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An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Electron-electron interactions in many-body systems may manifest themselves through the fractional quantum Hall effect. Here, the authors perform transport measurements in bilayer graphene, and observe particle-hole symmetric fractional quantum Hall states in theN=2 Landau level.

Here, Myers and Gallagher et al. characterize the structural organization of commercial influenza vaccines. The vaccines differ in their structural composition and identify a “spiked nanodisc” arrangement of hemagglutinin (HA) with increased display and immunogenicity of the conserved stem region of HA.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

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.

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.

El-Shennawy et al. report that ACE2⁺ circulating extracellular vesicles (evACE2) are associated with COVID-19 severity and that evACE2 inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern at a higher efficacy than soluble ACE2.

Your paper will be accompanied by the following editor’s summary. Please let us know if there are any inaccuracies: ‘Hyperpolarised ¹³C-MRI is used to image cancer metabolism. Here the authors use this technique in prostate cancer and show that it can differentiate distinct disease states.

The Omicron variant evades vaccine-induced neutralization but also fails to form syncytia, shows reduced replication in human lung cells and preferentially uses a TMPRSS2-independent cell entry pathway, which may contribute to enhanced replication in cells of the upper airway. Altered fusion and cell entry characteristics are linked to distinct regions of the Omicron spike protein.

Large language models (LLMs) can synthesize vast amounts of information. Luo et al. show that LLMs—especially BrainGPT, an LLM the authors tuned on the neuroscience literature—outperform experts in predicting neuroscience results and could assist scientists in making future discoveries.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of AAA identifies 121 independent risk loci and highlights potential therapeutic targets such as proprotein convertase, subtilisin/kexin-type 9 (PCSK9).

Observations from the Lucy spacecraft of the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh reveals unexpected complexity, with a longitudinal trough and equatorial ridge, as well as the discovery of the first contact binary satellite.

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.

Streptomyces are discovered to produce antibacterial protein complexes that selectively inhibit the hyphal growth of related species, a function distinct from that of the small-molecule antibiotics they are known for.

FRESH, a multi-lab collaboration, reveals how data quality, analysis pipelines, and researcher expertise influence reproducibility in fNIRS neuroimaging, highlighting key factors driving variability in hypothesis outcomes.

In this immunological ancillary study of the PREVAC trial, the authors show that approved Ebola virus vaccines induce memory T-cell responses that persist during the five year follow-up after initial vaccination.

In an inpatient, randomized controlled crossover trial, participants consumed 550–700 kcal day⁻¹ fewer calories when following a plant-based, low-fat diet with a high glycemic load compared with an animal-based, low-carbohydrate diet with a low glycemic load; weight loss was comparable between the two diets and there were no significant differences in hunger or enjoyment of the meals.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

Switching of antiferromagnetic domains by the propagation of domain walls is demonstrated using electrical current-induced torques.

The authors assess the risks to global biodiversity and Indigenous lands arising from projects financed by China’s policy banks between 2008 and 2019, and compare that with the risks associated with similar projects financed by the World Bank.

Michalina Gora and her colleagues have developed a tethered capsule endoscope in the form of a swallowable pill that does not require sedation and is the size of a one-cent coin. Once swallowed, the device was well tolerated and used to capture three-dimensional microstructural images of the digestive tract, particularly the esophagus, using optical frequency domain imaging. Feasibility was demonstrated in patients with Barrett’s esophagus, including high-grade dysplasia.

A method that exploits the double-stranded DNA-targeting capability of the bacterial toxin-derived cytosine deaminase, DddA, can map DNA–protein interactions in bacteria in vivo at genome-wide scale.

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.

A longitudinal analysis of viral expansion and clearance rates in 60 individuals sampled daily during acute infection reveals high inter-individual variation in infectious virus shedding, which may contribute to superspreading.

Here the authors use RT-qPCR and mass spectrometry to analyze longitudinal blood samples from intensive care unit (ICU) COVID-19 patients and controls. They find that viral RNA and pentraxin-3 predict 28-day ICU mortality and that galectin-3-binding protein is an interaction partner of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein with antiviral properties.

This study finds that foreign firms tend to shy away from countries with higher physical climate risks than do local firms. Chinese FDI is significantly more exposed to most physical climate risks than non-Chinese FDI across countries.

Atherosclerotic plaques with macrocalcification are stable, whereas microcalcification is a key feature of rupture-prone plaques. Here the authors show that¹⁸F-NaF PET/CT imaging can distinguish between macro- and microcalcification providing a potential, non-invasive imaging technique to identify patients with high-risk atheroma.

Vaccination is effective in protecting from COVID-19. Here the authors report immune responses and breakthrough infections in twice-vaccinated patients receiving anti-TNF treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, and find dampened vaccine responses that implicate the need of adapted vaccination schedules for these patients.

The authors measure the nucleon axial vector form factor, which encodes information on the distribution of the nucleon weak charge, through antineutrino–proton scattering.

Better analytical methods are needed to extract biological meaning from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric disorders. Here the authors take GWAS data from over 60,000 subjects, including patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, and identify common etiological pathways shared amongst them.

Susan Slager and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). They identify nine loci newly associated with CLL.