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Variability in the individual response to dietary interventions has been reported. Here a Dietary Metabotype Score is developed to embody those interindividual responses by coupling data from highly controlled dietary studies with urinary metabolic phenotypes. This score may offer a method to target and to enhance dietary response at the individual level, thereby reducing the burden of diet-related disease at the population level.

Sera from vaccinated individuals and some monoclonal antibodies show a modest reduction in neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2; but the E484K substitution leads to a considerable loss of neutralizing activity.

Plateaus separated by deeply incised fjords are hallmarks of glaciated passive continental margins. Computational experiments show that they arise from evolving feedbacks between topography, ice dynamics and erosion over millions of years.

Stig Bojesen, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Alison Dunning and colleagues report common variants at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus associated with mean telomere length measured in whole blood. They also identify associations at this locus to breast or ovarian cancer susceptibility and report functional studies in breast and ovarian cancer tissue and cell lines.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Over 170 susceptibility loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies in breast cancer. Here, the authors interrogated the role of risk-associated variants from non-breast tissue, and using expression quantitative trait loci, identify potential target genes of known breast cancer susceptibility variants, as well as 11 regions not previously known to be associated with breast cancer risk.

In contrast to common bean, tepary bean is highly adapted to heat and drought. Here, the authors assemble the genomes of tepary bean landrace and wild accession, discuss the possible mechanism for resilience to heat stress, and reveal a reduced disease resistance gene repertoire.

The authors resurveyed a previously sampled set of mountain transects on five continents, showing that the ranges of non-native plant species have shifted upslope in most locations in just 5–10 years.

Various host factors may impact within-host pathogen evolution. Here, the authors develop a Bayesian approach for identifying host-pathogen interactions using large data sets of pathogen diversity, and apply it to investigate HLA-induced selection in the HIV-1 genome.

Nprl3 controls erythroblast metabolism and is upregulated by α -globin enhancers sited within its introns. This arrangement couples metabolic and developmental control during erythropoiesis and may explain the ancient synteny of α -globin with Nprl3.

An integrated methodology that includes climate, crop, economic and life cycle assessment models was developed to explore the climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities throughout the US potato and tomato supply chains. This study shows that supply chains for two popular processed products in the United States, French fries and pasta sauce, will be remarkably resilient, through planting adaptation strategies.

Synapse loss is central to the pathogenesis of stress-related disorders. Here, the authors show that targeted synapse removal by microglia and complement during stress contributes to the effects of stress on behavior.

The potential contribution of high altitude permafrost as a climate feedback is unknown. Here the authors show seven years of sustained carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra including respiration of older carbon substrate from solifluction lobes associated with permafrost during the winter.

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.

Genetic and testing data from England show that the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7 has a transmission advantage over other lineages.

The atmosphere has dried across most regions of Europe in recent decades, a trend that can be attributed primarily to human impacts, according to tree ring records spanning 400 years and Earth system model simulations.

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of rye inbred line ‘Lo7’ provides insights into its incomplete genetic isolation from wild relatives, mechanisms of genome structural evolution and the yield benefits of rye–wheat introgressions.

Bioresorbable electronic stimulators can deliver electrical stimulation in rodents to enhance functional muscle recovery after nerve injury. Here, the authors present a bioresorbable dynamic covalent polymer that enables reliable, long-lived operation of soft, stretchable devices of this type.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

Paul Pharoah and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study of ovarian cancer. They identify new susceptibility loci for different epithelial ovarian cancer histotypes and use integrated analyses of genes and regulatory features at each locus to predict candidate susceptibility genes, including OBFC1.

Oestrogen negative breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, the authors perform a meta-analysis of 11 breast cancer genome-wide association studies and identify four new loci associated with oestrogen negative breast cancer risk. These findings may aid in stratifying patients in the clinic.

The near-infrared spectrometer onboard JWST has detected CO₂ and CO ices on 56 and 29 trans-Neptunian objects, respectively, indicating two dominant compositional types among them. These compositional differences suggest varied formation regions in the protoplanetary disk.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

Fernando Rivadeneira and colleagues in the Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium report a large-scale meta-analysis identifying new loci associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and risk of fracture. Thirty-two new loci are found to be associated with BMD, and 6 loci confer higher risk for low-trauma bone fracture.

Seeds, flour and food products derived from two near-identical pea genotypes (BC1/19RR and BC1/19rr) were utilized in a series of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies to explore the contribution of starch structure, food matrix and intestinal environment to postprandial glycaemia.

Cryo-EM structures of human ESCRT-III proteins forming membrane-bound and membrane-free filaments show how CHMP1B and IST1 polymerize sequentially, driving membrane tubulation, constriction and bilayer thinning, leading to membrane fission.

An international team of researchers finds high potential for improving climate projections by a more comprehensive treatment of largely ignored Arctic vegetation types, underscoring the importance of Arctic energy exchange measuring stations.

Post-international travel quarantine has been widely implemented to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but the impacts of such policies are unclear. Here, the authors used linked genomic and contact tracing data to assess the impacts of a 14-day quarantine on return to England in summer 2020.

Asian soybean rust caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi is an important plant pathogen, but an accurate genome assembly for this fungus has been lacking. This study sequenced three independent P. pachyrhizi isolates and generated reference quality assemblies and genome annotations, representing a critical step for further in-depth studies of this pathogen and the development of new methods of control.

Alteration of the epigenetic landscape has been implicated in several disease processes, where targeting histone modifiers may have therapeutic applications. Here the authors report a bifunctional small molecule inhibitor that simultaneously targets the deacetylase (HDAC1) and demethylase (LSD1) activities of the CoREST complex.

Here the authors present an HIV-1 vaccine strategy that combines Env stabilization, nanoparticle display, and glycan trimming, which improves neutralizing antibody responses, frequency of vaccine responders, and germinal center reactions in animal models.

Alison Dunning, Stacey Edwards and colleagues analyze 3,872 common variants across the ESR1 locus in 118,816 women. They find five independent variants within regulatory regions that associate with different breast cancer–related phenotypes and regulate the expression of ESR1, RMND1 and CCDC170.

High latitude soils can store around 40 % of the Earth’s soil carbon. Here, the authors add ¹³C-labeled cellulose to frozen mesocosms of boreal forest soils and find that cellulose biopolymers are hydrolysed under frozen conditions and therefore contribute to the slow degradation of soil organic matter.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the dynamic nature of the female brain structure and function remain poorly understood. Here the authors characterise chromatin organization in the mouse female ventral hippocampus, finding it fluctuates with the oestrous cycle, and identify changes in chromatin organization associated with the transcription of genes important for neuronal function and behaviour.