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The timing of respiratory syncytial virus seasonal epidemic peaks in Japan shifted in 2016-17. Here, the authors use mathematical modelling to evaluate the hypothesis that this change in timing may be due to an increase in use of childcare facilities following a policy change

The ALICE Collaboration provides details on the microscopic mechanism that ends up creating antideuteron in high-energy proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Bruijns et al. present a modeling tool that enables the tracking of learning dynamics across subjects to reveal how behaviors emerge and adapt. Applying the tool to a decision-making task in mice uncovers similarities and differences across individuals.

Numerical modeling combined with a global rock database shows that the Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratio in MORB mantle sources has doubled since the early Archean, suggesting a potential link between mantle redox evolution and Earth’s tectonic activity.

High evapotranspiration events are becoming more frequent because of anthropogenic climate change. This study shows robust increases in those events across many regions, indicating faster land drying and a growing risk of rapidly developing droughts.

The anterior cingulate cortex encodes affective pain behaviours modulated by opioids; targeting opioid-sensitive neurons through a new chemogenetic gene therapy replicates the analgesic effects of morphine, providing precise chronic pain relief without affecting sensory detection.

Murphy et al. reveal a unifying pathogenetic mechanism according to which diverse mutations in the muscle-specific ribosomal protein RPL3L cause severe neonatal dilated cardiomyopathy, establishing a framework for interpreting the growing spectrum of RPL3L variants.

This study shows that parietal alpha oscillations determine how visual and tactile signals from the body are combined over time, influencing the temporal precision of multisensory integration that underlies the perception of one’s own body

Centennial-scale variations in methane carbon isotope ratios are attributed to changes in pyrogenic and biogenic sources that can be correlated with anthropogenic activities, such as varying levels of biomass burning during the period of the Roman empire and the Han dynasty, and changes in natural climate variability.

This protocol details in vitro and in vivo approaches for labeling tumor cells with secreted luciferases to enable precise, longitudinal monitoring of tumor growth in mice, through the analysis of small blood samples.

In this study, researchers show that season and exposure to light affect different nuclei of the amygdala and that these effects are related to mood. This may explain in part the benefits of light therapy for mood disorders.

High-pressure measurements of the electrical conductivity of (Mg,Fe)O, used as an analogue for basal magma ocean material, indicate that the conductivity is high enough to produce a dynamo much stronger than a core-driven dynamo for super-Earths larger than 3–6 Earth masses.

Agricultural drought linked to past and current growing-season soil moisture is rising in Europe, southern Africa, northern South America and western North America and may persist until 2100, according to climate reanalyses and model simulations.

Cost-effective, environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient ways to address rising atmospheric CO₂ levels are urgently needed. Here the authors combine electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formate with biosynthetic conversion of formate to the universal building block acetyl-CoA using a synthetic metabolic pathway called ReForm.

This study surveyed key informants across 26 countries on burning plastic for waste management and energy needs. It finds high awareness of this practice, with potential drivers including inadequate waste collection and a lack of affordable fuels.

How α-synuclein interacts with the neuronal cell surface to contribute to disease pathology is not fully understood. Here, the authors conducted a comprehensive search for neuronal membrane proteins mediating α-synuclein aggregate uptake, and identified mGluR4 and NPDC1 as essential for Parkinson’s disease related neurodegeneration triggered by extracellular α-synuclein fibrils.

Whether rivers are speeding up or slowing down in a warming Arctic is unclear, but has implications for carbon cycling and infrastructure. This study finds divergent behaviour in migration rates for rivers in discontinuous versus continuous permafrost, driven by changes in permafrost thaw and river ice.

Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) emerge as crucial players in biological processes but their disease relevance is unknow. Here, the authors show that tsRNA-Glu-CTC is the most abundant hepatic tsRNA that plays a key role in regulating cholesterol homeostasis and atherosclerosis development.

The authors developed a highly sensitive skin-conformal NIR organic photodetector with fast photoresponse speed that achieves MHz-speed, angle-free, and long-range (100 m) wireless optical communication with stable performance under mechanical deformation.

In a multicenter, randomized trial of patients with atrial fibrillation and a low risk of thromboembolic events, treatment with the anticoagulant rivaroxaban showed no benefit in reducing cognitive decline, stroke or transient ischemic attack when compared to placebo.

Sea level fall with the growth of the Antarctic Ice Sheet 34 million years ago, and the shift in nutrients and carbon from continental margins to the ocean, initially provided a negative feedback that slowed global cooling and ice sheet expansion.

Plant Augmin cryo-EM structures reveal a 40-nm hetero-octameric fork with coiled-coil interfaces, dual CH domains at V-junction switch for microtubule binding and NEDD1 β-propeller binding to the V-junction boosts anti-parallel Augmin dimerization, recruiting γ-TuRC for branch nucleation.

The long-term natural history of long-COVID is not well understood. In this population-based cohort study from Scotland, the authors describe symptom prevalence and health-related quality of life up to 18 months after a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and compare with matched test-negative controls.

Growth signaling has been involved in the biological program of aging. Here the authors identify ARMH4 as a pro-aging factor by enhancing IGF1R/FGFR1 signal transduction and their expressions, thereby forming a positive feedback circuit in aging.

In a long-term follow-up of the FAME 2 trial, fractional flow reserve-guided percutaneous coronary intervention plus medical therapy in patients with stable coronary artery disease reduced cardiovascular events compared to medical therapy alone, primarily due to a decrease in urgent revascularization events.

The impact of negative energy balance on dopamine transmission is unclear. Here, authors show that the ABA model disrupts dopamine transmission via loss of GABAergic control over VTA dopamine neurons contributing to the development of hyperactivity.

The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, but not the ME-TRAP vaccine, was protective against intradermal challenge with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites, while neither was protective against direct venous inoculation, potentially explaining previously observed differences in protection.

Constraining projections using best-performing climate models, uncertainties in future temperature variability can be narrowed, yet remain large over poorly modelled regions, highlighting the need for multiple model ensembles to assess future risks.

Amorphous phases in alkali-activated slag cement are explored using spatially resolved synchrotron X-ray techniques. Local atomic structures of individual phases show the impact of magnesium content on resistance to CO₂-induced degradation.

Rare loss-of-function mutations in SETD1A are associated with schizophrenia, but how SETD1A haploinsufficiency leads to disease phenotypes remains unknown. Here, authors show that SETD1A regulates genes at common schizophrenia risk loci regulating genomic stability and synaptic function.

Winter sea ice production appears to have been increasing, despite Arctic warming being most intense during winter. Here the authors examine the competing factors controlling sea ice production in the Kara and Laptev seas, and develop a simple model that explains the rise and subsequent fall of ice production under climate change.

3.4-million-year-old hominin fossils discovered in Ethiopia provide insight into the diet and locomotion of Australopithecus deyiremeda.

Reported detections of gases in exoplanet atmospheres, including claims of biosignatures on K2-18 b, disappear when broader models are tested, revealing that such detections often reflect modelling limits rather than real signals.

The discovery of a vast reservoir of primordial neutral hydrogen gas surrounding a young galaxy cluster just one billion years after the Big Bang offers new insight into how the first large cosmic structures assembled.

Tropical forests regulate Earth’s carbon cycle, but what governs carbon sequestration following land use remains unclear. Here Tang et al find a shift from strong nitrogen limitation to no nutrient limitation over tropical forest secondary succession.

The Authors assess systemic risks in global trade by modelling disruptions at maritime chokepoints. They estimate USD192 billion of exposed trade and USD10.7 billion in economic losses, emphasizing the urgent need to safeguard strategic passages.

The existing ENCODE registry of candidate human and mouse cis-regulatory elements is expanded with the addition of new ENCODE data, integrating new functional data as well as new cell and tissue types.

Mutations in GJB2 cause DFNB1, the most common hereditary deafness. ATAC-seq identification of gene regulatory elements enables targeted GJB2 delivery to cochlear cells, preventing hearing loss in mouse models.

The authors report the synthesis of (La_0.9Y_0.1)H₁₀ superhydrides and their characterization using synchrotron-based, spatially resolved x-ray diffraction and electrical transport imaging. They reveal μm-scale structural inhomogeneity with coexisting cubic and hexagonal clathrate phases exhibiting distinct superconducting transition temperatures.

Here, the authors examine the mechanisms behind cheatgrass’s successful invasion of North American ecosystems. Their genetic analyses and common garden experiments demonstrate that multiple introductions and migrations facilitated cheatgrass local adaptation.

Measuring selection and dominance in fitness of the insecticide-resistant Ace alleles in Drosophila melanogaster, the authors show evidence for beneficial reversal of dominance, a mechanism that can stabilize large-effect polymorphisms in nature.

Researchers demonstrate quantum dot lasing using excitation by an electrically modulated (0.1–1% duty cycle), low-power continuous-wave laser diode, achieving lasing at a pump intensity just above 500 W cm⁻² at 77 K and 3.6 kW cm⁻² at room temperature.

Mismatch repair pathway is frequently dysregulated across cancer types, commonly represented by loss of MLH1 or MSH2 gene expression. Here the authors model MLH1 missense mutations from patients to study how cytoplasmic localization of MLH1, promotes resistance to endocrine therapy but predicts response to cell cycle inhibitors in breast cancer.

Pseudotaxus is a sister genus to Taxus but lacks a complete taxane biosynthetic pathway. Here, the authors assemble the genome of P. chienii and reveal that the presence of a functional taxane 2α-O-benzoyl transferase in Taxus genus extends the existing taxane biosynthesis pathway into a complete Taxol biosynthesis pathway.

By integrating macro-scale and nano-scale experiments that reproduce the seismic cycle, this study reveals that feldspars, very common minerals, reduce the rate at which faults heal after a seismic rupture under certain hydrothermal conditions.

Liu et al. report the design of organic cation to selectively enhance in-plane distortion for localizing excitons and suppress out-of-plane and intra-octahedral distortions for minimizing the formation of self-trapped excitons, enabling 2D perovskites with fast X-ray scintillation response (0.62 ns) and high light yield (19,700 photons MeV⁻¹).

Hiʻiaka is the largest moon of the distant dwarf planet Haumea. Here, the authors report the first multi-chord stellar occultations of Hiʻiaka, revealing its size, shape, and density, suggesting an origin from Haumea’s icy mantle.