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Animals often need to form specific associations between perceptually similar stimuli and the different outcomes they may predict. Howard et al. find that the human brain accomplishes this via enhanced coupling between stable codes of sensory features and flexible codes of stimulus reward value.

Anaerobic archaea enriched in thermophilic microbial consortia completely degrade butane by modifying mechanisms which were hitherto thought to be specific to methane metabolism.

HMBG1 is a protein expressed in natural killer cells and is important in immunosurveillance. In this study, the authors show that HMGB1 binds to and inhibits PKM2, resulting in a block in aerobic glycolysis and ultimately cell death.

Interactions between microscopic particles are usually described as two-body interactions, although it has been shown that higher-order multi-body interactions could give rise to new quantum phases with intriguing properties. Here, effective six-body interactions are demonstrated in a system of ultracold bosonic atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice.

This Review discusses quantum optimization, focusing on the potential of exact, approximate and heuristic methods, core algorithmic building blocks, problem classes and benchmarking metrics. The challenges for quantum optimization are considered, and next steps are suggested for progress towards achieving quantum advantage.

Measurements of Mo in meteorites constrain the time when the Earth accreted carbonaceous material from the outer Solar System (a likely source of Earth’s water and volatiles) to late in the Earth’s growth history—probably in the same event that formed the Moon.

Previous work identified goddard as a putative de novo evolved gene in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, the authors characterize the structure and function of the Goddard protein in D. melanogaster, and they infer its ancestral and extant structures across the Drosophila genus.

Rubromycin family of natural products belongs to aromatic polyketides with diverse bioactivities, but details of their biosynthesis are limited. Here, the authors report the complete in vitro reconstitution of enzymatic formation of the spiroketal moiety of rubromycin polyketides, driven by flavin-dependent enzymes, and characterize reaction intermediates.

Grasses have diverse inflorescence morphologies, but the underlying genetic mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors report a TCP transcription factor COM1 affects cell growth through regulation of cell wall properties and promotes branch formation in non-Triticeae grasses but branch inhibition in barley (Triticeae).

Clinical multi-omics data are integrated and analyzed using a generative deep-learning model.

Even if fossil-fuel emissions were to cease immediately, continued anthropogenic warming is expected. Here, observation-based estimates indicate there is a 13% risk that committed warming already exceeds the 1.5 K Paris target.

A genome-wide association study in Ghana, West Africa, to identify genetic variants associated with malaria pathogenesis reveals two previously unknown loci on chromosomes 1 and 16.

The striatum contains two distinct types of GABAergic neurons, striatonigral and striatopallidal cells. Durieux and colleagues genetically ablated the striatopallidal population in mice, uncovering specific roles for these neurons in the control of locomotion and the response to the addictive drug amphetamine.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

Two independent experiments that demonstrate memories for single quantum excitations with storage times of the order of a millisecond—two orders of magnitude longer than reported so far—should help to bring practical long-distance quantum-communication networks a step closer.

The Adula nappe, Central Alps, was thought to be a mélange of rock fragments, some of which were subducted and then exhumed from the mantle. Lu–Hf dating of two populations of garnets in one rock sample instead indicates that the nappe twice experienced subduction and exhumation as one coherent unit.

Temperate and tropical rivers serve as a substantial source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Organic matter measurements in the Amazon River suggest that terrestrial macromolecules contribute significantly to this outgassing.

The Earth formed through accretion of many planetary embryos that were probably differentiated into a metallic core and a silicate mantle. The metals and silicates were assumed to fully mix during accretion, but models of Earth’s formation that assume only partial mixing are found to be equally compatible with geochemical observations.

Structured programs for training clinician scientists have been implemented in several European countries, but these must include adequate resourcing and mentoring and foster career opportunities.

The accumulation of somatic genetic variation in clonal species leads to heterogeneity among autonomous modules (ramets). Ultra-deep resequencing of single ramets in a clonal seagrass shows somatic genetic drift resulting in genetically differentiated ramets that are targets of selection.

Atomic-resolution observations combined with simulations show that grain boundaries within elemental copper undergo temperature-induced solid-state phase transformation to different structures; grain boundary phases can also coexist and are kinetically trapped structures.

Black carbon is a recalcitrant and unique form of organic carbon formed from incomplete combustion. Here the authors use global sampling to reduce uncertainty in the flux of terrestrial black carbon to the oceans, predicting that 34% of black carbon produced by fires has an oceanic fate.

The mechanisms that control the presynaptic abundance of GABAB receptors (GBRs) remains unclear. This study shows that sequence-related epitopes in APP, AJAP-1 and PIANP bind with nanomolar affinities to the N-terminal sushi-domain of presynaptic GBRs, and that selective loss of APP impaired GBR-mediated presynaptic inhibition and axonal GBR expression

The path of the river Nile has been stable for as long as 30 million years, sustained by mantle convection, according to geophysical and geological evidence and geodynamic model simulations.

Glaciers in the European Alps are strongly affected by global warming, yet there is no methodologically consistent alpine-wide analysis on glacier changes. Here the authors show significant glacier retreat and an ice mass loss of 1.3 ± 0.2 Gt a⁻¹, derived from contemporaneous measurements of glacier areas and elevations.

There has been a lack of multi-year landscape-scale studies on the effect of neonicotinoids on honeybee health. Here, Osterman et al. show that clothianidin exposure via seed-treated rapeseed has no negative impact on honeybee colony development, microbial pathogens/symbionts or immune gene expression.

Roider et al. combine scRNA-seq and transcriptome-informed flow cytometry, and uncover transcriptionally different malignant subclones with distinct drug responses and T-cell profiles in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Zika virus (ZIKV) remodels intracellular membranes for replication, but the role of different lipid types for infection and disease is unclear. Here, the authors perform lipidomics, show perturbation of the lipid network during ZIKV infection and show that ceramides are important for ZIKV infection.

High-throughput single particle cryo-EM, for instance in drug research, requires the automation of the single particle analysis workflow. Here, the authors present TranSPHIRE, a software package that allows the fully-automated, feedback-driven processing of cryo-EM datasets during data acquisition.

Primary lymphomas of the central nervous system (PCNSL) are defined as diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) confined to the CNS. Here, the authors complete whole genome sequencing and RNA-seq to characterize 51 PCNSLs, and find common mutations in immune pathways and upregulated TERT expression and find distinct pathway differences between DLBCL and other primary CNS lymphomas.

Rio2 is an atypical protein kinase required for pre-40S subunit maturation. The crystal structure of eukaryotic Rio2 with bound ATP and Mg²⁺ reveals an unusual phosphoaspartate intermediate typically observed in P-type ATPases. Rio2 has in vitro ATPase activity, and its catalytic activity stimulates its own dissociation from the ribosome, which is required for pre-40S maturation.

Sodium-dependent glucose transporters (SGLTs) transport sugars across the plasma membrane and play important roles in renal sugar reabsorption. Here authors develop structural models of human SGLT1/2 (hSGLT1/2) in complex with inhibitors which helps to understand inhibitor subtype selectivity.

The E3 ubiquitin ligases RNF8 and RNF168 are required for recruitment of tumor surpressor 53BP1 to sites of DNA double-strand breaks. The reasons for this have been unclear, as 53BP1 recognizes histone mark H4K20me2. Now the AAA-ATPase VCP and cofactors are shown to be recruited in a ubiquitination-dependent manner to double-strand break sites, where they remove polycomb protein L3MBTL1 from chromatin.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) regulates multiple processes that are important for cell proliferation, and it is a promising anticancer drug target. Efforts to inhibit Plk1 function by disrupting interactions that are essential for its proper localization identify a high-affinity alkylated phosphopeptide ligand specific for Plk1.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is frequently overexpressed in solid tumours. Here Batista et al.show that loss of FAK skews hematopoietic progenitors toward myeloid differentiation and promotes metastases, warning against the use of FAK inhibitors in anticancer therapies.

Analyzing the first and higher-order moments of the diffraction spot of a 4Pi fluorescence detection scheme facilitates two-color, three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy with ~6 nm axial and ~8–23 nm lateral resolution in a layer ~650 nm thick.

The interaction of two magnetic moments on a metallic surface is usually understood as a competition between an indirect surface-mediated exchange interaction and the Kondo effect. Now, a different mechanism, involving chemical interactions driving a quantum phase transition, is reported.

A cryo-EM structure of the bacterial ribosome–SecYEG complex in a so-called Nanodisc allows for the molecular interpretation of the SecYEG complex in its natural lipid bilayer environment. Molecular dynamics simulations based on the structure reveal stable interactions between ribosomal RNA and the membrane that may contribute to the insertase activity of the protein-conducting channel.

Cancer patients exhibit specific sensitivities toward drug combinations that cannot be easily predicted. Here the authors setup a microfluidic platform that allows testing of multiple drug combinations correctly predicting sensitivity in vivo and they use it on patients biopsies to define effective drugs.

A hybrid approach merges networks of time-correlated distances determined by single-molecule FRET to uncover local and global dynamics of the multidomain protein Hsp90 in solution at multiple timescales.

Heterogeneous oxidation of bromide in atmospheric aqueous environments has long been suspected to be accelerated at the interface between aqueous solution and air. Here, the authors provide spectroscopic, kinetic and theoretical evidence for a rate limiting, surface active ozonide formed at the interface.

Nematodes define a new role for sirtuins in lifespan extension, in which the sirtuin product nicotinamide is converted to a substrate for aldehyde oxidase; turnover of this enzyme generates hydrogen peroxide, causing upregulation of defense mechanisms that promote longevity.

Christopher Newton-Cheh and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for blood pressure traits as part of the Global BPgen consortium. They report eight loci with replicated association to systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure, with each also showing association to hypertension.