Search

Dexamethasone has been used in the treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Here the authors apply transcriptomics to investigate the effects of dexamethasone treatment in COVID-19 patients, and show both systemic and compartment-specific effects.

RuO₂ is a promising anode catalyst for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers but suffers from poor catalytic stability. Here the authors present a rhenium-doped RuO₂ with a unique dynamic electron accepting-donating that adaptively boosts activity and stability in acidic water oxidation.

Here the authors evaluate single cell gene expression from mouse and human Huntington’s disease brains, finding incomplete oligodendrocyte maturation and pathways involved. Treating mice with thiamine/biotin ameliorates molecular pathology.

Malita, Kubrak et al. show that the gut-derived hormone neuropeptide F suppresses sugar intake and increases the consumption of protein-rich food in Drosophila. This gives insight into the regulation of nutrient-specific appetite that ensures appropriate food choices to meet nutritional demands.

Hirschsprung disease is caused by defects in enteric neural crest cell. Here, using induced pluripotent stem cell-based models of Hirschsprung and single-cell transcriptomic analysis the authors define various factors associated with Hirschsprung pathogenesis.

Upon the binding of small ligands, nuclear receptors regulate the transcription of genes that are associated with a number of disease mechanisms. Here, the authors report on a novel allosteric ligand binding site on the nuclear receptor RORγt.

Douglas Easton, Per Hall and colleagues report meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for breast cancer, including 10,052 cases and 12,575 controls, followed by genotyping using the iCOGS array in an additional 52,675 cases and 49,436 controls from studies within the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). They identify 41 loci newly associated with susceptibility to breast cancer.

To fully catalogue rare genetic variation in humans, many samples need to be examined. In this study, Coventryet al. resequenced two genes, KCNJ11 and HHEX, in 13,715 humans, and concluded that most of the sequence variation arose recently and that variation is greater than expected.

The phylogenetic and biogeographic origin of Perissodactyla (horses, rhinoceroses and tapirs) is unclear. Here the authors report 54.5 Myr fossils from a sister taxa of Perissodactyla found in India, which suggests that the group may have originated in India before its collision with Asia.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

Association analyses in over 1 million individuals identify 535 new loci influencing blood pressure traits. The results provide new insights into blood pressure regulation and highlight shared genetic architecture between blood pressure and lifestyle exposures.

Disease-causing variants define a conserved and unique NR5A1 responsive enhancer for SRY expression to initiate testis-determination in humans. Modelling regulatory variants causing sex-reversal provides a tool to understand global enhancer activity.

Analyses of the topologically associated domains (TADs) in Marchantia polymorpha revealed a type of TCP1-rich TAD that regulates the activities of TCP1 transcription factors in modulating target gene expression.

New single crystal paleointensity data show that the geomagnetic field was renewed in the early Cambrian after near collapse in the Ediacaran Period. This implies that the innermost/outermost structure of the inner core formed 450 million yrs. ago.

A large-scale meta-analysis across eight biobank datasets identifies common genetic variants associated with mosaic loss of the X chromosome in female participants.

Aducanumab, a human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets aggregated Aβ, reduces soluble and insoluble Aβ in the brain, an action accompanied by a dose-dependent slowing of clinical decline in treated patients.

Cyclic polymers are an area of significant interest, but understanding the potential of these macrocycles has been difficult because of challenges in their synthesis and characterization. It has now been shown that a tungsten catalyst featuring a tetraanionic pincer ligand can rapidly polymerize alkynes to form conjugated macrocycles in high yield.

Experiments in a hamster model of COVID-19 and human airway epithelial cells show that the spike N501Y mutation is the major determinant of increased fitness of the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2.

A multi-ancestry meta-regression study analyses diverse genome-wide association studies and genome loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use.

Improving the manufacturability of perovskite solar cells is key to their deployment. Zheng et al. report a one-step deposition of the hole-selective and absorber layers that addresses wettability issues and simplifies the fabrication process.

Ecological network research has typically focused on flows of matter and energy, but species also exchange information signals and cues that influence behaviour and movement. This Perspective argues that the information network of nature is a crucial aspect of community organization.

Exome sequencing is used to investigate the role of mutations and copy number aberrations in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, revealing recurrent mutations in multiple chromatin/histone modifying genes, as well as genes involved in androgen signalling.

Geometric phase interference has been predicted to appear around conical intersections but has been experimentally illusive owing to competing effects in molecular systems. Now, this effect has been demonstrated in chains of trapped ions using state-of-the-art quantum simulation and read-out techniques.

Genome-wide analyses identify common variants associated with 11 distinct neuropathology endophenotypes, providing insights into the mechanisms underlying the genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Using a gravitational-wave detector to  listen for dark matter signatures, a direct search for scalar field dark matter was conducted and new upper limits are set on the coupling constants.

The human-specific gene duplication SRGAP2C is identified as a modifier of structural and functional features of cortical circuits leading to improved behavioural performance that may have allowed the emergence of cognitive properties characterizing the human brain.

Studies of mouse and human IgA responses against Candida albicans and other common fungal species show that host adaptive immunity selects for fungal effectors that promote commensalism and prevent intestinal disease.

The GLASS Consortium studies the evolutionary trajectories of 222 patients with a diffuse glioma to aid in our understanding of tumour progression and treatment failure

Bulk RNA sequencing of organs and plasma proteomics at different ages across the mouse lifespan is integrated with data from the Tabula Muris Senis, a transcriptomic atlas of ageing mouse tissues, to describe organ-specific changes in gene expression during ageing.

Ruth Halaban and colleagues report exome sequences of 147 melanoma tumors. They identified a recurrent somatic activating alteration in the Rho GTPase RAC1 in sun-exposed melanomas.

The secreted factor follistatin-like 1 (FSTL1) becomes undetectable in the epicardium of infarcted hearts; when reconstituted using a collagen patch sutured onto an infarcted heart, FSTL1 can induce cell cycle entry and division of pre-existing cardiomyocytes, thus boosting heart function and survival in mouse and pig models of myocardial infarction.

Excavation in Island New Guinea reveals features associated with the Pacific Lapita cultural complex as well as sustained local cultural traditions from 3,480–3,060 years ago, contemporary with the earliest known Lapita settlements 700 km away. This supports New Guinea as a springboard for Lapita dispersal throughout the Pacific and illuminates their origins.

The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network report integrated genomic and molecular analyses of 164 squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas of the oesophagus; they find genomic and molecular features that differentiate squamous and adenocarcinomas of the oesophagus, and strong similarities between oesophageal adenocarcinomas and the chromosomally unstable variant of gastric adenocarcinoma, suggesting that gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma is a single disease entity.