Search

Dopamine neurons are proposed to signal the reward prediction error in model-free reinforcement learning algorithms. Here, the authors show that when given during an associative learning task, optogenetic activation of dopamine neurons causes associative, rather than value, learning.

Using data from a single time point, passenger-approximated clonal expansion rate (PACER) estimates the fitness of common driver mutations that lead to clonal haematopoiesis and identifies TCL1A activation as a mediator of clonal expansion.

Phasic changes in dopamine activity correlate with prediction error signaling. But causal evidence that these brief changes in firing actually drive associative learning is rare. Here the authors show that brief pauses in dopamine neuron firing at the time of reward mimic the effects of endogenous negative prediction errors.

STAARpipeline is a comprehensive framework for flexible and scalable rare-variant association analysis using whole-genome sequencing data and annotation information.

Transcriptomic analyses of acute phase whole blood from a large cohort of patients with COVID-19 identify molecular determinants of post-infection long-term sequelae.

The authors demonstrate that integrating phenology data with evolutionary relationships can improve predictions of change. They show how including phylogenetic structure in plant responses to temperature produces better estimates and reveals markedly different responses across species.

A droplet-based single-cell ATAC-seq method enables rapid mapping of chromatin accessibility in tens of thousands of cells.

Human B cells can be edited to produce custom heavy-chain antibodies while allowing the cells to respond to immunization with a matched antigen.

Analysis of whole-genome sequences of 25,465 individuals of European ancestry shows that rare variants contribute substantially to the heritability of height and body mass index.

The potential of water-window X-ray absorption spectroscopy for disentangling individual aspects of the respective electronic and structural dynamics in ultrafast non-adiabatic dynamics of molecular systems in a liquid environment is established.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

It is unclear how often genetic mosaicism of chromosome X arises. Here, the authors examine women with cancer and cancer-free controls and show that X chromosome mosaicism occurs more frequently than on autosomes, especially on the inactive X chromosome, but is not linked to non-haematologic cancer risk

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.

The IRE1α-XBP1 arm of the unfolded protein response (UPR) has been associated with immunosuppression and cancer progression. Here the authors show that IRE1α-XBP1 activation is associated with poor overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and that IRE1α loss in cancer cells promotes anti-tumor immune responses in lung cancer preclinical models.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

A modelling analysis shows that an unusually long gamma-ray burst gave rise to a lanthanide-rich kilonova following the merger of a neutron star–neutron star or of a neutron star–black hole.

A study shows that clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential is associated with an increased risk of chronic liver disease specifically through the promotion of liver inflammation and injury.

The relationship of mycorrhizal associations with latitudinal gradients in tree beta-diversity is unexplored. Using a global dataset approach, this study examines how trees with arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal associations contribute to latitudinal beta-diversity patterns and the environmental controls of these patterns.

Learning to predict reward is thought to be driven by dopaminergic prediction errors, which reflect discrepancies between actual and expected value. Here the authors show that learning to predict neutral events is also driven by prediction errors and that such value-neutral associative learning is also likely mediated by dopaminergic error signals.

Most studies of the genetics of the metabolome have been done in individuals of European descent. Here, the authors integrate genomics and metabolomics in Black individuals, highlighting the value of whole genome sequencing in diverse populations and linking circulating metabolites to human disease.

Although the common genetic variants contributing to blood lipid levels have been studied, the contribution of rare variants is less understood. Here, the authors perform a rare coding and noncoding variant association study of blood lipid levels using whole genome sequencing data.

mRNA-1273, an mRNA vaccine that encodes a stabilized prefusion-state severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein, elicits robust immune responses and protects mice against replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper and lower airways.

PREGCARE is a new strategy for families who had a child with a pathogenic de novo mutation, that efficiently identifies couples at higher recurrence risk due to parental mosaicism, while reassuring many others that their recurrence risk is negligible.

Transporter proteins from the MATE (multidrug and toxic compound extrusion) family are involved in metabolite transport in plants, and in multiple-drug resistance in bacteria and mammals. Here, the X-ray crystal structure of a MATE transporter from Vibrio cholerae is reported. The structure is in an outward-facing conformation, and reveals a cation-binding site near to residues previously deemed essential for transport.

Platelet aggregation is associated with myocardial infarction and stroke. Here, the authors have conducted a whole genome sequencing association study on platelet aggregation, discovering a locus in RGS18, where enhancer assays suggest an effect on activity of haematopoeitic lineage transcription factors.

Pooling participant-level genetic data into a single analysis can result in variance stratification, reducing statistical performance. Here, the authors develop variant-specific inflation factors to assess variance stratification and apply this to pooled individual-level data from whole genome sequencing.

Luis Pérez-Jurado, Stephen Chanock and colleagues detect clonal chromosomal abnormalities in peripheral blood or buccal samples from individuals in the general population. They show that the frequency of such events increases with age and is associated with elevated risk of developing subsequent hematological cancers.

In organic photovoltaics, the best-performing devices are often based on fullerene derivatives as the electron acceptor counterpart. Here, the authors present new molecular electron acceptors with a helical structure and achieve 8.3% power conversion efficiency.

Lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are the two major subtypes of lung cancer. Here the authors integrate omic data sets, including gene copy number, mRNA expression and proteomics, to identify subtype-specific molecular signatures and candidate drivers linked to ADC and SCC.

The active sites over oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) catalysts for CO₂ electroreduction are unclear. Here, the authors show atom-level product-specific active sites on OD-Cu surface models, where planar and convex square sites are responsible for ethylene while the step square site favours alcohols generation.

Peng et al. find that immunodominant cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for NP_105–113-B*07:02 are associated with reduced COVID-19 severity. Mechanistically, NP_105–113-B*07:02-specific CTLs show potent antiviral functionality and may represent rational T cell vaccine targets.

Voltage control of magnetic order is one of the keys to energy-efficient spintronic applications. Voltage gating using a solid-state hydrogen pump now allows for reversible control of ferrimagnetic order, external-field-free 180° magnetic switching and ferrimagnetic spin texture writing.

Breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers varies depending on other genetic factors. Here, the authors perform a case-only genome-wide association study and highlight novel loci associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Mammalian genomes are scattered with repetitive sequences, but their biology remains largely elusive. Here, the authors show that transcription can initiate from short tandem repetitive sequences, and that genetic variants linked to human diseases are preferentially found at repeats with high transcription initiation level.

Fifty-five percent of individuals vaccinated with an attenuated Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite vaccine remained without parasitemia after controlled human malaria infection one year later; immune correlate analysis in humans and non-human primates suggest a role for liver-resident T cells.

Engineered switchgrass and poplar are better feedstocks for biofuel synthesis and yield more biomass in multi-year field trials.

The role of microRNAs in chemotherapy resistance remains to be elucidated. Bockhorn et al.report that microRNA-30c, a human breast tumour prognostic marker, has a key role by targeting the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition promoter twinfilin 1 and downstream interleukin-11 expression.

Visvader and colleagues report that in the mouse mammary gland, EGF and mTOR signalling induce expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl2 family member Mcl-1 and show that this is required for the survival of milk-producing mammary epithelial cells.