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The RNA-binding proteins Lin28A and Lin28B are known to have key roles in a variety of pathological states including cancer, obesity and diabetes. Here the authors show that Lin28A and -B alter cancer metabolism through let-7-mediated upregulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1.

A new family of four receptor kinases in Arabidopsis named CIKs act as co-receptors to integrate all three known CLAVATA3 signalling pathways, to maintain stem cell homeostasis in the shoot apical meristem.

In poplar, a quantitative genetic screen identifies a G-type lectin receptor-like kinase that mediates ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with Laccaria bicolor. Expression of the kinase in non-host Arabidopsis makes mycorrhizal colonization possible.

Conventional material processing methods often suffer by strength-ductility trade-off. Here, the authors show high-pressure and high-temperature treatment can transform an eutectic high entropy alloy to having a hierarchical microstructure with simultaneous enhancements of strength and ductility.

EGFR mutations are frequent in glioblastoma and lung cancer. Here, the authors perform deep mutational scanning of EGFR, followed by a high-throughput functional screen and analysis of patient data, to identify variants with differing sensitivities to a range of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Robust estimates of either urban expansion worldwide or the effects of such phenomenon on terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) are lacking. Here the authors used the new dataset of global land use to show that the global urban areas expanded largely between 2000 and 2010, which in turn reduced terrestrial NPP globally.

Hongbing Shen, Dongxin Lin, Yongyong Shi and colleagues identify two new susceptibility loci for non-cardia gastric cancer. They also confirm three previously reported risk loci for this gastric cancer subtype.

Genome-wide association analyses across individuals of East Asian and European ancestries identify new risk loci for inflammatory bowel diseases. A polygenic risk score derived from the combined datasets shows improved prediction accuracy.

Sun et al. identify the deubiquitinase USP15 as a regulator of PARP1 stability in triple-negative breast cancer and show that the hormone receptors ER, PR and HER2 inhibit USP15-mediated PARP1 stabilization, modulating base excision repair.

Ex situ conservation breeding programmes for endangered species are expensive, and not always guaranteed to succeed. Here, Martin-Wintle et al.show that when captive giant pandas are given the opportunity to choose their preferred mate, copulation and birth rates increase significantly.

Adam optimization-based pointillism deconvolution (A-PoD) is a broadly applicable super-resolution deconvolution algorithm. A-PoD-coupled SRS microscopy reveals heterogeneous metabolic activity in subcellular structures like lipid droplets.

Dongxin Lin, Philip Taylor, Li-Dong Wang and colleagues have now pooled three genome-wide association analyses of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, finding two new risk loci at genome-wide significance and an HLA class II locus of significance in high-risk populations. They reanalyze the strength of evidence for previously published risk loci.

Using a membrane-tethered, genetically encoded Ca²⁺ indicator, the authors describe a novel Ca²⁺ signal in hippocampal astrocytes. These 'spotty' Ca²⁺ signals were found to be mediated by astrocytic TRPA1 channels. Decreasing astrocyte resting Ca²⁺, regulated by TRPA1 channels, decreased interneuron inhibitory synapse efficacy by reducing GABA transport through GAT-3.

Bioisosteric design has become an essential approach during drug molecule discovery process. Here, the authors describe a strategy for defluorinative couplings of propellanes, enabling the synthesis of aryl difluoromethyl bicyclopentanes as benzophenone-type bioisosteres.

Combinatorial CRISPR screens can be utilized to identify genetic interactions and functional redundancies of multiple genes. Here, the authors benchmark ten digenic CRISPR technologies and identify novel Cas9 tracrRNA combinations that show superior performance.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing of seven mouse developmental stages identifies lineage-specific and shared regulatory programs controlling cell-fate decisions. Cross-species analysis associates differentiation potency with ribosomal protein gene expression.

Here the authors pull apart the cellular composition of the tumor microenvironment using RNA sequencing data from a wide variety of cancer types. They identify immunity quantitative trait loci and integrate these data with analysis of colorectal cancer cohorts, creating a polygenic risk score and a database for community access.

Whole-genome sequences of wild rice and cultivated rice varieties are used to produce a map of rice genome variation, and show that rice was probably first domesticated in southern China.

Pericytes play an essential role in blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity. Here, the authors generate pericyte-like cells (PCs) from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) which display functional properties and also promote BBB recovery in a mouse model of cerebral artery occlusion.

Here the authors develop a mucosal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and show immunogenicity and protection in mice as well as reduced virus transmission in hamsters. This protein vaccine consists of a stabilized spike protein fused to monomeric IgG Fc, supporting its transport across epithelial barriers by binding to the neonatal Fc receptor.

A trade-off exists between improving crystallinity and minimizing particle size in the synthesis of perovskite-type transition-metal oxynitrides. The authors break this limitation to fabricate sub-50 nm ATaO2N (A = Sr, Ca, Ba) single nanocrystals exhibiting improved photocatalytic water-splitting performance

The gut microbiota is involved in the development of colorectal cancer. Here, the authors analyse the faecal microbiomes of healthy subjects and of patients with colorectal cancer or benign adenoma, revealing microbial genes, strains and functions enriched in each group.

Menin is a protein with context-dependent oncogenic or oncosuppressive roles; the oncogenic activity is mainly due to its function as a cofactor of the MLL1 histone methyltransferase complex. Here the authors show that Menin regulates c-Myc-dependent transformation independently of the MLL complex.

Understanding the mechanisms driving PI3K isoform dependency in prostate cancer can help the design of future clinical trials. Here, the authors show that gain-of-function mutations in PIK3CA or PIK3CB can confer PI3K p110 isoform dependency and that the direct inhibition of AKT may be superior to PI3K inhibition in PTEN-deficient prostate cancers.

Noncanonical open reading frames are shown to be essential for cancer cell function.

Chiral receptors with an endo-functionalized cavity for chiral recognition are of interest in the field of molecular recognition. Here, the authors develop chiral naphthotubes containing a bis-thiourea endo-functionalized cavity to effectively recognize neutral chiral molecules with high enantioselectivity.

The Mexican axolotl is a well-established tetrapod model for regeneration and development. Here the authors report a scRNA-seq method to profile neotenic, metamorphic and limb development stages, highlighting unique perturbation patterns of cell type-related gene expression throughout metamorphosis.

There are currently no validated methods for the diagnosis of prion disease at the preclinical stage. Here the authors show that serial protein misfolding cyclic amplification and real-time quaking-induced conversion can be used to detect prions in the skin of prion-inoculated hamsters and humanized transgenic mice at early preclinical stages.

Patients with diabetes are more susceptible to suffer from more severe COVID-19. Tong et al. identify a glucose-like metabolite that is reduced in patients with diabetes and has the ability to prevent cellular infection by SARS-CoV-2

Changes in tree cover can change surface temperatures in multiple ways. Here, the authors show an asymmetric direct biophysical effect of tree cover change, as the cooling due to tree cover gain is greater in magnitude than the warming from tree cover loss in most forests.

A high-throughput optical imaging and spectroscopy technique has now been developed that characterizes the chirality and electronic structure of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes either on their growth substrate or in functional devices.

Migration patterns of the wheat stripe rust pathogen from oversummering regions to adjacent areas were identified, revealing two dispersal routes of disease spread and providing insights for regional and national disease management strategies.

Ding Ma, Xing Xie, Yongyong Shi and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of cervical cancer in the Han Chinese population. They identify two new susceptibility lociat 4q12 and 17q12.

Zhu et al. identify Dapl1 as a negative regulator of CD8⁺ T cell responses by modulating NFATc2 activation and T cell exhaustion, leading to dysregulated control of chronic infection and cancer.

Electromechanical phonon cavity systems offer advantages for solid state implementation, but thus far investigation has been limited to the linear regime. Here, Miao et al demonstrate non-linear operation of an electromechanical phonon cavity system and the drastic difference to the linear regime.