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Far-field mid-infrared spectroscopy reveals both the electroluminescence of hyperbolic phonon polaritons of hexagonal boron nitride excited by strongly biased graphene, and the associated radiative energy transfer through the material.

The final report of the phase 1/2 lentiviral gene therapy trial in severe β-hemoglobinopathies, HGB-205, shows a long-term safety profile and sustained reduction of transfusion requirements in patients with β-thalassemia and of sickle cell crises in patients with sickle cell disease.

MBNL and FOX splicing factors are known to have a role in the differentiation of muscle and the nervous system during development. In this study, the authors show that MBNL1 and RBFOX2 regulate alternative splicing of genes that are required specifically for late mesoderm differentiation.

E. coli maintains membrane lipid asymmetry by transferring glycerophospholipids from the outer membrane to the inner membrane; this requires outer membrane protein MlaA, periplasmic chaperone MlaC, and inner-membrane complex MlaBDEF. Here, the authors show that in some bacteria that lack MlaA and MlaC, MlaD forms a transenvelope bridge comprising a typical inner-membrane domain and, in addition, an outer-membrane domain.

Super-enhancers (SEs) drive specific gene expression programmes underlying different cancer cell states offering opportunities for therapeutic targeting. Here, the authors suggest targeting SE-dependent genes with synthetic ecteinascidins in tumors with heterogeneous transcriptional landscapes.

Preclinical studies have shown that blockade of the CD73-adenosinergic pathway could improve anti-tumor immunity and response to other immune checkpoint inhibitors. Here the authors report the results of a randomized phase II trial of first-line durvalumab, paclitaxel and carboplatin with or without the anti-CD73 antibody oleclumab in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer.

Domain walls are natural borders in ferromagnetic, ferroelectric or ferroelastic materials. It seems that they can also be reactive areas that produce crystallographic phases never before observed in bulk materials. See Letter p.379

This study identifies a novel immune checkpoint in senescent cells that is linked to the ganglioside GD3 and that contributes to the evasion of immune clearance by these cells and to aging and age-related diseases.

The enhancement of the magnetic anisotropy of superparamagnetic nanoparticles may increase their functionality. Here, the authors report that the functionalization of maghemite nanoparticles with cobalt(II) complexes enhances their magnetic anisotropy, and subsequently blocking temperature and coercive field.

Myofibroblasts contribute to the development of liver fibrosis. Here, the authors report that the transcription factor Basonuclin 2 (BNC2) integrates fibrogenic signals and drives myofibroblastic transcriptional activation in liver fibrosis.

The evolutionary and domestication history of apricots is poorly understood. Here, the authors provide four apricot high-quality genome assemblies, the genomes of 578 accessions from natural and cultivated populations, and show that Chinese and European apricots constitute two different gene pools, resulting from independent domestication events.

Genomic surveillance has been important for tracking the evolution and spread of SARS-CoV-2. Here, the authors analyse ~300,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from two years of sequencing in the Latin America and Caribbean regions and describe the emergence and spread of different lineages over time.

Bacteria produce several high molecular weight polysaccharides with ill-defined anti-adhesion properties. Here, the authors identified key molecular and biophysical determinants of active antibiofilm polysaccharides, opening new perspectives to identify or engineer new compounds able to control bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.

The interaction between ferroelectric distortion and two rotational modes in some transition-metal oxides promises a strategy for strong magnetoelectronic coupling, possibly at room temperature.

Here the authors show that the exonuclease EXD2 is involved in the recovery of class II gene transcription after UV irradiation. EXD2 travels from the mitochondria to the nucleus to interact with RNA Pol II and degrade new synthetized mRNA to allow transcription following DNA repair.

Etienne Bucher and colleagues use a combination of short- and long-read sequencing, along with optical mapping technologies, to produce the high-quality de novo assembly of the apple genome. They identify a new repetitive retrotransposon sequence and analyze DNA methylation data in relation to important agronomic traits.

A study of the duplicated genes in Paramecium tetraurelia suggests that after whole-genome duplication events, many duplicated genes are not able to immediately functionally diverge, because dosage constraints act on them. These dosage constraints also prevent loss of many duplicated genes after whole genome duplications.

Artificial superlattices made from a ferroelectric and a paraelectric oxide are studied, and a new kind of atom rearrangement is found to take place at the interfaces between thin films of these materials, leading to an unusual, 'improper' ferroelectric effect. As a result, the system has a very large dielectric constant that, in contrast to conventional ferroelectricity, is fairly temperature independent; this observation is of considerable interest for practical applications.

The synaptotagmin-like protein Bitesize spatially controls F-actin at adherens junctions of the Drosophila primary embryonic epithelium independent of E-cadherin. The polarity cues Par-3 and Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-biphosphate localize Bitesize in the junctional area. Bitesize binds the F-actin-binding protein Moesin, and thereby controls junction stability.

Targeted therapies matched to genomics improved progression-free survival when genomic alterations were classified as level I/II (according to ESCAT), and genomics should thus be driven by target actionability in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Biological control of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, one of the world's most destructive crop pathogens, presents a major opportunity for safely improving global agricultural yields. Its 86-Mb genome—the first to be sequenced for a strictly parthenogenetic species—provides a blueprint to design new strategies for plant protection.

The milk-ejection reflex in mammals requires the coordinated bursting of oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus. Here, Israel et al.show that the rhythmic bursting behaviour displayed by these neurons is active in both male and female neonatal rats, but is inactivated in males after the first week of life.

Serotonin signaling is well known for modulating animal behavior. Here the authors discovered it plays a developmental role in regulating actomyosin contractility driven cellular mechanics and tissue flows during gastrulation of insect and bird.

The nuclear dot protein 52 (NDP52) is an autophagy receptor known to trigger autophagy following bacterial infection. Here, Cui et al. show that NDP52 also triggers an anti-viral response following hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. NDP52 forms a tripartite complex with Rab9 and envelope proteins of HBV and targets the virus to Rab9-dependent lysosomal degradation pathway.

Chromatin structure plays a significant role in the regulation of gene expression. Here the authors show that TFIIH interacts with the histone acetyl transferase KAT2A and recruits the ATAC/hSAGA complexes to chromatin; and that loss of xeroderma pigmentosum group B (XPB) function results in chromatin decondensation and increased gene expression through activation of KAT2A.

Telomeres protect the extremities of linear chromosomes and are involved in ageing, senescence and genome stability. Here, the authors have identified peculiar and specific telomeric DNA repeats in the genomes of devastating plant-parasitic nematodes, opening new perspectives for their control.

Genome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for Brugada syndrome. Functional studies implicate microtubule-related trafficking effects on sodium channel expression as an underlying molecular mechanism.

Dendrogenin A, cholesterol metabolite, has tumor suppressive properties but the mechanisms are unknown. Here the authors show that Dendrogenin A can induce autophagy-mediated cell death in both melanoma and acute myeloid leukaemia.

Dehapiot et al. show two actin networks at the cell surface in Drosophila embryos. While the pulsatile network controls local deformation, the Frl-dependent persistent network promotes force propagation.

The genome of the jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica and the transcriptomes of its planula, polyp and medusa life stages show genetic changes associated with the evolution of complex life cycles.

Tissue shape changes in the posterior endoderm of the early Drosophila embryo are driven by actomyosin contractions emerging from a transcriptional induction followed by a mechanically-driven propagation of RhoI–myosin II activation.

The characteristic length scale and mechanism of the metal–insulator transition in nickelate superlattices is addressed, with implications for the design of oxide electronics.

Although whole-genome duplications (WGDs) are rare events, they have an important role in shaping vertebrate evolution. Here, the authors sequence the rainbow trout genome and show that rediploidization after WGD occurs in a slow and stepwise manner.