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Embryonic cell lines were established from sea urchins which recapitulated aspects of the developmental program in vitro and were amenable to lentiviral transduction, providing a scalable platform for mechanistic studies in this classic model animal.

The mechanisms that allow cancer cells to survive with monosomies are poorly understood. Here the authors analyse p53-deficient monosomic cell lines using transcriptomics and proteomics, and find that impaired ribosome biogenesis and p53 downregulation are associated with sustained monosomies.

A large-scale meta-analysis across eight biobank datasets identifies common genetic variants associated with mosaic loss of the X chromosome in female participants.

GPR25 and its ligand define the core chemoaffinity axis GPR25–CXCL17 of the integrated extraintestinal mucosal immune system, regulating how immune responses disseminate to non-intestinal barrier tissues and with implications for understanding and manipulating immunity and inflammation.

Using exome sequencing data from 104,733 postmenopausal women in the UK Biobank, an analysis of 105 gene variants previously reported as associated with premature ovarian insufficiency reveals that most cases are not monogenic.

We find a diverse and active particle-associated non-cyanobacterial diazotroph community in the mesopelagic zone of the North Pacific Gyre, suggesting a significant contribution to pelagic nitrogen fixation and challenging the cyanobacteria-driven paradigm.

The Vertebrate Genome Project has used an optimized pipeline to generate high-quality genome assemblies for sixteen species (representing all major vertebrate classes), which have led to new biological insights.

Post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (PI-ME/CFS) is a disabling disorder, yet the clinical phenotype is poorly defined and the pathophysiology unknown. Here, the authors conduct deep phenotyping of a cohort of PI-ME/CFS patients.

The detection and modelling of nine X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions from a nearby tidal disruption event shows that these eruptions arise in accretion disks around massive black holes, left behind by tidally disrupted stars, and that an orbiting body colliding with this disk is a plausible explanation for the X-ray variability.

Renin cells have traditionally been associated with the kidney where they regulate blood pressure and fluid electrolyte homeostasis. In this study, Belyea et al.describe a renin progenitor in the bone marrow that gives rise to B-cell leukaemia when RBP-J, the final effector of the Notch pathway, is deleted.

B lymphocytes respond to stimulation by proliferating and differentiating. Here the authors quantify and model the responses of B lymphocytes to TLR and CD40-dependent stimulation, and find that the latter induces a more complex response to signals of varying strength.

Developmental disorders (DDs) are more prevalent in males, thought to be due to X-linked genetic variation. Here, the authors investigate the burden of X-linked coding variants in 11,044 DD patients, showing that this contributes to ~6% of both male and female cases and therefore does not solely explain male bias in DDs.

The ATLAS Collaboration reports the observation of the electroweak production of two jets and a Z-boson pair. This process is related to vector-boson scattering and allows the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking to be probed.

Cognitive function is associated with health and important life outcomes. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide association study for general cognitive function in 300,486 individuals and identify genetic loci that implicate neural and cell developmental pathways in this trait.

The ATLAS Collaboration reports a measurement of the ratio of the decay rates of W bosons to τ leptons and muons, in agreement with universal lepton couplings as postulated in the standard model of particle physics.

The genome of the biofuel crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) reveals climate–gene–biomass associations that underlie adaptation in nature and will facilitate improvements of the yield of this crop for bioenergy production.

By integrating healthcare and exome-sequencing data from parent–offspring trios of patients with developmental disorders, 28 genes that had not previously been associated with developmental disorders were identified.

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider reports a search for charged-lepton-flavour violation in decays of Z bosons into a τ lepton and an electron or muon of opposite charge.

A high temporal resolution, 100-year data set from the Mississippi River is coupled with sub-watershed and precipitation data to reveal that a ∼40 percent increase in flux of bicarbonate that has occurred over the last 50 years is clearly anthropogenically driven. This is caused by an increase in discharge from agricultural watersheds not balanced by a rise in precipitation. It is suggested that land use change and management are arguably more important than changes in climate and carbon dioxide fertilization.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

Genome sequencing and phylogenomic analysis show that the lungfish, not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods, that coelacanth protein-coding genes are more slowly evolving than those of tetrapods and lungfish, and that the genes and regulatory elements that underwent changes during the vertebrate transition to land reflect adaptation to a new environment.

Many X-ray imaging techniques require transmission geometries, which place severe restrictions on the samples being imaged. Here, a reflection geometry lensless X-ray imaging method is demonstrated. This technique may allow single-shot imaging of surfaces and films such as organic photovoltaic materials and field-effect transistor devices, or Bragg planes in a single crystal.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

Ingo Braasch, John Postlethwait and colleagues report the genome of the spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), whose lineage diverged from teleosts before genome duplication. Their data provide insights into the evolution of genes involved in immunity, mineralization and development and facilitate the comparison of cis-regulatory elements between teleosts and humans.

The Impact of Genomic Variation on Function Consortium is combining single-cell mapping, genomic perturbations and predictive modelling to investigate relationships between human genomic variation, genome function and phenotypes and will provide an open resource to the community.