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On the 500th anniversary of the Renaissance icon’s death, Martin Kemp looks anew at his innovative experimental models for the motion of water and blood.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study identifies 13 new loci associated with serum lipids.

Stephanie London, Martin Tobin and colleagues report meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for forced vital capacity (FVC), a spirometric measure of pulmonary function that reflects lung volume. They identify six regions newly associated with FVC and demonstrate that candidate genes at these loci are expressed in lung tissue and primary lung cells.

Lower respiratory tract disease is a common complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT), but underlying reasons remain unclear. Here the authors show that HHV-6B detection in the lungs of allogeneic HCT recipients is associated with increased risk for death and distinct host gene expression profiles, implicating HHV-6B as a pulmonary pathogen in these patients.

Pulmonary function is influenced by environmental factors, lifestyle, and genetics. Here, in a multiethnic GWAS meta-analysis for pulmonary function traits, the authors identify over 50 additional genetic loci, a subset of which are specific for European, African, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino ancestry.

Abnormal PR interval duration is associated with risk for atrial fibrillation and heart block. Here, van Setten et al. identify 44 PR interval loci in a genome-wide association study of over 92,000 individuals and find genetic overlap with QRS duration, heart rate and atrial fibrillation.

A multi-ancestry transcriptome-wide association study using an optimal linear combination of association statistics provides insights into tobacco use biology and suggests opportunities for drug repurposing.

Methane emission from a very cool brown dwarf, perhaps arising from an aurora, has been detected in James Webb Space Telescope observations.

Genome-wide analysis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease identifies 82 loci, 35 of which are new. Integration of gene expression and genomic annotation data shows enrichment of signals in lung tissue, smooth muscle and several lung cell types.

A multi-ancestry meta-regression study analyses diverse genome-wide association studies and genome loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use.

Sleep duration is associated with an adverse lipid profile. Here, the authors perform genome-wide gene-by-sleep interaction analysis and find 49 previously unreported lipid loci when considering short or long total sleep time.

The team of authors led by Seon-Kyeong Jang use whole-genome sequencing data and show that rare genetic variants explain much of the ‘missing heritability’ in smoking behaviours. These results help address a long-standing mystery in behavioural genetics.

The QT interval is a heritable electrocardiographic measure associated with arrhythmia risk when prolonged. Here, the authors used a series of genetic analyses to identify genetic loci, pathways, therapeutic targets, and relationships with cardiovascular disease.

The biomimicry of animals’ appendage repurposing can be applied to robot designs, resulting in unparalleled capabilities. Sihite et al. report a Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot (M4) that negotiate unstructured, multi-substrate environments, including land and air, by employing its components in different ways as wheels, thrusters, and legs.

Analyses of expression profiles from whole blood of 31,684 individuals identify cis-expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) effects for 88% of genes and trans-eQTL effects for 37% of trait-associated variants.

While coffee and tea consumption has been associated with risk of diseases, their mechanisms of action remain elusive. Here the authors present a large EWAS on coffee and tea consumption in cohorts of European and African-American ancestries, finding that coffee consumption is associated with differential DNA methylation levels at multiple CpGs.

Martin Tobin and colleagues report a meta-analysis of 23 genome-wide association studies for pulmonary function. They identify 16 loci newly associated with variation in two cross-sectional measures of lung function, used to define airway obstruction and to grade the severity of obstruction.

Stephanie London and colleagues from the CHARGE Consortium report genome-wide association studies for pulmonary function.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses and systematic variant-to-gene mapping strategies implicate new genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk.

The authors perform meta-analysis of GWAS studies for asthma from multiancestral cohorts. They identify five new loci and find that the asthma-associated loci are enriched near enhancer marks in immune cells.

Ageing increases the risk of many diseases. Here the authors compare blood cell transcriptomes of over 14,000 individuals and identify a set of about 1,500 genes that are differently expressed with age, shedding light on transcriptional programs linked to the ageing process and age-associated diseases.

Miyazaki, Gharib, Hsu et al. use a combined cell-specific luciferase reporter system and chemo-selective substrate to identify mouse tissues at risk of renal injury. The platform can be used to identify cell-specific pathophysiological events and transcriptional changes, finding potential therapeutic targets.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Here, the authors analyse whole genome sequence data and find new loci associated with lung function and COPD.

A genetic study identifies hundreds of loci associated with risk tolerance and risky behaviors, finds evidence of substantial shared genetic influences across these phenotypes, and implicates genes involved in neurotransmission.

Here, the authors present a TWAS framework OTTERS that adapts multiple polygenic risk score methods to estimate eQTL weights from summary-level eQTL data. Both simulation and real studies show OTTERS is powerful across a wide range of genetic architectures.

Nona Sotoodehnia and colleagues report a meta-analysis of 14 genome-wide association studies for QRS interval, an electrocardiogram measurement of cardiac ventricular conduction. They identify 22 loci associated with QRS duration.

Shapiro, Chang, et al. identify a conserved role for the iron-binding histone demethylase KDM3B in sensing iron levels and regulating mTORC1 through transcriptional repression of key mTORC1 pathway components.

This genome-wide study of age at first sexual intercourse and first birth identifies 371 signals driven by reproductive biology, externalising behaviour and environmental effects, with later onset associated with lower incidence of some diseases.

The Sun’s light stable isotopes compositions can help us understand how our solar system formed. Here, the authors find that solar C is depleted relative to bulk Earth indicating that the ¹³C enrichment of the terrestrial planets is from CO self-shielding or inheritance from the parent cloud.

Many genetic variants identified in genome-wide association studies are associated with gene expression. Here, Porcu et al. propose a transcriptome-wide summary statistics-based Mendelian randomization approach (TWMR) that, applied to 43 human traits, uncovers hundreds of previously unreported gene–trait associations.

In the past decade, several society-sponsored guidelines on thyroid nodules have been published. This Review highlights essential recommendations from these guidelines. Furthermore, the article outlines the few areas of disagreement between the guidelines and discusses areas in which future research is needed.

Michael Cho and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a large, multi-ancestry cohort. They identify 22 genome-wide significant loci, including 13 not previously associated with COPD and 4 not previously associated with any lung function trait.