Search

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.

A prospective analysis reveals that emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has had only a marginal impact on the immune response to spike protein of other endemic human coronaviruses and predicts limited cross protection against infection.

Doan et al. show that loss of cardiac NAD⁺ is sufficient to drive metabolic derangements, hypertrophic remodeling and lethal arrhythmias in adult mouse hearts, despite maintenance of ejection fraction and bioenergetics.

Using transcriptomic data from human brain cells, the authors show that the expression patterns of the genes implicated in human cognition and brain evolution overlap in specific neuron types, and relate to cellular function and structure.

The global distribution of nearly all extant reptile species reveals richness patterns that differ spatially from that of other taxa. Conservation prioritization should specifically consider reptile distributions, particularly lizards and turtles.

Modulating mitochondrial NAD⁺ levels by changing the expression of the mitochondrial NAD⁺ transporter, SLC25A51, Mukherjee et al. demonstrate that mitochondrial, rather than cytosolic or nuclear, NAD⁺ levels are a key determinant of the rate of liver regeneration.

Concerns about energy and inflation, linked to a conservative trend in US politics, are beginning to eclipse the moral commitment to a clean and safe environment characteristic of the past decade. In the first of three articles on how this has happened and what may follow, David Dickson describes how the energy issue has become a major threat to US environmental movements.

The homeostasis of myelin in the central nervous system is highly regulated, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors show that the FBXW7 protein has a role in constraining myelin growth in the developing and adult central nervous system, preventing the accumulation of myelin abnormalities. FBXW7 acts in part through targeting the MYRF transcription factor for degradation.

Different classes of human evolved regulatory elements are located in non-coding regions of the genome. The authors connect the expansion of the cortical surface and connectivity with human evolved elements and show that their target genes are involved in neurodevelopmental disease susceptibility.

The hippocampus in mammalian brain varies in size across individuals. Here, Hibar and colleagues perform a genome-wide association meta-analysis to find six genetic loci with significant association to hippocampus volume.

Boundary conditions can give rise to new types of phases during self-assembly. Here the authors show that tetrahedral particles can form a hexagonal phase on a surface, that can transform into a quasi-diamond phase under a gravitational field.

In a GWAS study of 32,438 adults, the authors discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function and to Parkinson's disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways, including PI3K-AKT signaling.

Aberrant stem cell-like activity and impaired differentiation are central to the development of colorectal cancer. Here, authors develop a dual endogenous reporter system to identify functional regulators of aberrant stem cell and differentiation programs, showing that SMARCB1 restricts differentiation, and nominating other regulators with therapeutic potential.

The rapid waning of SARS-CoV-2-specific serum antibodies observed after immunization with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines may be accounted for by the absence of long-lived plasma cells in the bone marrow specific for the virus.

The integration of AI into healthcare systems in low-middle income countries faces significant challenges. Here, authors show that AI models developed in high income countries can be adapted for LMICs using methods like missing feature imputation and transfer learning.

Genome-wide analysis identifies variants associated with the volume of seven different subcortical brain regions defined by magnetic resonance imaging. Implicated genes are involved in neurodevelopmental and synaptic signaling pathways.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

More thoughts at Harvard on business link

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.

LNK is a tumor suppressor in hematopoietic cancers, but its function in melanoma is unclear. Here, the authors show that the overexpression of LNK in melanomas correlate with hyperactive signaling of the RAS-RAF-MEK pathway and LNK enhances melanoma growth and survival and immune evasion by inhibiting IFN signalling.

Understanding the emergence, evolution, and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is essential to combat antimicrobial resistance. Here, Munk et al. analyse ARGs in hundreds of sewage samples from 101 countries and describe regional patterns, diverse genetic environments of common ARGs, and ARG-specific transmission patterns.

Cortex morphology varies with age, cognitive function, and in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Here the authors report 160 genome-wide significant associations with thickness, surface area and volume of the total cortex and 34 cortical regions from a GWAS meta-analysis in 22,824 adults.

An integrated analysis of de novo and inherited coding variants in 42,607 individuals with autism spectrum disorder identifies 60 risk genes of which five have not previously been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Human brain structure changes throughout the lifespan. Brouwer et al. identified genetic variants that affect rates of brain growth and atrophy. The genes are linked to early brain development and neurodegeneration and suggest involvement of metabolic processes.

Rodin and Dou et al. characterized genome-wide somatic mutation in autistic and control brains, revealing that even unaffected individuals may possess dozens of brain somatic mutations and providing insight into the role of somatic mutation in autism.

Analysis of rare protein-truncating, damaging missense and copy number variants from exome sequencing of 63,237 individuals identifies 72 genes associated with autism spectrum disorder.

The availability of nutrients within the tumour microenvironment can influence tumour growth. Here, the authors find that, in a melanoma mouse model, mice fed a high glutamine diet have reduced tumour growth, increased sensitivity to Braf inhibitors and elevated a-ketoglutarate levels.

There is currently no licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Here, the authors generate an optimized DNA vaccine candidate encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen, demonstrating induction of specific T cells and neutralizing antibody responses in mice and guinea pigs. These initial results support further development of this vaccine candidate.

Membrane-bound E3 ubiquitin ligases RNF43 and ZNRF3 are overexpressed in colorectal cancer, and can be repurposed using proteolysis-targeting antibodies (PROTABs) to selectively degrade cell-surface receptors in tumours.

Aging involves gradual loss of tissue function, and transcription factor (TF) expression can ameliorate this in progeroid mice. Here the authors show that transient TF expression reverses age-associated epigenetic marks, inflammatory profiles and restores regenerative potential in naturally aged human cells.

Fabricating and mechanically testing nanoarchitected materials remains a challenge. Here, the authors use colloidal synthesis to fabricate Au-Ag hollow nanoboxes and investigate the effect of either a rough or a smooth nanobox surface on the mechanical properties.

Obtaining data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from healthy human populations is difficult. Here, Hendriksen et al. use metagenomic analysis to obtain AMR data from untreated sewage from 79 sites in 60 countries, finding correlations with socio-economic, health and environmental factors.

Epigenetic mechanisms play a key role in drug-associated memories and behaviors. Here authors show that mice deficient of BAF53b, a nucleosome remodeling complex subunit, display deficits in synaptic plasticity and cocaine-associated memory, both of which can be rescued by BDNF application.

Phagocytes employ multiple bactericidal mechanisms to kill microorganisms, including the generation of toxic superoxide and other reactive oxygen species. Here the authors utilize a multi-omics approach to identify and characterize new regulatory nodes implicated in mucosal immunity that control phagocyte oxidative burst.

A screening approach finds VH-domain antibodies that bind the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein receptor-binding domain at its interface with host ACE2. Bi-paratopic and multivalent binders have high affinity and potency.

John Chute and his colleagues show that the cytokine EGF protects mouse bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells from radiation injury. EGF signaling in these cells inhibited cell death through repression of the proapoptotic protein PUMA. EGF administration rescued mice from death after total-body irradiation, suggesting a new therapeutic strategy for radioprotection.