Search

Multi-template PCR enables parallel DNA amplification but suffers from sequence-specific biases. Here, the authors develop a 1D-CNN model predicting amplification efficiency directly from the DNA sequence and discover adapter-mediated self-priming as a key cause of uneven amplification during PCR.

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.

The authors develop a computational method to design small DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) that target specific sequences. Designed DBPs show structural accuracy and function in both bacterial and mammalian cells for transcriptional regulation.

Here the authors show thatMETTL9 enzyme sustains neural development in vertebrates by maintaining the secretory pathway, mainly independently of METTL9 catalytic activity. METTL9 loss in cells leads to Golgi fragmentation.

Whole-genome sequencing data for 2,778 cancer samples from 2,658 unique donors across 38 cancer types is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cancer, revealing that driver mutations can precede diagnosis by several years to decades.

DNA replication generates torsional stress. Here, the authors found the T7 replisome to be a powerful rotary motor. Helicase-DNA polymerase interactions stabilize stalled forks, enabling restart after gyrase torsional relaxation, highlighting torsion as a key regulator of replication.

Trees live centuries by slowing growth to protect their DNA. This study shows that faster growth increases the epimutation rate in European beech trees, supporting the idea that slow growth helps maintain genome stability.

Wireless communication, non-destructive testing and material identification propel the development of the Terahertz frequency region. Here the authors present a fast tunable measurement system with a frequency coverage of 6.5 THz suitable for metrological applications.

Barnett et al. disentangle the differential contribution of mitochondrial complex I- and complex III-derived ROS to astrocytic function, with CIII-derived ROS being a major driver of neuroinflammatory responses.

PU.1^low CD28-expressing microglia may act as suppressive cells in Alzheimer’s disease, mitigating its progression by reducing neuroinflammation and amyloid plaque load, indicating potential immunotherapeutic approaches for treatment.

An ecosystem energetics approach, quantifying trophic energy flows across species, offers a unified framework for linking animal biodiversity loss to changes in ecosystem function and Earth system processes.

Early Holocene retreat of an ice shelf in East Antarctica was linked to ocean-driven forcing enhanced by ice-sheet meltwater from adjoining regions, as unveiled through the integration of proxy records with ocean and climate modelling.

In this work, the authors probe the efficacy of BWC0977, a bacterial topoisomerase inhibitor, in pre-clinical animal models, also demonstrating that BWC0977 is safe and well tolerated in healthy human volunteers, in a phase 1 trial.

Parallel operation of two exchange-only qubits consisting of six quantum dots arranged linearly is shown to be achievable and maintains qubit control quality compared with sequential operation, with potential for use in scaled quantum computing.

Large-scale genome-wide analyses identify hundreds of genetic loci associated with hypothyroidism and thyroid hormone levels, demonstrating the potential of using polygenic risk scores to predict disease onset and progression.

In this study, Jirsaraie et al. analyze data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Developmental study and use machine learning to predict both current and future psychological symptoms and to determine rates of change in symptom severity over time.

Vertebra lengths differ from the neck to the tail tip and differ between species, evidenced by extreme differences in mouse and jerboa tails. Here, Weber and colleagues identify cellular mechanisms and candidate genes that shape vertebral proportion.

Li et al. propose a conceptual framework to study the phenomenon of falling asleep based on electroencephalogram data. They show that a tipping point marks the brain’s nonlinear wake-to-sleep transition and that the unfolding process can be tracked in real time.

In vivo loss-of-function CRISPR screens were performed to identify genes influencing CAR T cell persistence and function in human multiple myeloma, highlighting CDKN1B as a promising target.

In this cross-sectional study, the authors used structural MRI to compare subcortical volumes, cortical thickness and surface area between early-onset anorexia nervosa, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and typically developing young individuals.

This study establishes how aperiodic activity, a ubiquitous signal linked to neural noise, develops in localized brain regions and illuminates the development of prefrontal control during adolescence in the development of attention and memory.

Upfront and lifetime costs often prevent EV adoption. Vaishnav and colleagues find that using EV batteries to shift the time of electricity purchases for other household uses can cut both owners’ electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

To turn on and obtain emission from lanthanide-doped insulating nanoparticles, an electrical excitation pathway coupling them to organic optical molecules to form nanohybrids is described, enabling tunable electroluminescence properties of LEDs fabricated from such materials.

Mars’ bow shock, where the solar wind meets the planet’s plasma environment, responds dynamically to solar wind conditions. Here, the authors show that even under relatively calm solar wind, it globally oscillates within minutes and shifts by hundreds of kilometers.

Fluidic force microscopy combines atomic force microscopy with microfluidic probes to enable measurement and manipulation of materials at sub-micrometre resolution. In this Primer, Zambelli et al. discuss the principles of fluidic force microscopy and applications in biological research and nanotechnology.

Interim trial results of MYR-101, a novel recombinant vector with selective tropism for oligodendrocytes, support its tolerability and indicate improved myelination and reduced cerebrospinal fluid N-acetyl-aspartic acid concentrations in children with Canavan disease.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

Proteases degrade extracellular matrix during inflammation, releasing peptides that can recruit neutrophils. Here the authors show that degradation of such bioactive peptide by the enzyme leukotriene A4 hydrolase is critical to limit pulmonary inflammation during bacterial infection in mice.

As presented at the American Heart Association Conference 2025, patients with chest pain and without obstructive coronary artery disease benefit from treatment informed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

This study reveals that the protein AKAP11 plays a crucial role in regulating neuronal signaling and synaptic function by linking PKA activity to autophagy. Loss of AKAP11 distorts compartment-specific PKA and GSK3α/β activities and impairs neurotransmission, highlighting a shared molecular pathway between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Debio 1453, a FabI inhibitor, shows potent activity against antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, rapidly killing bacteria in vitro and clearing infection in mice, supporting its potential for treating drug-resistant gonorrhoea.

Here, the authors examine the mechanisms behind cheatgrass’s successful invasion of North American ecosystems. Their genetic analyses and common garden experiments demonstrate that multiple introductions and migrations facilitated cheatgrass local adaptation.

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.

A comprehensive genomic analysis of glioblastoma tumors reveals matrisome enrichment associated with mesenchymal phenotypes and pro-tumor immune signatures, a matrisome-based classification of GBM patients, and a prognostic 17-gene matrisome signature.

The response to immune checkpoint blockade in head and neck cancer has been heterogenous. Here, the authors utilise longitudinal sampling of a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma model to identify biomarkers of response.

In somatic cells the mechanisms maintaining the chromosome ends are normally inactivated; however, cancer cells can re-activate these pathways to support continuous growth. Here, the authors characterize the telomeric landscapes across tumour types and identify genomic alterations associated with different telomere maintenance mechanisms.

Viral pathogen load in cancer genomes is estimated through analysis of sequencing data from 2,656 tumors across 35 cancer types using multiple pathogen-detection pipelines, identifying viruses in 382 genomic and 68 transcriptome datasets.

Combining two global datasets, the authors show that peak vegetation growth has been increasing linearly for the past 30 years, with similar proportions of NDVI variation attributable to expanding croplands, rising CO₂ and intensifying nitrogen deposition.

The characterization of 4,645 whole-genome and 19,184 exome sequences, covering most types of cancer, identifies 81 single-base substitution, doublet-base substitution and small-insertion-and-deletion mutational signatures, providing a systematic overview of the mutational processes that contribute to cancer development.

Cellular state cooccurrence signatures, such as carcinoma ecotypes may serve as potential biomarkers of response to cancer immunotherapy, however, their clinical utility remains unexplored. Here, the authors analyse large real world immunotherapy cohorts and gene expression data and develop a predictive model for response.

The transcriptional regulation of oligodendrocytes has an essential role in myelin formation and maintenance. Here, the authors identify the transcription factor Tfii-i as a regulator of myelin genes expression in the nervous system and show that its loss enhances myelin thickness and nerve conduction.

Machine-learned force fields are becoming increasingly popular but suffer from their “black-box” nature. Here the authors adapt explainable AI techniques to coarse-grained graph neural network potentials and show that they capture physically consistent interactions.

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.

How the environment regulates neuronal maturation during brain development is poorly understood. Here, Kreysing et al. identify brain stiffness as a key factor and determine a mechanotransduction pathway linking tissue mechanics to neuronal maturation.

There’s an emerging body of evidence to show how biological sex impacts cancer incidence, treatment and underlying biology. Here, using a large pan-cancer dataset, the authors further highlight how sex differences shape the cancer genome.

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.

A pan-cancer genomic analysis reports the effects of structural variations on chromatin domains (TADs). Most TAD disruptions do not result in appreciable changes in expression of nearby genes.

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.