinal and liver tumorigenesis.

The coronavirus proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN) is a major cause of viral resistance to nucleotide analog (NA) antivirals. Here, the authors reveal how different NAs are recognized by ExoN, shedding light on improved anticoronavirus drug design.

With rich, multi-layered baseline data and long-term follow-up through linkage, the HELIOS Study provides a resource to investigate the behavioural, environmental, genomic, and molecular factors impacting health in Asian populations.

Specific pain-sensing nociceptors and chemosensory tuft cells form a circuit to promote type 2 immune responses in the intestine.

Germano-silicate used as a building material for integrated photonics circuits substantially reduces optical losses, approaching levels comparable to those in optical fibres.

Using a statistical model that incorporates transmission intensity and stratum-specific rates of severe outcomes, either associated with disease or vaccination, a framework is proposed to compare the risks and benefits of deploying new vaccines, using early epidemiological data.

Elevated triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs), long linked to cardiovascular disease, were thought to be harmful mainly in their remnant form. Here, the authors show that intact TRLs, not just their remnants, promote atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation in a mouse model.

Excitons dominate the optoelectronic response of many materials and exciton transport often limits the efficiency of optoelectronic devices such as solar cells or photodetectors. Using quantum geometry, the authors find that topological excitons undergo enhanced diffusion across a wide range of transport regimes.