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SrTiO₃-based heterostructures display intriguing low-temperature transport features. Here the authors study LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ nanoscale crossbar devices, revealing correlations between electron pairing without superconductivity, anomalous Hall effect, and electronic nematicity, suggesting a shared microscopic origin.

Using well-calibrated statistical methods the authors jointly analyze Undiagnosed Diseases Network genomes, identifying known and novel disease genes. Software is publicly available to support future cross-cohort rare disease discovery efforts.

A correlated material SrVO₃ has been considered to be a Fermi liquid, however previous studies have been limited to disordered samples. Here the authors study transport in ultraclean films of SrVO₃, finding deviations from the Fermi liquid picture.

A synthesizer that combines a fixed low-noise photonic oscillator and a direct digital synthesizer—and is based on components that can all be integrated on chip—can create microwave signals that are tunable with low noise.

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).

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.

An integrated analysis of de novo and inherited coding variants in 42,607 individuals with autism spectrum disorder identifies 60 risk genes of which five have not previously been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

There is increasing evidence of a functional interaction between acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and immune cells, influencing disease outcome. Here the authors study how distinct oncogenes differentially affect the host immune response to leukemic cells in preclinical models of AML.

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.

How ocean acidification will impact coastal biogenic habitats is unclear. This study predicts that indirect effects on habitat-forming organisms, combined with direct effects on biodiversity, will cause changes in structural complexity and extent of these habitats.

A CRISPR-based screen identifies neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (DPP4) as entry factors for human astrovirus, and targeting them using available therapies effectively prevents infection in human enteroid cultures.

The structure of a social network is thought to be heritable in many animals, including humans. Here, Rooke and colleagues identify a gene, which they name “degrees of kevin bacon (dokb)”, that is expressed in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster and regulates the structure of social networks.

Structural variants in more than 17,000 human genomes are mapped and characterized using whole-genome sequencing, showing how this type of variation contributes to rare deleterious coding and noncoding alleles.

Weatherbee, Weberling, Gantner et al. find contrasting requirements for BMP in the anterior signalling centre and pre-implantation epiblast between mice and humans. They further find that NOTCH may be indispensable for human epiblast survival.

NKG7 is a molecule well associated with NK cells but of unknown function. Engwerda and colleagues demonstrate that NKG7 is also associated with T_H1 cells and is essential for type I and cytotoxic responses.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

We leverage advances in integrated photonics to generate low-noise microwaves with an optical frequency division architecture that can be low power and chip integrated.

A genome-wide association study in more than 400,000 individuals identifies 139 new signals for lung function. These variants can predict chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in independent, transancestral cohorts.

Analysis of exomes and transcriptomes from 100 African American patients with acute myeloid leukemia identifies ancestry-related variation in mutation profiles and survival. Refined risk classification suggests clinical relevance of these ancestry-associated differences.

Influenza exposure in early childhood can affect the immune response to distinct viral strains later in life. Here, Gouma et al. show that contemporary 3c2.A H3N2 virus infections boost non-neutralizing H3N2 antibodies in middle-aged individuals, potentially leaving them vulnerable to recurrent infections.

DNA methylation profiles from 26 bat species accurately predicts chronological age, while longevity-related methylation patterns across the genome suggest that bat longevity results from augmented immune response and cancer suppression.

Female embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are the ideal model to study X chromosome inactivation (XCI) establishment; however, these cells are challenging to keep in culture. Here the authors create fluorescent ‘Xmas’ reporter mice as a renewable source of ESCs and show nucleosome remodelers Smarcc1 and Smarca4 create a nucleosome-free promoter region prior to the establishment of silencing.

Analysis of colorectal cancer bulk gene expression data at the pathway level identifies a poor-prognosis subtype associated with cell differentiation. The subtypes are reproducible in single-cell data and offer biological insights beyond existing stratification strategies.

The Eμ-Myc lymphoma mouse model has been invaluable in the study of this disease. Here, the authors use multiple sequencing strategies to analyse the tumours in these mice and find recurrent inactivating mutations in Bcor, suggesting that this gene has a negative role in Mycsignalling.

The disruption of hubs connecting production, processing and consumption locations may seriously impact agri-food supply-chain networks and affect food security. Using complex network statistics, this study identifies structural chokepoints that accumulate agri-food commodities from their production regions to be further processed and redistributed to final consumption points across the United States.

Here the authors reveal that a neomorphic mutation in chromatin protein SMCHD1 enhances SMCHD1-mediated gene silencing, including at the FSHD disease-relevant locus, while depleting SMCHD1-mediated chromatin interactions, suggesting these SMCHD1 functions are unlinked.

Red blood cells (RBCs) are phagocytosed in the spleen in sickle cell disease and malaria. Here, Cao et al. show that high mannose N-glycans, exposed on diseased or oxidized RBC surfaces, bind mannose receptor CD206 on host cells, mediating phagocytosis.

A strategy for inferring phase for rare variant pairs is applied to exome sequencing data for 125,748 individuals from the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD). This resource will aid interpretation of rare co-occurring variants in the context of recessive disease.

John Perry and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study meta-analysis to identify variants influencing age at natural menopause. They identify 54 independent signals and find enrichment near genes involved in delayed puberty and DNA damage response.

Fine-scale geospatial mapping of overweight and wasting (two components of the double burden of malnutrition) in 105 LMICs shows that overweight has increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 6.0% in children under 5 in 2017. Although overall wasting decreased over the same period, most countries are not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025.

This overview of the ENCODE project outlines the data accumulated so far, revealing that 80% of the human genome now has at least one biochemical function assigned to it; the newly identified functional elements should aid the interpretation of results of genome-wide association studies, as many correspond to sites of association with human disease.

Torpor is a state of reduced metabolism and body temperature that conserves energy when food is scarce. Here the authors show that estrogen-sensitive neurons in the hypothalamus regulate torpor in mice, maintaining torpor in both sexes but initiating torpor and regulating core temperature differentially across sex.

It is unclear whether stream detritivore diversity enhances decomposition across climates. Here the authors manipulate litter diversity and examine detritivore assemblages in a globally distributed stream litterbag experiment, finding a positive diversity-decomposition relationship stronger in tropical streams, where detritivore diversity is lower.

A genomic constraint map for the human genome constructed using data from 76,156 human genomes from the Genome Aggregation Database shows that non-coding constrained regions are enriched for regulatory elements and variants associated with complex diseases and traits.

Intraspecies response to climate change is expected to align with genetic affinity. Using the American pika as a case study suggests that divisions of species distributions best explain intraspecific heterogeneity in climate relationships.

Metabolic reprogramming of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Here, Dai et al. show that the glycolytic enzyme alpha-enolase contributes to this reprogramming, and that its inhibition limits SMC proliferation and disease progression in animal models of PAH.

High-resolution subnational mapping of child growth failure indicators for 105 low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 shows that, despite considerable progress, substantial geographical inequalities still exist in some countries.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for Parkinson’s disease, and fine-mapping and co-localization analyses implicate candidate genes whose expression is associated with disease susceptibility.

High-coverage, ultra-long-read nanopore sequencing is used to create a new human genome assembly that improves on the coverage and accuracy of the current reference (GRCh38) and includes the gap-free, telomere-to-telomere sequence of the X chromosome.

Ultra-sensitive cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing uncovers clonal hematopoiesis as a major source of somatic cfDNA variants in healthy individuals and patients with cancer, and underscores the importance of matched white blood cell DNA sequencing in liquid biopsy procedures.

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.