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A single-cell multiomic immune cell atlas from 235 Japanese, including patients with COVID-19 and healthy individuals, linked with host genetics including germline and somatic mutation, plasma proteomics and metagenomics data reveals that immune cells are dynamically regulated in a cell state-dependent manner.

Genetic mechanisms influencing COVID-19 susceptibility are not well understood. Here, the authors analyzed whole blood RNA-seq data of 465 Japanese individuals with COVID-19, highlighting thousands of fine-mapped variants affecting expression and splicing of genes, as well as the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

Using more than 100 independent iPSC lines derived from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the authors discovered loci associated with the neuronal production of amyloid β and confirmed their influence using RNA interference.

Analysis of the blood DNA virome in patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune disease associates endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and high anellovirus load with increased disease risk, most notably for systemic lupus erythematosus. eHHV-6 carriers show a distinct immune response.

Structural insights from cryo-EM single-particle analysis and X-ray crystallography reveal that AspT mediates substrate translocation via an elevator-type alternating-access mechanism involving a stable partially open inward-facing intermediate.

The XRISM Resolve spectrum of the galactic neutron star X-ray binary, GX 13+1, reveals one of the densest winds ever seen in absorption lines.

Here, the authors use cryo-electron microscopy to structurally characterise the Ebola virus nucleocapsid within virus-like particles, uncovering how specific interactions regulate viral genome synthesis, assembly, and infectious particle production.

This study shows that fear memory formation is supported by reactivating as few as three new neurons during sleep. The key is precise timing: the neurons must fire in sync with specific brain waves (theta waves) to lock the memory in place.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 73 Japanese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 75 healthy controls were analyzed using single-cell transcriptomics. Combining these data with genotyping data highlights the interplay between host genetics and the immune response in modulating disease severity.

Authors present results from a national surveillance in Japan that found MRSA strains causing bloodstream infections are predominantly from three clonal lineages. They also identified the emergence of highest 30-day-mortality MRSA clone ST764-SCCmecII and traced its evolutionary path.

In this study, Watanabe and colleagues investigate the contribution of kinetochore geometry as a determinant for bipolar versus monopolar attachment. They find that cohesion at the core centromere induces a monopolar attachment seen in meiosis I; in contrast, cohesion at the peri-centromeric region promotes bipolar attachment in mitosis.

Enhanced control of the nuclear spin orientation of rare isotopes has now been demonstrated. This technique is considerably more efficient than traditional methods and significantly broadens the domain of accessible nuclei, promising insights in nuclear physics and applications in material science.

Venus is covered by thick clouds that move with the prevailing winds. Images from JAXA’s Akatsuki orbiter taken in July 2016 reveal more variability deep in the cloud layer than expected, including a feature consistent with an equatorial jet.

The upper atmosphere of Venus rotates much faster than the planet itself. An anomalous stationary structure observed by the Akatsuki mission at the cloud tops of Venus could be an atmospheric gravity wave induced by mountain topography below.

Cyanobacteria use both chlorophylls and phycobilins to absorb light energy, and authors here use cultivation experiments, numerical simulations and protein phylogenetics to argue that cyanobacteria evolved in a green-light environment during the Archaean era in which green-specialized phycobilins would have been selectively advantageous.

Some proteins are degraded by a process called the N-end rule, in which a non-templated amino acid is added to the amino terminus as a marker for degradation. A set of crystal structures of the enzyme that promotes transfer of the amino acid along with the charged donor tRNA is solved in the presence or absence of target peptide. The results reveal that peptide bond formation occurs differently than on the ribosome.

Mutations of Neuroligin 3 (NLGN3) have been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, the authors identify a previously undescribed interaction between NLGN3 and a splice variant of protein tyrosine phosphatase δ (PTP δ) and its role in development of social behaviour in mice.

In view of previous work suggesting that low-voltage areas may promote atrial fibrillation, a multicenter, randomized controlled trial tested the hypothesis that ablation of low-voltage areas in addition to pulmonary vein isolation might reduce the recurrence of atrial arrhythmic events, but found no significant benefit to the combined procedure.

Despite its potential, catalytic dry reforming of methane has not yet reached practical application due to high thermal energy requirements. Now, a photocatalytic method is introduced based on strontium titanate-supported rhodium nanoparticles that afford syngas production solely under light irradiation.

Ultrafast light pulses can manipulate and probe materials faster than relaxation timescales, leading to new electronic states and insights into equilibrium properties. Okazaki et al. use the properties of photo-induced metallic states to investigate unconventional correlated behaviour in Ta₂NiSe₅ and Ta₂NiS₅.

In an exploratory preplanned biomarker analysis of the phase 3 PARADIGM trial, a lack of resistance gene alterations in baseline circulating tumor DNA (negative hyperselection) was associated with prolonged overall survival after first-line panitumumab with chemotherapy in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

In a large cohort with a 23-month median follow-up of the CIRCULATE-Japan GALAXY observational study, ctDNA-based detection of molecular residual disease was predictive of survival outcomes and benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with resectable colorectal cancer.

The long elusive mammalian meiosis-specific kinetochore factor has been identified in mice; MEIKIN—which plays an equivalent role to the yeast proteins Spo13 and Moa1—ensures mono-orientation, protects sister chromatid cohesion and recruits the kinase PLK1 to the kinetochores.

The proteomic changes that occur during synapse development are not fully understood. In this work, the authors characterise the postsynaptic proteome changes that occur during development in male mice and marmosets.

Meconium, a non-invasive biomaterial reflecting prenatal substance accumulation, holds promise for offering valuable insights into neonatal health. Here, the authors perform an extensive proteomic analysis of meconium samples collected from 259 newborns spanning various gestational ages.

To overcome limitations with anion dissolution, the authors design 2D FeTeSe nanosheets as electrocatalyst. The reaction-driven, in-situ generation of anisotropic in-plane tensile and out-of-plane compressive strains enhances the alkaline low-concentration nitrate reduction.