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Supersymmetric theories have partner bosonic and fermionic particles. Here, the authors use neutron spectroscopy on spin-ladder materials paired with matrix-product-states calculations to identify superpartner excitations.

The authors establish a connection between functional subtypes and genetic subtypes of dopamine neurons in mice and demonstrate that molecular expression patterns can serve as a common framework to dissect dopaminergic functions.

The authors record both local and long-range neural activity during human epileptic seizures to study the underlying multi-scale dynamics. They find that coupling of activity across spatial scales increases during seizures through propagating waves that are fit by a model that combines neural activity and potassium concentration dynamics.

The discovery and purification of a new neurotrophic factor, conserved dopamine neurotrophic Factor (CDNF), is reported. Like the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor GDNF, CDNF can prevent degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.

Synthetic mimics of glycoproteins and proteoglycans have wide applications in biomedicine, yet preparation has been challenged by their high grafting and glycosylation densities. Here the authors show one-pot dual-catalysis polymerization of glycan-bearing α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides to form glycopolypeptide brushes.

Here the authors present a deep learning framework for dementia diagnosis, which can identify persons with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia due to other etiologies.

A variant of coagulation factor Xa reverses the anticoagulant effects of clinically used inhibitors of factor Xa and thrombin in mice, pointing to the potential use of this agent as a general reversal agent for direct oral anticoagulants.

Simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and fiber-optic–based calcium recordings in rats allow investigation of the relationship between blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) fMRI signals and the underlying neural activity. The study uncovers prolonged BOLD signal components involving glial activation.

This work shows that ephrin-B2 from astrocytes provides a critical niche signal for cell fate determination in adult mouse hippocampus, in part by directing neuronal differentiation of adult neural stem cells through EphB4-dependent juxtacrine signaling.

Acute stress transiently disrupts reward-seeking behaviour and repeated stress exposure produces lasting anhedonia-like behaviour in rodents. Here, the authors show that stress triggers GABAergic activity in the ventral tegmental area which blunts reward-seeking behaviour in mice.

Complexin binds to synaptic vesicles and inhibits spontaneous exocytosis. Here Snead et al. show that the high curvature of the vesicle membrane is important for membrane binding, and induces a conformational change that is important for complexin’s inhibitory function.

Dietary fructose enhances tumour growth in animal models of melanoma, breast cancer and cervical cancer indirectly via metabolite transfer.

For homeostatic plasticity, neuronal circuits rely on poorly understood retrograde signals. Here, the authors identify a visual activity-dependent feedback loop mediated by the secreted Allnighter pseudokinase with effects on brain-wide proteostasis and sleep.

Intelligent behavior demands coordination among the multiple forms of spatial representation generated in distinct neural structures. Here, Alexander and Nitz show that retrosplenial cortex neuron ensembles conjunctively encode progression through routes, environmental position, and the actions of the animal. Thus, the region may serve as a critical interface between brain regions generating different forms of spatial mapping.

Circadian disruption can promote tumour formation. Now it is shown that the loss of circadian synchronization can drive this effect by disrupting the coupling between the circadian rhythm and the cell cycle within individual cells.

Inspired by many examples in nature where organisms change shape to concur environments, there is much interest in designing robots that are capable of shape change. Shah et al. demonstrate a method for automatically discovering shape and gait changes for soft robots that can adapt to different terrains.

Stress kinases are activated in peripheral ischemic tissues in the presence of vascular diseases. Here the authors show that inhibition of the neural JNK3 kinase improves recovery from hind limb ischemia in animals through activation of the transcription factors Egr1/Creb1 and upregulation of growth factors.

Human cerebral organoids exhibit compositional and transcriptomic alterations in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the absence of UBE3A.

Motor commands for human locomotion are generated by combination of muscle synergies. In humans, muscle synergies for running exhibit considerable plasticity during child-to-adult development and adult training to meet the constantly changing biomechanical and efficiency demands.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

Inbreeding depression has been observed in many different species, but in humans a systematic analysis has been difficult so far. Here, analysing more than 1.3 million individuals, the authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested.

Passive immunisation for respiratory syncytial virus for infants is recommended by the World Health Organization but products currently available have limited duration of protection. Here, the authors investigate the age distribution of infant hospitalisation for respiratory syncytial virus to inform optimal timing of immunisation.

Carbon emissions from fires are generally modelled and predicted from fire weather and climate. Fuel availability drives carbon emissions more strongly than fire weather in boreal forests, highlighting the importance of ecological dynamics for fire–climate feedbacks.

Follistatin promotes in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathogenesis in model animals and is elevated in patients with T2D. Here the authors report that plasma follistatin associates with increased risk of incident T2D in two longitudinal cohorts, and show that follistatin regulates insulin-induced suppression lipolysis in cultured human adipocytes.

Kawaguchi et al. show that mice deficient in lipocalin-type prostaglandin (PG) D synthase (L-PGDS) exhibit impaired light-induced phase advance, but normal phase delay and nonvisual light responses. This study suggests the role of L-PGDS for the light-induced phase advance possibly via a chemoattractant receptor DP2/CRTH2.

Jamel Chelly and colleagues report that de novo mutations in TUBB2B, encoding a β-tubulin, are associated with asymmetrical polymicrogyria and other brain malformations. They also show that in utero knockdown of Tubb2b in rat results in defective neuronal migration.

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.

Large microscale arrays of zymosan particle clusters enable the characterization of human-neutrophil swarming, including the presence of start and stop signals, and the deficient swarming behaviour of neutrophils from patients following major trauma.

Synthetic polypeptides are biomimetic materials that are commonly prepared by ring-opening polymerization of amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs), but the methods for NCA synthesis usually require anhydrous and air-free conditions. Here, the authors report a method for the synthesis of NCAs under atmospheric conditions and room temperature, based on the use of epoxides as acid scavengers.

Magnetic symmetry is a vital factor to determine exotic topological phases. Here, Riberolles et al. demonstrate a helical antiferromagnetic order in EuIn₂As₂ which makes it a magnetic topological-crystalline axion insulator.

Several 17B-HSD13 variants have been identified as protective against NASH/MASH. However the protein’s endogenous function is unknown. Here authors describe sulfonamide-based inhibitors and synthetic substrates, then apply to multiple cellular systems revealing that the most prevalent IsoD variant maintains NAD-dependent catalytic activity.

Comparative analysis of multiple DNA double-strand break repair pathways reveals their complex interplay in CRISPR knock-in and offers new strategies for improving precise gene editing efficiency.

The molecular circuitry that drives dendrite formation during osteocytogenesis remains poorly understood. Here the authors show that deletion of Sp7, a gene linked to rare and common skeletal disease, in mature osteoblasts and osteocytes causes severe defects in osteocyte dendrites.