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Breugnathair elgolensis gen. et sp. nov., an early squamate identified from a newly discovered Middle Jurassic skeleton on the Isle of Skye, provides new evidence on the origins of snakes.

Bond et al. show that inducible PolG mutation in muscle causes mtDNA damage and muscle wasting. This is driven by the integrated stress response (ISR) and reduction in folate intermediates, linking impaired folate metabolism with ISR/disease induction.

The identity of receptors sensing cold temperatures in peripheral somatosensory neurons remains obscure. Cai et al. report that GluK2, a kainate receptor mediating synaptic transmission in the brain, is co-opted as a cold sensor in the periphery.

Few aerobic hyperthermophilic microorganisms are known to degrade polysaccharides. Here, Nou et al. use genomic information to enrich and optical tweezers to isolate an aerobic hyperthermophilic bacterium that can grow at 65–87.5 °C using polysaccharides as sole carbon sources.

Sadhu et al. identify and functionally validate ferredoxin-1 (FDX1) as a determinant of cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular risk in Asian populations.

Human OPA1 embeds itself into cardiolipin-containing membranes through a lipid-binding paddle domain, and OPA1 oligomerization through multiple assembly interfaces promotes the helical assembly of a flexible OPA1 lattice on the membrane, driving mitochondrial fusion in cells.

Jayavelu, Samaha et al., apply machine learning models on hospital admission data, including antibody titers and viral load, to identify patients at high risk for Long COVID. Low antibody levels, high viral loads, chronic diseases, and female sex are key predictors, supporting early, targeted interventions.

The difference between children and adults in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is not clearly established. Here the authors use gene expression analysis of nasopharyngeal samples from children and adults and show a higher level of immune response in children compared to adults, including of B and T cell activation.

Here, the authors perform transcriptional profiling on tracheal aspirates of adults requiring mechanical ventilation for SARS-CoV2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and identify a dysregulated host response predicted to predicted to be potentially modulated by dexamethasone.

Plectasin, a natural host defence peptide of fungal origin, uses a calcium-sensitive supramolecular killing mechanism to block bacterial cell wall synthesis.

A CRISPR-based functional screen for Hedgehog-pathway factors identifies genes required for ciliary signaling and can be used to classify genetic disorders as ciliopathies.

van Eijs et al. explore correlates of steroid non-response in blood and tissue of cancer patients with immune-related adverse events in this multi-omics study. An enhanced type 1/17 response in blood and tissue is associated with steroid non-response, while rapid steroid effects occur in circulating and tissue immune cells in steroid responders.

Solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk of infectious disease and have unique molecular pathophysiology. Here the authors use host-microbe profiling to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity in solid organ transplant recipients, showing enhanced viral abundance, impaired clearance, and increased expression of innate immunity genes.

Here, by performing tracheal aspirate RNA sequencing of critically ill patients, the authors find that older age associates with a greater number of detectably expressed antimicrobial resistance genes in the lower respiratory tract microbiome.

Sea level during the last interglacial period reached a peak of between 5 and 9 m above the present-day level. A detailed reconstruction of sea level and isostatic rebound from Western Australia indicates a prolonged period of sea-level stability at 3–4 m above present, followed by an abrupt sea-level rise of 5–6 m.

Understanding how DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) form and are repaired in the genome depends on their accurate measurement. Here the authors describe INDUCE-seq; a DSB-detection method that simultaneously measures physiological and induced breaks throughout the genome.

Extracellular miRNAs are present in a variety of bodily fluids. Here, Freedman et al. analysed plasma-derived RNA by RNA-seq from 40 people followed by targeted RT-qPCR in an additional 2,763 people, and report over 1,000 extracellular RNAs including microRNAs, piwi-interacting RNA and small nucleolar RNAs.

In this study, the authors report that pluripotent stem cell-derived ventricular progenitors target loss of myocardium and fibrotic scarring to promote heart regeneration, thus offering new potential therapeutic strategies for heart injury.

In breast cancer, dormant cancer cells may develop into bone metastases. Here, the authors demonstrate that microenvironmental IL1β stimulates metastatic breast cancer cell colonisation in the bone via IL1β-NFKB/CREB-Wnt pathway activation and cancer stem cell colony formation

Eutrophication has been shown to weaken diversity-stability relationships in grasslands, but it is unclear whether the effect depends on scale. Analysing a globally distributed network of grassland sites, the authors show a positive role of beta diversity and spatial asynchrony as drivers of stability but find that nitrogen enrichment weakens the diversity-stability relationships at different spatial scales.

Integrated devices are useful for applications like sample stabilization, microscopy, adaptive optics, and acceleration sensors. Here the authors demonstrate a fully integrated chip-scale light-based displacement sensor using Huygens dipole scattering of light.

Here, the authors describe the geographies, hosts, substrates, and phylogenetic relationships for 1,794 Saccharomyces strains. They provide insight into the genetic and phenotypic diversity in the genus, not seen through prior work focused on the model species Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Combining analysis of host proteome and transcriptome perturbations induced by tumour virus proteins with ongoing genome-wide studies of cancer facilitates the prioritization of cancer genes.

The role of IgG glycosylation in the immune response has been studied, but less is known about IgM glycosylation. Here the authors characterize glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 spike specific IgM and show that it correlates with COVID-19 severity and affects complement deposition.

In a randomized phase 2 trial, sotigalimab, a CD40 agonist, did not significantly improve overall survival in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer when combined with chemotherapy or with nivolumab and chemotherapy. Multi-omic exploratory analyses provide insights into immunologic features associated with clinical benefit.

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) is still not well understood. Here the authors provide patient reported outcomes from 590 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and show association of PASC with higher respiratory SARS-CoV-2 load and circulating antibody titers, and in some an elevation in circulating fibroblast growth factor 21.

Keeping islands free of rats may be harder with isolated invaders as these evade conventional trapping.

The clinical benefit of anti-PD-1 antibody treatment is dependent on the extent to which exhausted CD8 T cells are reinvigorated in relation to the tumour burden of the patient.

In this Review, Porrello and colleagues describe the origins of the fetal gene hypothesis and discuss the evolution of this hypothesis by considering more recent evidence from genome-wide sequencing studies.

Dissolved organic matter becomes highly labile in dark anoxic groundwater environments, suggesting that groundwater extraction and subterranean groundwater discharge could be significant sources of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Sex-allocation theory predicts how the sex ratio of offspring should vary with the mother's physical condition. Applying this theory has helped in retrieving a charismatic parrot from the edge of extinction.

A genome-wide association study for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) identifies 12 loci and implicates neurodevelopmental pathways and conserved regions of the genome as being involved in underlying ADHD biology.

Neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in patients with resectable melanoma followed by adjuvant maintenance results in early immunological effects driving clinical benefit and reveals transcriptional and genomic mechanisms of response.

Numerous microbial symbionts, both commensal and pathogenic, are associated with honey bees. Here, the authors genomically characterize this ‘metagenome’ of the British honey bee, identifying a diversity of commensal microbes as well as known and putative pathogens

A theoretical and experimental study of the transverse spin appearing in non-paraxial light when the source is totally unpolarized is reported, in sharp contrast to the usual longitudinal spin, which is directly related to the 2D polarization and vanishes in unpolarized fields.

Regulatory T cell therapies have shown promise for treating autoimmune diseases and aiding transplantation. We summarize a recent NIAID/HESI-sponsored workshop that addressed key issues in non-clinical and clinical development vital to advancing this immune tolerance paradigm.

The study of biomineralization processes in molluscs can help to understand the properties of the final composites. Here, Hovden et al. have studied the early stages of nacre formation using high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, giving new insight into nacre formation.