Search

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Semiconductor quantum dots embedded in nanowires are good candidates for the realization of a nearly ideal entangled photons source. Here, Versteegh et al.demonstrate emission of single-photon pairs from a position-controlled nanowire quantum dot without the need for temporal post-selection.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

The root microbiota is critical for promoting crop yield. Here, the authors create a synthetic pathway for the production of the rhizopine scyllo-inosamine in Medicago truncatula and barley, and show its perception by rhizosphere bacteria for targeted regulation of bacterial gene expression.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Mutations in the GABA A receptor have been implicated in alcohol dependence in humans. In this study, the authors show that mice with mutations in the beta 1 subunit of the GABA A receptor exhibit spontaneous GABA A channel opening and preferentially consume alcohol, working harder to access it.

Phylogenetic analysis, functional expression and computer-based simulations have highlighted how ligand-gated ion channels can evolve unusual pharmacological properties in a species-specific manner.

Recalled memories enter a labile state and are thought to be restabilized through reconsolidation. Here, the authors challenge the long-held notion that reconsolidation is a distinct memory process and demonstrate that the molecular events initiated at recall act instead to constrain premature extinction.

Whole-genome sequencing and phenotype data sharing are introduced in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover coding and non-coding variants that cause rare diseases.

Toxicities limit combination of PARP inhibitors (PARPi) and chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variant (gBRCAm) breast cancer. Here, the authors report a preclinical study followed by a randomised phase II/III clinical trial investigating the addition of a gap between chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) and PARPi (olaparib), in patients with early gBRCAm breast cancer.

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.

A study details the results of the PARTNER trial, a prospective, randomized controlled trial of the use of neoadjuvant olaparib with carboplatin–paclitaxel chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer who were germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 wild type.

The comparison of the ability of native and engineered gene clusters transferred into bacteria that live on or inside cereal roots to regulate nitrogenase activity reveals different strategies to control nitrogen fixation in rhizobia and paves the way to engineer a bacterium able to deliver high nitrogen fluxes to crops.

Analysis of population decline shows that frequent disturbances enhance a population’s capacity to resist and recover from downturns and that trade-offs exist when adopting new or alternative land-use strategies.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is an autoimmune liver disease with poor therapeutic options. Here Cordell et al. a perform meta-analysis of European genome-wide association studies identifying six novel risk loci and a number of potential therapeutic pathways.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Combining different integration platforms on the same chip is currently one of the main challenges for quantum technologies. Here, Elshaari et al. show III-V Quantum Dots embedded in nanowires operating in a CMOS compatible circuit, with controlled on-chip filtering and tunable routing.

Multipartite photon states are desirable in quantum information technology but their generation in optical systems is less efficient with poor scaling. Here the authors demonstrate time-ordered photon triplets from a quantum dot molecule in a direct generation process with increased efficiency.

The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium reports the discovery of 48 new susceptibility variants for multiple sclerosis through targeted follow-up of immune-related loci. They also report fine mapping of association signals at established susceptibility loci and provide insights into the immune system processes underlying this disease.

Rhizobia can exist as both free-living soil microbiota and plant-associated endosymbionts, which form N₂-fixing root nodules. In this Review, Poole, Ramachandran and Terpolilli explore the drastic lifestyle shift that underlies this transition and the associated plant–bacteria interactions.

Bock et al. characterise the adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the antiseptic octenidine, using whole genome sequencing, gene expression studies and metabolomics. They attribute this increased tolerance to synergistic changes in efflux and plasma membrane composition via mutations in SmvR, the regulator of MFS efflux pump SmvA, and in phospholipid pathway proteins PssA and PgsA.

Peptidoglycan (PG) is an essential component of the bacterial cell envelope, however, the structural characterization of PG via mass spectrometry remains challenging. Here, the authors develop PGFinder, an open-source web application for the LC-MS/MS analysis of peptidoglycan, and describe a step-by-step analysis strategy using Rhizobium leguminosarum as a model.