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Transmission spectroscopy observations from the James Webb Space Telescope show the detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-39b.

JWST observations of CH₃⁺ in a protoplanetary disk in the Orion star-forming region are reported showing that gas-phase organic chemistry in the interstellar medium is activated by ultraviolet irradiation and the methyl cation.

This study examines the tempo and drivers of penguin diversification by combining genomes from all extant and recently extinct penguin lineages, stratigraphic data from fossil penguins and morphological and biogeographic data from all extant and extinct species. Together, these datasets provide new insights into the genetic basis and evolution of adaptations in penguins.

In a GWAS study of 32,438 adults, the authors discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function and to Parkinson's disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways, including PI3K-AKT signaling.

Deep space exploration missions will require new technologies that can support astronaut health systems, as well as biological monitoring and research systems that can function independently from Earth-based mission control centres. A NASA workshop explored how artificial intelligence advances could help address these challenges and, in this second of two Review articles based on the findings from the workshop, the intersection between artificial intelligence and space biology is discussed.

The stoichiometry of Hrd1, an integral membrane E3 ubiquitin ligase is critical to maintaining proteostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum. Here, the authors establish a single-molecule counting approach coupled with a single-molecule in vitro ubiquitination system to determine the functional stoichiometry of Hrd1.

This study describes the integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes, profiled for histone modification patterns, DNA accessibility, DNA methylation and RNA expression; the results annotate candidate regulatory elements in diverse tissues and cell types, their candidate regulators, and the set of human traits for which they show genetic variant enrichment, providing a resource for interpreting the molecular basis of human disease.

The warm Earth-sized planet LHS 475 b is validated and characterized with two transits observed by the JWST. The absence of evident spectroscopic features excludes a substantial hydrogen envelope and indicates that LHS 475 b has either little or no atmosphere or an optically thick cloud deck at high altitudes.

Coherent twin boundaries, which usually form during the growth, deformation or annealing of crystalline solids, are widely described as perfect interfaces. Experiments and simulations now show that as-grown coherent twin boundaries in nanotwinned copper consist of incoherent segments and partial dislocations, and significantly affect the material’s mechanical behaviour and deformation mechanisms.

Harrington et al report their discovery of Nemacol, which is a small molecule inhibitor of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). VAChT loads synaptic vesicles with acetylcholine and is a key point of vulnerability in animals. Harrington et al show that Nemacol has nematode selectivity and potential utility against nematode parasites.

Quantum supremacy is demonstrated using a programmable superconducting processor known as Sycamore, taking approximately 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times, which would take a state-of-the-art supercomputer around ten thousand years to compute.

Sequencing and genomic diversification of five allopolyploid cotton species provide insights into polyploid genome evolution and epigenetic landscapes for cotton improvement.

Longitudinal multi-omics reveals shifts to the human microbiome across multiple body sites and the associated immune responses during short-term spaceflight.

This study uses high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) to identify phage–host relationships in soil. By coupling Hi-C with DNA and RNA sequencing, the authors demonstrate the impact of soil drying on phage–host interactions and the downstream effects on abundances and interspecies interactions within bacterial communities.

Bennu’s surface presents evidence of a variety of particle sizes, from fine regolith to metre-sized boulders. Its moderate thermal inertia suggests that the boulders are very porous or blanketed by thin dust. Bennu’s boulders exhibit high albedo variations, indicating different origins and/or ages.

Near-Earth rubble-pile asteroid Bennu has an unexpectedly old surface, with numerous candidate impact craters and morphologically diverse boulders, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

The pilot phase of PigGTEx, re-analyzing 5,457 published RNA-seq samples, presents a pan-tissue catalog of molecular quantitative trait loci. Cross-species comparisons identify traits with shared genetic regulation in humans.

Influenza A viruses pose a continuing pandemic threat to humans. Le Sage, et al. describe a pandemic triage pipeline to evaluate the pandemic risk of emerging viruses and utilize it to characterize two widespread swine influenza A viruses.

The approximately 5-Gb tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) genome assembly provides a resource for analysing amniote evolution, and highlights the imperative for meaningful cultural engagement with Indigenous communities in genome-sequencing endeavours.

Biomphalaria glabrata is a fresh water snail that acts as a host for trematode Schistosoma mansoni that causes intestinal infection in human. This work describes the genome and transcriptome analyses from 12 different tissues of B glabrata, and identify genes for snail behavior and evolution.

This study presents the assembly and analysis of the genome sequence of a female domestic Duroc pig and a comparison with the genomes of wild and domestic pigs from Europe and Asia; the results shed light on the evolutionary relationship between European and Asian wild boars.

Observations from the JWST show the presence of a spectral absorption feature at 4.05 μm arising from SO₂ in the atmosphere of the gas giant exoplanet WASP-39b, which is produced by photochemical processes and verified by numerical models.

A few bacterial Cas9 nucleases have been repurposed as genome editing tools. Here, the authors use bioinformatic and biochemical analyses to characterize 79 Cas9 proteins, revealing substantial functional diversity and thus expanding the available toolbox of RNA-programmable CRISPR-associated nucleases.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

The Weyl semimetal Co\(_{3}\)Sn\(_{2}\)S\(_{2}\) exhibits a combination of magnetic ordering with a large anomalous Hall effect. Lachman et al. find an intrinsic exchange bias of this anomalous Hall effect and attribute it to the coexistence of ferromagnetism and spin glass behaviour.

A method for measuring oxygen abundances using optical and far-infrared emission lines provides absolute metallicities of the interstellar gas in Markarian 71 and could be applied across cosmic history.

As a benchmark for the development of a future quantum computer, sampling from random quantum circuits is suggested as a task that will lead to quantum supremacy—a calculation that cannot be carried out classically.

3D-printed steels with hierarchically heterogeneous microstructures demonstrate high strength and ductility.

Bennu’s surface has experienced continuous changes, mostly induced by its accelerating spin rate, which could have resulted in a collapse of its interior in the past. This scenario is also supported by the heterogeneity of Bennu’s internal mass distribution.

Ticks transmit a large number of pathogens that cause human diseases. Here, the authors sequence the genome of the tick Ixodes scapularisand uncover expansion of genes associated with parasitic processes unique to ticks and tick-host interactions.

Cortical thickness is asymmetric, and cortical thinning occurs with age and in disease. Here the authors investigate if both cortices thin at the same rate or if the thicker hemisphere declines faster in aging and in Alzheimer’s disease.

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.

Vicinity of small bodies might be dangerous to the spacecrafts and to their instrumentation. Here the authors show the operational environment of asteroid Bennu, validate its photometric phase function and demonstrate the accelerating rotational rate due to YORP effect using the data acquired during the approach phase of OSIRIS-REx mission.

Despite the identification of genetic risk loci for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), the genetic architecture and prediction remains unclear. Here, the authors use genetic risk scores for prediction of LOAD across three datasets and show evidence suggesting oligogenic variant architecture for this disease.

A study demonstrating increasing error suppression with larger surface code logical qubits, implemented on a superconducting quantum processor.

The current ‘second space age’ has enabled multiple studies on the effects of spaceflight on human physiology and health, which are contributing to the development of measures that will be needed to maintain astronaut health in future space missions.

It is hoped that quantum computers may be faster than classical ones at solving optimization problems. Here the authors implement a quantum optimization algorithm over 23 qubits but find more limited performance when an optimization problem structure does not match the underlying hardware.

Characterization of five enzymes involved in gibberellin production in rhizobia completes the elucidation of its biosynthetic pathway and indicates that bacteria have independently evolved this pathway separate from the ones found in plants and fungi.

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu has a top-like shape with longitudinal ridges, macroporosity, prominent boulders and surface mass wasting, suggesting that it is a stiff rubble pile, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Signatures of phyllosilicate-like hydrated minerals are widespread on Bennu’s surface, indicating significant aqueous alteration. The lack of spatial variations in the spectra down to the scale of ~100 m indicates both a relatively uniform particle size distribution and a lack of compositional segregation, possibly due to surficial redistribution processes.

A circulating miRNA signature linked to birth defect risk, (i.e. as small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses), was identified for females exposed to the space environment. AI/ML tools were used to predict potential countermeasures to mitigate this risk. @AfshinBeheshti @PittTweet

The diffusion limited stereospecific enzyme chalcone isomerase represents the adaptive evolution of a catalytically perfected enzyme from non-catalytic, fatty-acid-binding proteins (FAPs) with contemporary roles in plant fatty-acid metabolism as evidenced by altered fatty acid content and marked reproductive defects in Arabidopsis thaliana plants bearing FAP knockouts.