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Genome-wide association analyses identify new susceptibility loci for Brugada syndrome. Functional studies implicate microtubule-related trafficking effects on sodium channel expression as an underlying molecular mechanism.

Contrary to the view that urbanization is a major driver of the global rise in obesity, the global increase in body-mass index is shown to be mostly due to increases in the body-mass indexes of rural populations.

Low total energy expenditure (TEE) has been a hypothesized risk factor for weight gain, but longitudinal repeatability of TEE is incompletely understood. Here the authors report that TEE is repeatable for adults, but not for children, and increases in TEE (adjusted for fat-free mass, fat mass, age and sex) are not associated with body composition changes in short-term longitudinal analyses.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across different populations highlights new risk loci and provides a genetic risk score that can stratify prostate cancer risk across ancestries.

Analysis of genomic data from 25 distantly related plant species shows signatures of selection on the same gene families and functions that repeatedly contributed to local adaptation to climate.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

Unlike Amazonian forests, African forests have maintained their carbon sink until recently but by 2030 the African carbon sink will have shrunk by 14 per cent and the Amazonian sink will reach almost zero.

A global dataset of the satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and fishing fleets show that sharks—and, in particular, commercially important species—have limited spatial refuge from fishing effort.

Chen et al. report that TGF-β signalling, although largely considered anti-inflammatory, has proinflammatory effects on endothelial cells. Inhibition of endothelial TGF-β signalling decreases atherosclerosis in mice and reverts established plaques, in part by decreasing endothelial-to-mesenchymal transitions.

Solar wind is highly structured yet variable. Close-up observations of the solar atmosphere reveal that the changing connectivity of multiple sources in the solar corona drives the observed complexity and variability in the inner heliosphere.

Patricia Munroe, Christopher Newton-Cheh, Andrew Morris and colleagues perform association studies in over 340,000 individuals of European ancestry and identify 66 loci, of which 17 are novel, involved in blood pressure regulation. The risk SNPs are enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells.

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.

An analysis of eight ultra-faint galaxies during the epoch of reionization with absolute magnitudes between −17 mag and −15  mag shows that most of the photons that reionized the Universe come from dwarf galaxies.

Most Amazon tree species are rare but a small proportion are common across the region. The authors show that different species are hyperdominant in different size classes and that hyperdominance is more phylogenetically restricted for larger canopy trees than for smaller understory ones.

RUBIES-EGS-QG-1 is an exceptionally massive and mature galaxy discovered just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang. Its stars formed in an extremely rapid burst, posing a major challenge to all current theoretical models.

Necroptosis is a form of cell death characterized by membrane rupture via MLKL oligomerization, although mechanistic details remain unclear. Here, the authors show that MLKL ubiquitylation of K219 facilitates high-order membrane assembly and subsequent rupture, promoting cytotoxicity.

Aromatase inhibitors are used to treat oestrogen receptor positive breast cancers but the molecular basis for the response of patients is unclear. Here, the authors use samples from an aromatase inhibitor clinical trial and show that tumours from poor responders have more mutations than good responders and also more frequently harbour p53 mutations.

For conventional three-dimensional microcrystal electron diffraction (3D ED/MicroED), a crystal is slowly rotated under an electron beam, leading to inevitable accumulation of radiation damage during data collection. In this work, the authors present a serial electron diffraction method, where still diffraction patterns from many protein nanocrystals are rapidly recorded and merged, which minimises radiation damage and only requires a slightly modified standard scanning transmission electron microscope.

A DNA-based amplification scheme enables highly multiplexed immunofluorescence imaging

Cell competition is a quality control mechanism to eliminate unfit cells. Here the authors show that physical compaction of less fit cells surrounded by healthy neighbours leads to increased expression of tumour suppressor p53 in the compacted cells, causing cell death.

Lattice anchoring, in its varied forms, has proven effective at regulating the energetics of metastable phases of polymorphic crystals. Here, the authors utilize top-down photolithography to embed a tessellating 3D interfacial network into otherwise-unstable CsPbI₃ perovskite thin films and devices, stabilizing the perovskite phase.

This resource describes a collection of neurons from a variety of light microscopy-based datasets, which can serve as a gold standard for testing automated tracing algorithms, as shown by comparison of the performance of 35 algorithms.

The aboveground carbon stock of a montane African forest network is comparable to that of a lowland African forest network and two-thirds higher than default values for these montane forests.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Here, the authors identify a broadly neutralizing antibody from an HIV-infected person that recognizes the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) and has a short CDRH3 and low polyreactivity. Structural analysis shows how the antibody binds the MPER and Env on the viral membrane.

Though conductivity doping in organic semiconductors has been widely studied in organic electronics, a clear mechanistic picture that explains the phenomenon is still lacking. Here, the authors report a theoretical approach to elucidate the role of disorder compensation in doped organic materials.

Bullous pemphigoid is an autoimmune skin disease characterized by tense blisters and erosions. In this Primer, Akbarialiabad et al. review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of this disease, and highlight the quality of life of patients and future research areas.

It remains a challenge to find the structure and the distribution of the constituents of nucleons. Here the authors use a scattering method to get information about the gluons and quarks inside a proton and separate the contribution of Bethe-Heitler from the deeply virtual Compton scattering process.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a potentially serious liver disease with a substantial burden worldwide. In this Consensus Statement, a global multidisciplinary group of experts develop consensus statements and recommendations addressing a broad range of topics on NAFLD to raise awareness and spur action.

Four genome-wide associated loci are currently known for malaria susceptibility. Here, the authors expand on earlier work by combining data from 11 malaria-endemic countries and additional population sequencing informing an African-enriched imputation reference panel, with findings including a previously unreported association on chromosome 6.

Compared to other apes, humans live longer, reproduce faster and have larger brains; here, total energy expenditure is studied in humans and all species of great ape, and is shown to be significantly higher in humans, demonstrating that the human lineage has experienced an energy-boosting acceleration in metabolic rate.

Here 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche, a marker of puberty timing in females, are identified; these loci show enrichment for genes involved in nuclear hormone receptor function, body mass index, and rare disorders of puberty, and for genes located in imprinted regions, with parent-of-origin specific effects at several loci.

A genome-wide association study in 293,723 individuals identifies 74 genetic variants associated with educational attainment, which, although only explaining a small proportion of the variation in educational attainment, highlights candidate genes and pathways for further study.

Cristen Willer and colleagues report genome-wide association analyses for blood lipid levels in 188,578 individuals. They identify 62 loci newly associated with blood lipid levels, refine the association signals at 12 loci and examine associations with cardiovascular and metabolic traits.

Aggregation usually prevents dissolution of graphene in water. Now, hydroxide ion adsorption has been shown to allow the stabilization of true single-layer graphene in water — with no surfactant required — so long as the liquid is degassed beforehand. The resulting aqueous dispersions can contain high concentrations of exfoliated graphene that are stable for several months.

Whole-genome sequencing of chronic lymphocytic leukemia from 485 patients identifies putative coding and noncoding drivers of disease. Genomically defined subgroups show distinct clinical and biological characteristics.

Chalcogenide radical cations are usually short-lived intermediates, making their isolation challenging. Here, the authors report the stabilization of these species by using the M^SFluind (dispiro[fluorene-9,3’-(1’,1’,7’,7’-tetramethyl-s-hydrindacen-4’-yl)-5’,9”-fluorene]) substituent to produce [M^SFluindPhE][B(C₆F₅)₄] (E = S, Se, Te) radical cation salts, which they characterize using electron paramagnetic spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, optical absorption spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum mechanical computations.

Three planets orbit the Sun-like star ν² Lupi. CHEOPS data show that all of them are transiting and show remarkable diversity. In particular, dry and gas-poor inner planet b has experienced extensive atmospheric loss, while planets c and d are water rich and have a small gaseous envelope of primordial origin.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of prostate cancer performed in 156,319 cases and 788,443 controls identifies 187 novel risk variants associated with the disease. Genetic risk scores associated with overall risk, and risk of aggressive disease in men of African ancestry.

Inflammation mediated by microglia plays a key role in brain injury associated with preterm birth, but little is known about the microglial response in preterm infants. Here, the authors integrate molecular and imaging data from animal models and preterm infants, and find that microglial expression of DLG4 plays a role.

The internal structure of the neutron has now been probed by highly energetic photons scattering off it. Combined with previous results for protons, these measurements reveal the contributions of quark flavours to the nucleon structure.