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The lowest-frequency gravitational wave background may be shaped by supermassive black hole binaries that scatter nearby stars or dark matter. In this case, the NANOGrav 15-year dataset favours dense galactic centres with 10⁶ solar masses per cubic parsec.

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.

González-Gualda, Reinius et al. demonstrate that platinum-based chemotherapy-induced senescence promotes malignancy in ovarian and lung cancer via TGFβ ligands, with evidence in mouse models validated in clinical samples. Concomitantly blocking TGFβ signaling with chemotherapy reduces tumor burden and increases survival in mice.

Genomes of nine brown algal species with different sex determination systems show that U/V sex chromosomes evolved 450–224 Ma and show remarkable conservation of genes within the sex-determining region despite independent expansions of the sex locus in each lineage.

Omnivores like bears can switch between plant and animal diets, potentially helping them respond to changing conditions. By combining modern and fossil data, this study shows that bears shift toward carnivory in harsher climates and toward herbivory in more productive environments.

Neville, Ferguson et al. show that non-canonical Polycomb repressive complex 1.1-mediated gene silencing is antagonized by DOT1L and is required for the therapeutic efficacy of Menin and DOT1L inhibitors in mixed-lineage leukaemia.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

The isolation of catenated nitrogen compounds is difficult, in part because these chains can readily lose nitrogen, creating a strong thermodynamic push towards decomposition. Now, a series of molecules containing radical anions of four-atom nitrogen chains have been synthesized and studied under ambient conditions; the chain can cleave into N1 and N3 fragments, and can act as a source of nitrene radical anion.

A comprehensive atlas platform integrating transcriptional and epigenetic data enables more precise engineering of T cell states, accelerating the rational design of more effective cellular immunotherapies.

Here, the authors show that 2’-O-methylated RNA fragments from ribosomal RNA naturally block TLR7 and TLR8, helping to avoid avoid harmful self-RNA detection and autoimmunity.

Scholl et al. show that PopZ forms filamentous condensates driven by its helical domain and inhibited by its disordered region. Phase-dependent conformations modulate client interactions and disruption of filamentation or condensation impairs cellular function and growth.

cellSTAAR advances noncoding rare variant association analysis by integrating single-cell genomics data.

Similar to other eukaryotes, brown algae exhibit transcriptome conservation that is consistent with the molecular hourglass model during differentiation in embryonic development.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

RAS-driven cancers depend on SHOC2–PP1C. Here, the authors reveal that KRAS forms a low-affinity SHOC2–PP1C complex with fewer contacts than MRAS and show that dual inhibition of KRAS- and MRAS-dependent assemblies strengthens SHOC2 suppression and may overcome resistance.

Aerosols over Asia incriminated in Himalayan glacial melting.

A paleogenome from an approximately 100,000-year-old polar bear shows massive prehistoric, and largely unidirectional, gene flow from polar bears into brown bears at a time of climate change-induced overlap in the ranges of the two species. This admixture event cannot be detected using genomic data from living polar bears.

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.

How adipose mitochondria activity is fine-tuned in response to obesity is an active area of study. Here, the authors show that mitochondrial protein MCJ can block thermogenesis and that silencing this gene can correct obesity-related comorbidities.

Targeting neurons that regulate energy balance may offer new approaches for obesity treatment. Here, authors show that chemogenetic and pharmacological manipulation of GABAergic neurons in the DRN/vlPAG increases adaptive thermogenesis and reduces weight gain in mice fed a highfat diet.

Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Using nitrogen isotopes from ancient and modern fish otoliths and corals, the study shows Caribbean reef food webs are now 60–70% shorter and functionally less diverse, indicating human-driven trophic simplification and increased risk of collapse.

Exploration of the chemistry of allylic, benzylic, propargylic and allenylic oxonium ions is lacking despite the latest developments in onium ion chemistry. Now, a unified approach for the synthesis and NMR spectroscopic characterization of these unusual species is reported, helping to understand their reactivity.

Wildfires release a large amount of solid-state, highly absorptive brown carbon particles that affect Earth’s radiation budget. About 50% of these particles can take up water, and organic or water coatings further increase their sunlight absorption.

In mice, DHPS supports the maturation, maintenance and function of tissue-resident macrophages via the polyamine–hypusine axis, with implications for macrophage-targeting therapies.

Naked mole-rats are hypoxia-tolerant mammals, and during hypoxia their body temperature decreases via unknown mechanisms. Here the authors report that the hypoxia-induced body temperature decrease in naked mole rats occurs through decreased brown adipose tissue thermogenesis via decreases in a key thermogenic mitochondrial protein: UCP1.

In this article, the authors characterise genetic variation in CARTaGENE, a population-based cohort from Quebec, Canada. This genomic resource enables population and disease genetic studies in a founder population and other under-represented groups.

Hepatocyte organoids derived directly from human tissue enable long-term hepatocyte expansion and can be combined with portal mesenchyme and cholangiocyte organoids to form a donor-specific periportal liver assembloid system.

Creatine availability is known to affect creatine-driven thermogenesis in mice. Here Connell et al. report data from a clinical trial in which daily creatine supplementation, perhaps surprisingly, did not alter thermogenesis in adults with otherwise low dietary creatine intake.

Observations from the JWST MIRI showed the detection of ¹⁴NH₃ and ¹⁵NH₃ isotopologues in the atmosphere of a cool brown dwarf, along with a ¹⁴N/¹⁵N value consistent with star-like formation by gravitational collapse.

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.

Adipogenin is a microprotein expressed in adipose tissue. Previous studies have suggested its role in lipid storage, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms have been unclear. A recent study published in Science presents evidence that adipogenin forms complexes with seipin, a protein that is essential for lipid droplet formation in adipocytes, thereby modulating lipid storage.

Synapse dysfunction contributes to cognitive decline with age. Here, the authors show that aging-related changes in microglia and the extracellular matrix are associated with synapse abundance, extracellular matrix buildup, and cognitive deficits in aging mice.

A platform using matched patient-derived lung tumouroids and healthy lung organoids enables accurate examination of patient responses to CAR T therapy and offers a faithful framework for improved CAR T design.

Disaster response often suffers from delays and inconsistent assessments. Here, the authors develop DisasTeller, a multi-agent LVLM system that interprets disaster images, generates alerts and plans, and provides rapid, standardised support for post-disaster decision-making.

Oestrogen has various metabolic and physiological effects. Here the authors show that oestrogen receptor alpha signalling determines lineage commitment of murine adipose progenitor cells, regulating their differentiation into white adipocytes, beige adipocytes or smooth muscle cells.

An ‘intracrine’ signaling mechanism is proposed whereby a G-protein-coupled receptor (free fatty acid receptor 4) senses locally released fatty acids on intracellular membranes associated with lipid droplets to efficiently regulate lipolysis in adipocytes.

Multi-omics datasets pose major challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation owing to their high-dimensional molecular profiles. Here, the authors develop ActivePathways method, which uses data fusion techniques for integrative pathway analysis of multi-omics data and candidate gene discovery.

Brown fat is a thermogenically active organ that burns energy instead of storing it and has been the focus of intense research recently in the hopes of harnessing this activity to combat obesity. Sven Enerbäck and his colleagues now show that human neonates possess a classical form of this type of fat, suggesting hope that its expansion in adults may indeed be an avenue of therapy to treat obesity.

Folgueira et al. show that dopamine signalling in the lateral hypothalamic area and the zona incerta reduces body weight and increases energy expenditure by increasing brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in rodents. Weight loss and increased energy expenditure were also observed in patients treated with a dopamine receptor 2 agonist.

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.

CaBLAM is a bioluminescent genetically encoded calcium indicator that delivers high-contrast signals as shown in cell culture, in the in vivo mouse brain and in zebrafish larvae.

Climate change can alter when and how animals grow, breed, and migrate, but it is unclear whether this allows populations to persist. This global study shows that shifts in seasonal timing are key to helping vertebrate species maintain population growth under global warming.

Nrf1-mediated proteosome activity in brown fat is required for the normal thermogenic behavior of this tissue in mice.

Genomic analyses applied to 14 childhood- and adult-onset psychiatric disorders identifies five underlying genomic factors that explain the majority of the genetic variance of the individual disorders.

Wastewater-based surveillance tends to focus on specific pathogens. Here, the authors mapped the wastewater virome from 62 cities worldwide to identify over 2,500 viruses, revealing city-specific virome fingerprints and showing that wastewater metagenomics enables early detection of emerging viruses.

In an arm of an ongoing multicenter phase 2 trial testing different therapies in patients with genetically profiled grade 2 or 3 meningiomas, treatment with an oral CDK4/6 inhibitor met the primary endpoint for progression-free survival at 6 months in patients with CDK or NF2 alterations.

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.