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This study introduces an ion mobility–mass spectrometry method for de novo glycan structure identification, using a self-expanding database that reduces reliance on synthetic reference standards.

Human brain organoids are plagued by heterogeneity and poor reproducibility, critical parameters for reliable disease modeling and drug testing. Here, the authors report on Hi-Q organoids which solve these limitations and can be cryopreserved in large quantities.

Expression of HNF1A and KRT81 stratifies pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors into different subtypes, and expression of cytochrome P450 3A5 mediates basal and/or drug-induced therapy resistance in each subtype.

Tutas et al. show an unconventional role for autophagy in the regulation of glycolytic flux in cerebellar Purkinje cells by maintaining the levels of the glucose transporter GLUT2.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across different populations highlights new risk loci and provides a genetic risk score that can stratify prostate cancer risk across ancestries.

The PSA (KLK3) genetic variant rs17632542 is associated with reduced prostate cancer risk and lower serum PSA levels, although the underlying reasons are unclear. Here, the authors show that this PSA variant reduced proteolytic activity and leads to smaller tumours, but also increases invasion and bone metastasis, indicating its dual risk association depending on tumour context; the variant is associated with both lower risk and poor clinical outcomes.

Human brain structure changes throughout the lifespan. Brouwer et al. identified genetic variants that affect rates of brain growth and atrophy. The genes are linked to early brain development and neurodegeneration and suggest involvement of metabolic processes.

Current methods for detecting proliferation in live cells cannot distinguish between dividing cells and cells that are progressing through the cell cycle. Here, a method is described that detects anillin in the contractile ring and in the midbody of cells during M-phase, providing a more accurate detection of dividing cells.

Atomic oxygen is important for the photochemistry and energy balance of Venus’s atmosphere, but it was not directly observed on the dayside of Venus. Here, the authors show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the both dayside and nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at 4.74 THz.

Cortex morphology varies with age, cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here the authors report 160 genome-wide significant associations with thickness, surface area and volume of the total cortex and 34 cortical regions from a GWAS meta-analysis in 22,824 adults.

Genome-wide analysis identifies variants associated with the volume of seven different subcortical brain regions defined by magnetic resonance imaging. Implicated genes are involved in neurodevelopmental and synaptic signaling pathways.

Analysis of the cell surface proteome (surfaceome) is essential for cell classification but is technically challenging. Here the authors miniaturize and automate the Cell Surface Capture method to increase sensitivity, reproducibility and throughput, and use it to create population-specific surfaceome maps of developing mouse B cells.

Studies of the planetary nebula NGC 7027, using an upgraded spectrometer onboard a high-altitude observatory, have identified the rotational ground-state transition of the helium hydride ion—the first molecule to form after the Big Bang and an essential precursor to molecular hydrogen.

In this largest whole-exome sequencing study of epilepsies to date, the Epi25 Collaborative identified extremely rare variants that confer risk for diverse epilepsy subtypes, highlighting roles in synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability.

The hippocampus in mammalian brain varies in size across individuals. Here, Hibar and colleagues perform a genome-wide association meta-analysis to find six genetic loci with significant association to hippocampus volume.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses identify 26 risk loci for epilepsy, including 19 loci specific to genetic generalized epilepsy. Prioritized candidate genes implicate synaptic processes and overlap with targets of antiseizure medications.

Radke et al. found an interferon response in the brainstem nuclei of acute COVID-19 that, in addition to the inflammatory reaction, spreads throughout the vascular unit altering glial cells and resolves in late disease states in the absence of brain infection.

Direct dates for human remains found in association with Initial Upper Palaeolithic artefacts at Bacho Kiro Cave (Bulgaria) demonstrate the presence of Homo sapiens in the mid-latitudes of Europe before 45 thousand years ago.

Amyloid precursor protein contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. An et al. show that its increase in white adipose tissue under a high-fat diet promotes obesity and impairs mitochondrial function by blocking the protein import machinery.

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is a therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) with undetermined mechanism of action. Here the authors find that clinical response to DMF associates with decrease in IL-17-producing CD8⁺ T cells (Tc17), delineate molecular pathways involved, and show that DMF suppresses Tc17 pathogenicity in a mouse model of MS.

Sleep deprivation is believed to lead to homeostatic increases in synaptic strength and reduced inducibility of associative LTP, based mainly on findings from animal studies. Here, Kuhn et al. demonstrate similar sleep-dependent synaptic plasticity changes in humans along with altered plasma BDNF levels.

In a GWAS study of 32,438 adults, the authors discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function and to Parkinson's disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways, including PI3K-AKT signaling.

Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis in 26,699 people with seizures and 492,324 controls to identify 25 genome-wide significant copy-number variants. The discovered loci point to known disease genes and associations with clinical annotations.

The metathesis of carbon–carbon double bonds is an important tool in organic synthesis and now a similar reshuffling has been carried out with heavier alkene analogues featuring unsymmetrically substituted Ge=Ge double bonds. This reaction enables the synthesis of symmetric molecular digermenes as well as a polymer based on Ge=Ge repeat units.

Frei et al. show that a new tri-functional reagent identifies unknown cell-surface receptors bound by known ligands on living cells.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of prostate cancer performed in 156,319 cases and 788,443 controls identifies 187 novel risk variants associated with the disease. Genetic risk scores associated with overall risk, and risk of aggressive disease in men of African ancestry.

Impulsivity is a multi-dimensional construct, and it is plausible that distinct brain networks contribute to its different aspects. Here the authors identify distinct cortical and subcortical networks underlying cognitive, clinical and genetic dimensions of impulsivity in a large sample of adolescents.

The levels of 1,251 metabolites are measured in 475 phenotyped individuals, and machine-learning algorithms reveal that diet and the microbiome are the determinants with the strongest predictive power for the levels of these metabolites.

The authors defined a roadmap for investigating the genetic covariance between structural or functional brain phenotypes and risk for psychiatric disorders. Their proof-of-concept study using the largest available common variant data sets for schizophrenia and volumes of several (mainly subcortical) brain structures did not find evidence of genetic overlap.

Genome-wide association studies are used to identify common genetic variants that affect the structure of selected subcortical regions of the human brain; their identification provides insight into the causes of variability in brain development and may help to determine mechanisms of neuropsychiatric dysfunction.