Search

Analysis of samples from the asteroid Ryugu provide evidence of late fluid flow in a carbonaceous asteroid, indicating that such bodies may have retained two to three times more water than previously thought.

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.

Catalytic metals dissolved in a liquid gallium solvent remain atomically dispersed. Alignments among the liquid atoms and reactants facilitate selective propylene synthesis from various hydrocarbon feedstocks.

An expert-elicitation process identifies current methodological barriers for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity, and how technological and procedural development of robotic and autonomous systems may contribute to overcoming these challenges.

The sexually transmitted human parasite Trichomonas vaginalis belongs to a clade of host-switching trichomonads that parasitize mammals, birds, livestock, and pets. Here the authors describe a chromosome-scale genome for T. vaginalis and assemblies of other bird and mammal-infecting species, identifying gene functions implicated in the spillover of trichomonads from birds to humans.

Sajti and colleagues identify TREM2 as a critical factor in myeloid cells in response to hyperoxia-induced lung injury in neonates, finding that TREM2 deficiency protects mice from bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Here, the authors perform large trans-ancestry fine-mapping analyses identifying large numbers of association signals and putative target genes for colorectal cancer risk, advancing our understanding of the genetic and biological basis of this cancer.

Correlating aromatic carbons attached to fluorine with meta-position hydrogens in fluorine-labelled phenylalanines can yield two-dimensional correlations with narrow linewidths in large proteins. Adapting phenylalanine-tRNA synthetase increases the incorporation rate, while expanding the genetic code enables site-specific incorporation of fluorinated phenylalanine. The resulting HC_F-transverse relaxation-optimized spectroscopy can illuminate protein dynamics and drive multiplexed drug discovery campaigns.

Using intracerebral recordings, the authors find abstract prosodic categories in continuous speech are encoded differently to segmental features by Heschl’s gyrus, suggesting specialized cortical processing early in the auditory processing hierarchy.

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.

Lei et al. show that cold preservation of heart transplants triggers mineralocorticoid receptor clustering in cardiomyocyte nuclei, and blocking this improves heart transplant function.

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.

Molten Sn as a metallic solvent presents economic feasibility and offers unique surface atomic structures, expanding the concept of liquid metal catalysis. As a demonstration, SnIn_0.1034Cu_0.0094 enables selective H₂ production from hydrocarbons.

Activity in the striatum is necessary for trial-to-trial improvements in learning sensory–motor tasks but not memory recall.

A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association study meta-analysis, combined with transcriptome- and methylome-wide association analyses, identifies risk loci associated with colorectal cancer. Credible effector genes and their target tissues are also highlighted, showing that over a third probably act outside the colonic mucosa.

Intracellular biothiols can degrade nanoparticle monolayers, compromising the function of these potentially promising tools. Here, we describe a label-free method for quantifying the intracellular stability of quantum dot monolayers, using laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Inventory data from more than 1 million trees across African, Amazonian and Southeast Asian tropical forests suggests that, despite their high diversity, just 1,053 species, representing a consistent ~2.2% of tropical tree species in each region, constitute half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees.

This report from the 1000 Genomes Project describes the genomes of 1,092 individuals from 14 human populations, providing a resource for common and low-frequency variant analysis in individuals from diverse populations; hundreds of rare non-coding variants at conserved sites, such as motif-disrupting changes in transcription-factor-binding sites, can be found in each individual.

MultiSTAAR provides a general and flexible statistical framework for functionally informed multi-trait rare variant analysis of biobank-scale sequencing studies by jointly analyzing multiple traits and incorporating annotation information.

A study in rats proposes a mechanism for how the brain maps the surrounding environment, including places it has never seen, by alternating left and right forward sweeps in successive theta cycles.

Large genome-wide meta-analysis of clinically diagnosed late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) from 94,437 individuals identifies new LOAD risk loci and implicates Aβ formation, tau protein binding, immune response and lipid metabolism.

Exome sequencing of 851 trios from more than 2,500 individuals finds 187 genes with de novo mutations that contribute to meningomyelocele (spina bifida) and highlights critical pathways required for neural tube closure.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Analyses of genome and exome sequencing data identify rare coding and structural variants associated with atrial fibrillation and highlight genetic links between atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathies.

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based protein sequencing usually relies on in-solution proteolytic digestion, which is time-consuming and inefficient for certain proteins. Here, the authors achieve full protein sequence coverage in less than 1 ms by subjecting protein-protease mixtures to electrosonic spray ionization-MS.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

Results for the final phase of the 1000 Genomes Project are presented including whole-genome sequencing, targeted exome sequencing, and genotyping on high-density SNP arrays for 2,504 individuals across 26 populations, providing a global reference data set to support biomedical genetics.

The combination of metallurgy concepts and nanotechnology with liquid metal processing has been largely unexplored. Here the authors use liquid-phase ultrasonication to produce a model system of catalytically active nano-alloys, demonstrating electrocatalysis and photocatalysis.

PTEN is a phosphatase that regulates the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase signalling pathway and is inactivated in many tumour types. Heet al.show that a mannosidase, α-mannosidase 2C1, can inactivate PTEN in prostate cancer cells, and that PTEN-positive human prostate tumours overexpress α-mannosidase 2C1.

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.