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A study leveraging transsynaptic tracing demonstrates rapid and extensive integration of human glioblastoma organoids into the mouse brain.

Inhomogeneous spectral distribution and multi-photon emission are currently hindering the use of defects in layered hBN as reliable single photon emitters. Here, the authors demonstrate strain-controlled wavelength tuning and increased single photon purity through suitable material processing.

Salt passivation of perovskite often results in formation of 2D perovskite layers, which impaired charge transport behaviour. Here, the authors study the energy barrier of 2D perovskite formation upon passivation by different iodide salt, and provide insight how to manipulate this to maximise device performance.

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a complex evolution of the ejecta produced by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft impacting Dimorphos.

A multimodal atlas of retinal organoid development shows spatial interactions over time.

In a screen of 324 human cancer cell lines and utilising a systematic target prioritization framework, the Werner syndrome ATP-dependent helicase is shown to be a synthetic lethal target in tumours from multiple cancer types with microsatellite instability, providing a new target for cancer drug development.

Authors use proximity proteomics to dissect the protein composition of the excitatory postsynaptic compartment of mouse L5 neurons in intact somatosensory circuits, reporting distinct synaptic signatures and differential disease vulnerabilities.

Analyses of the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017 reveal inequalities across countries as well as within populations.

In an interim analysis of an ongoing phase 1 trial of CAR T cells targeting EGFR and IL13Ra2 in patients with multifocal, recurrent glioblastoma, intrathecal delivery is feasible and well tolerated, with some reductions seen in tumor size.

Newly sequenced seagrass genomes unveil a hexaploid ancestry for seagrasses. The transition to marine environments involved fine-tuning of many processes that all had to happen in parallel, probably explaining why adaptation to a marine lifestyle has been rare.

Genome-wide association meta-analyses of waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index in more than 224,000 individuals identify 49 loci, 33 of which are new and many showing significant sexual dimorphism with a stronger effect in women; pathway analyses implicate adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution.

The competitive dynamics of mitochondrial haplotypes juxtaposed within the same cell are poorly studied. Here the authors show, in the context of a transmissible cancer, that one haplotype has recurrently entered cancer cells by horizontal transfer and appears to have a ‘selfish’ selective advantage.

The brain has been proposed to operate near a critical transition between order and disorder, controlled by a balance between inhibition and excitation. Here, the authors show that individual variability in long-range synchronization between brain regions can be explained by an individual’s proximity to this phase transition.

Our understanding of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is still incomplete. Here, the authors find that IL-33, produced during immune recall potentially by CD14⁺ monocytes, correlates with CD4⁺ T cell activation, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer, and disease severity in a cohort of convalescent individuals professionally exposed to the virus.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Gene fusions are observed in many cancers but their link to tumour fitness is largely unknown. Here, transcriptomic analysis combined with pharmacological and CRISPR-Cas9 screening of cancer cell lines was used to evaluate the functional linkage between fusions and tumour fitness.

Multiple regulatory elements distant from their targets on the linear genome can influence gene expression through chromatin looping. Here, the authors report an improved chromosome conformation capture approach that can be used to identify long-range chromatin interactions in cancer risk loci.

Genetic variants associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer have been identified using genome wide association studies (GWAS). Here, the authors combine data from over 9000 patients and perform a meta-analysis to identify five novel loci linked to pancreatic cancer.

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.

The order and variability of bacterial chromosome organization, contained within the distribution of chromosome conformations, are unclear. Here, the authors develop a fully data-driven maximum entropy approach to extract single-cell 3D chromosome conformations from Hi-C experiments on the model organism Caulobacter crescentus.

Pertussis toxin is used extensively for perturbing Gαi/o pathways in the study of physiology and disease, but an equivalent inhibitor of Gαq signalling is not currently available to the research community. Here the authors characterize FR900359 as a specific Gq inhibitor and demonstrate its utility to dissect GPCR signalling and its potential to inhibit melanoma cells.

REV-ERBs, nuclear hormone receptors that regulate transcription as part of the circadian clock cell machinery, inhibit autophagy and lipogenesis in premalignant and malignant cells and impair tumour growth in vivo.

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.

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and strength associated with physical disability during ageing. Here, the authors analyse muscle biopsies from 119 patients with sarcopenia and age-matched controls of different ethnic groups and find transcriptional signatures indicating mitochondrial dysfunction, associated with reduced mitochondria numbers and lower NAD⁺ levels in older individuals with sarcopenia.

An automated electrochemical flow platform is shown to enhance reaction efficiency, minimize material use, and accelerate data generation. Through Design of Experiments, the platform optimized a reaction, achieving a six-fold improvement in yield, and holds promise for optimizing other reactions.

Phospholipids enhance the structural and colloidal integrity of hybrid organic–inorganic lead halide perovskites and lead-free metal halide nanocrystals, which then exhibit enhanced robustness and optical properties.

In extinct species including non-avian dinosaurs, bone density is shown to be a reliable indicator of aquatic behavioural adaptations, which emerged in spinosaurids during the Early Cretaceous.

Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer with family history being a strong contributing risk factor. Here Ziv et al.perform a genome-wide association study for genetic variation associated with myeloma survival, identifying FOPNL variants associated with worse clinical outcomes.

Mitochondrial Atm1 proteins play important roles in the maturation of certain cytosolic proteins. Here, the authors exploit cryo-EM to capture several structures of an Atm1. The findings shed new light on the molecular function of Atm1 transporters.

Understanding how N₂ fixation is distributed in aquatic systems is key to enabling robust N-budgets. In a model ecosystem, Ehrenfels et al. find that the hydrodynamic regimes (stratification/upwelling) play a critical role in modulating N₂ fixation.

Structured Illumination Microscopy allows for the visualization of biological structures at resolutions below the diffraction limit, but this imaging modality is still hampered by high experimental complexity. Here, the authors present a combination of interferometry and machine learning to construct a structured illumination microscope for super resolution imaging of dynamic sub-cellular biological structures in multiple colors.

A deep learning system able to identify the most common skin conditions may help clinicians in making more accurate diagnoses in routine clinical practice

A DNA-encoded chemical library based on regio- and stereoisomers of phenylalanine has been synthesized and used for affinity-based selections against multiple target proteins. This approach led to the isolation and validation of potent ligands capable of CAR T-cell activation and tumour targeting.

Spitzoid neoplasms constitute a spectrum of melanocytic tumours, characterized by distinct clinical, pathological and genetic features. Here, Wiesner et al. show that kinase fusions represent the majority of oncogenic aberrations in spitzoid neoplasms and may serve as therapeutic targets for metastatic spitzoid melanoma.

Here the authors show satellite transcripts in mouse embryonic stem cells drive HP1α into droplets in vitro and also control HP1α organisation and association with chromatin in vivo. Depleting the satellite transcripts converts heterochromatin into a less dynamic and more static state and leads to chromosome instability.

Past genome-wide associate studies have identified hundreds of genetic loci that influence body size and shape when examined one trait at a time. Here, Jeff and colleagues develop an aggregate score of various body traits, and use meta-analysis to find new loci linked to body shape.

Previous genome-wide association studies have identified loci associated with the risk of multiple myeloma. Here, the authors present a meta-analysis of six genome wide association studies of the disease and identify eight new loci; functional studies identify genes as candidates for the basis of these associations.

Inflammatory cytokines are elevated in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Here the authors show that the JAK2-V617F mutation is associated with increased expression of IL-1 in MPN patients and that loss of IL-1β in JAK2-V617F mutant hematopoietic cells reduces MPN symptoms and myelofibrosis in a mouse model.

In Parkinson’s disease (PD) the monomeric protein alpha-synuclein (aSyn) misfolds and aggregates into insoluble fibrils. Here the authors use NMR measurements and hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and find that the more solvent exposed the N-terminus of aSyn is, the more aggregation prone its conformation becomes, and further show how PD mutations and post translational modifications influence the extent of the N-terminus solvent exposure.

Here, Kuroda et al. screen a library of nearly 400 interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and identify several ISGs that inhibit Ebola virus entry, viral transcription/replication, or virion formation. The study provides insights into interactions between Ebola and the host cells.

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.

The development of stretchable electronics has created a number of interesting applications, including in healthcare. Here, the authors present a stretchable and adhesive electronic skin patch capable of monitoring hydration state, electrophysiological activity, pulse and cerebral oximetry.

GNF-2 is a recently discovered, selective allosteric Bcr–Abl inhibitor. Solution NMR, X-ray crystallography, mutagenesis and hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry are now used to show that GNF-2 binds to the myristate-binding site of Abl, leading to changes in the structural dynamics of the ATP-binding site. The results show that the combination of allosteric and ATP-competitive inhibitors can overcome resistance to either agent alone.