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Most studies assessing food self-sufficiency look at calories and neglect nutrient gaps. Comparing food demand and potential food production under land and water constraints, this study quantifies 9 key nutrient gaps for each of African’s 54 countries.

The APOE-ε4/ε4 genotype is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. Here, Brutman et al. identify a deletion common in people of African ancestry that reduces the relative risk conferred by the APOE-ε4/ε4 genotype.

The authors realize two- and three-site Kitaev chains in semiconducting quantum dots coupled via superconductors and tune them to the sweet spot where zero-energy Majorana modes appear at the chain ends. To assess Majorana localization, they couple the system to an additional quantum dot.

High energy use in controlled environment agriculture clouds its potential as a lower-carbon option for agri-food transformations. The authors find that using a Maximum Energy-use Threshold in specific contexts can provide a potential solution.

Recent work has revealed quantum coherent phase slips and current quantization in superconductors, phenomena dual to Cooper pair tunneling and voltage quantization. By combining the two effects, the authors demonstrate a Bloch transistor, a device that delivers quantized current and features a unique phase-locking mechanism.

In the context of ongoing A(H5N1) outbreak events, in this study, the authors use a ferret transmission model to show that genotype B3.13 viruses are shed into the air at higher levels than other A(H5N1) strains, highlighting the need for continued surveillance and aerobiological analyses.

Therapies combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown limited efficacy in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here the authors report the results of a pilot phase 1 trial of neoadjuvant modified Folfirinox plus nivolumab in borderline-resectable PDAC, including safety, efficacy and immunological correlates.

KRAS is an oncogene that switches between a GDP-bound inactive state and a GTP-bound active state. Recently developed KRAS G12C inhibitors are specific to the GDP-bound inactive state. Here, the authors develop a class of covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors capable of targeting both states for the treatment of KRAS-driven cancer.

A rate-limiting step to oncology clinical trial enrollment is prescreening. Here, the authors conduct a randomised trial using retrospective electronic health records to compare the accuracy and efficiency of prescreening by trained research staff alone vs. a human + artificial intelligence (AI) model in lung and colorectal cancer cohorts, showing that AI language models can approximate and augment human-driven prescreening in accuracy without changes in efficiency.

The transcription factor CarD facilitates the activation of transcription in many bacteria and in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, CarD compensates for suboptimal promoter DNA sequences. Here, the authors show CarD function is tied to promoter DNA topology.

Prenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure can lead to a spectrum of developmental issues, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here the authors show that prenatal ZIKV exposure in macaques disrupts neurodevelopment, causing prolonged maternal attachment and visual deficits at 3 months that normalize by 12 months, independent of sensory function.

Using pear as a study system, the biosynthetic pathway of acetophenones has been elucidated: naturally impaired side-chain shortening of aromatic 3-ketoacyl-CoAs leads them to undergo hydrolysis, followed by decarboxylation, to yield acetophenones.

Peroxidases have long been considered to use ferryl heme intermediates (Fe(IV) = O) to catalyze oxidative chemistries. Here, Williams et al. find that ferric-oxyl (Fe^III–O^•–) excited states exist along the catalytic reaction coordinate of a peroxidase.

GDF15 has been associated with cancer-associated cachexia. Here, the authors show that STK11/LKB1 loss-of-function mutations in non-small cell lung cancer result in an exaggerated integrated stress response culminating in the tumor cell secretion of the cytokine GDF15 promoting cachexia.

The contribution of ether lipid species in cancer cell fate has not been fully understood yet. Here the authors show that malignant cancer cells employ ether lipids to modulate membrane biophysical properties, enhancing iron endocytosis and ferroptosis susceptibility.

Although antiretroviral therapies (ART) have expanded the life expectancy of patients with HIV, they are not curative due to the presence of latently infected cells. Here, the authors present IMC-M113V, a bispecific soluble TCR targeting the HIV peptide Gag_77-85 complexed to HLA-A*02:01 as an approach for targeting HIV reservoirs and test safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics in a first-in-human clinical trial on 12 HLA-A*02:01-positive male individuals on ART.

Energy gaps can be induced by spatial modulation of the electronic potential. Here, the authors demonstrate a large and robust energy gap in a free-standing carbon nanotube utilizing a 15-gate keyboard that spatially modulates the local potential.

Mangrove ecosystems are facing severe climate threats. However, this study shows that strategically expanding protected areas to include the most climate-resilient sites can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services for the future, and this can be achieved with only a modest increase in protected area.

O’Shea and colleagues establish that optimisation of charge and stability is sufficient to enable any single-chain variable fragment intrabody to function within the cell. The authors use AI-led inverse folding to optimise intrabody characteristics, and they present hundreds of intrabody sequences targeting sixty cytoplasmic proteins.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

Lactation is essential, but its genetic and epigenetic regulation is poorly understood. Here, Hanin et al. show that ZFP57 has an imprinting-independent role in controlling postnatal nutritional support, expanding its known prenatal epigenetic functions.

Change in the species composition of ecological communities is often attributed to environmental change. Here, the authors reveal a widespread slowdown in short-term species turnover over the last century, suggesting instead an intrinsic driver of such change.

Deep brain stimulation tuned to cue-reactivity within the nucleus accumbens region reduced drug cravings, heralding an evocation-based programming strategy for opioid use disorder.

The PCRCR complex of Plasmodium spp. binds basigin on the erythrocyte surface. While Rh5 of the complex is restricted to P. falciparum, PTRAMP, CSS and Ripr orthologs are present across the genus, for which the authors report common features.

The bacterial genus Aeromonas includes emerging human pathogens, often misidentified as Vibrio cholerae. Here, the authors analyse genomic sequences of over 1,800 Aeromonas isolates, showing that clinical and environmental strains do not display clear differences in drug resistance or disease-causing potential.

Here, the authors mapped signal flow over days from intracranial brain recordings in humans. Across vigilance stages, limbic structures sent twice as many signals as they received from the neocortex, challenging the long-standing hypothesis of flow reversal in sleep.

A streamlined blood test using mass spectrometry improves measurement of amyloid-β for early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, requiring less sample volume and reagents while maintaining high accuracy, sensitivity and strong agreement with brain imaging.

Several transmission-blocking vaccine candidates based on Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 are in clinical development, but it remains unclear whether they will demonstrate high efficacy. Here, the authors develop a stabilized chimeric antigen presenting potent epitopes from Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 in a single construct and demonstrate induction of transmission-reducing antibodies when female mice are immunized with the antigen in a self-assembling protein nanoparticle formulation.

Johnson et al. link ARIA, a complication of anti-amyloid therapy, to clonal expansion of cytotoxic CD8 + T cells with glycolytic reprogramming and vascular trafficking potential, with implications for biomarker development and risk mitigation.

Wafer bonding has allowed the synthesis of twisted interfaces which support polar discontinuities in ferroelectric lithium niobate. Two-dimensional sheet conductivity arises but is suppressed when twist angles lead to interfacial lattice aperiodicity.

The editorship of David Davies (1973–1980) saw global nuclear arsenals grow and India join the nuclear club. Frank Barnaby examines how Davies addressed the cold war arms race in Nature.

Painful bone growth after injury or surgery often goes undetected until it is advanced and treatment options are limited. Here, authors demonstrate that a blood test detecting gene expression profiles in isolated circulating mesenchymal progenitor cells could detect early signs of this condition and track treatment success.

Chondrosarcomas are rare cartilaginous neoplasms with limited treatment options. Here this trial evaluates the safety and efficacy of olutasidenib (mIDH1 inhibitor) on 23 patients with locally advanced or metastatic mIDH1 chondrosarcoma.

Here, using anatomy, transcriptomics, and functional assays, the authors reveal how Japanese wisteria climb using an unusual vascular architecture. Ectopic cambia arise from cortical cells and repurpose conserved cambium regulators, including KNOX genes.

Schizophrenia is a complex brain disorder with its underlying protein changes generally not well understood. Here, authors show widespread alterations in the prefrontal cortex, marked by reduced energy production and disrupted synaptic function.

This study provides a comprehensive profile of human fetal midbrain development and its comparison with lab-grown midbrain cultures. These findings demonstrate that midbrain organoids recapitulate fetal developmental stages while capturing essential spatial and molecular characteristics, relevant to dopamine-related disorders.

Transesterification reactions are essential in organic chemistry, however, performing these reactions in aqueous media is challenging due to the competing hydrolysis reaction. Here, the authors report a mutant of alcohol oxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium (PcAOx-VPN) that exhibits no hydrolytic activity, enabling transesterification reactions in water.