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Synapse nanocolumns control neural transmission through precise alignment of neurotransmitter receptors and release sites. Here, the authors identify the Neurexin-LRRTM2 complex as a central organiser of excitatory synapse nanostructure and function.

Analysis of HbA1c and FPG levels across 117 population-based studies demonstrates regional variation in prevalence of previously undiagnosed screen-detected diabetes using one or both measures and suggests that use of elevated FPG alone could underestimate diabetes prevalence in low- and middle-income countries.

In a post-approval study including more than 17,000 patients on the safety of pulsed field ablation, a new method for treatment of atrial fibrillation, the procedure was found to have a low rate of adverse events but was associated with some unexpected rare complications that will need further study.

There are a growing number of reports of neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections. Here, De Luca and colleagues systematically analyse 176 published cases to better understand the route of transmission, as well as the clinical features and outcomes of neonatal COVID-19.

Observations of TOI-849b reveal a radius smaller than Neptune’s but a large mass of about 40 Earth masses, indicating that the planet is the remnant core of a gas giant.

Analysing data on the relative abundance of basal area of ectomycorrhizal trees from lowland tropical forests, the authors show that their distribution and abundance are independent of soil quality.

An ultra-rapid 3D immunostaining protocol can uniformly label organ-scale tissues.

The neoantigen discovery pipeline NeoDisc incorporates mass spectrometry immunopeptidomics data.

Integrating silencing RNA into the backbone of a microRNA that is highly enriched in small extracellular vesicles reduces the therapeutic dose of the silencing RNA.

Causality places fundamental limits on the hydrodynamic behaviour of relativistic systems that are independent of the underlying model.

Combined analysis of the connectome and transcriptome in the mouse cortex indicates that dynamic differences in expression levels of largely generic sets of genes regulate differential targeting within neuronal subtypes.

Monitoring of cerebral function in human neonates remains challenging. Here, the authors propose a bedside monitoring technique using functional ultrasound to identify markers of cerebral activity based on intrinsic functional connectivity for early brain function monitoring.

The typical platforms to generate multimode lasers rely on mode locking, achieved via a saturable absorber and fast dynamics of the gain. The authors demonstrate that mode locking in semiconductor photonic bandgap lasers is possible in the absence of a fast nonlinear mechanism, proposing an effective way of generating waveforms à la carte.

Analysis of pottery made and used by hunter-gatherers in northeastern Europe in the sixth millennium bc supports the existence of super-regional networks enabling cultural transmission long before the arrival of farming.

Biomarkers of prostate cancer metastasis have been difficult to determine with confidence. Here the authors analyse mutation prevalence in 1844 prostate cancers and show that ZNRF3 loss is enriched in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer and associated with metastasis of localized disease.

A challenging problem is to identify the most central agents in interconnected multilayer networks. Here, De Domenico et al. present a mathematical framework to calculate centrality in such networks—versatility—and rank nodes accordingly.

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

A mapping linking a desired molecular property to a 3D structure would facilitate molecular design. Here, the authors parameterize the chemical space of small organic molecules using quantum properties via machine learning, providing insights into targeted molecular design.

Organoid modeling of human forebrain development reveals an opposite imbalance in excitatory neuron number in macrocephalic and normocephalic autistic probands, stemming from divergent expression of transcription factors driving cell fate.

A new study of samples from the Ryugu asteroid reveal a greater diversity of macromolecular organic matter than that found in related carbonaceous meteorites. Researchers find distinct populations of alkyl-aromatic grains, and organic carbonate is found with coarse-grained clay minerals

Protein-protein interactions are central in cell metabolism but research tools for their characterization are missing. Here, the authors introduce strategies for the discovery of nanobodies that modulate the SOS1•RAS complex formation.

Charlet, Grinevich et al. show that social touch between female rats activates parvocellular oxytocin neurons; these neurons control social behavior by coordinating the responses of the much larger population of magnocellular oxytocin neurons.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

Species’ range shifts projections are usually based on climate and land cover variables. Here, the authors use long-term records for bird species to show that species distribution models accounting for climate and land cover often fail to predict observed range shifts.

Decisions under uncertainty involve a balance between exploiting familiar valuable options and exploring unfamiliar ones. Here, the authors study hippocampal responses using fMRI during a reinforcement learning task, and show the differential involvement of the anterior-posterior regions in the explore-exploit aspects of the task.

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

Isotope engineering of silicon carbide leads to control of nuclear spins associated with single divacancy centres and extended electron spin coherence.

Inflammation can result in the formation of tumours, but the immune system is also involved in the elimination of cancer cells. Here, the authors show that inflammation driven by tumour-specific CD4⁺T cells results in tumour regression and identify a list of cytokines associated with cancer prevention.

There is a lot of uncertainty about what Earth’s climate and geography were like in the early Cambrian, when animal life diversified throughout the oceans. Here we show that numeric comparisons of model simulations and climatically influenced rocks can help constrain geography and climate during this time.

The interaction of nanoparticles with target tissues is important in the design of nanoparticle-based therapies. Here, the authors develop a microfluidic chip to assess the interaction of nanoparticles with tumour tissues and demonstrate its capacity to predict in vivonanoparticle behaviour.

The authors propose a synaptic plasticity rule for pyramidal neurons based on postsynaptic bursting that captures experimental data and solves the credit assignment problem for deep networks.

It is known that invasive lung adenocarcinomas evolve from pre-cancerous dysplastic lesions. In this study, the authors show that evolution of pre-cancerous lesions is accompanied by DNA methylation alterations, and that global hypomethylation correlates with immune infiltration, mutational burden and copy number alterations.

Pioneer factors direct cell fate through switching inaccessible chromatin to an accessible state at specific target enhancers. Here the authors show that HOX13 transcription factors have a pioneer activity which is required for the proper implementation of the distal limb developmental program.

Oligodendrocyte (OL) injury and loss is a pathologic hallmark of multiple sclerosis. Here, the authors show the presence of stress granules in OLs in multiple sclerosis lesions, and their in vitro studies in human OLs indicate that stress granules formation is a response to a combination of metabolic stress and pro-inflammatory conditions.

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles are utilized in Fe(II)-induced ferroptosis for cancer therapy, but controlling the Fe(II) release from magnetic nanoparticles remains challenging. Here the authors reveal that photothermia at the nanoscale can remotely trigger the degradation of magnetic nanoparticles, leading to Fe(II) release and a synergistic photothermo-ferroptotic therapy.

By comparing the genome-wide profile of H4K16ac in AD with younger and elder controls, the authors propose a mechanism for how age is a risk factor for AD: a histone modification, whose accumulation is associated with aging, is dysregulated in AD.

Here, using human liver chimeric mice, the authors describe perturbation of the diurnal transcriptome and epigenome of human hepatocytes during hepatitis C virus infection, affecting pathways mediating metabolic alterations, fibrosis, and cancer, and further show that the pathways remain affected in patients with advanced liver disease.

Reorganized ocean circulation during Late Ordovician cooling altered oxygenation through the water column, provoking a new look at the extinction mechanism, according to anoxia reconstructions using the I/Ca proxy and Earth system modelling.

We report the oldest direct evidence of thylakoid membranes in a parallel-to-contorted arrangement within the enigmatic cylindrical microfossils Navifusa majensis from the McDermott Formation, Tawallah Group, Australia (1.78–1.73 Ga).

The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin exerts analgesic effects, but the underlying pathways remain largely elusive. Here, the authors describe an analgesic pathway formed by oxytocin neurons projecting to the periaqueductal grey, where axonally released oxytocin activates oxytocin-receptor expressing GABA neurons and subsequently reduces pain-like behaviors in both female and male rats.

Authors explore the utility of CD5L for treating experimental sepsis. CD5L deficiency exacerbates experimental sepsis. Conversely, administration of recombinant CD5L in WT mice augments neutrophil function, enhances bacterial control, and mitigates inflammation, leading to substantial improvements in disease outcomes.

Endocannabinoid signalling processes are implicated in body weight regulation. Here, authors used viral-genetic tools to identify the enzyme ABHD6 in postsynaptic mesoaccumbal neurons is a key determinant of body weight and reward-relevant behaviour.

Periaqueductal gray (PAG) inputs control hunting, but foraging-inducing PAG cells were unidentified. Here, authors show that in mice activity in the projection of vgat PAG cells to the zona incerta is sufficient and necessary for food-seeking.

TOPOVIBL and REC114 are required for meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This study shows that TOPOVIBL forms a complex with REC114 and mice carrying mutations that disrupt the interaction show DSB defects with distinct outcomes in males and females.

Genomic surveillance has been important for tracking the evolution and spread of SARS-CoV-2. Here, the authors analyse ~300,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from two years of sequencing in the Latin America and Caribbean regions and describe the emergence and spread of different lineages over time.