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Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

Although the suggestion eighty years ago that four in ten scientists did not believe in God or an afterlife was astounding to contemporaries, the fact that so many scientists believe in God today is equally surprising.

Research, not pole-bagging, was the lasting achievement of Antarctic exploration 100 years ago, says Edward J. Larson.

Systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study reported that, despite global improvements from 1990 to 2021, dietary iron deficiency-associated disease burden remains high in women, children and residents in low socio-demographic index countries.

Association analyses in over 1 million individuals identify 535 new loci influencing blood pressure traits. The results provide new insights into blood pressure regulation and highlight shared genetic architecture between blood pressure and lifestyle exposures.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

Brain slices offer an experimental window into human neurophysiology. Using high-density microelectrode array recordings and adeno-associated virus–mediated optogenetics, the authors demonstrate that optogenetic targeting of CAMK2A+ neurons can affect network activity in human hippocampal slices.

Pathogens often persist within granulomas which form to control infection. Here, Harvest et al describe an innate granuloma that eradicates a ubiquitous environmental pathogen without inducing adaptive immunity.

Caspase-7 cleaves and activates acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), which promotes the repair of gasdermin pores and thereby delays pore-driven lysis to allow other processes such as extrusion or apoptosis to occur before cell death.

‘Archaeogenetic analysis of black rat remains reveals that this species was introduced into temperate Europe twice, in the Roman and medieval periods. This population turnover was likely associated with multiple historical and environmental factors.’

Radioactive fallout and depletion of the ozone layer, once believed catastrophic consequences of nuclear war, are now proved unimportant in comparison to immediate war damage. Today, “nuclear winter” is claimed to have apocalyptic effects. Uncertainties in massive smoke production and in meteorological phenomena give reason to doubt this conclusion.

Although progress in the coverage of routine measles vaccination in children in low- and middle-income countries was made during 2000–2019, many countries remain far from the goal of 80% coverage in all districts by 2019.

Circular extrachromosomal DNA in high-risk medulloblastoma contributes to tumor heterogeneity and associates with relapse and survival. Enhancer rewiring events involving known oncogenes are frequent events, affecting transcription and proliferation.

Resilience to Alzheimer’s disease (RAD) is an uncommon combination of high disease burden without dementia. The authors perform proteomic analysis of RAD brains and show lower isocortical and hippocampal soluble Aβ levels, actin filament-based processes, cellular detoxification, and wound healing are significant features.

Riboswitches on 5′ ends of mRNAs are important for bacterial gene regulation. Here the authors probe the mechanism of a tRNA aminoacylation sensing T-box riboswitch using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to characterize dynamic solution conformations and heterogeneous tRNA binding kinetics.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The net-zero transition will bring co-benefits to various sectors but also potential trade-offs that could undermine sustainable development efforts. A study shows that in China, the co-benefits from the transition alone will not secure a sustainable energy–food–water–air quality system.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

Christopher Newton-Cheh and colleagues report genome-wide association analyses for QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, in 100,000 individuals. They identify 35 loci associated with QT interval and highlight a role for calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization.

FlyWire presents a neuronal wiring diagram of the whole fly brain with annotations for cell types, classes, nerves, hemilineages and predicted neurotransmitters, with data products and an open ecosystem to facilitate exploration and browsing.

Results for the final phase of the 1000 Genomes Project are presented including whole-genome sequencing, targeted exome sequencing, and genotyping on high-density SNP arrays for 2,504 individuals across 26 populations, providing a global reference data set to support biomedical genetics.

Src family kinase mutants, with altered regulatory domain interactions, were profiled with a photodependent crosslinking strategy to reveal conformation-specific ATP-competitive inhibitors that affect intermolecular binding interactions.

A magnetic wire for the intravascular recovery of labelled circulating tumour cells improves cell capture in anaesthetized pigs by up to two orders of magnitude with respect to a standard blood draw.

Arne Pfeufer and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of the electrocardiographic measurement of PR interval in seven population-based cohorts in the CHARGE consortium. They identify nine loci associated with PR interval and highlight candidate genes with a role in ion channels and cardiac development.

The FarmGTEx Project aims to understand genetic control of gene activity under diverse biological and environmental contexts in domestic animals, providing a foundation for improving animal precision breeding, adaptation and human health.

Gerard Schellenberg and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD), as part of the Alzheimer Disease Genetics Consortium. They identify common variants in MS4A4/MS4A6E, CD2AP, CD33 and EPHA1 associated with LOAD.

Targeting the adipokine adipsin and its downstream pathway may provide an approach for preservation of beta cell loss in type 2 diabetes.

The discovery is reported of a small molecule drug, GS-5734, which has antiviral activity against Ebola virus and other filoviruses, and is capable of providing post-exposure therapeutic protection against lethal disease in 100% of drug-treated nonhuman primates infected with Ebola virus; the drug targets viral RNA polymerase and can distribute to sanctuary sites (such as testes, eyes and brain), suggesting that it may be able to clear persistent virus infection.

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe HP1 protein, Swi6, is shown to exist in an auto-inhibited state when unbound to chromatin, switching to a spreading-competent state upon binding to the HK9 methyl mark; disrupting this switch affects heterochromatin assembly and gene silencing.