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A microfluidic CRISPR-based platform enables multiplexed and high-throughput identification of a wide range of respiratory viruses, including the ability to identify specific SARS-CoV-2 variants such as Delta and Omicron.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

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.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Elucidation of the bacterial ceramide biosynthetic pathway reveals that it likely evolved independently from the eukaryotic pathway, as bacteria lack homologs for many of the eukaryotic enzymes and the reactions occur in a different order.

Lynch, Brenner and colleagues find that tissue-resident γδ T cells reside in adipose tissues in both mice and humans. These cells play essential roles in regulating thermogenesis and supporting age-dependent increases in adipose-tissue regulatory T cell populations.

In a new study including 200 families who experienced perinatal death, adding genomic analyses to standard autopsies improved the identification of underlying pathogenic causes and informed genetic counseling.

Estimates from the Global Dietary Database indicated that 2.2 million new type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cardiovascular disease cases were attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages worldwide in 2020, with the highest burdens in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Contrary to the view that urbanization is a major driver of the global rise in obesity, the global increase in body-mass index is shown to be mostly due to increases in the body-mass indexes of rural populations.

During replication stress, the RPA protein complex coats single-stranded DNA to preclude RAD51 loading. Here, the authors show how RPA and CST crosstalk to regulate RAD51 activity.

A diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries provides health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end.

The contributions of chirality and conformation as contributing factors to the biological properties of synthetic nanomaterials remain underexplored. A synthesis of bottlebrush polymers with mirror-image side chains has now been developed and it has been revealed that an interplay between side-chain absolute configuration and flexibility influences the biological properties of these polymers both in vitro and in vivo.

An analysis based on data from the Global Dietary Database shows mean animal-sourced food intakes among children and adolescents increased modestly from 1990 to two portions per day in 2018, but remain low in sub-Saharan Africa, India and Bangladesh.

Berkane et al. investigated the activation process of selective autophagy of the ER. They show that that phosphorylation of FAM134 proteins by CK2 is a prerequisite for the formation of large micro-clusters of high-density at the ER membrane.

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.

Recent estimates of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) intake are generally unavailable. Here the authors show a global SSBs intake of 2.7 servings/week in 2018 in adults (range: 0.7 South Asia, 7.8 Latin America/Caribbean); intakes were higher among males, younger, more educated, and urban adults.

Dietary quality is reported at the global, regional and national level across 185 countries. Though diet quality increased modestly since 1990 at the global level, in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa it did not improve. In some regions, children’s dietary quality is lower than that of adults.

The molecular driving forces underlying the liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of RNA are not well understood. Now simulations show that low-complexity RNA sequences undergo LLPS at high RNA concentrations, driven by the formation of Watson–Crick base pairs between distinct RNA polymers. LLPS occurs by merger of small droplets into larger ones and RNA chains in the large droplets exhibit reptation dynamics.

The small molecule GS-6207, which disrupts the function of the HIV capsid protein, shows potential as a long-acting therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection.

Le, Phung, Bui et al. investigate nasal-spraying Bacillus spore probiotics (LiveSpo Navax) as a supportive treatment for Respiratory Syncytial Virus pneumonia with bacterial co-infections in young children. Use of the probiotic reduces symptoms, antibiotic use, viral and bacterial loads, and improves immune and nasal microbiota.

Two below-threshold surface code memories on superconducting processors markedly reduce logical error rates, achieving high efficiency and real-time decoding, indicating potential for practical large-scale fault-tolerant quantum algorithms.

Nanopores have a wide range of applications in the field of sensing. Here the authors report on synthetic nanopores made of DNA and designed for the transit of folded proteins across membranes to allow for biosensing.

Surveying next generation sequencing capabilities in 13 Asian countries identifies challenges to be met for improved implementation, pathogen surveillance and integration into public health decision-making.

Fusion genes have been proposed as a potential mechanism of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in lung cancer. Here, the authors identify gene fusions that are associated with resistance to EGFR TKIs in non-small cell lung cancers, and test how these fusions impact the response to EGFR TKIs in vitro.

Macromolecular telmisartan prodrugs optimized for preferential release in fibrotic liver tissue reduce liver fibrosis in mouse models, and are retained and well tolerated in the liver tissue of rats and dogs.

Zhang et al. report that the lncRNA H19 stabilizes dystrophin by competing with the ubiquitin E3 ligase TRIM63 for association with dystrophin, thereby alleviating muscular dystrophies.

Dysregulation of lipid metabolism is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Here, the authors perform GWAS of the serum lipidome to identify variants associated with lipid species that are putatively in the mechanistic pathway to CAD.

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are valuable surface anchors, but their use has remained limited to either spherical or planar nanomaterials. Now, they have been grafted onto gold nanorods through a bidentate ligand featuring a thiolate and a NHC–gold complex. The resulting nanorods are robust towards a wide range of harsh conditions and show promise for photothermal therapy.

This analysis presents the results of a community-based evaluation of existing software for large-scale glycopeptide data analysis.