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Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequency and risk factors vary considerably across regions and ancestries. Here, the authors conduct a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and fine mapping study of HNSCC subsites in cohorts from multiple continents, finding susceptibility and protective loci, gene-environment interactions, and gene variants related to immune response.

The authors report shotgun sequences from airborne environmental DNA samples, identifying local biodiversity and enabling deeper analysis of specific species and genomic regions of interest.

Managing power exhaust in fusion reactors is a key challenge, especially in compact designs for cost-effective commercial energy. This study shows how alternative divertor configurations improve exhaust control, enhance stability, absorb transients and enable independent plasma regulation.

In an updated report on 70 laboratory-confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza A H5N1 cases in the USA between March 2024 and May 2025, the absence of human-to-human transmission to date was confirmed, with no known mutations of resistance to neuroaminidase inhibitors.

Solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk of infectious disease and have unique molecular pathophysiology. Here the authors use host-microbe profiling to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity in solid organ transplant recipients, showing enhanced viral abundance, impaired clearance, and increased expression of innate immunity genes.

The role of IgG glycosylation in the immune response has been studied, but less is known about IgM glycosylation. Here the authors characterize glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgM and show that it correlates with COVID-19 severity and affects complement deposition.

Recent reviewers suggest good books to refresh your mind this summer — from a cultural history of piracy to a scientific tour of the boulevards of Paris.

Many SARS-CoV-2 infections may go undetected through conventional PCR or lateral flow tests. Here, the authors analyse the utility of analysing longitudinal nucleocapsid antibody trajectories to improve identification of prior SARS-CoV-2 infections using surveillance data from the UK.

Spatially resolved images of M87 obtained at a wavelength of 3.5 mm in 2018 show a ring-like accretion structure, the inner (outer) edge of which connects the black hole (jet).

The distribution and uptake of siderophores across a meridional section of the eastern Pacific Ocean suggests that iron availability limits microbial metabolism in the upper mesopelagic in several large ocean basins.

The recovery of human genomic data from environmental DNA samples raises ethical questions regarding consent, privacy, surveillance and data ownership, which will need to be grappled with as the environmental DNA field moves forward.

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) is still not well understood. Here the authors provide patient reported outcomes from 590 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and show association of PASC with higher respiratory SARS-CoV-2 load and circulating antibody titers, and in some an elevation in circulating fibroblast growth factor 21.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Spatial transcriptomics of histological sections have revolutionized basic research, while the actual biomolecular composition of the sample has fallen behind. Here, the authors propose a novel approach to analyze untargeted spatiomolecular Raman spectroscopy data through bioinformatic tools developed for transcriptomic analyses, and integrate them with additional Omics techniques.

Scientific research can be tricky at the best of times, but people with disabilities face additional challenges both in the lab and when dealing with data. Jessica Ebert meets the researchers who are building their own customized solutions to overcome these problems.

Biological uptake in the surface and release in the deep ocean contribute to oceanic nickel distribution, including the residual surface Ni pool, according to culture experiments, field data and global biogeochemical circulation modelling

The factors influencing risk of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 are poorly understood. Here, the authors use data from the UK COVID-19 Infection Survey, a community based longitudinal study, to assess characteristics of ~45,000 reinfections compared to initial infections.

ACKR3 is a critical regulator of platelet-mediated thrombosis and organ injury following ischemia/reperfusion. Platelet ACKR3 surface expression is independently associated with all-cause mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Estimates of infection rates from the UK COVID-19 Infection Survey may have been biased by the characteristics of people who chose to take part. Here, the authors show that the survey population had unusually high vaccination rates and adjust infection estimates taking this into account.

The role of women in the history of science has long been overlooked.

How accurate are social scientists in predicting societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? Grossmann et al. report the findings of two forecasting tournaments. Social scientists’ forecasts were on average no more accurate than those of simple statistical models.

The impact of prior infection on the immune response to COVID-19 vaccination has not been fully characterised. Here, the authors use data from ~100,000 adults in the UK and find that a single vaccine dose in those with prior infection produces a comparable or stronger response to two doses in those without infection.

Most people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 seroconvert within a few weeks, but the determinants and duration of the antibody response are not known. Here, the authors characterise these features of the immune response using data from a large representative community sample of the UK population.

The ability of synthetic amyloid β-protein to bind to prion proteins and alter synaptic plasticity has been previously reported. Here the relevance of this binding is investigated in brains of Alzheimer's disease patients and the interaction is shown to be blocked by antibodies to two distinct regions of prion proteins.

The duration and strength of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection resulting from a booster vaccine dose or breakthrough infection are not well understood. This study uses data from the UK COVID-19 Infection Survey to investigate correlates of protection against Omicron BA.4/5 infection and assess antibody responses to booster vaccination and breakthrough infections.

A large study in the United Kingdom shows that virus-specific antibody levels associated with at least 67% protection against SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection last longer after two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine than after two doses of ChAdOx1 vaccine in previously uninfected individuals.

The FarmGTEx Project aims to understand genetic control of gene activity under diverse biological and environmental contexts in domestic animals, providing a foundation for improving animal precision breeding, adaptation and human health.

An advanced CellNet pipeline models the dynamics of stem cell differentiation.

Multimodal single-cell analysis on iPSC-derived kidney organoids shows that inhibiting EZH2 attenuates TGFβ1-induced fibrotic gene expression and changes in chromatin accessibility, highlighting a potential therapeutic strategy for renal fibrosis.

Cataloging microbial genomes from Earth’s environments expands the known phylogenetic diversity of bacteria and archaea.

The millimetre image of the Centaurus A nucleus by the Event Horizon Telescope reveals a highly collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet. The source’s event horizon shadow should be visible at terahertz frequencies, consistent with the universal scale invariance of black holes.

Power exhaust is one of the biggest challenges stopping fusion energy. This article shows experimental evidence for strategically shaping the power exhaust region as a solution to this challenge, utilising physics understanding to strike a balance between engineering complexity and power exhaust benefits, consistent with reduced models and simulations.