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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.

Geospatial estimates of the prevalence of anemia in women of reproductive age across 82 low-income and middle-income countries reveals considerable heterogeneity and inequality at national and subnational levels, with few countries on track to meet the WHO Global Nutrition Targets by 2030.

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.

The TARDBP gene encodes TDP-43, a multifunctional DNA- and RNA-binding protein involved in many cellular processes. Mutations in TARDBP are associated with TDP-43 proteinopathies. In vivo and in vitro studies of mutants and peptides show similarities between TDP-43 and prion proteins, suggesting that TDP-43 derivatives may cause disease by spreading to neighboring neurons.

Matrix metalloprotease-12 is secreted by macrophages during the inflammatory response, but was reported to be active near cell surfaces. Koppisetti et al.reveal the enzyme’s unprecedented use of two distinct surfaces to interact with lipid bilayers, thereby targeting it to cellular membranes.

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.

Two photonic platforms using a convolutional processing system with partially coherent light sources is shown to boost computing parallelism, demonstrated using the classification of gaits of patients with Parkinson’s disease and the MNIST handwritten digits dataset.

Radio-frequency modulation of optical signals increase the parallelization of photonic processors beyond that afforded by exploiting spatial and wavelength dimensions alone. The approach is then demonstrated on electrocardiogram signals and identifies patients at sudden death risk with 93.5% accuracy.

Hybrid photonic–electronic systems are essential for high-throughput neuromorphic computing. Here, the authors report an in-memory photonic–electronic dot-product engine with decoupled electronic programming of the phase-change memory cells and parallel photonic computation with high-bit operation, low energy consumption, and high accuracy.

An integrated photonic processor, based on phase-change-material memory arrays and chip-based optical frequency combs, which can operate at speeds of trillions of multiply-accumulate (MAC) operations per second, is demonstrated.

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.

Fine-scale geospatial mapping of overweight and wasting (two components of the double burden of malnutrition) in 105 LMICs shows that overweight has increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 6.0% in children under 5 in 2017. Although overall wasting decreased over the same period, most countries are not on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025.

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.

In this disease mapping study, the authors estimate disability-adjusted life year rates for three of the major causes of mortality for children under five 43 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They identify significant heterogeneity at the subnational level, highlighting the need for a targeted intervention approach.

The impact of the DART spacecraft on the asteroid Dimorphos is reported and reconstructed, demonstrating that kinetic impactor technology is a viable technique to potentially defend Earth from asteroids.

Ultrasharp scanning probe microscope tips made of diamond-like carbon that contains silicon and oxygen demonstrate very high levels of wear resistance.

An optical version of a brain-inspired neurosynaptic system, using wavelength division multiplexing techniques, is presented that is capable of supervised and unsupervised learning.

Computing approaches in the optical domain would allow for ultra-fast signaling and ultra-high bandwidth capabilities. Here, Feldmann et al. demonstrate a photonic abacus, which provides multistate compute-and store operation by integrating phase-change materials with nanophotonic chips.

Vicinity of small bodies might be dangerous to the spacecrafts and to their instrumentation. Here the authors show the operational environment of asteroid Bennu, validate its photometric phase function and demonstrate the accelerating rotational rate due to YORP effect using the data acquired during the approach phase of OSIRIS-REx mission.

Dimorphos ejecta plume properties were revealed by the observations from the LICIACube cube satellite, which was deployed 15  days in advance of the impact of DART.

Bennu’s surface has experienced continuous changes, mostly induced by its accelerating spin rate, which could have resulted in a collapse of its interior in the past. This scenario is also supported by the heterogeneity of Bennu’s internal mass distribution.

Signatures of phyllosilicate-like hydrated minerals are widespread on Bennu’s surface, indicating significant aqueous alteration. The lack of spatial variations in the spectra down to the scale of ~100 m indicates both a relatively uniform particle size distribution and a lack of compositional segregation, possibly due to surficial redistribution processes.

Bennu’s surface presents evidence of a variety of particle sizes, from fine regolith to metre-sized boulders. Its moderate thermal inertia suggests that the boulders are very porous or blanketed by thin dust. Bennu’s boulders exhibit high albedo variations, indicating different origins and/or ages.

Researchers use phase-change materials to demonstrate an integrated optical memory with 13.4 pJ switching energy.

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu has a top-like shape with longitudinal ridges, macroporosity, prominent boulders and surface mass wasting, suggesting that it is a stiff rubble pile, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Near-Earth rubble-pile asteroid Bennu has an unexpectedly old surface, with numerous candidate impact craters and morphologically diverse boulders, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Optical analogues of electronic memristors are desirable for applications including photonic artificial intelligence and computing platforms. Here, recent progress on integrated optical memristors is reviewed.

Observations of asteroid (101955) Bennu with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reveal an unexpected surficial diversity that poses a challenge to the success of the sample-return mission.

Photonics offers an attractive platform for implementing neuromorphic computing due to its low latency, multiplexing capabilities and integrated on-chip technology.

Materials whose optical properties can be reconfigured are crucial for photonic applications such as optical memories. Phase-change materials offer such utility and here recent progress is reviewed.