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Although river protection is core to social and environmental well-being, the extent to which river conservation policies are effective is difficult to assess. This study reveals that, under all relevant protection mechanisms in the contiguous USA, only 12% of rivers are adequately protected.

RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) is typically considered as an essential enzyme. Here the authors show that natural degradation of RNAPII drives chromatin reorganization in growing oocytes, preparing the chromatin for genome activation after fertilization.

This Commission aims to resolve the current dialysis policy challenges in Thailand and generate lessons for the global kidney community by drawing on empirical evidence, systems thinking and multidisciplinary expertise to generate policy goals and recommendations.

GDF15 has been associated with cancer-associated cachexia. Here, the authors show that STK11/LKB1 loss-of-function mutations in non-small cell lung cancer result in an exaggerated integrated stress response culminating in the tumor cell secretion of the cytokine GDF15 promoting cachexia.

This work reports optical studies of circular and linear dichroism to image, respectively, chiral and nematic spin ordering in the layered triangular-lattice antiferromagnet Co1/3TaS2. Phases with co-existing chirality and nematicity are revealed.

Here, using anatomy, transcriptomics, and functional assays, the authors reveal how Japanese wisteria climb using an unusual vascular architecture. Ectopic cambia arise from cortical cells and repurpose conserved cambium regulators, including KNOX genes.

Mangrove ecosystems are facing severe climate threats. However, this study shows that strategically expanding protected areas to include the most climate-resilient sites can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services for the future, and this can be achieved with only a modest increase in protected area.

After two years of mass azithromycin distribution to preschool age children in rural Niger, in this study, authors present evidence that selection of antibiotic resistance genes was not spread from treated villages to nearby untreated villages.

OSCA/TMEM63 proteins act as both ion channels and mechanically activated lipid scramblases. They translocate lipids through open pores, with cholesterol inhibiting scrambling, aiding membrane remodeling and cell resilience under mechanical stress.

This study shows that promoter and enhancer functions are often linked within the same DNA sequences. Using a dual-reporter assay, the authors reveal shared sequence features and co-dependent activities supporting a unified model of gene regulation.

Although antiretroviral therapies (ART) have expanded the life expectancy of patients with HIV, they are not curative due to the presence of latently infected cells. Here, the authors present IMC-M113V, a bispecific soluble TCR targeting the HIV peptide Gag_77-85 complexed to HLA-A*02:01 as an approach for targeting HIV reservoirs and test safety, tolerability and pharmacodynamics in a first-in-human clinical trial on 12 HLA-A*02:01-positive male individuals on ART.

Beta-glucan is an inducer of trained immunity, an epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming of the innate immune cells conferring immunological memory. Here the authors show that glucan-induced trained immunity enhances response to a cancer vaccine platform in colorectal cancer models, by inducing epigenetic and metabolic rewiring of macrophages that promotes an NK-cDC1 axis boosting anti-tumor immunity.

Weak social connections are thought to influence how people age. This study finds that deficits such as living alone or low social integration relate to faster physiological ageing, while no statistically significant associations are observed with perceived aging.

This study shows that contrail avoidance can recover 9% of the global temperature budget by 2050. For every year of delay, the recoverable warming will diminish by 0.6%. This makes inaction (not fuel penalties) the most significant climate risk associated with avoidance.

How white matter develops along the length of major tracts in humans remains unknown. Here, the authors identify fundamental patterns of human white matter development along distinct axes that reflect brain organization.

Structural variants are an underexplored source of genetic diversity. Here, the authors use phased pangenome graphs to improve detection of these variants in dairy cattle and link these variants to traits of economic importance.

The contribution of ether lipid species in cancer cell fate has not been fully understood yet. Here the authors show that malignant cancer cells employ ether lipids to modulate membrane biophysical properties, enhancing iron endocytosis and ferroptosis susceptibility.

Energy gaps can be induced by spatial modulation of the electronic potential. Here, the authors demonstrate a large and robust energy gap in a free-standing carbon nanotube utilizing a 15-gate keyboard that spatially modulates the local potential.

A streamlined blood test using mass spectrometry improves measurement of amyloid-β for early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, requiring less sample volume and reagents while maintaining high accuracy, sensitivity and strong agreement with brain imaging.

This work highlights how changes to beaches are related to sand movement and human impacts to the coast and illuminates opportunities for sand management to resolve shoreline erosion and enhance beach sustainability.

Despite advances in enzyme design and engineering, the development of biocatalysts featuring a combination of tailored stereoselectivity with broad substrate scope has been very difficult. Focusing on a new-to-nature reaction, the authors report a mechanism-based, multi-state computational design workflow for the generation of ‘generalist’ cyclopropanases capable of transforming a broad range of substrates with tailored and divergent stereoselectivity.

Photocatalytic water splitting using a single particulate photocatalyst is a cost-efficient approach for sustainable hydrogen production. Here, the authors report a nanoscale Ba_xSr_1-xTaO₂N solid-solution photocatalyst exhibits an apparent quantum efficiency of 13.5% for H₂ evolution at 420 nm.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

Aerial surveys over the Permian Basin found 500+ major methane leaks, many recurring. A few sites leaked continuously and offer quick mitigation wins. These super-emitters may produce ~50% of regional emissions, underscoring the need for frequent monitoring.

Dimorphic organisms switch between two distinct life forms, but how a single genome controls the genetic program for both states is unclear. The study identifies hundreds of convergently evolved gene families and two regulator genes, dkl and dfl, that coordinate expression to optimize the two morphologies of Mucorales fungi.

This study applies machine learning to fMRI data to map developmental variations in functional connectivity, uncovering heterogeneity across individuals and cortical regions that predicts neurocognitive maturation in youth.

Asexual-to-sexual switching underpins malaria transmission. Prajapati et al. identify an AP2-G loss-of function mutation and use it as a genetic tool to show that GDV1 is essential for initial ap2-g activation and sexual commitment initiation.

Pangenomic and epidemiological analyses reveal a genetic shift in U.S. Salmonella Hadar populations during 2019–20, driven by expansion of a lineage carrying a prophage-like element that likely arose in commercial poultry and spread to backyard flocks.

Wafer bonding has allowed the synthesis of twisted interfaces which support polar discontinuities in ferroelectric lithium niobate. Two-dimensional sheet conductivity arises but is suppressed when twist angles lead to interfacial lattice aperiodicity.

In this work, the authors present their Chloroalkane Azide Membrane Permeability (CHAMP) assay that measures cytosolic accumulation of small molecules in Escherichia coli, enabling rapid profiling of compounds, with the goal to simplify and accelerate antimicrobial drug discovery.

Most studies assessing food self-sufficiency look at calories and neglect nutrient gaps. Comparing food demand and potential food production under land and water constraints, this study quantifies 9 key nutrient gaps for each of African’s 54 countries.

Forests are essential for both climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, yet how to balance these goals in managed forests remains unclear. Here, using a Europe-wide dataset, the authors find that biodiversity increases with carbon stocks, but mostly when deadwood is included.

A joint analysis of sugars and amino acids in the Orgueil meteorite, a proxy for asteroids Bennu and Ryugu, reveals multiple biologically relevant sugars, including ribose, supporting efficient sugar formation in space and a richer prebiotic delivery to early Earth.

In vitro methods for thymic organoid cultures are useful to examine requirements for T cell development and for generating large numbers of cells for therapeutic purposes. Here the authors use human induced pluripotent stem cells, differentiate these into thymic epithelial organoid cultures and utilise haematopoietic progenitors to show development of T cells in vitro.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses are of global concern. This study shows that a low-dose H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b Alum/CpG-adjuvanted vaccine elicits broad, durable antibody and T cell responses and protects female mice against lethal homologous and heterologous H5N1 challenges.

Japonica subspecies has a lower nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) than that of indica rice. Here, the authors show that natural variations in the NIN-like protein 4 (OsNLP4) encoding gene are responsible for the divergence and introgression of the indica OsNLP4 allele into elite japonica cultivar can increase NUE and grain yield.

Avian influenza jumped from wild birds into dairy cattle. Here, the authors report that two mutations in the viral polymerase helped the virus to quickly adapt to cattle. Mutations increased the polymerase activity and made the virus better at replicating in human cells.

This study reports that de novo germline missense variants in SF3B1, distinct from the somatic variants frequently observed in cancer, cause a neurodevelopmental disorder and disrupt global RNA splicing.

The BAM protein complex catalyzes the integration of newly made proteins into the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Here, Nilaweera et al. provide evidence that outer-membrane lipids also play an important role in this process.

Using the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, the authors show that earthquake-triggered landslides increased mountain carbon storage by ~10% from 2008 to 2020, as vegetation recovery and sediment burial retained carbon, revealing earthquakes and landslides function as long-term carbon capacitors.

Down syndrome (DS) increases gene dosage that disrupts neurodevelopment and cognition. Using human-derived isogenic neurons, this study reveals altered network activity, synaptic dysfunction, and ion channel defects underlying DS neural impairment.

MicroRNAs guide Argonaute proteins to repress gene expression. Here, the authors define the binding rules for five Drosophila miRNAs, showing a narrow preference for canonical seed sites and identifying non-canonical sites with comparable affinities.

Viral ribonucleoprotein–viral protein networks form pre-replication centres that nucleate viral factories and drive respiratory syncytial virus replication.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure is a complex condition with varied definitions. Using unbiased clustering, the study identifies two distinct subtypes with markedly different 30-day mortality risks and highlights key determinants.

Exportin-1 (XPO-1) inhibitor selinexor has been reported as a therapeutic option in solid cancer. Here, the authors present a phase 1 clinical trial combining selinexor with chemotherapy by gemcitabine in patients with advanced sarcoma.