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Humans use supernatural beliefs as tools for explanation. These explanations are more likely to focus on natural phenomena than social phenomena, according to this quantitative analysis of ethnographic text across 114 societies.

In this Consensus Statement, the authors describe the details of the evolution of the risk-based treatment of favourable-histology Wilms tumour (FHWT) and outline the rationale for the new risk stratification that will be used in the now open Children’s Oncology Group therapeutic trial for FHWT, AREN2231.

This Review synthesizes current knowledge on combining solar energy with agriculture (agrivoltaics) or natural vegetation (ecovoltaics), discusses the rationale for studying these systems, examines design and technological advances, and identifies future challenges and priorities.

The brushtail possum is a treasured Australian marsupial, but also a harmful pest introduced into New Zealand. Here, using functional genomics and a new chromosome-level genome assembly of New Zealand possums, Bond et al. quantify their genome admixture and identify unique parent-specific and weaning associated gene expression.

This study describes the integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes, profiled for histone modification patterns, DNA accessibility, DNA methylation and RNA expression; the results annotate candidate regulatory elements in diverse tissues and cell types, their candidate regulators, and the set of human traits for which they show genetic variant enrichment, providing a resource for interpreting the molecular basis of human disease.

Exon skipping technologies remain hindered by aberrant splicing and low efficacy. Here, Miskalis et.al. developed SPLICER, a Cas9 base editor toolbox which enhances overall exon skipping efficiency and lowers cryptic splicing, demonstrating the use of SPLICER for skipping APP exon 17 in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Single-cell Proliferation Rate Inference in Non-homogeneous Tumors through Evolutionary Routes (SPRINTER) allows users to infer proliferation rates of individual clones within a tumor from single-cell DNA sequencing data. Applying SPRINTER to human tumor datasets highlighted a link between proliferation and metastatic potential.

Here the authors use single cell profiling of T cells across the human lifespan to show that a suboptimal TCR shift in T cells as we enter older age results in a molecular signature that resembles that of T cells from newborns and children.

Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in commensal gut bacteria may act as a reservoir for acquisition by pathogens. Here, the authors assess the distribution and transfer potential of ARGs in gut microbiomes and find that clinically important ARGs are taxonomically restricted despite being associated with mobile plasmids

Host phylogeny and diet are major explanatory factors of animal gut microbiome diversity, but our understanding of these associations is limited by a focus on captive animals and a narrow taxonomic scope. Here, the authors isolate evolutionary and ecological drivers of gut microbiomes from wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

Mannino et al. provide a quantitative and ultrastructural timeline of nucleophagy in yeast with lattice light sheet microscopy and correlative light and electron tomography. They identify a role for dynamin-like protein 1 in outer nuclear membrane fission.

Cryo-electron microscopy shows five structural states of inverted formin 2 and two of formin diaphanous 1 bound to F-actin, providing step-by-step visualization of the mechanisms of F-actin severing and elongation by formins.

A study aimed at revealing the role of small-scale fisheries in sustainable development shows they provide at least 40% of the global fishing catch and affect the livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the world, among other important contributions.

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 study investigates drivers of redox potential in several salt marsh sites on the basis of time series datasets. Wavelet and mutual information analyses show that the terrestrial groundwater level, rather than the marsh groundwater level, is the dominant control on redox potential.

The relationship between the X-ray activity and rotation of a star is a well-established proxy for the behaviour of the stellar dynamo; observations of four fully convective stars for which this relationship is similar to that of solar-type stars imply that the same dynamo mechanism is at work despite their structural differences to the Sun.

Water is vital for ion transport in anion exchange membranes (AEMs). Here, the authors used electrochemical impedance, ultrafast spectroscopy, and molecular models to reveal how water arrangements affect bromide ion transport in state-of-the-art AEMs, offering insights for better membrane design.

Patients who express a hyperactive mutant of the kinase PI3K exhibit defective humoral immunity. Preite et al. show that overactive PI3K leads to defective class-switched antigen-specific responses to immunization, despite augmented germinal-center formation and reactivity to commensal microbes and self antigens.

Analyses of height and body mass index in 119,000 sibling pairs show that linkage and genome-wide association signals colocalize. Further analyses suggest that family-based linkage signals are fully consistent with a highly polygenic architecture.

Human intestinal organoids are endowed with immune cells by transplantation into humanized mice.

Many rocky planets formed with large, H2-rich atmospheres. Here, the authors show that the loss of these primary atmospheres from temperate planets such as TRAPPIST-1e typically leaves behind secondary atmospheres and habitable surface conditions.

Identification of host antiviral restriction factors could provide targets for antiviral therapy. Here, using a genome-wide CRISPR screen, the authors identify the glycosyltransferase B3GAT1 as a host protein which, when ectopically overexpressed, restricts influenza virus infection in vitro and in mice, as well as other viruses relying on sialic acid for entry.

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.

A tour-de-force of structural biology solves the structure of the macromolecular injection machinery used to deliver a phage genome into a bacterium.

Nicholas Navin and colleagues use highly multiplexed single-nucleus sequencing to investigate DNA copy number evolution in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Their data suggest that most copy number alterations are acquired at the earliest stages of tumor evolution in short punctuated bursts, followed by stable clonal expansions that form the tumor mass.

Luca Lotta, Robert Scott, Stephen O’Rahilly, Claudia Langenberg, David Savage, Nicholas Wareham, Inês Barroso and colleagues identify 53 genomic regions associated with insulin resistance phenotypes. Their findings suggest that limited storage capacity of peripheral adipose tissue is an important etiological component in insulin-resistant cardiometabolic disease and highlight genes and mechanisms underpinning this link.

ONIX is a data acquisition system for recording freely behaving mice. It can accommodate a variety of recording technologies, while maintaining minimal impact on animal behavior.

The transcription factor BATF is required for differentiation of certain helper T cell subsets. Haining and colleagues show that BATF crucially regulates CD8⁺ effector cells by coordinating a transcription factor network.

The use of single cell sequencing has enabled more detailed analysis of the immune response to infection. Here the authors characterise the immune response to malaria infection in an endemic region using single cell transcriptomics indicating regulatory signatures associated with infection.

Genome-wide association analyses of intracranial and nine subcortical brain volumes in 74,898 participants of European ancestry identify 254 independent loci and yield polygenic scores accounting for brain variation across ancestries.

The affected cellular populations during Alzheimer’s disease progression remain understudied. Here the authors use a cohort of 84 donors, quantitative neuropathology and multimodal datasets from the BRAIN Initiative. Their pseudoprogression analysis revealed two disease phases.

Single-cell transcriptomics studies on human and mouse non-small cell lung cancer and conditional knockout mouse models show that IL-4 from bone marrow basophils drives the development of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors to myeloid cells that suppress antitumour immunity.

The Marine Alveolates (MALVs) include important parasites of other protists/animals. Here, using new data from MALV-I, the psammosids, and a new group called the eleftherids, the authors show MALVs, and therefore parasitism in early dinoflagellates, evolved from two distinct free-living ancestors.

How our genes and environment determine our vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity of COVID19 remains uncertain. Here, the authors find that as the pandemic progressed the relative importance of genetic variation increased, highlighting the dynamic nature of heritability amidst changing public policies and vaccination rates.

The metabolic dependencies of androgen receptor (AR)-driven growth in prostate adenocarcinoma are largely unknown but could represent a therapeutic target when hormonal manipulations fail. Here the authors demonstrate that the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) is transcriptionally regulated by AR and that MPC inhibition suppresses tumour growth in hormone-responsive and castrate-resistant conditions.

It is unknown how GPR161, an orphan receptor involved in Hedgehog signaling, is activated. This study identifies a sterol that promotes GPR161-driven cAMP signaling but shows that cAMP is dispensable for Hedgehog pathway repression.

In a large trial of patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas, IL-13Rα2-targeting CAR-T cells were feasible to manufacture and well tolerated when delivered via intratumoral and/or intraventricular routes.

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.

Oral ulcerations are sores of the mucous membrane of the mouth and highly prevalent in the population. Here, in a genome-wide association study, the authors identify 97 loci associated with mouth ulcers highlighting genes involved in T cell-mediated immunity and T_H1 responses.

Phagocytosis of pathogens is thought to proceed through the sequential engagement of Fc-receptors on the phagocyte with antibodies on the target surface. Here authors show that myosin 1e and myosin 1f link the actin cytoskeleton to the membrane and are required for efficient phagocytosis of antibody-opsonized targets.

Plasmodium vivax generally accounts for a low proportion of malaria cases in Africa, but population-level data on the distribution of infections is limited. Here, the authors use data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and show that the prevalence is low (~3%) and diffusely spread.

Genome-wide association studies of COVID-19 have identified genetic loci affecting disease severity, but the mechanisms remain to be fully described. Here, the authors use genetically predicted transcriptome, splicing and proteome data to identify potential genes and pathways underlying COVID- 19 severity.

A high-throughput yeast-based assay is used to identify more than 1,500 activation domains (ADs) in Arabidopsis transcription factors, and a deep learning approach applied to this dataset can predict AD activity on the basis of sequence features.

The degree of plasticity in the epigenetic landscape of exhausted T cells has been unclear. Sen and colleagues find that exhausted CD8⁺ T cells demonstrate a stable core epigenetic exhaustion signature that persists independent of inflammation or viral antigen.

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.

Currently many of the time resolved serial femtosecond (SFX) crystallography experiments are done with light driven protein systems, whereas the reaction initiation for non-light triggered enzymes remains a major bottle neck. Here, the authors present an expanded Drop-on-Tape system, where picoliter-sized droplets of a substrate or inhibitor are turbulently mixed with nanoliter sized droplets of microcrystal slurries, and they use it for time-resolved SFX measurements of inhibitor binding to lysozyme and secondly, binding of a β-lactam antibiotic to a bacterial serine β-lactamase.

A low rate of Clostridioides difficile transmission within an intensive care unit supports the effectiveness of prevention practices and highlights the greater risk to carriers of toxigenic C. difficile.

3D brain atlases enable spatial data integration across studies. Here, the authors present the Developmental Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework, a 3D multimodal atlas from embryonic to adult ages for cell type mapping through brain development.