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Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Daily location data on the individuals of 14 migratory marine species from 2000 to 2009 allow annual migratory cycles to be mapped to the time spent in the high seas and the exclusive economic zones of specific countries, providing a basis for international management strategies for these species.

Decoupling the spins of a quantum system from environmental noises is the key to avoid decoherence. At the same time, electrical control over the spin state is a highly desirable feature for integration with present devices. Herein, Reale et al. demonstrate all-electrical spin drive and read-out of an individual Er atom with well decoupled 4f electrons.

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.

Spin transfer torque—the transfer of angular momentum from a spin-polarized current to a ferromagnet’s magnetization—has already found commercial application in memory devices, but the underlying physics is still not fully understood. Researchers now demonstrate the crucial role played by the polarization of the laser light that generates the current; a subtle effect only evident when isolated from other influences such as heating.

Use of a longitudinal study design allows for more precise analysis of the interplay between clonal hematopoiesis and atherosclerotic disease, finding that whereas clonal hematopoiesis confers an increased risk of atherosclerosis, the reverse is not the case, arguing for a unidirectional effect of clonal hematopoiesis on atherosclerosis.

The Kv1.3 potassium channel is expressed abundantly on activated T cells and mediates the cellular immune responses. Here, the authors report structures of the Kv1.3 potassium channel with and without immunoglobulin modulators, shedding light on the mechanisms of Kv1.3 gating and modulation.

Crystal structures of the complete RNA polymerase I complex are now revealed. The structures link the opening and closing of this enzyme's DNA-binding cleft to the control of transcription. See Articles p.644 & p.650

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

How adhesive forces are transduced and integrated into biochemical signals at focal adhesions (FAs) is poorly understood. Here authors show that force- FAK signaling coupling coordinates cell migration and tissue-scale forces to promote microtissue repair.

Long-term metastatic relapse is observed in patients with luminal breast cancer (BC). Here, the authors show that fatty acid amide hydrolase is a tumour suppressor for lung metastasis in mouse models of BC and a predictor of metastasis in patients with luminal BC.

Examining drivers of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in a global database of local tree species richness, the authors show that co-limitation by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors causes steeper increases in richness with latitude in tropical versus temperate and boreal zones.

Adaptation transcends scale in both natural and artificial systems, but the factors driving the cause of this phenomenon are unclear. Herein, the authors describe the molecular requirements for adaptation and establish a link to rationalize adaptive behavior on a self-assembled level.

An investigation using various methods reports an association between adeno-associated virus 2 and paediatric hepatitis of unknown aetiology.

Tsyben et al. study the spatial distribution of labelled metabolites in glioblastoma samples from patients infused with ¹³C-glucose, using mass spectrometry imaging.

Chiea Chuen Khor, Tin Aung, Francesca Pasutto, Janey Wiggs and colleagues report a global genome-wide association study of exfoliation syndrome and a fine-mapping analysis of a previously identified disease-associated locus, LOXL1. They identify a rare protective variant in LOXL1 exclusive to the Japanese population and five new common variant susceptibility loci.

Remaining drug-tolerant persistent (DTP) cancer cells limit the efficacy of targeted therapy in EGFR, ALK and KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, the authors show that focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-YAP signalling supports DTP cells promoting residual disease and targeting this pathway improved tumour response in NSCLC preclinical models.

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, often found in the human stomach, can be classified into distinct subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host. Here, the authors provide insights into H. pylori population structure by collecting over 1,000 clinical strains from 50 countries and generating and analyzing high-quality bacterial genome sequences.

Analysis of HbA1c and FPG levels across 117 population-based studies demonstrates regional variation in prevalence of previously undiagnosed screen-detected diabetes using one or both measures and suggests that use of elevated FPG alone could underestimate diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.

The detection of Hα reported in galaxy candidate GHZ2/GLASS-z12 provides a direct probe of star formation activity and can be used to trace massive stars with ages of ~10 Myr or younger.

Breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers varies depending on other genetic factors. Here, the authors perform a case-only genome-wide association study and highlight novel loci associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers.

The success of hematopoietic cell transplants is predicted by profiling minor histocompatibility antigens.

A new study shows the total global SOC stock of 1 m in the world’s tidal marshes to be 1.44 Pg C. On average, SOC in tidal marshes’ 0–30 cm and 30–100 cm soil layers are estimated at 83.1 Mg C ha⁻¹ and 185.3 Mg C ha⁻¹, respectively.

Assessing microbial water quality is an important approach to monitor potential risks to human and environmental health. The use of two human faecal bacteria as molecular indicators is shown to be more sensitive than conventional measures for detecting contamination on an extensive set of data.

The recent emergence of monoclonal antibodies able to neutralize snake toxins have revolutionized the approach of developing novel therapies to treat snakebite envenoming, at least in animal models. Here, the authors show antibody-dependent enhancement of toxicity (ADET) for a toxin derived from snake venom and highlight the importance of this phenomenon when testing therapeutic antibodies against snake venoms in animal models.

Plakophilin-2 is a key component of desmosomes required to maintain cardiac tissue cohesion. Here the authors uncover a previously unknown defect in cell cycle and adipocyte senescence due to impaired Plakophilin-2 in subjects with obesity.

Genome sequences of human-infective tapeworm species reveal extreme losses of genes and pathways that are ubiquitous in other animals, species-specific expansions of non-canonical heat shock proteins and families of known antigens, specialized detoxification pathways, and metabolism that relies on host nutrients; this information is used to identify new potential drug targets.

Following a wide-ranging review of studies, reports and policies about nature’s multiple values, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation of nature, address barriers to uptake in decision-making, and make transformative changes towards more just and sustainable futures.

A lossless, one-shot and privacy-preserving distributed algorithm was revealed for fitting linear mixed models on multi-site data. The algorithm was applied to a study of 120,609 COVID-19 patients using only minimal aggregated data from each of 14 sites.

The SPECULOOS project detected an Earth-sized planet in a short orbit around a nearby Jupiter-sized star. This planet, SPECULOOS-3 b, is one of the most promising rocky exoplanets for detailed emission spectroscopy characterization with JWST.

Genome-wide ancient DNA data from individuals from the Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age documents large-scale movement of people from the European continent between 1300 and 800 bc that was probably responsible for spreading early Celtic languages to Britain.

Obesity-associated AT fibro-inflammation and metabolic disturbances are linked to PEPD activity and PEPD extracellular levels.

Nationwide genomic biobank in Mexico unravels demographic history and complex trait architecture from 6,057 individuals.

Stone tools and a disarticulated and butchered skeleton of Rhinoceros philippinensis, found in a securely dated stratigraphic context, indicate the presence of an unknown hominin population in the Philippines as early as 709 thousand years ago.

p38α is a kinase that regulates many cellular processes. Here authors report that redox fluctuations induce conformational changes to fine-tune the p38α activity beyond its activation loop phosphorylation.

A possible kilonova associated with a nearby, long-duration gamma-ray burst suggests that gamma-ray bursts with long and complex light curves can be spawned from the merger of two compact objects, contrary to the established gamma-ray burst paradigm.

The authors report observations of a dense and inhomogeneous ring at a surprisingly large distance from the trans-Neptunian body Quaoar.

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

Improvements in European freshwater biodiversity occurred mainly before 2010 but have since plateaued, and communities downstream of dams, urban areas and cropland were less likely to experience recovery.

De la Pompa and colleagues show that Dll4-mediated Notch signalling regulates trabeculation in the developing mouse endocardium, whereas Jag1/2-mediated Notch signalling in the myocardium drives compaction and ventricular maturation.

Temporal multi-omic analysis of tissues from rats undergoing up to eight weeks of endurance exercise training reveals widespread shared, tissue-specific and sex-specific changes, including immune, metabolic, stress response and mitochondrial pathways.

A specifically designed family of synthetic lipids exhibits unique liquid-crystalline behaviour at low temperature, enabling maintenance of amorphous water down to about 10 K due to nanoconfinement.

Ultrafast driving of vanadium dioxide can induce a large structural phase transition, which can be used to generate picosecond strain pulses. Here the authors show that the photo-induced phase transition can contribute 0.45% strain without causing undesirable heating.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

Combined analysis of new genomic data from 116 ancient hunter-gatherer individuals together with previously published data provides insights into the genetic structure and demographic shifts of west Eurasian forager populations over a period of 30,000 years.