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Wtdbg2 assembles genomes with comparable contiguity and accuracy to existing tools using long-read sequencing data, and is several times faster, especially for large genomes.

Using a multi-omics approach, the authors examine the molecular drivers of sexual dimorphism in the subcutaneous adipose tissue from sedentary and endurance-trained rats. These data provide a valuable resource for adipose tissue-related research.

Combining single-cell RNA-seq with sequential single-molecule FISH defines the influence of spatial location on cell identity.

Most of the more than 200 known genetic risk loci for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) reside in regulatory regions. Here, the authors provide eQTL datasets for six circulating immune cell types and ileal, colonic and rectal biopsies to map regulatory modules and identify potential causative genes for IBD.

The phenotypic consequence of 3D genome boundary disruption on developmental processes remains insufficiently understood. Here, the authors show that perturbation of a SOX17 boundary in human pluripotent stem cells interferes with proper differentiation and that germline variations affecting such boundaries are subject to selection, resulting in underrepresentation in the human population.

A strategy developed to define off-target effects of gene-editing nucleases in whole organisms is validated and leveraged to show that CRISPR–Cas9 nucleases can be used effectively in vivo without inducing detectable off-target mutations.

The origins of lineage correlations and heterogeneity in division and apoptosis times among single cells are incompletely understood. Here, a new lineage tracking data analysis approach reveals that circadian oscillations may underlie cell fate control and explain the observed correlation structures.

Triple-negative breast cancer is highly heterogeneous and aggressive. Here, the authors utilise single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate this heterogeneity, and discover a subpopulation of cells associated with metastasis and treatment resistance signatures, and linked to long term survival outcomes.

In spite of the fact that acidic environments support methane cycles, extreme acidophilic methanotrophs have so far resisted isolation. The isolation and initial genomic and physiological characterization of a bacterium belonging to the Verromicrobia displaying a growth and methane oxidation optimum of pH2—2.5 is described.

Autoantibodies towards citrullinated proteins define a distinct clinical subtype of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, the authors describe events triggering immunity against citrullinated proteins and argue that this immune response might be initiated outside the joint, pointing to the lungs as a possibly important site of initiation of these events.

The location of DNA breakpoints associated with somatic copy-number alterations in cancer genomes is analyzed, revealing an enrichment of sequences with propensity to adopt G-quadruplex conformation, often near transcription start sites, and a correlation with hypomethylation. The analysis indicates that G4 formation contributes to cancer genome instability.

Understanding fungal-plant interactions is vital to foster sustainable agriculture practices amidst climate change. Extremophilic fungi’s potential as plant probiotics can be crucial to increase crop yields while reducing dependence on toxic agrochemicals. However, the benefits and risks of extremophilic fungi used to promote plant growth and development should be carefully considered.

Tom Karlsen and colleagues report an association study for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a severe liver disease, using the Immunochip array. They identify nine loci newly associated with PSC and examine pleiotropy with other autoimmune disorders.

Mortality related to liver diseases and liver cancer is high and on the rise in the Asia-Pacific region. This Review summarizes the current epidemiological data and discusses the changing landscape of burden and aetiology of liver disease and liver cancer in the Asia-Pacific region.

Genome-wide meta-analysis, fine-mapping and integrative prioritization using expression quantitative trait loci, protein interaction networks and tissue-specific expression implicate new candidate susceptibility genes for Alzheimer’s disease.

An uncharacteristically long stellar disruption from a supermassive black hole has been unravelling over the last decade. Spectral information implies very efficient accretion but recent observations hint at a transition to a less extreme accretion mode.

Cell morphology heterogeneity in epithelial tissues, driven by asymmetric cell division, correlates with nucleus morphology and impacts chromatin state diversity through histone modifications.

Joseph Pickrell and colleagues analyze genome-wide association data for 42 human phenotypes or diseases and identify several hundred loci influencing multiple traits. They also find several traits with overlapping genetic architectures as well as pairs of traits showing evidence of a causal relationship.

Biased signaling gives hormones, probes or drugs distinct functional outcomes via the same receptor. The Biased Signaling Atlas (https://BiasedSignalingAtlas.org) provides a community hub with data and tools to advance this paradigm, which may yield safer and more potent drugs.

Zhang, Song et al. develop machine-learning models to predict dementia patient mortality at one-, three-, five-, and ten-year thresholds. The models identify dementia patients at risk of mortality using a limited set of dementia-related predictors, and the stratified analyses reveal shared and distinct predictors of mortality across dementia types.

Studies of identical twins are widely used to dissect the contributions of genes and the environment to human diseases. In multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune demyelinating disease, identical twins often show differences. This might suggest that environmental effects are most significant in this case, but genetic and epigenetic differences between identical twins have been described. Here, however, studies of identical twins show no evidence for genetic, epigenetic or transcriptome differences that could explain disease discordance.

A search of archival X-ray data for 70 nearby galaxies yielded two flaring sources in globular clusters or ultracompact dwarf companions of parent elliptical galaxies.

Researchers from Hawaii and an international consortium have produced a draft genome assembly for 'SunUp', the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree. Comparison of this plant genome to those of Arabidopsis and others sheds light on evolution of characteristics such as biosynthesis, starch deposition, control of photosynthesis and pathways for creating volatile compounds.

HiChIRP combines a modified chromosome conformation capture protocol with enrichment of RNA-associated chromosome conformation to visualize genome-wide looping linked to an RNA of interest.

Konstantinos Lazaridis, Carl Anderson and colleagues report results of a genome-wide association study of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). They identify four new susceptibility loci for PSC and quantify the correlation of common genetic variation shared between PSC and inflammatory bowel diseases.

High-resolution X-ray spectra reveal highly ionized X-ray gas flows in a nearby tidal disruption event, ASASSN-14li, near to the black hole of the galaxy PGC 043234.

Proteins have been largely unexplored as feedstocks for synthesizing fuels and chemicals in microbes, in part because their degradation is not thermodynamically favored in the cell. Huo et al. overcome this by engineering nitrogen flux in E. coli, creating microbes that generate biofuels when grown in protein-rich medium.

In recent years, the number of annotated noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) has increased dramatically. The wide range of RBPs identified highlights the enormous potential for RNA in virtually all aspects of cell biology, from transcriptional regulation to metabolic control. Yet, there is a growing gap between what is possible and what has been demonstrated to be functionally important. Here we highlight recent methodological developments in the study of RNA–protein interactions, discuss the challenges and opportunities for exploring their functional roles, and provide our perspectives on what is needed to bridge the gap in this rapidly expanding field.

The ancient genome of a 3,000-year-old Egyptian emmer wheat sheds light on the domestication and dispersal history of emmer wheat as well as the unique diversity that the historical species contained.

Despite most of the available evidence pointing to the contrary, it remains a popular misconception that AIDS in Africa is a distinct disease from that suffered in industrialized nations.

Patrick Tan, Bin Tean Teh, Steve Rozen and colleagues report recurrent somatic mutations in the cell-adhesion gene FAT4 and the chromatin-remodeling gene ARID1A in gastric adenocarcinomas. Their data suggest that FAT4 functions as a tumor suppressor by maintaining proper cell adhesion and preventing malignant cell migration.

The nuclear hormone receptor LXR—best known for sensing cholesterol metabolites—also responds to glucose. The findings give LXR a central role in modulating the body's response to metabolic inputs.