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Using active and passive genomic surveillance, researchers observed the rapid spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 D1.1 viruses in wild birds during the 2024 migratory season, which coincided with detection in humans, but did not identify mammalian adaptive markers in viruses from wild birds.

Treatment-seeking for fever is widely used to estimate treatment of childhood infections, but cross-country comparisons are problematic. Here, the authors estimate the probability of seeking treatment for fever at public facilities across 29 countries by quantifying person-level latent variables.

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).

Adsorption of trace transition-metal cations endows common Ca/Mg-carbonates and phyllosilicates with catalytic activity for electrochemical CO2 reduction under planetary conditions, potentially promoting prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life.

A new optical imaging study demonstrates that norepinephrine and the state of arousal influence hemodynamic correlations across cerebral cortex, calling for a conceptual shift in interpreting functional magnetic resonance imaging data.

Colonic stem cells retain a memory of inflammation following disease resolution and there is a mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and malignancy, suggesting potential strategies to mitigate cancer risk in patients with chronic inflammatory conditions.

Soil fauna is an important but often neglected component of terrestrial food webs. Here the authors use a large dataset of stable isotope observations to analyse how soil animal trophic diversity varies across climates and land-use types and identify potential biotic mechanisms.

It is unclear whether the harsh abiotic conditions of drylands hinder biological invasions. This global analysis shows that drylands are vulnerable to non-native plants and are likely to become more so as native plant diversity declines and grazing pressure intensifies.

Gene correction in the lung is achieved with inhalable mRNA lipid nanoparticles containing an amino acid-derived ionizable lipid identified from screening and structure–function optimization studies.

Traditional quiz scores provide limited insight into what students know. Here, the authors show that text embedding models combined with short multiple-choice quizzes yield detailed maps of conceptual knowledge and learning.

Observations of a nearby type I superluminous supernova showing oscillating light-curve bumps provide evidence of a centrally located magnetar in the wake of the explosion, surrounded by an infalling accretion disk undergoing Lense–Thirring precession.

In this study, the authors analyze data from 143 studies involving 2,743 patients to compare the efficacy of neuromodulatory invasive and non-invasive interventions in the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder.

A sample of X-ray-weak active galactic nuclei at high redshift may be accreting above the Eddington limit. This could explain their large masses without the need for heavy supermassive black hole seeds at cosmic dawn.

Age-related microbiome changes increase medium-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, driving GPR84-mediated myeloid inflammation, impaired vagal signalling and hippocampal dysfunction; targeting this gut–brain pathway restores memory in aged mice.

Toker et al. present an AI framework that identifies mechanisms of consciousness. The model predicts new drivers of unconsciousness and identifies subthalamic nucleus stimulation as a potential therapy for disorders of consciousness.

Starburst galaxies are seen to host galaxy-scale winds, which are super-fast and could be powered entirely by the thermal pressure of gas heated by supernovae.

Results of the phase 2 POLAR trial show that biomarker-guided treatment in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer based on homologous repair deficiency leads to encouraging clinical response rates in immune cell-infiltrated tumors.

In the nonpivotal stage 1 of the randomized phase 3 PRESERVE-003 trial, patients with immunochemotherapy-resistant metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer without actionable genomic alterations treated with the next-generation, pH-sensitive anti-CTLA-4 agent gotistobart had encouraging overall survival outcomes compared to docetaxel.

A high-resolution spectroscopic analysis reveals ultralow amounts of heavy elements in the star SDSS J0715−7334. The star originates from the Large Magellanic Cloud and probably formed directly after the first stars through dust cooling.

Hodgson, Huang, Lang et al. show that TDP-43 limits ribonucleoprotein particle condensation into paraspeckles in a concentration- and polymerization-dependent manner. They also link paraspeckle condensation to stress response and neuroprotection.

In this study, long-read RNA sequencing achieves accurate single-nucleotide polymorphism calling, haplotype phasing and allele-specific expression analysis.

NuMA activates dynein to organize the mitotic spindle by linking motor-driven transport with microtubule (MT) minus-end control. Mitotic phosphorylation relieves NuMA autoinhibition, enabling dynein motility and focusing MT minus-ends into asters.

The rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 challenges antibody therapeutics, but glycan-masked antigens enable isolation of class 3 monoclonal antibodies that potently neutralize diverse Omicron variants and reveal cross-reactive epitopes.

Active wetting and fluidification of breast cancer epithelia are shown to be controlled by IRSp53 and Afadin, cell adhesion proteins that regulate multicellular viscosity and tensile state during tumour progression.

Single-nucleus chromatin and RNA sequencing identifies epigenetic chromatin domains that confer vulnerability to paediatric brain tumours such as ependymomas, providing insight into the development of such tumours despite ‘quiet’ genomes.

The excitatory neuron diversity and specialized connectivity of complex, multilayered mammalian neocortex are driven by mammalian-specific cis-regulatory elements bound by ZBTB18, deletion of which disrupts gene expression and results in projection patterns resembling those of non-mammalian brains.

Merlin, a vision–language foundation model trained on a large dataset of paired CT scans, patient record data and radiology reports, demonstrates strong performance across model architectures, diagnostic and prognostic tasks, and external sites.

SPX1 is an inositol (pyro)phosphate-dependent negative regulator of DNA binding by the PHR transcription factor. Here the authors show that SPX1 can also bind the promoter element targeted by PHR suggesting a role for SPX1 during phosphate deficiency.

A monolithically integrated photonic ski-jump enables scalable, diffraction-limited 2D beam scanning from photonic chips, achieving ultrahigh spot rates, compact footprints and applications spanning displays, sensing and quantum photonics.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal cancer due to late detection and rapid progression. Here, the authors integrate multi-regional whole genome and RNA sequencing to characterize intratumoural heterogeneity and evolutionary trajectories underlying the malignant transformation of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms into invasive PDAC.

XRISM spectroscopy of the nucleus of the Circinus galaxy indicates elemental abundances suggestive of a dominant enrichment from core-collapse supernovae with progenitors below 20 solar masses; more massive stars may directly collapse into black holes.

Genome-wide analysis coupled with long-read sequencing identifies a repeat expansion in GOLGA8A associated with high risk for atypical frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions.

This study analyses whole-genome sequencing data of cancer samples from 10,983 patients and explores relationships among mutational signatures, various biomarkers and clinical outcomes.

Bacteria are able to covalently incorporate n:3 polyfluoroalkyl carboxylates into phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol, two major components of bacterial lipid bilayers.

Scabies is a parasitic skin disease with limited treatment options and major global impact. Here, the authors describe structures of a pH sensitive ion channel from the scabies mite, identify residues likely involved in pH sensing, and show pH-dependent ivermectin action and gating impact.

In this phase 1, open-label dose-escalation study in healthy adults found that the mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1215), encoding the Nipah virus Malaysian strain chimeric pre-fusion F protein linked to glycoprotein G, was safe and induced elevated immune responses at 1 year of follow-up, indicating that this is a promising vaccine candidate for further development.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly important role in drug target identification and assessment, based on its proficiency in analysing large datasets and biological networks. This article reviews advances in the application of AI-driven approaches for therapeutic target exploration, and discusses how to address challenges and limitations in the field.

Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) may develop peritoneal metastases (PM), but information on the immune niche is still lacking. Here, the authors analyze primary tumor and metastasis samples to reveal a skewed innate lymphoid cell balance marked by an increase in ILC1/tissue-resident NK cells.

Glacial cycles can modulate volcanism. Using models of magma transport under ice loading, this study shows that ice sheets can stall rising magma at depth, suppressing eruptions and promoting magma evolution until deglaciation resumes activity.

A deep-learning approach applied to routine CT scans is used to quantify the health of the thymus in a cohort of patients with cancer, and shows that thymic function is associated with immunotherapy outcomes.

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.

Disease heterogeneity complicates precision medicine, which focuses on single conditions and ignores shared mechanisms. Here the authors introduce ‘pan-disease’ analysis using a deep learning model on multi-organ data, identifying 11 AI-derived biomarkers that reveal new therapeutic targets and pathways, enhancing patient stratification for disease risk monitoring and drug discovery.

Genomic analyses applied to 14 childhood- and adult-onset psychiatric disorders identifies five underlying genomic factors that explain the majority of the genetic variance of the individual disorders.

Plasma ctDNA testing for FGFR alterations in metastatic urothelial carcinoma shows high concordance with tissue testing and identifies additional patients with actionable alterations. Here, the authors show that clinical uptake of ctDNA FGFR testing can be combined with tissue-based approaches.