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Multivariate genome-wide association analyses of the latent genetic architecture of frailty identify one general factor of genetic overlap across all frailty deficits and six factors indexing a shared genetic signal across specific groups of deficits.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

Advanced ecological modelling reveals how Sahul (Australia and New Guinea) was first peopled, suggesting the most probable routes and surprisingly rapid early settlement of this continent by anatomically modern humans starting 50,000 to 75,000 years ago.

Genome-wide association studies have identified regions which confer risk of high-grade serous epithelial ovarian cancer. Here the authors use expression quantitative train locus analysis to identify candidate genes and functionally characterise them, identifying a role for HOXD9 in ovarian cancer.

Social animals have sophisticated ways of classifying relationships with conspecifics. Data from 30 years of observations and playback experiments on dolphins with a multi-level alliance system show that individuals form social concepts that categorize conspecifics according to their shared cooperative history.

Global demand for “blue food” is growing. In this quantitative synthesis, the authors analyse global seafood demand and project trends to 2050, finding considerable regional variation in the relationship between wealth and consumption.

Investigation of variation in three cohorts has identified multiple genetic signals associated with the pregnancy-specific liver disorder, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, giving insight into the disease which can cause preterm birth and stillbirth.

Genome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in ancestrally diverse populations implicate candidate causal genes and mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes. Trans-ancestry genetic risk scores enhance transferability across populations.

Studying individuals with autism only, this study investigated the genomic architecture of autism-related phenotypes using a multivariate modelling framework. This work identified distinct genomic factors linked to language performance, behaviour and developmental motor delay.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Sera from vaccinated individuals and some monoclonal antibodies show a modest reduction in neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2; but the E484K substitution leads to a considerable loss of neutralizing activity.

Analysing >1,700 inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network, the authors show that the majority of Amazon tree species can occupy floodplains and that patterns of species turnover are closely linked to regional flood patterns.

In this work, authors utilise genome-wide CRISPRi screening to identify vulnerabilities in isoniazid-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Here, the authors conduct a multidisciplinary study of human-great ape viral sharing in Cameroon and a European zoo, finding that environmental co-use enables more enteric virome sharing, virome convergence, and adenovirus and enterovirus sharing between Cameroonian humans and apes.

A global dataset of the satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and fishing fleets show that sharks—and, in particular, commercially important species—have limited spatial refuge from fishing effort.

Patient-derived xenografts are important tools for cancer drug development. Here, the authors develop models from 22 non-small cell lung cancer patients. They show genomic differences between models created from different spatial regions of tumours and a bottleneck on model establishment.

Analysis of whole-genome sequencing data across 2,658 tumors spanning 38 cancer types shows that chromothripsis is pervasive, with a frequency of more than 50% in several cancer types, contributing to oncogene amplification, gene inactivation and cancer genome evolution.

This study examines the impact of herbivorous insects on biogeochemical cycling within forests. From a global network of 74 plots within 40 mature, undisturbed broadleaved forests, they show that background levels of insect herbivory are sufficiently large to alter both ecosystem element cycling and influence terrestrial carbon cycling.

Analysis of mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) by using whole-genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancer samples across 38 cancer types identifies hypermutated mtDNA cases, frequent somatic nuclear transfer of mtDNA and high variability of mtDNA copy number in many cancers.

Efficient, large-scale genomic analysis is facilitated on the cloud by a computational tool with error-diagnosing and self-healing capabilities.

Simon Gayther and colleagues report 3 new risk variants for mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) on the basis of an analysis of 1,644 MOC cases and 21,693 controls. They confirm an eQTL association between the HOXD9 promoter and risk SNPs at 2q31.1 using chromosome conformation capture analysis and show that HOXD9 overexpression associates with neoplastic transformation.

RH5, which is part of the trimeric RCR-complex essential for invasion, is a vaccine candidate for malaria. Here, Williams et al. show that monoclonal antibodies targeting each of the three proteins in the RCR-complex can work together to more effectively block the invasion of red blood cells by Plasmodium falciparum and design a combination vaccine candidate.

A randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.

Adipose tissue varies depending on localization. Vijay et al. perform single-cell RNA sequencing in multiple adipose tissue depots from obese individuals and identify distinct subpopulations of endothelial cells, immune cells and pre-adipocytes.

Dynamic network models offer insight into brain networks affected by epileptic seizures. Here the authors derive ViEEG (virtual intracranial EEG) from non-invasive MEG recordings that show brain areas involved in seizure generation in patients with epilepsy.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

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.

James Webb Space Telescope observations of Jupiter have unveiled the presence of a narrow and intense atmospheric jet in the equator of the planet near the tropopause. The jet’s speed of 500 km h⁻¹ doubles the speed of the lower clouds. This new jet aligns with temperature and wind oscillations in Jupiter’s stratosphere.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

Invertebrate and microbe communities support reef ecosystems and coral health. Here, the authors characterize these communities from degraded and healthy reefs, showing that transplanting these healthy communities improved coral health at degraded reefs.

Brandl, Johansen et al. compare organismal traits, community structure, and productivity dynamics of cryptobenthic reef fishes across two locations, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the former of which harbors the world’s hottest coral reefs. They show that environmental extremes in the Arabian Gulf result in dramatically less diverse, abundant, and productive cryptobenthic fish assemblages, which could foreshadow the future of coral reef biodiversity and functioning.

A patient-specific soft cardiovascular occluder made via three-dimensional printing and static moulding of an inflatable polymer balloon on the basis of data derived from computed tomography scans of a large animal is implanted in the same animal.

Data from a variety of sources—including satellite, climate and soil data, as well as field-collected information on plant traits—are pooled and analysed to map the functional diversity of tropical forest canopies globally.

Despite the availability of chromatin conformation capture experiments, discerning the relationship between the 1D genome and 3D conformation remains a challenge. Here, the authors propose a method that produces low-dimensional latent representations that summarize intra-chromosomal Hi-C contacts.

Over 170 susceptibility loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies in breast cancer. Here, the authors interrogated the role of risk-associated variants from non-breast tissue, and using expression quantitative trait loci, identify potential target genes of known breast cancer susceptibility variants, as well as 11 regions not previously known to be associated with breast cancer risk.

The discovery of lipids on ceramic fragments from the Japanese Jōmon period provides the earliest evidence for the use of pottery for cooking and may prompt a rethink of some aspects of human innovation. See Letter p.351

Tree mortality has been shown to be the dominant control on carbon storage in Amazon forests, but little is known of how and why Amazon forest trees die. Here the authors analyse a large Amazon-wide dataset, finding that fast-growing species face greater mortality risk, but that slower-growing individuals within a species are more likely to die, regardless of size.

Comparisons within the human pangenome establish that homologous regions on short arms of heterologous human acrocentric chromosomes actively recombine, leading to the high rate of Robertsonian translocation breakpoints in these regions.

Constructing genome graphs directly from genome assemblies overcomes single-reference bias.

Various strategies have been reported to generate mouse trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Here the authors show that, regardless of the strategy used for TSC generation, these retain an epigenetic and transcriptional memory of the ESC origin and the transition remains incomplete.

Fine-scale geospatial mapping of overweight and wasting (two components of the double burden of malnutrition) in 105 LMICs shows that overweight has increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 6.0% in children under 5 in 2017. Although overall wasting decreased over the same period, most countries are not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025.

Myosin VI (MVI) is known to interact with RNA Polymerase II and to play non-cytoplasmic roles in cells. Here, the authors provide evidence that the transcription co-activator NDP52 regulates MVI binding to DNA and that MVI interacts with nuclear receptors to drive gene expression.