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X-ray polarimetry observations with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer constrain the accretion geometry in an X-ray pulsar and provide evidence for a misalignment of the spin, magnetic and orbital axes in Her X-1.

X-ray polarization measurements of the Crab nebula and pulsar by the IXPE satellite reveal a global toroidal magnetic field with large variations in local polarization, suggesting a more complex turbulence distribution than anticipated.

Polarization can exceed 60% at the leading edge of the inner part of the Vela pulsar wind nebula; in contrast with the case of the supernova remnant, the electrons in the pulsar wind nebula are accelerated with little or no turbulence in a highly uniform magnetic field.

Polarization measurements are reported for the blazar Mk501, revealing a degree of X-ray polarization that is more than twice the optical value and supporting the shock-accelerated energy-stratified electron population scenario.

Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating is used to construct a chronology of Neanderthal disappearance, showing that Neanderthals overlapped with anatomically modern humans for between about 2,000 and 5,000 years.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

Oestrogen negative breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, the authors perform a meta-analysis of 11 breast cancer genome-wide association studies and identify four new loci associated with oestrogen negative breast cancer risk. These findings may aid in stratifying patients in the clinic.

Marchioretti and colleagues show that in the skeletal muscle of SBMA mice and patients there is an early, but reversible alteration of expression of genes involved in muscle contraction and of mitochondrial respiration, followed by accumulation of calcium inside the mitochondria, which is concomitant with the onset of motor dysfunction, and late alteration of muscle structure.

Phase 1 trial results reveal that intrathecal transplantation of human fetal neural precursor cells in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis is feasible, safe and tolerable.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Erik Ingelsson and colleagues report a large-scale genome-wide meta-analysis for associations to the extremes of anthropometric traits, including body mass index, height, waist-to-hip ratio and clinical obesity. They identify four loci newly associated with height and seven loci newly associated with clinical obesity and find overlap in the genetic structure and distribution of variants identified for these extremes of the trait distributions and for the general population.

Alison Dunning, Stacey Edwards and colleagues analyze 3,872 common variants across the ESR1 locus in 118,816 women. They find five independent variants within regulatory regions that associate with different breast cancer–related phenotypes and regulate the expression of ESR1, RMND1 and CCDC170.

Studying GnRH neuroendocrine cells in the mouse olfactory bulb (GnRH^OB neurons), Decoster et al. show that these cells respond to female odors and their activation regulates males’ female-odor preference and mating behavior.

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission impact on asteroid Dimophos resulted in an elliptical ejecta plume. Here, the authors show that this elliptical ejecta is due to the curvature of the asteroid and makes kinetic momentum transfer less efficient.

Marco Tartaglia and colleagues report the identification of mutations of SHOC2 in individuals with Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair. The mutations cause aberrantly acquired N-myristoylation of SHOC2 resulting in aberrant targeting of SHOC2 to the plasma membrane. SHOC2 is believed to function as a scaffold linking RAS to downstream signal transducers.

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

In June 2022, the IXPE satellite observed a shock passing through the jet of active galaxy Markarian 421. The rotation of the X-ray-polarized radiation over a 5-day period revealed that the jet contains a helical magnetic field.

Four-membered rings have become popular motifs in drug discovery, prompting the synthetic organic chemistry community to develop more expedite approaches to access these scaffolds. Here, the authors report a photocatalytic radical strategy for accessing densely functionalized azetidines from azabicyclo[1.1.0]butanes.

Temporo-occipital areas are involved in perceiving emotional faces. Here, the authors show that strengthening back-projections from temporal to occipital areas enhances visual cortex’s response to face stimuli and perception of emotions from them.

Cells exert tight control over the size of their compartments in order to regulate their function. Here, nuclear fluorescence exclusion microscopy is able to measure the nuclear and cytoplasmic volumes of live cells in a high-throughput way.

Stojanov et al. updated and internally validated a prediction model for the occurrence of post-operative shoulder stiffness following primary arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in Switzerland. Their findings support the development of further prediction models for an evidence-based and individualized decision-making in orthopedics.

Pin1 interacts with Notch1 to increases its cleavage by γ-secretase and thus its transcriptional activity. In a feedback loop, Notch1 controls Pin1 expression, which results in enhanced Notch1 tumorigenic activity.

Two-colour X-ray free electron laser is a powerful tool for pump–probe measurements, but currently constrained by limited tunability. Here, Ferrari et al. develop a configuration that allows tuning both the pump and the probe to specific electronic excitations, providing element selectivity.

Super-resolution microscopy techniques can be challenging for live cells and thick samples. Here, the authors propose a method to reduce beam intensity and remove out-of-focus fluorescence background in image-scanning microscopy (ISM) and its combination with stimulated emission depletion (STED).

Organ-like 3D cultures are advanced model system for biology and medicine limited by their uncontrolled cell self-assembly. Here, the authors develop a hydrogel-in-hydrogel bioprinting approach to dynamically control the growth landscape of a broad range of living 3D cell cultures.

Stig Bojesen, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Alison Dunning and colleagues report common variants at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus associated with mean telomere length measured in whole blood. They also identify associations at this locus to breast or ovarian cancer susceptibility and report functional studies in breast and ovarian cancer tissue and cell lines.

The coil-globule transition undergone by polymers in solution delineates a transition from expanded coils to collapsed globules, depending on the polarity of the solvent. This study examines the influence of vibrational entropy on the transition, and finds it can induce a crossover from a second-order to a first-order transition.

An analysis of 2,954 genomes from 38 cancer subtypes identified 19,166 retrotransposition events in 35% of samples. Aberrant LINE-1 retrotranspositions can lead to the deletion of tumor-suppressor genes as well as the amplification of oncogenes.

Ancient proteins in human dental calculus from sites across Mongolia spanning 5,000 years suggest dairy consumption on the eastern Eurasian steppe by circa 3000 bc, and the later emergence of horse milking at circa 1200 bc, concurrent with the first evidence for horse riding.

Genome-wide association analyses identify 30 risk loci for IgA nephropathy. Functional annotations of putative causal genes converge on inflammatory signaling pathways and cytokine ligand–receptor pairs, prioritizing potential new drug targets.

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.

A device architecture based on indium arsenide–aluminium heterostructures with a gate-defined superconducting nanowire allows single-shot interferometric measurement of fermion parity and demonstrates an assignment error probability of 1%.

The signatures of water, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, methane, ammonia and acetylene are observed in the transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b, with abundance ratios suggesting a super-solar carbon-to-oxygen ratio.

Riccardo Velasco and colleagues report the genome sequence of the 'Golden Delicious' domesticated apple. These data shed new insight into the genomic events that preceded the origin of this crop.

Paul Pharoah and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study of ovarian cancer. They identify new susceptibility loci for different epithelial ovarian cancer histotypes and use integrated analyses of genes and regulatory features at each locus to predict candidate susceptibility genes, including OBFC1.

This study aims at enhancing hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases via innovative approaches. Findings demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of intracerebral transplantation of TREM2-engineered HSCs in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.