Search

Megaraptoran theropod dinosaur anatomy and evolution is unclear due to the fragmentary nature of most available fossils. Here the authors report a well-preserved, late surviving megaraptoran from Argentina that clarifies our understanding of the morphology of this group and potentially provides insights into its diet and feeding strategies.

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).

Toledo et al. show that metabolic hormones acting in the hypothalamus, along with direct manipulation of hypothalamic neurons, can drive remodelling of microbial communities in the gut within short periods of time.

This study analysed genetic data of soil-transmitted helminths from 27 countries, revealing diversity impacting molecular test accuracy and highlighting the need to adapt diagnostics for effective STH surveillance.

Genotype and exome sequencing of 150,000 participants and whole-genome sequencing of 9,950 selected individuals recruited into the Mexico City Prospective Study constitute a valuable, publicly available resource of non-European sequencing data.

A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of regional-scale anthropogenic activity on plant diversity.

Drug induced liver injury (DILI) is an important cause acute liver failure. Here the authors report that serum Mg2+ serum levels decrease in patients with DILI as well as in preclinical animal models treated with acetaminophen overdose, and that early intervention targeting the Mg2+ transporter Cyclin M4 may be beneficial for acetaminophen overdose in preclinical models.

Genetic and Structural analysis of COVID patients cohort reveals a correlation between mitochondrial haplogroup and SARS-CoV-2 severity.

Milbank et al. show that specific targeting of AMPKα1 in SF1 neurons of the VMH through systemic injection of small extracellular vesicles causes weight loss via increased brown adipose tissue thermogenesis.

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.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are involved in vascular remodeling associated with plaque progression. Little is known about their immune regulatory role in vascular disorders. Here, the authors report that MT4-MMP-deficiency increases the recruitment of patrolling monocytes to early atherosclerotic lesions, which accelerates atherosclerosis.

Complement activation on foreign cell surfaces leads to the generation of complement opsonins, which activate complement receptor type 3 (CR3) and pathogen clearance by macrophages. Here, the authors reveal structural basis of the interaction between human opsonin iC3b and the von Willebrand A inserted domain of the α chain of CR3.

The molecular architecture of α-Synuclein (α-Syn) inclusions, pathognomonic of various neurodegenerative disorders, remains unclear. Here, authors use cryo-electron tomography to image neuronal α-Syn inclusions in situ and find that inclusions consist of α-Syn fibrils intermixed with cellular organelles without interacting directly.

In this study, Gómez-Fernández and colleagues show that crops were selected from wild progenitors with productive ecophysiological traits, conflicting with the hypothesis that these resource-acquisitive traits are a result of human domestication.

Nicotine reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure in brown adipose tissue. Here the authors show that nicotine also induces white adipose tissue browning via central kappa opioid receptor action.

There is currently no disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a common neurodegenerative disorder. Here, the authors use genetic variation associated with gene and protein expression to find putative drug targets for Parkinson’s disease using Mendelian randomization of the druggable genome.

High methionine and S-adenosylmethionine serum levels are related with obesity. Here the authors show that knockdown of methionine adenosyltransferase by using antisense oligonucleotides provides beneficial effects in obesity and comorbidities.

Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality.

Thyroid hormones are well known to regulate whole-body energy metabolism, which was believed to occur as a direct effect on individual cells in the periphery. But Antonio Vidal-Puig and his colleagues now show that these thyroid hormone effects on energy regulation are actually indirect, as they regulate AMPK activity in the hypothalamus and thus central signaling to brown adipose tissue in the periphery.

The monkeypox outbreak in 2022 was of global concern. Here the authors present results from an observational study providing self-sampling testing to a high-risk population in a community center in Spain and diagnose monkeypox infection in asymptomatic individuals.

Tsuji–Trost allylation is a traditional method for selective C-C bond formation that involves the use of palladium-based catalysts. Here, the authors report a metal-free, photocatalytic allylation of several heterocycles, amines and alcohols, which can be easily tuned towards the Z- or E- allylated product.

Regulation of gene expression and splicing are thought to be tissue-specific. Here, the authors obtain genomic and transcriptomic data from putamen and substantia nigra of 117 neurologically healthy human brains and find that splicing eQTLs are enriched for neuron-specific regulatory information.

Knowledge of genomic features specific to humans may be important for understanding disease. Here the authors demonstrate a potential role for these human-lineage-specific sequences in brain development and neurological disease.

The role of guanylate-binding proteins (GBPs) in innate immunity is increasingly recognized. Here the authors show that GBP4 activates inflammasome in zebrafish neutrophils, and that this process is critical for the clearance of Salmonellainfection via prostaglandin D2.

This paper adopts a new approach to phylogenetic analysis that captures large-scale, biologically meaningful shape variation, treats the data using conventional statistical approaches and uses the output to inform a cladistic analysis. Their test case, applied to the human lineage, could provide a benchmark for future studies of the evolutionary relationships of groups in which there are many similar members.

SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infects human hepatocytes leading to metabolic reprogramming towards glycolysis and impaired mitochondrial activity, and metformin can reduce infection under steatotic conditions.