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Assessing thymic function and health has highlighted the lifelong importance of the thymus as an organ that could be targeted to improve health outcomes, protect against disease and promote healthy ageing.

High-depth sequencing of non-cancerous tissue from patients with metastatic cancer reveals single-base mutational signatures of alcohol, smoking and cancer treatments, and reveals how exogenous factors, including cancer therapies, affect somatic cell evolution.

A meta-analysis using the Burden of proof method reported consistent evidence supporting harmful associations between smoking and 28 different health outcomes.

Warren et al. used data from a retrospective cohort of 50,000 women attending breast screening. Arbitration between human and AI decisions was performed in a reader study following normal arbitration workflow. After arbitration, replacing the second human reader with AI in a double-read breast screening workflow was noninferior to two human readers.

Single-atom alloys can exhibit unique catalytic properties. Here, using reactivity measurements, atomic-scale imaging, simulation and spectroscopic analysis, it is shown that 1 atom% addition of Pt to Cu nanoparticles substantially decreases deactivation in single-atom alloys via sintering. A general predictive model of catalyst stabilization is developed.

Silicon anodes promise much higher battery capacity but are limited by poor storage life. This work identifies key ageing mechanisms and suggests ways to improve long-term stability.

Globally important BTEX hydrocarbons are separated using a T-shaped host with the shape and crystal tiling characteristics of a pentomino. A strategy based on designing and applying crystalline molecular ominos to perform separations of hydrocarbons and other environmentally-relevant compounds is outlined.

A new Burden of Proof meta-analytic method that accounts for between-study heterogeneity and corrects for bias between different study designs is used to interpret the strength of evidence between different pairs of risk factors and health outcomes.

The oral delivery of small-molecule drugs with poor aqueous solubility represents an ongoing drug development challenge. Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) and lipid-based formulations (LBFs) have emerged as effective approaches to address this. This Perspective provides an overview of the design of ASDs and LBFs and examines the mechanisms underlying their enhanced bioavailability. Preclinical, clinical and commercialization considerations, as well as next-generation oral formulations, are discussed.

Multi-trait genome-wide analyses identify variants associated with comorbid lung diseases. Polygenic scores leveraging shared components of heritable risk improve prediction of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer in a multi-ancestry cohort.

Atomic force microscopy is used to investigate the adsorption and organization of ions on charged surfaces. Trivalent ions adopt complex networks, clusters and layers associated with overcharging, whereas divalent ions follow classical predictions.

Estimating respiratory infection rates in the community is challenging as testing is usually limited to people with more severe infections. Here, the authors develop a statistical method to estimate infection rates using data from a community survey that performed lateral flow testing in England and Scotland in 2023-24.

Analyses of multiregional tumour samples from 421 patients with non-small cell lung cancer prospectively enrolled to the TRACERx study reveal determinants of tumour evolution and relationships between intratumour heterogeneity and clinical outcome.

Covalent inhibitors are powerful entities in drug discovery. Now the amino acid selectivity and reactivity of a diverse electrophile library have been assessed proteome-wide using an unbiased workflow. This comparative analysis and the probes described could help guide the discovery and design of covalent ligands targeting residues beyond cysteine.

Analyses of the TRACERx study unveil the relationship between tissue morphology, the underlying evolutionary genomic landscape, and clinical and anatomical relapse risk of lung adenocarcinomas.

Exome sequence data from 628,388 individuals was used to identify 24 risk loci in 40,208 carriers of clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and link them to other conditions including COVID-19, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Self-assemblies of polymers to form polymersomes in solution can be used as carriers for drug delivery, but it is challenging to control polymer crystallization to improve their mechanical stability. Here, Wang et al.show the formation of nanosized crystalsomes composed of polymer lamellar single crystals.

Metabolic and proteomic profiles derived from fossilized skeletal remains of animals enable inferences regarding physiological health and disease as well as diet to provide reconstructions of ancient soil, vegetation and palaeoclimate characteristics.

Pulmonary function is influenced by environmental factors, lifestyle, and genetics. Here, in a multiethnic GWAS meta-analysis for pulmonary function traits, the authors identify over 50 additional genetic loci, a subset of which are specific for European, African, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino ancestry.

The authors report superconducting topological surface states (TSS) on MBE-grown Fe(Te,Se) films by high-resolution laser-ARPES. Near the FeTe limit, the surface state disappears due to an electron-correlation-driven topological transition associated with decoherence of the d_xy-orbital-derived bands.

Today’s sodium-ion batteries can not only be used in stationary energy storage applications, but also in 160–280 mile driving-range five-passenger electric vehicles. This technology will alleviate some of the supply-chain issues arising from limited resources of materials used in the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries.

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

The kinetics and product selectivity of electrocatalytic reactions depend on interfacial hydration, probing hydration structures alongside reaction intermediates and products is challenging. Now it has been shown that carbonates structure interfacial water during CO₂ electroreduction and exist in equilibrium with their radicals, which serve various roles during the electrochemical processes.

Lignocellulosic waste is transformed into fungal–bacterial biocomposites that can be processed into recyclable, human-scale structural objects with biosynthetic and sensing–reporting functionalities.

The conversational diagnostic artificial intelligence system AMIE (Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer) has potential as a real-world tool for clinical history-taking and diagnostic dialogue, based on its performance in simulated consultations.

APOBEC mutational signatures are commonly found in multiple cancer types. Here, the authors utilize multi-omics analyses to reveal that the cooccurrence of APOBEC associated mutagenesis and tobacco-smoking-related mutations affects lung tumor evolution and age at onset of lung cancer from smokers.

An image analysis framework makes use of rotation-invariant autoencoders and point clouds for morphology-appropriate representation learning to better understand the organization of complex subcellular structures.

Oncolytic virus holds potential as a cancer therapy, but further optimization is desirable. Here the authors screen existing drug to find talazoparib, a PARP inhibitor, synergizing with reovirus type 3 Dearing (RT3D) to induce cancer cell apoptosis, anti-tumor immunity, as well as control of primary and rechallenge tumor in mouse models.

Lung cancer screening (LCS) requires effectively and efficiently mining big, multimodal datasets. Here, the authors develop a medical multimodal-multitask foundation model (M3FM) for LCS from 3D low-dose computed tomography and medical multimodal data, outperforming state-of-the-art methods and allowing the identification of informative data elements.

Insufficient oxygen limits the efficacy of cell encapsulation therapies for type 1 diabetes. Here, the authors develop an implantable system that continuously generates oxygen to support high-density islet cell survival and function, enabling diabetes reversal in rats without immunosuppression.

Two-dimensional polyaramid polymers are synthesized to form nanofilms that exhibit the lowest gas permeability of any polymer by orders of magnitude, despite lacking crystallinity, enabling molecular-scale nanomechanical resonators and barrier materials.

In lung cancer, relatively few germline mutations are known to impact risk. Here the authors looked at rare variants in 39,146 individuals and find novel germline mutations associated with risk, as well as implicating ATM and a new candidate gene for lung cancer risk.

Polymorphism, the presence of different crystal structures of the same molecular system, provides an opportunity to discover new phenomena and properties. Here, the authors crystallize coronene in the presence of a magnetic field, forming a different polymorph, which remains stable under ambient conditions.

By intercalating FeOF between layers of graphene oxide, the researchers demonstrate near-complete removal of neonicotinoid pollutants over two weeks by leveraging spatial confinement to stabilize the catalysts during oxidation reactions.

Genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for heart failure and its subtypes, extending understanding of the underlying biological pathways and disease mechanisms.

The role of impaired lung function in lung cancer etiology is complex due to the relation of cigarette smoking to both conditions. Here, supported by Mendelian randomization analysis the authors find a link between pulmonary function impairment and lung cancer risk beyond smoking, implicating immune-related pathways

Bronchial premalignant lesions can potentially progress to lung squamous cell carcinoma. Here, the authors profile bronchial biopsies from high-risk smokers by RNA sequencing and identify four molecular subtypes of premalignant lesions and an immune molecular signature that associates with lesion progression.

Alcohol abuse is a risk factor for acute respiratory distress syndrome, flooding of the lungs due to compromised barrier function. Here the authors report that alcohol upregulates claudin-5 that is then recruited to tight junctions in alveolar epithelial cells, causing the displacement of claudin-18 from ZO-1 and diminished barrier function.

Advances in biofabrication technology enable 3D printed constructs to resemble real tissues, but it remains unclear how cell-generated forces deform these constructs. Here the authors investigate mechanical behaviours of 3D printed “microbeams” made from mixtures of living cells and extracellular matrix.

Analysing multiple tumours from the same patient permits the study of the germline contribution to cancer. Here, the authors sequence multiple renal tumours from VHL patients and find that intra-patient tumours are clonally distinct but share some genetic features, suggesting that patient-specific factors influence tumour formation.

The mixing of metals to form alloys with enhanced properties has been known at least since the Bronze Age, although being able to predict their properties remains difficult. An analytical model using computational input is now able to quantitatively predict the mechanical properties of metal yield stress in solute-strengthened alloys.