Search

The acetyl-CoA pathway is the most ancient CO₂ fixation pathway in nature. Here, the authors show that metals selectively reduce CO₂ to the intermediates and end-products of the acetyl-CoA pathway, which is consistent with a prebiotic origin of this pathway.

Understanding the complex flow of soft amorphous materials requires going beyond standard rheometers, which fail to capture stress heterogeneities at the mesoscopic scale. By combining shear rheometry with time-resolved X-ray micro-tomography on 3D foams, the study uncovers universal master curves in local stress dynamics and reveals how microstructural rearrangements drive non-local stress redistribution, explaining macroscopic elastoplastic behavior.

Here the authors develop a novel statistical method for quantifying mutation burden from whole genome sequencing data and use it to discover the genetic, genomic, and phenotypic correlates of clonal hematopoiesis without known driver genetic lesions.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Matrix viscoelasticity regulates cell behavior in a stiffness-dependent manner. Here, the authors reveal that the mechanosensitive channel Piezo1 transduces soft matrix viscoelastic cues, through a coordinated interaction with molecular clutch mechanisms.

This study demonstrates how to combine molecular dynamics computer simulations with experimental biophysical data to determine accurate atomic-resolution ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins.

A 165 Myr record of N and Corg isotopes show that the N-cycle responds to feedbacks associated with productivity and the location of upwelling centers changing due to continental meander.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

A study showing high-quality container-based sanitation servicing improves the sanitation-related quality of life in informal settlements across Kenya, Peru and South Africa.

The systemic discovery of metal–small-molecule complexes from biological samples is a difficult challenge. Now, a method based on liquid chromatography and native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry has been developed. The approach uses post-column pH adjustment and metal infusion combined with ion identity molecular networking, and a rule-based informatics workflow, to interrogate small-molecule–metal binding.

Experiments under upper-tropospheric conditions map the chemical formation of isoprene oxygenated organic molecules (important molecules for new particle formation) and reveal that relative radical ratios control their composition

The activity of the membrane-bound enzyme pMMO depends on copper but the location of the copper centers is still under debate. Here, the authors reconstitute pMMO in nanodiscs and use native top-down MS to localize its copper centers, providing insights into which sites are essential for activity.

A new form of momentum-selective electron energy-loss spectroscopy enables the element-resolved imaging of frequency- and symmetry-dependent vibrational anisotropies with atomic resolution.

LARGE1 glycosyltransferase synthesizes matriglycan (xylose-glucuronate)_n on dystroglycan, and short matriglycan can cause neuromuscular disorders. Authors show that LARGE1 processively polymerizes matriglycan of defined length on prodystroglycan.

Here the authors perform a trans expression quantitative trait locus meta-analysis study of over 3,700 people and link a USP18 variant to expression of 50 inflammation genes and lupus risk, highlighting how genetic regulation of immune responses drives autoimmune disease and informs new therapies.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequency and risk factors vary considerably across regions and ancestries. Here, the authors conduct a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and fine mapping study of HNSCC subsites in cohorts from multiple continents, finding susceptibility and protective loci, gene-environment interactions, and gene variants related to immune response.

The impacts of antimicrobial resistance are unequally distributed and are more severe in lower- and middle-income countries. Here, the authors perform a critical interpretive synthesis of the evidence on intersectional inequities driving antimicrobial resistance and present a conceptual framework of their findings.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 continue to evolve 6 to 12 months after infection in patients who have recovered from COVID-19, increasing in potency and breadth with time.

The authors conduct a national inventory on individual tree carbon stocks in Rwanda using aerial imagery and deep learning. Most mapped trees are located in farmlands; new methods allow partitioning to any landscape categories, effective planning and optimization of carbon sequestration and the economic benefits of trees.

Rapid discovery of functional resistance genes is enabled by a high-expression signature and high-throughput transformation. This approach identified 31 new resistance genes for wheat and can be applied across crops to support food security.

Integrated multi-omic analyses using samples from the TRACERx study highlight cross-talk between DNA hypermethylation and genomic lesions in non-small cell lung cancer.

2023 CX1 is the only L-chondrite-like asteroid analysed from space to ground. It catastrophically fragmented in the atmosphere, depositing 98% of its energy in one burst—an unusual, high-risk fragmentation mode with implications for planetary defence.

Bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters can be utilized and engineered to transport non-canonical amino acids into Escherichia coli for highly efficient synthesis of proteins with novel functions.

Managing power exhaust in fusion reactors is a key challenge, especially in compact designs for cost-effective commercial energy. This study shows how alternative divertor configurations improve exhaust control, enhance stability, absorb transients and enable independent plasma regulation.

Using SCN2A haploinsufficiency as a proof-of-concept, upregulation of the existing functional gene copy through CRISPR activation was able to rescue neurological-associated phenotypes in Scn2a haploinsufficient mice and human neurons.

This study examines the outcomes of dietary shifts across intrinsic and instrumental conservation perspectives, finding that most conservation benefits already come from a partial shift to healthier, more plant-based diets, whereas greater benefits depend on more targeted conservation action.

Genome-wide analyses identify 30 independent loci associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, highlighting genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders and implicating putative effector genes and cell types contributing to its etiology.

A complementary analysis of DESI DR2 distance measurements along with supernova and CMB data shows consistent, moderate evidence that dark energy changes over time rather than behaving as a simple cosmological constant.

E. coli sequence type 131 is a significant cause of community-onset infection. Here, the authors perform a prospective household-based cohort study in Singapore including samples from humans, companion animals, the environment, and food, to characterise transmission and carriage dynamics.

RNA base editing represents an exciting modality in precision genetic medicine. Here the authors develop short, metabolically stable RNA oligonucleotides (RESTORE 2.0) that enable precise and efficient RNA base editing, demonstrating successful in-vivo correction of a disease-causing human mutation.

It is important to know how the recent COVID-19 pandemic shaped the immune memory against the causal SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here authors show that long years following mild disease at primary infection, SARSCoV-2 spike-specific CD4 + T cells with distinct phenotypes and T cell receptor clonotypes, associated with viral suppression persist.

A UCP1-independent mechanism of thermogenesis involving ATP-consuming metabolism of monomethyl branched-chain fatty acids in peroxisomes is described and a previously unrecognized role for peroxisomes in adipose tissue thermogenesis is identified.

Biomolecular condensates (BCs) are ubiquitous compartments that regulate key functions in cells. Authors demonstrate that phase separation is suppressed with glycine by using model heterotypic condensates composed of nucleophosmin 1 and ribosomal ribonucleic acid.

Alcohol use disorder drives transcriptional and regulatory changes in the caudate nucleus. Here, authors show, using a single-cell multiomic analysis, cell type-specific disruptions of gene expression, chromatin accessibility, and cell communication.

Chapman, Klaourakis and colleagues reveal that a lymphatic vasculature with poor clearance capacity in perinatal, regeneration-competent mouse hearts is required to retain pro-reparative macrophages and allow cardiac regeneration.

In a prospective study enrolling 1,222 patients from 22 emergency departments, a device using a machine-learning-based signature of blood mRNAs demonstrated clinically acceptable performance to diagnose bacterial and viral infections and to predict the all-cause need for critical care interventions within 7 days, with benchmark to established biomarkers and risk scores.

High plating currents are achieved in solid-state batteries without dendrites by densifying Li₆PS₅Cl, with modelling showing how specific microstructural changes increase the critical current density.

The authors design a MnN₃–Fe₁@FeN₄ catalyst for bidirectional electron transport to enhance the O₃ catalytic activity and stability, achieving higher reactivity compared to metal oxides and treating 3125 times the bed volume of actual wastewater.

Mothers can fiercely defend their young, but how the brain triggers this response remains to a large extent a mystery. Here, authors show that a dormant, hormone-sensitive brain circuit switches on to spark maternal aggression during the lactation period.

Quantum sensors based on NV centers in diamond can reach sub-nanometer spatial resolution, but high temporal resolution remains a challenge. Here the authors report an ultrafast electro-optical sensor using NV centers, demonstrating surface electric field sensing with nanometer–femtosecond resolution.

Pl@ntBERT is a language-based AI model that learned the ‘syntax’ of plant assemblages, predicting likely species and inferring habitats by modelling biotic relationships.

CELLFIE, a CRISPR platform for optimizing cell-based immunotherapies, identifies gene knockouts that enhance CAR T cell efficacy using in vitro and in vivo screens.

Mixed-cation perovskites promise improved solar cell stability. Here, the authors reveal a morphotropic phase boundary in MA_1−xFA_xPbI₃ that links structural dynamics to electronic behavior, offering new design routes for high-performance devices.

Above-bandgap femtosecond laser pulses generate a coherent phonon flatband in a GaAs/AlAs superlattice captured using ultrafast X-ray diffraction, providing a way to control atomic vibrations for future electronic and quantum technologies.

The quark structure of the f₀(980) hadron is still unknown after 50 years of its discovery. Here, the CMS Collaboration reports a measurement of the elliptic flow of the f₀(980) state in proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 8.16 TeV, providing strong evidence that the state is an ordinary meson.

Tau aggregation, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, disrupts neuron structure. Aging weakens chaperone defenses like Hsp90. This study designs β-Hsp90, a small peptide mimicking Hsp90, to prevent Tau aggregation, offering promise for new amyloid disease drugs.

CORAL can infer the occurrence of rare species based on common species, using DNA metabarcoding data or other high-dimensional biodiversity data. The approach is illustrated on a large-scale biodiversity survey from Madagascar.