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High-energy particles could be a long-sought source of cosmic rays — plus, a ‘smart’ insulin-molecule that’s sensitive to blood sugar levels.

Ancient DNA reveals how the explosive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists began with a small community north of the Black Sea speaking ancestral Indo-European, and detects genetic links with Anatolian speakers, stemming from a common Indo-Anatolian homeland in the North Caucasus–lower Volga region.

Hunter-gatherer populations in Africa preserve unique information about human history, but genetic sub-structures of these populations remain unclear. Using newly designed microarray and statistical methods, these authors analyse genetic compositions of southern African populations and reveal an ancient link between southern and eastern Africa.

Differentiating neutrophil functional states is difficult. Here the authors show, using single cell RNA-sequencing and trajectory analyses, that mouse neutrophils can be presented as a transcriptome continuum rather than discrete subsets, but are affected by inflammation to express distinct transcriptional states.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of 81 prehistoric individuals reveals how the genetic makeup of people from the North Pontic region was influenced by waves of migration during the Eneolithic period and Early Bronze Age.

Genome-wide ancient DNA data from individuals from the Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age documents large-scale movement of people from the European continent between 1300 and 800 bc that was probably responsible for spreading early Celtic languages to Britain.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

In a prospective, regulatory-grade study of assistance to pathologists in MASH histology scoring, AIM-MASH-assisted reads by expert MASH pathologists were superior to unassisted reads and decreased inter-reader variability.

Genome-wide data from 400 individuals indicate that the initial spread of the Beaker archaeological complex between Iberia and central Europe was propelled by cultural diffusion, but that its spread into Britain involved a large-scale migration that permanently replaced about ninety per cent of the ancestry in the previously resident population.

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.

Little is known about the genetic landscape of people living in the Nile region prior to the Islamic migrations of the late 1st millennium CE. Here, the authors report genome-wide data for 66 ancient individuals to investigate the genetic ancestry of a Christian Period group from Kulubnarti.

This article compares the different approaches that have been developed for detecting confounding due to population stratification, family structure and cryptic relatedness, with an emphasis on the potential of mixed models for addressing these problems simultaneously.

Using DNA from a finger bone, the genome of an archaic hominin from southern Siberia has been sequenced to about 1.9-fold coverage. The group to which this individual belonged shares a common origin with Neanderthals, and although it was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians, it contributed 4–6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. A tooth whose mitochondrial genome is very similar to that of the finger bone further suggests that these hominins are evolutionarily distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.

Genome-wide analysis of human variation in 25 diverse groups from India reveals two ancient populations, genetically divergent, that are ancestral to most Indians today. Traditionally upper caste and Indo-European speakers tend to be descended from a group that is genetically close to Middle Easterners, Central Asians and Europeans. The other group, the 'Ancestral South Indians', does not appear to be close to any group outside the subcontinent.

ancIBD identifies identity-by-descent regions in ancient DNA using a hidden Markov model optimized for these low-coverage data. Analysis of 4,248 individuals demonstrates that ancIBD can identify up to sixth-degree relatives and provides genealogical insights into ancient populations.

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.

Analysis of ancient human DNA from the Swahili coast reveals that predominantly African female ancestors and Asian male ancestors formed families after around ad 1000 and lived in elite communities in coastal stone towns.

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.

DNA analysis of 6 individuals from eastern and south-central Africa spanning the past approximately 18,000 years, and of 28 previously published ancient individuals, provides genetic evidence supporting hypotheses of increasing regionalization at the end of the Pleistocene.

Archaeogenetic study of ancient DNA from medieval northwestern Europeans reveals substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in Britain, suggesting mass migration across the North Sea during the Early Middle Ages.

Kumarasamy Thangaraj and colleagues describe the association of a 25-bp deletion in MYBPC3 with heritable cardiomyopathies in Indian populations. They find a high prevalence (4–8%) of the deletion in surveyed Indian populations and an absence of the deletion in surveyed populations outside of Southeast Asia.

Sequencing of the bonobo genome shows that more than three per cent of the human genome is more closely related to either the bonobo genome or the chimpanzee genome than those genomes are to each other.

David Reich and colleagues report evidence for accelerated genetic drift on the X chromosome, on the basis of population genetic analyses comparing patterns of genetic variation on the X chromosome and the autosomes in West African, North European and East Asian datasets.

The history of human populations in the islands of the central and western Mediterranean is poorly understood. Here, the authors generate ancient-DNA data from the Balearic Islands, Sicily and Sardinia, and estimate the level and timing of steppe pastoralist, Iranian and North African ancestries in these populations.

Genome-wide ancestry profiles of four individuals, dating to 8,000 and 3,000 years before present, from the archaeological site of Shum Laka (Cameroon) shed light on the deep population history of sub-Saharan Africa.

Remains of several hundred humans are scattered around Roopkund Lake, situated over 5,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayan Mountains. Here the authors analyze genome-wide data from 38 skeletons and find 3 clusters with different ancestries and dates, showing the people were desposited in multiple catastrophic events.

Analysis of ancient genomic data of 51 humans from Eurasia dating from 45,000 to 7,000 years ago provides insight into the population history of pre-Neolithic Europe and support for recurring migration and population turnover in Europe during this period.

Populations speaking Austronesian languages are numerous and widespread, but their history remains controversial. Here, the authors analyse genetic data from Southeast Asia and show that all populations harbour ancestry most closely related to aboriginal Taiwanese, while some also contain a component closest to Austro-Asiatic speakers.

Deep whole-genome sequencing of 300 individuals from 142 diverse populations provides insights into key population genetic parameters, shows that all modern human ancestry outside of Africa including in Australasians is consistent with descending from a single founding population, and suggests a higher rate of accumulation of mutations in non-Africans compared to Africans since divergence.

Principal component analysis (PCA) has been a useful tool for analysis of genetic data, particularly in studies of human migration. A new study finds evidence that the observed geographic gradients, traditionally thought to represent major historical migrations, may in fact have other interpretations.

The massive capacity of today's sequencing machines can be harnessed efficiently by sequencing pooled samples and decoding the results.

Genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe between 12000 and 500 bc reveals that the region acted as a genetic crossroads before and after the arrival of farming.

A randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.