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A single-cell multiomic immune cell atlas from 235 Japanese, including patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals, linked with host genetics including germline and somatic mutation, plasma proteomics and metagenomics data reveals that immune cells are dynamically regulated in a cell state-dependent manner.

Genetic mechanisms influencing COVID-19 susceptibility are not well understood. Here, the authors analyzed whole blood RNA-seq data of 465 Japanese individuals with COVID-19, highlighting thousands of fine-mapped variants affecting expression and splicing of genes, as well as the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

Analysis of the blood DNA virome in patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune disease associates endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and high anellovirus load with increased disease risk, most notably for systemic lupus erythematosus. eHHV-6 carriers show a distinct immune response.

The authors present structures of FFA2 bound to TUG-1375/4-CMTB or GLPG0974, revealing how the receptor selects lipid chain lengths and is allosterically regulated by synthetic ligands.

Nanoscale designs are known to increase the energy conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here, the authors report a self-organized nanocomposite formed by embedding self-assembled metal nanopillars in a semiconductor thin film, for enhanced photocarrier separation efficiency.

Topological state in Kondo insulators has been provoked in SmB₆, but the origin of surface states and topological order remain elusive. Here, Hagiwara et al. report temperature dependent reconstruction of a metallic surface state on the (001) surface of YbB₁₂driven by Kondo effect and discuss its origin from topology.

Previous genome-wide association studies have identified risk loci for pancreatic cancer but were centered on individuals of European ancestry. Here the authors identify GP2 gene variants associated with pancreatic cancer susceptibility in populations of East Asian ancestry.

Using more than 100 independent iPSC lines derived from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the authors discovered loci associated with the neuronal production of amyloid β and confirmed their influence using RNA interference.

Inhibition of cell division maintains genome integrity in response to DNA damage. Here Chen et al. propose that DNA damage causes cell cycle arrest in the Arabidopsis root via Rep-MYB transcription factor-mediated repression of G2/M-specific gene expression in response to reduced cyclin-dependent kinase activity.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 73 Japanese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 75 healthy controls were analyzed using single-cell transcriptomics. Combining these data with genotyping data highlights the interplay between host genetics and the immune response in modulating disease severity.

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.

In a large cohort with a 23-month median follow-up of the CIRCULATE-Japan GALAXY observational study, ctDNA-based detection of molecular residual disease was predictive of survival outcomes and benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resectable colorectal cancer.

Palladium is of practical use as a hydrogen-storage metal and an effective catalyst for reactions related to hydrogen in a variety of industrial processes. Enhanced capacity and speed of hydrogen storage is now reported in Pd nanocrystals covered with a metal–organic framework.

The substitution of oxygen by hydride anions in oxide materials to form oxyhydrides has been difficult to achieve because it requires highly reducing conditions without transferring an electron from the hydride. An oxyhydride of BaTiO₃ that is electronically conducting, stable in air and water at ambient conditions, and exchangeable with hydrogen gas at 400 °C, has now been prepared.

Iron is an essential plant nutrient that is poorly bioavailable in alkaline soils, resulting in reduced agricultural productivity. Here, the authors report the synthesis of stable and cheap iron-chelator, proline-2’-deoxymugineic acid (PDMA), and demonstrate its utility as potential fertilizer.

Random-number generators are important in digital information systems. However, the speed at which current sources operate is much slower than the typical data rates used in communication and computing. Chaos in semiconductor lasers might help to bridge the gap.

Structural analysis of prostaglandin E receptor EP3, a member of the prostanoid receptor subfamily of GPCRs, in complex with the endogenous agonist PGE₂ reveals important interactions and motions required for receptor activation.

Topological superconductivity may have important implications for fault-tolerant quantum computing, but its practical implementation remains challenging. Here, the authors report the fabrication of nanoscale heterojunctions based on superconducting β-Sn and topological Dirac semimetal α-Sn, showing superconducting diode rectification ratios up to 35%.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)18 plays pleiotropic roles, including bone development and carcinogenesis, however, its precise role in liver fibrosis remains incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that FGF18 promotes liver fibrosis by stimulating hepatic stellate cell proliferation, without concomitant upregulation of profibrotic genes.

The structure of human prostaglandin E receptor EP4 in complex with antagonist ONO-AE3-208 and a functional antibody reveals a ligand-binding site at the interface of the lipid bilayer that is unique among GPCRs.

Masaki Odahara and Kensuke Nakamura et al. use deep paired-end sequencing to examine organellar genome recombination when homologous recombination repair genes are individually knocked out in the moss, Physcomitrella patens. Their results suggest that chloroplasts and mitochondria share a common mechanism for replication-related rearrangements.

How subjective reward value is affected by social comparison remains poorly understood. Here, the authors show a crucial role for the circuit from the medial prefrontal cortex to the lateral hypothalamus in subjective value modulation in social contexts.

Here, the authors show that treatment with a monoclonal neutralizing antibody against the lung microbiota-derived proapoptotic peptide corisin ameliorates acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis and severity of endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Skin substitutes generated by tissue engineering have limited properties. Here, authors established niche encroachment method. Cell competition enabled skin organogenesis from allogeneic and xenogeneic stem cells on p63 knockout embryos, resulting in a complete skin graft on dermis with hair.

Anthropogenic addition of bio-available nitrogen to the global nitrogen cycle has led to a host of environmental problems. Copper-containing nitrite reductase (CuNIR) is a key enzyme in the process of denitrification by catalysing the one-electron reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide, but details of the mechanism of the electron-transfer reaction are still unknown. Here, the high-resolution crystal structure of the electron-transfer complex for CuNIR is presented and analysed.

A structural study supported by molecular dynamics simulations describes the basis of receptor-subtype selectivity of a small-molecule antagonist of the human muscarinic M₂ receptor.