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The ability to support the development of a premature fetus in the form of an extracorporeal system has had limited success. Here, the authors show that an extra-uterine device that mimics the intra-uterine environment can provide physiologic support for the extreme premature lamb fetus for four weeks.

Kirkland et al. identify conserved age-dependent nuclear remodeling in Drosophila cardiomyocytes, dependent on declining Lamin C. They show that Lamin C loss induces reversible heart dysfunction by repressing myogenic transcription factors.

The Hunga Tonga eruption represents a natural experiment, being a clearly identifiable near-point source producing gravity waves across a broad range of spatiotemporal and frequency scales, observed by a diverse array of instruments worldwide.

Recreating the structural complexity of meat has been a major challenge in developing alternative proteins. Here, the authors present two injectable metamaterials that mimic the multi-scale properties of fat and muscle, enabling a cost-effective process for injection molding of whole cuts.

A class of chimeric synthetic antibiotics that bind to lipopolysaccharide and BamA shows potent activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, with the potential to address life-threatening infections.

Active chiral fluids are a special case of active matter in which energy is introduced into rotational motion via local application of torque. Here Banerjee et al. develop a hydrodynamic theory of such active fluids and connect it with odd viscosity which was previously considered an abstract concept.

Here, the authors identify widespread disease associations of gut archaea, particularly in colorectal cancer, with further experiments revealing Methanobrevibacter smithii cooperation with cancer-associated bacteria and co-production of metabolites with tumor-modulating potential.

The lowest-frequency gravitational wave background may be shaped by supermassive black hole binaries that scatter nearby stars or dark matter. In this case, the NANOGrav 15-year dataset favours dense galactic centres with 10⁶ solar masses per cubic parsec.

Phage engineered with tail fibers and CRISPR–Cas reduce Escherichia coli load in animals.

Strategies to change meat consumption patterns remain poorly understood. Using decomposition analysis, this study shows that the decline in UK meat consumption is driven by the consumption of smaller portions of meat, followed by reducing the number of days and occasions on which meat is consumed.

Mechanical forces act at the core of bird embryonic self-organization, shaping both tissues and gene expression to robustly yet plastically canalize early development.

The transition to sustainable diets is challenging for countries that face malnutrition and limited resources. Now a study explores how various dietary transformations in China can improve public health, make food affordable and reduce environmental impacts, while evaluating the feasibility of the diet changes.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Long-range interactions have been predicted to enable a phase transition in one-dimensional systems. An experiment now validates this hypothesis in a trapped-ion quantum simulator by observing a finite-energy phase transition in one dimension.

The effectiveness of the different policies and policy bundles for food systems transformation to achieve SDGs in China vary widely. Using an integrated modelling framework covering 18 indicators, this study compares the trade-offs and outcomes of efforts focused on dietary transitions, climate change mitigation and ecological conservation, and faster socioeconomic development, ultimately revealing that dietary shifts offer the most benefits.

The future of food prices is uncertain yet key for food security and climate mitigation policies. This study estimates future food prices for 136 countries and 11 distinct food groups, showing that future food prices will become less sensitive to agricultural market dynamics and land-based mitigation policies, given the global transition towards more complex and industrial food systems.

Metamaterials are engineered media with properties that mimic those of natural materials, but offer a much wider range of possibilities. Here, the authors numerically demonstrate an elastic-wave analogue of the quantum spin Hall effect in a phononic topological metamaterial.

Common variants in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene are linked to body mass index (BMI). Using the latest UK Biobank data, this study shows novel gene x environment interactions between FTOand lifestyle factors, including frequency of alcohol consumption, sleep, and added dietary salt.

Superconducting giant atoms are realized in a waveguide by coupling small atoms to the waveguide at multiple discrete locations, producing tunable atom–waveguide coupling and enabling decoherence-free interactions.

Vaccination is effective in protecting from COVID-19. Here the authors report immune responses and breakthrough infections in twice-vaccinated patients receiving anti-TNF treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, and find dampened vaccine responses that implicate the need of adapted vaccination schedules for these patients.

There is a large diversity of inhibitory interneurons in the mammalian cerebral cortex. How this emerges during embryogenesis remains unclear. Here, the authors identify MTG8 as a co-factor of LHX6 and a new regulator of cortical interneuron development.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

January 2022 saw the first observations of a tsunami resulting from a large emergent volcanic eruption (Hunga Tonga) captured using modern instrumentation, with broad implications for hazard management in similar geophysical settings.

SlyB, a lipoprotein in the PhoPQ stress regulon in Gram-negative bacteria, forms stable stress-induced complexes with the outer membrane proteome.

This study presents a method to create nanoscale polarization transient gratings in the EUV range. Unlike intensity gratings, it reduces thermal effects, revealing hidden material dynamics. This enables new insights in chiral materials and ultrafast magnetism.

A molecule placed in an optical microcavity behaves as a model two-level quantum system, as demonstrated via laser extinction and interaction with single photons.

A screen of nutrient-derived compounds identified trans-vaccenic acid as a promoter of effector T cell function, and functional assays demonstrate that this occurs via inactivation of GPR43 on T cells.

Developing efficient reservoir computing hardware that combines optically excited acoustic and spin waves with high spatial density remains a challenge. In this work, the authors propose a design capable of recognizing visual shapes drawn by a laser within remarkably confined spaces, down to 10 square microns.

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.

An optical atomic clock operating on a magnetic-dipole transition in a highly charged argon ion is shown to improve uncertainties for the absolute transition frequency and isotope shift by several orders of magnitude.

Bedload can dominate river sediment flux after a major earthquake for a prolonged time period.

The authors show that FOXM1 transcription factor transgene induction in Hutchison–Gilford progeria and naturally aged mice significantly extends their lifespan via restoring the loss of Foxm1 function with age that contributes to the aging phenotypes.