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Polar skyrmions are nanoscale topological structures of electric polarizations. Their collective modes, dubbed as “skyrons”, are discovered by the terahertz-field-excitation, femtosecond x-ray diffraction measurements and advanced modeling.

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

An analysis of 1,055 planets around main sequence stars identifies three subsamples of star–planet synchronization: subsynchronized, dominant for periods shorter than 6.2 days; supersynchronized, for periods longer than 13.5 days; and a transitional regime in between. Synchronized systems are a minority, contrary to eclipsing binaries.

The serial interval (time between symptom onset in an infector and infectee) is usually estimated from contact tracing data, but this is not always available. Here, the authors develop a method for estimation of serial intervals using whole genome sequencing data and apply it data from clusters of SARS-CoV-2 in Victoria, Australia.

The Perseverance rover has made the most definitive identification of Fe-phosphate minerals on Mars to date. High-resolution chemical and textural PIXL analyses suggest they originally formed after vivianite in a potentially habitable environment.

The co-occurrence of marine heatwaves with extremes of high acidity and low chlorophyll concentrations has increased dramatically over the past two decades in the equatorial and South Atlantic. El Niño events seem to be the common driver of the different local mechanisms leading to these compound extreme events.

Multi-omics integration is often limited by data sparsity and heterogeneity. Here, the authors develop MOSA, a method designed to augment DepMap cell line data to synthetically generate multiomics data, increase efficacy of cell clustering and biomarker identification.

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.

We introduce a method for the direct 1,3-difunctionalization of alkenes, based on a concept termed ‘charge relocation’, which enables stereodivergent access to 1,3-difunctionalized products of either syn- or anti-configuration from unactivated alkenes.

Analysis of HbA1c and FPG levels across 117 population-based studies demonstrates regional variation in prevalence of previously undiagnosed screen-detected diabetes using one or both measures and suggests that use of elevated FPG alone could underestimate diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.

Here, the authors describe the geographies, hosts, substrates, and phylogenetic relationships for 1,794 Saccharomyces strains. They provide insight into the genetic and phenotypic diversity in the genus, not seen through prior work focused on the model species Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The polar chiral texture of the vortex or skyrmion structure in ferroelectric oxide PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattice attracts attention. Here, the authors report a theoretical framework to probe emergent chirality of electrical polarization textures.

Confining plasma and managing disruptions in tokamak devices is a challenge. Here the authors demonstrate a method predicting and possibly preventing disruptions and macroscopic instabilities in tokamak plasma using data from JET.

Over half the world’s rivers dry periodically, yet little is known about the biological communities in dry riverbeds. This study examines biodiversity across 84 non-perennial rivers in 19 countries using DNA metabarcoding. It finds that nutrient availability, climate and biotic interactions influence the biodiversity of these dry environments.

Petrels are wide-ranging, highly threatened seabirds that often ingest plastic. This study used tracking data for 7,137 petrels of 77 species to map global exposure risk and compare regions, species, and populations. The results show higher exposure risk for threatened species and stress the need for international cooperation to tackle marine litter.

The authors identify a family of iron-binding proteins that is present in phytopathogenic bacteria, fungi and oomycetes. Some of these proteins are secreted, bind metals, protect the pathogen from H₂O₂-induced death, and are involved in plant infection.

Gene expression profiles can classify breast cancer into five clinically relevant subtypes. Here, the authors perform an in-depth quantitative profiling of the proteome of 45 breast tumors, and show they can recapitulate the transcriptome-based classifications and identify many potentially antigenic tumour-specific peptides.

Genetic and testing data from England show that the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7 has a transmission advantage over other lineages.

The authors seek to understand the precise roles of microglia in the early human brain by coculturing brain organoids with primitive-like macrophages generated from the same human induced pluripotent stem cells (iMac).

Adult neurogenesis is a unique form of neuronal plasticity, involving the genesis and integration of newborn neurons into the mouse dentate gyrus. Here the authors demonstrate that adult neurogenesis improves representations of space in the dentate gyrus by increasing the place-specific responses of mature neurons.

Large language models (LLMs) can synthesize vast amounts of information. Luo et al. show that LLMs—especially BrainGPT, an LLM the authors tuned on the neuroscience literature—outperform experts in predicting neuroscience results and could assist scientists in making future discoveries.

Monoclonal antibodies show great promise in treating Covid-19 patients. Here, Maisonnasse, Aldon and colleagues report pre-clinical results for COVA1-18 and demonstrate that it reduces viral infectivity in three animal models with over 95% efficacy in macaques upper respiratory tract.

Knowledge of the quantum response of materials is essential for designing light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Here, the authors report a theory for understanding the impact of metallic quantum response on acoustic graphene plasmons and how such response could be inferred from measurements.

The authors analyse tree responses to an extreme heat and drought event across South America to understand long-term climate resistance. While no more sensitive to this than previous lesser events, forests in drier climates showed the greatest impacts and thus vulnerability to climate extremes.

Magnetically confined neutral antihydrogen atoms released in a gravity field were found to fall towards Earth like ordinary matter, in accordance with Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

It is unclear whether stream detritivore diversity enhances decomposition across climates. Here the authors manipulate litter diversity and examine detritivore assemblages in a globally distributed stream litterbag experiment, finding a positive diversity-decomposition relationship stronger in tropical streams, where detritivore diversity is lower.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

JWST observations of the planetary nebula NGC 3132 reveal a rich molecular environment containing evidence of multiple stellar interactions on a variety of scales.

Authors perform an analysis of the patient data and risk factors to evaluate unfavorable outcomes and adverse events in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis treated with a 4-month rifapentine based regimen. Low rifapentine exposure was the most clinically significant risk factor for treatment failure and tuberculosis relapse.

The 24-hour circadian clocks in cartilage and intervertebral disc play key roles in regulating tissue physiology, yet how they are reset on a daily basis remains elusive. Here the authors show that daily patterns of mechanical loading and associated changes in osmolarity provide a tissue-type specific entrainment time cue for these skeletal clocks.

Experiments at the Joint European Torus tokamak show improved thermal ion confinement in the presence of highly energetic ions and Alfvénic instabilities in the plasma.

The Early Cretaceous Aptian stage represents an interval of major dramatic climate changes, but there is no consensus on its lower boundary age. Here, the authors present an astro-chronological framework that offers new age constraints on the onset and duration of Aptian ocean anoxic events and the ‘cold snap’, among other significant climatic events.

Genome sequencing can be used to infer pathogen transmission dynamics and inform public health responses. Here, the authors sequence >1,200 SARS-CoV-2 samples from Victoria, Australia and find genomic support for the effectiveness of social restrictions in reducing transmission.

Comprehensive integration of gene expression with epigenetic features is needed to understand the transition of kidney cells from health to injury. Here, the authors integrate dual single nucleus RNA expression and chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and histone modifications to decipher the chromatin landscape of the kidney in reference and adaptive injury cell states, identifying a transcription factor network of ELF3, KLF6, and KLF10 which regulates adaptive repair and maladaptive failed repair.

Genomic analysis uncovers global prevalence of three multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis lineages encoding rifampicin resistance and reduced susceptibility to glycopeptide antibiotics.

The GEMINI consortium sequenced 1,000 cases of idiopathic male infertility and identified a plausible Mendelian cause in 20% of cases. The infertility genes can be grouped by expression pattern, facilitating their interpretation and follow-up.

Integrating independent large-scale pharmacogenomic screens can enable unprecedented characterization of genetic vulnerabilities in cancers. Here, the authors show that the two largest independent CRISPR-Cas9 gene-dependency screens are concordant, paving the way for joint analysis of the data sets.

Polar skyrmions are topologically protected structures that can exist in (PbTiO₃)_n/(SrTiO₃)_n superlattices. Here, it is shown that they have negative permittivity at the surface, and that they can undergo a reversible phase transition with large dielectric tunability under an electric field.

MC3R deficiency is associated with a delay in the onset of puberty, and a reduction in growth and lean mass.

Triggering and sustaining fusion reactions — with the goal of overall energy production — in a tokamak plasma requires efficient heating. Radio-frequency heating of a three-ion plasma is now experimentally shown to be a potentially viable technique.

Evaluation of a nanopore-sequencing-based workflow for detection of antimalarial resistance in Ghana demonstrates feasibility where molecular surveillance is needed.