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Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

A technique that combines retrograde axon tracing with single-cell transcriptomics is used to characterize neurons innervating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and healthy pancreas, providing insight into the role of neural connections in cancer progression.

Hemochromatosis is a metabolic disorder caused by mutations in the HFE gene. Here, the authors show that a single administration of AAV8 vectors expressing an Adenine Base Editor facilitates efficient in vivo gene correction in hepatocytes and leads to improvement of iron-specific parameters in the liver and the blood in mouse models of the disease.

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.

Uechi et al. found that a small-molecule lipoamide dissolves stress granules (SGs) by targeting SFPQ, a redox-sensitive disordered SG protein, alleviating pathological phenotypes caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated FUS and TDP-43 mutants.

Results from 316 Bombus terrestris colonies at 106 agricultural sites across eight European countries find pesticides in bumble bee pollen to be associated with reduced colony performance, especially in areas of intensive agriculture.

The viral hypersensitivity of Nicotiana benthamiana results from an insertion in the RNA polymerase, Rdr1. Population analyses showed that the Rdr1 insertion originated from a population that trades viral defence for vigour in an extreme Australian habitat.

Fat culturing remains a challenging task in the process of producing optimal cultivated meat. Here, using antibiotic-free culture conditions, the authors establish bovine adipose-derived stem cell spheroids as building blocks for the fabrication of cultured fat.

Circadian clocks both instruct and follow the epigenome. New data reveal that the core-clock PERIOD complex shapes genomic H2A.Z landscapes. H2A.Z, in turn, plays an essential role in rhythm generation by regulating BMAL1 stability.

Aircraft measurements over the Amazon show that new particle formation in the upper troposphere emerges when isoprene, emitted by forests, undergoes oxidation in the presence of nitrogen oxides produced by lightning.

This mass spectrometry-based proteomic study profiles the plasma proteome in 2,147 children and adolescents and reveals its association with age, sex, puberty, body mass index and genetics.

This report from the 1000 Genomes Project describes the genomes of 1,092 individuals from 14 human populations, providing a resource for common and low-frequency variant analysis in individuals from diverse populations; hundreds of rare non-coding variants at conserved sites, such as motif-disrupting changes in transcription-factor-binding sites, can be found in each individual.

There is limited understanding of SARS-CoV-2 intra-host evolution and subsequent transmission and adaptations in the context of persistent infection. Here, the authors describe sequential persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections that led to the emergence, transmission and further evolution of a novel Omicron BA.1.23 lineage.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

Phylogenomic analysis of 7,923 angiosperm species using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes produced an angiosperm tree of life dated with 200 fossil calibrations, providing key insights into evolutionary relationships and diversification.

Previous studies have shown genome-wide associations between polymorphisms in the gene FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) and type 2 diabetes and obesity, and genetic manipulation of Fto in mice causes feeding dysregulation and body weight changes. Here Hess et al. show that FTO affects the activity and function of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and subsequent reward-related behaviors. The study also shows that FTO acts as a demethylating enzyme for specific mRNAs in vivo, including mRNAs in the dopaminergic signaling pathway.

Morphogens such as chemokines form gradients to direct graded responses and modulate cell behaviors. Here the authors show, using imaging and computer simulation, that the chemokine CXCL13 originated from follicular reticular cells in the lymph nodes forms both soluble and immobilized gradients to regulate B cell recruitment and migration.

Sarcomas are morphologically heterogeneous tumours rendering their classification challenging. Here the authors developed a classifier using DNA methylation data from several soft tissue and bone sarcoma subtypes, which has the potential to improve classification for research and clinical purposes.

The aboveground carbon stock of a montane African forest network is comparable to that of a lowland African forest network and two-thirds higher than default values for these montane forests.

Sera from unvaccinated, vaccinated, and previously infected and vaccinated individuals show reduced neutralizing and spike protein-binding activity towards the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 compared to other variants.

Results for the final phase of the 1000 Genomes Project are presented including whole-genome sequencing, targeted exome sequencing, and genotyping on high-density SNP arrays for 2,504 individuals across 26 populations, providing a global reference data set to support biomedical genetics.

Multidomain RNA-binding proteins recognize specific target sequences through mechanisms that are not well understood. Here the authors present an integrated approach to define the RNA-binding specificity and RNP topology and apply it to the analysis of the prototypical multidomain RNA-binding protein IMP3.

A cross-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci, reveals putative causal genes, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as potential drug targets, and provides cross-ancestry integrative risk prediction.

John Perry and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study meta-analysis to identify variants influencing age at natural menopause. They identify 54 independent signals and find enrichment near genes involved in delayed puberty and DNA damage response.

A collaborative study demonstrates that, compared with previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, B.1.1.529 isolates cause less infection and disease in mice and hamsters, in agreement with preliminary data from studies in humans.

The shattering of chromosomes is a dramatic early event in tumourigenesis and is termed chromothripsis. Here, the authors examine chromothripsis across 28 tumour types and show that 49% of cancers exhibit features of chromothripsis.

Analysis of a European cohort estimated that 1–2 per 10,000 children, adolescents and young adults are expected to develop a hematological malignancy within 12 years following computed tomography examination.

Data from over 700,000 individuals reveal the identity of 83 sequence variants that affect human height, implicating new candidate genes and pathways as being involved in growth.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses of waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index in more than 224,000 individuals identify 49 loci, 33 of which are new and many showing significant sexual dimorphism with a stronger effect in women; pathway analyses implicate adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution.

The detection of carbon monoxide absorption in the spectrum of the extrasolar planet τ Boötis b, and its tracing of the change in the radial velocity of the planet, demonstrates that atmospheric characterization is possible for non-transiting planets.

Variations in expression of the gene ORMDL3 were found to be associated with development of childhood asthma, suggesting this gene should be examined in more patient groups.

For most binary stars, the theoretical and observed precession rates are in agreement, but the observed precession rate for the DI Herculis system is a factor of four slower than the theoretical rate, a disagreement that once was interpreted as evidence for a failure of general relativity. Here, both stars of DI Herculis are reported to rotate with their spin axes nearly perpendicular to the orbital axis, an observation that leads to the reconciliation of the theoretical and observed precession rates.

If the orbital velocity of an extrasolar planet could be determined, the masses of both the planet and its host star could be calculated using Newton's law of gravity. Here, high-dispersion ground-based spectroscopy of a transit of the extrasolar planet HD 209458b is reported. This allowed the radial component of the planet's orbital velocity to be calculated, and thus the masses of star and planet. Moreover, a strong wind flowing from the irradiated dayside to the non-irradiated nightside of the planet is suggested.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in children; having assembled over 1,000 samples the authors report that somatic copy number aberrations are common in medulloblastoma, in particular a tandem duplication of SNCAIP, a gene associated with Parkinson’s disease, which is restricted to subgroup 4α, and translocations of PVT1, which are restricted to Group 3.

Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet that orbit their parent stars at very short distances and are expected to be tidally locked, which can lead to a large temperature difference between the dayside and the nightside. Here, the day–night contrast of the transiting extrasolar planet HD 188733b is 'mapped' using infrared observations; the data are consistent with the nightside hemisphere being entirely black, with the dayside flux dominating the optical phase curve.

Kathryn Lunetta and colleagues report a meta-analysis of 22 genome-wide association studies for age at menopause. They identify 13 loci newly associated with age at natural menopause, including several candidate genes with roles in DNA repair and immune function.

Spermidine, a naturally occurring polyamine, extends the lifespan of mice and is cardioprotective in both aged mice and hypertensive rats. In humans, high dietary spermidine intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Multiancestry genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for stroke and stroke subtypes. Fine mapping and bioinformatics analyses of these risk loci point to mechanisms not previously implicated in stroke pathophysiology.

The identification of molecular biomarkers in cancer of unknown primary site (CUP) cases may enable the improvement of prognosis in these patients. Here, the authors integrate whole genome/exome, transcriptome and methylome data in 70 CUP patients, recommend therapies based on their analysis and report clinical outcome data.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

1000 Genomes imputation can increase the power of genome-wide association studies to detect genetic variants associated with human traits and diseases. Here, the authors develop a method to integrate and analyse low-coverage sequence data and SNP array data, and show that it improves imputation performance.

Transcriptomic and histological profiling of gut biopsies from multiple independent cohorts of patients with inflammatory bowel disease identifies distinct histopathological, molecular and cellular features associated with treatment response, providing insights for patient stratification and precision therapy.

Efficient statistical emulation of melting land ice under various climate scenarios to 2100 indicates a contribution from melting land ice to sea level increase of at least 13 centimetres sea level equivalent.

Here, Rathnasinghe et al. characterize the pathogenesis of a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 in infected obese and aged mice, and identify mutations that are present in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, associated with higher transmissibility.