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Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease study reveal declines in chronic respiratory disease mortality between 1990 and 2023—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic—but the burdens on people affected remain substantial.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Geospatial estimates of the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age across 82 low-income and middle-income countries reveals considerable heterogeneity and inequality at national and subnational levels, with few countries on track to meet the WHO Global Nutrition Targets by 2030.

Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

Systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study reported that, despite global improvements from 1990 to 2021, dietary iron deficiency-associated disease burden remains high in women, children and residents in low socio-demographic index countries.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Among the wide variety of synthetic processes that chemists have developed, only a few can be carried out under physiological conditions. A condensation reaction that is controlled by the constituents of cells has led to the formation of nanostructures within living cells.

Spatial organization of the genome plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression. Here the authors introduce GMAP, the Gaussian Mixture model And Proportion test, to identify topologically associating domains and subdomains in Hi-C data.

Zhang, Chang et al. identify the protein TMEM65 as the mitochondrial Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger, showing that it dimerizes to mediate ion transport and contains a binding site for a well-known inhibitor of mitochondrial Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchange.

The MmpL5/MmpS5 efflux system is crucial for drug extrusion and siderophore export in M. tuberculosis. Here, the authors report its high-resolution cryo-EM structures, revealing a unique trimeric assembly and a flexible extracellular stalk.

During phosphatidylcholine (PC) remodeling re-acylation is catalyzed by lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferases (LPCAT). Here, the authors present crystal and cryo-EM structures of chicken LPCAT3 in the apo-, acyl donor-bound and acyl receptor-bound states, and based on the structures and further functional analysis they discuss the mechanism of the enzyme.

MultiSTAAR provides a general and flexible statistical framework for functionally informed multi-trait rare variant analysis of biobank-scale sequencing studies by jointly analyzing multiple traits and incorporating annotation information.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Hydrogen isotope exchange is essential for the synthesis of deuterium-labeled compounds but remains challenging under mild conditions. This study demonstrates the selective deuteration of alkylarenes at room temperature using atomically dispersed surface barium hydride.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study identifies 13 new loci associated with serum lipids.

Tuberculosis drugs induce the expression of IniA, but so far little has been known about its structure and function. Here the authors present the apo and GTP bound crystal structures of Mycobacterium smegmatis IniA, which folds as a bacterial dynamin-like protein and show that IniA mediates membrane fission in vitro.

Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative to train accurate and generalizable ML models, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here, the authors present the largest FL study to-date to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for glioblastoma.

Red and improved green versions of the genetically encoded dopamine sensor GRAB_DA have been developed. These neurotransmitter sensors are used alone or in combination with, for example, calcium sensors in behaving fruit flies and rodents.

Fine-scale geospatial mapping of overweight and wasting (two components of the double burden of malnutrition) in 105 LMICs shows that overweight has increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 6.0% in children under 5 in 2017. Although overall wasting decreased over the same period, most countries are not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025.

Here the authors develop a dispersive Fourier transform (DFT) based LIDAR method utilizing phase-locked Vernier dual soliton laser combs and demonstrate improved precision in the measurements.

GWAS have identified more than 500 genetic loci associated with blood lipid levels. Here, the authors report a genome-wide analysis of interactions between genetic markers and physical activity, and find that physical activity modifies the effects of four genetic loci on HDL or LDL cholesterol.

Sleep duration is associated with an adverse lipid profile. Here, the authors perform genome-wide gene-by-sleep interaction analysis and find 49 previously unreported lipid loci when considering short or long total sleep time.

Supramolecular interactions allow some small molecules to self-assemble into nanofibres and hydrogels in aqueous environments. Gaoet al.report a hydrogelator that forms fluorescent nanofibres within cells, leading to the visualization of their self-assembly at the endoplasmic reticulum.

Collagen requires complicated modifications for proper assembly. Here, the authors show the structural basis of human collagen processing by the P3H1/CRTAP/PPIB complex, revealing a ‘face-to-face’ catalytic site configuration, collagen binding sites, and transition between trimer and hexamer states.

Bhattacharjee and Schaeffer et al. map exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in 94 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), finding increased EBF practice and reduced subnational variation across the majority of LMICs from 2000 to 2018. However, only six LMICs will meet WHO’s target of ≥70% EBF by 2030 nationally, and only three will achieve this in all districts.

Structural insights into the Derlin-1/p97 complex reveal a dynamic 6:6 architecture that expands the ERAD retrotranslocation pathway, highlighting ATPase-powered plasticity in processing bulky substrates.

Imaging sensitivity and quantitation in MRI can be enhanced via ratiometric MRI probes leveraging magnetic-susceptibility-dependent magnetic resonance tuning.

Here, four cryo-EM structures of Mtb OppABCD reveal an assembly of a cluster C substrate-binding protein and its translocator, as well as the [4Fe–4S] cluster-regulated transport mechanism of oligopeptide permeases found in bacteria.

Researchers unveiled the structural details of sphingomyelin synthase (SMSr), shedding light on its role in sphingolipid biosynthesis. SMSr transfers the phosphoethanolamine from PE to ceramide, adding complexity to the field of lipid homeostasis.

A particle-filter algorithm for single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, implemented in a tool called THUNDER, provides high-dimensional parameter estimation, improving the obtainable resolution for several protein structures.

The efficiency of lead-halide perovskite photovoltaics is related to the tolerance of their band-edge charge-carriers to point defects. Here, the authors show that this tolerance can be extended to hot carriers depending on the defect energy level.

In this disease mapping study, the authors estimate disability-adjusted life year rates for three of the major causes of mortality for children under five 43 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They identify significant heterogeneity at the subnational level, highlighting the need for a targeted intervention approach.

A crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 with inhibitor carmofur reveals the mechanism of action of this compound and opens the way to develop more potent drugs.

Neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of vagus are involved in the absorption of fat in the intestine, and the natural compound puerarin shows utility in modulating this brain–gut axis to reduce fat absorption.

Cells maintain a narrow physiological pH by exchanging intracellular bicarbonate for extracellular chloride. Here, authors determine the cryo-EM structures of human anion exchanger 2 (AE2) in five major operating states and one transitional state, to collectively demonstrate the process of pH-balancing.

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a bone disease caused by mutations in tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). Here, authors solved the crystal and cryoEM structures of TNAP, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms underlying HPP.

A study shows that clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential is associated with an increased risk of chronic liver disease specifically through the promotion of liver inflammation and injury.

Nano-photonic devices based on 2D materials offer a potential solution for the miniaturization of optical computing technologies. Here, the authors demonstrate the implementation of high-speed logic operations via the all-optical generation and electrical control of multiple plasmon polaritons in a hybrid graphene device.

A programme of structure-assisted drug design and high-throughput screening identifies six compounds that inhibit the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating the ability of this strategy to isolate drug leads with clinical potential.

The influence of X chromosome genetic variation on blood lipids and coronary heart disease (CHD) is not well understood. Here, the authors analyse X chromosome sequencing data across 65,322 multi-ancestry individuals, identifying associations of the Xq23 locus with lipid changes and reduced risk of CHD and diabetes mellitus.

Secondary structures and long-range RNA interactions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome have been investigated by various sequencing methods. Here the authors use an RNA-RNA hybrid sequencing method to predict the secondary and tertiary structure of the SRAS-CoV-2 RNA genome in the virion.

Horseshoe bats are thought to be natural hosts of SARS-CoV-2 but it is unclear whether other bat species are potential hosts. Virus–host receptor binding and infection assays, including receptors of 46 bat species, show dramatic variation in susceptibility to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infection among bat species.