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Cell arrangement in the plane of epithelia is well studied, but its three-dimensional packing is largely unknown. Here the authors model curved epithelia and predict that cells adopt a geometrical shape they call “scutoid”, resulting in different apical and basal neighbours, and confirm the presence of scutoids in curved tissues.

NOTCH1 is a driver of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that can be inhibited by γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), but their clinical efficacy is limited. Here, the authors compare the phosphoproteomes of GSI resistant and sensitive models, and identify potential kinase targets to overcome GSI resistance.

Inducible gene expression tools have important applications as genetically encoded biosensors. Here the authors conduct a genome-wide approach to identify and utilise functional sensors.

A strategy exploiting species-specific miRNA expression may provide another layer of biosafety in gain-of-function influenza experiments.

Analysis of copy number alterations in 1,451 patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and matched patient tumor samples shows strong conservation from patient tumors through late-passage PDXs and a lack of systematic copy number evolution driven by the mouse host.

Analyses from the gut microbiome of over 1,000 individuals from the PREDICT 1 study, for which detailed long-term diet information as well as hundreds of fasting and same-meal postprandial cardiometabolic blood marker measurements are available, unveil new associations between specific gut microbes, dietary habits and cardiometabolic health.

After its release, the endocannabinoid anandamide is taken up from the synaptic cleft by internalization by neurons and astrocytes. Although several lines of evidence suggest that the anandamide uptake itself is a carrier-mediated diffusion process, the molecular identity of the transporter was unknown until now. Here Fu et al. show that anandamide uptake is mediated by a novel protein named FAAH-like anandamide transporter (FLAT) that is generated as an alternative splicing product of the fatty acid amide hydrolase-1 (Faah) mRNA.

As part of the second phase of Human Microbiome Project, the Multi-Omic Microbiome Study: Pregnancy Initiative presents a community resource to help better understand how microbiome and host profiles change throughout pregnancy as well as to identify new opportunities for assessment of the risk of preterm birth.

Vargas et al. report that innate immune signalling activation controls dendritic cell migration mode and function by regulating distinct F-actin networks at the cell front and rear.

Jones et al. examine the generalizability of the valence–dominance model of social judgements of faces in 41 countries across 11 world regions. They find evidence of both generalizability and variation, depending on the analytical method.

Accounting for inter- and intraspecies evolutionary relationships is important for conservation planning, but rarely considered in practice. A new framework identifies priority conservation areas accounting for evolutionary diversity.

Tsuji–Trost allylation is a traditional method for selective C-C bond formation that involves the use of palladium-based catalysts. Here, the authors report a metal-free, photocatalytic allylation of several heterocycles, amines and alcohols, which can be easily tuned towards the Z- or E- allylated product.

The jumbo contractile bacteriophage, Kp24, has been isolated from clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumonia. Here, the authors present structural and functional insight into the capsid, tail and tail fibres and how this impacts infectivity.

The basis for associations between lung cancer and major histocompatibility complex genes is not completely understood. Here the authors further consider genetic variation within the MHC region in lung cancer patients and identify independent associations within HLA genes that explain MHC lung cancer associations in Europeans and Asian populations.

A screen of more than 1,000 drugs shows that about a quarter of the non-antibiotic drugs inhibit the growth of at least one commensal bacterial strain in vitro.

Ancestry and socioeconomic factors influence predictable changes in the vaginal microbiome that occur early in pregnancy in women who experience normal term birth.

Microbial mats in extreme environments are analogues of Precambrian ecosystems. Here, the authors analyse metagenomes of microbial mats from a pond along a steep redox gradient and apply a space-for-time approach to infer early Earth metabolic transitions.

c-MYC genomic distribution is dictated by the epigenetic context but the mechanisms are unknown. Here, the authors show that c-MYC requires the chromatin reader BPTF to activate its transcriptional program and promote tumour development in vivo, suggesting that BPTF is a potential target for cancer therapy.

Platinum is the most active catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction, but the specific mechanism and the influence of the alkali metal cations remain elusive in alkaline media. Now, electrical transport spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are combined to elucidate the role of alkali metal cations for this reaction in alkaline electrolyte.

A bench-stable, aryl sulfonyl triazene is described that can be appended to alcohols or amines and used as a directing group to effect remote desaturation of unactivated aliphatics to produce olefins. The reaction is mild, operationally simple, requires no added metals and produces unsaturated tosylates or tosylamides available for further functionalization.

In rat models of spinal cord injury, the region of the spinal cord below the site of injury becomes hypoxic owing to inadequate blood flow. This effect on blood flow is due to increased production of neurotransmitters known as ‘trace amines,’ which act on pericytes to constrict blood vessels. Alleviation of hypoxia by hyperoxic breathing or inhibition of trace amine synthesis or action improves locomotor function in the injured rats.

Spatiotemporal characterization of microbial diversity and antibiotic resistance in a tertiary-care hospital reveals broad distribution and persistence of antibiotic-resistant organisms that could cause opportunistic infections in a healthcare setting.

The genetics underlying bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) remain unclear. Here, using a genome-wide chemical-genetic approach, the authors map the diversity of resistance determinants across AMPs in Escherichia coli and provide evidence that cross-resistance is prevalent only between AMPs with similar modes of action.

Deforestation carbon emissions from the Brazilian Amazon have declined steeply, but how much drought-induced forest fire emissions add to this process is still unclear. Here the authors show that gross emissions from forest fires are more than half as great as those from deforestation during drought years.

Lin, Louca et al. examine common inflammatory proteins associated with both socioeconomic deprivation and frailty and their relationship with CVD risk in females. Key proteins CDCP1, TNFSF14, and HGF mediate the associations between deprivation and CVD risk, suggesting inflammation as a shared biological pathway.

Chronic infections of the fallopian tubes with Chlamydia trachomatis can cause scarring and infertility. Here, the authors show that the pathogen alters stem cell differentiation and DNA methylation in human fallopian tube organoids, suggesting a potential link to cellular ageing and malignant transformation.

We propose a new nomenclature for mpox virus lineages with sustained human-to-human transmission to improve tracking, communication and public health response.

SQANTI3 offers a flexible tool for quality control, curation and annotation of long-read RNA sequencing data.

A hallmark of Huntington's disease is the accumulation of polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin (htt) protein in striatal neurons. The removal of cytosolic mutant htt is known to be mediated by the macroautophagy-lysosomal system. Here the authors specifically identify the defective step of autophagy in Huntington's models, in which autophagosomes fail to recognize mutant htt as a cargo destined for degradation.

mTOR complex 1 signalling regulates polyamine metabolism and thereby promotes tumorigenesis, through regulation of the stability of a key enzyme, AMD1.

The authors find that aged mice have decreased expression of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a2 in the hippocampus. Rescue of Dnmt3a2 expression in aged mice reversed learning and memory deficits, whereas decreasing Dnmt3a2 expression in young mice impaired memory formation.

Matthew Brown, Peter Donnelly and colleagues report results of a genome-wide association meta-analysis and follow-up study of ankylosing spondylitis. They identify three new risk variants and report a genetic interaction between ERAP1 and HLA-B27, implicating aberrant peptide handling in the pathophysiology of this disease.

A single dose of a broadly neutralizing, HIV-specific antibody transiently reduces viral load in plasma, and in some individuals is associated with durable virus suppression in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.

Suppression of quantum tunneling in molecular magnets is key for their magnetic behaviours to be exploitable. Here, the authors show that tuning the geometry of lanthanide single-ion magnets leads to a suppression of the quantum tunneling, finding a three-fold reduction of the tunnel splitting upon changing the crystal field symmetry.

Gradients of the secreted morphogen Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) pattern the neural tube in vertebrates. Cohen et al.quantify Shh signalling in developing mice, and by constructing a computational model of the process, identify mechanisms by which the dynamics of Shh signalling are regulated.

In a sample of over 4,000 participants from 19 countries, the core patterns from a highly influential study on behaviour and decision-making broadly replicate, with only minor exceptions and somewhat smaller effect sizes.

Understanding how adhesion to the niche influences the behaviour of neural stem cells (NSCs) would contribute to our knowledge of tissue renewal. Farinas and colleagues have found that a metalloprotease sheds the N-cadherin ectodomain in the niche and that this participates in the activation of NSC generation and identity.