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Documents obtained by Nature reveal that the Trump administration intends to propose cuts to the 2026 budgets of NASA and NOAA. Plus, AI-enhanced glasses could help visually impaired people navigate their surroundings and the most-cited research papers of the twenty-first century.

Traditional TIRF illumination is hampered by lack of precise quantification of single-molecule intensities. Here the authors combine flat-field illumination by using a standard πShaper with multi-angular TIR illumination by incorporating a spatial light modulator compatible with fast super-resolution structured illumination microscopy.

A foundation model trained on neural activity of visual cortex from multiple mice accurately predicts responses to video stimuli and cell types, dendritic features and connectivity within the MICrONS functional connectomics dataset.

A 3D-printing technique has been developed to create high-quality pure silica nanostructures with sub-200 nm resolution and the flexible capability of rare-earth element doping. It shows excellent application potential in three-dimensional micro- and nanophotonics.

Preventing endosomal damage sensing or using lipids that create reparable endosomal holes reduces inflammation caused by RNA-lipid nanoparticles while enabling high RNA expression.

Despite being an important driver of a subset of medulloblastomas, efforts to therapeutically target Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling, such as with the use of Smoothened (SMO) inhibitors, have had limited success. Here, the authors find that SHH medulloblastomas are sensitive to netrin-1 inhibition and investigate netrin-1 as a mechanism of resistance to SMO inhibition.

ProteinGenerator simultaneously generates protein sequences and structures using sequence space diffusion.

Time-series observations from the JWST of the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b show gaseous water in the planet’s atmosphere and place an upper limit on the abundance of methane.

The dayside thermal emission spectrum and brightness temperature map of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-18b obtained from the NIRISS instrument on the JWST showed water emission features, an atmosphere consistent with solar metallicity, as well as a steep and symmetrical decrease in temperature towards the nightside.

The photoinduced hidden metallic state in 1T-TaS₂ has so far been stabilized only at cryogenic temperatures. Now it is shown that accessing an additional mixed-phase long-lived metastable state can stabilize the hidden phase at higher temperatures.

The SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover captured 55 triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars over two Martian years, providing implications for examining the planet’s surface chemistry, habitability and human exploration.

Coral reefs are productive ecosystems due to high levels of nutrient recycling in which fishes play a critical role. This study shows fishing can reduce the amount of nutrients supplied and stored by fishes to coral reefs by nearly half, even when the number of fish species present is largely unchanged.

Cell state plasticity of neuroblastoma cells is linked to therapy resistance. Here, the authors develop a transcriptomic and epigenetic map of indisulam (RBM39 degrader) resistant neuroblastoma, demonstrating bidirectional cell state switching accompanied by increased NK cell activity, which they therapeutically enhance by the addition of an anti-GD2 antibody.

Hyperinsulinemia, glucose and fatty acids induce hepatic triglyceride accumulation, proinflammatory cytokine release and predispose to insulin resistance, while resmetirom treatment normalized fat but paradoxically induced higher cytokine expression.

When we see a sick person, our brains kickstart an immune response mimicking the body’s response to an actual infection. Plus, evolution has a predilection for anteaters and how researchers are testing people, animals and artificial intelligence for consciousness.

The freshwater planarian S. mediterranea is an important model organism for regeneration research but its use in aging research is little explored and S. mediterranea is commonly referred to as immortal. Here Dai et al. report age-associated physiological and molecular changes in the sexual lineage of S. mediterranea, and global reversal of such changes after regeneration.

In vivo lensless imaging can be achieved via a phase mask that creates diffraction patterns with high-contrast contours, as shown for the imaging of calcium dynamics in the cortex of mice and of microvasculature in the oral mucosa of volunteers.

Eroglu et al. describe protein amyloid structures that are stably inherited across generations and transmit epigenetic memory in Caenorhabditis elegans. MSTR protein loss results in a transgenerational feminization phenotype through ectopic GLD-1 expression.

Fibroblast heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment can explain their multifaceted role in cancer. Here by single-cell transcriptomic analysis of basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma samples, the authors explore fibroblast heterogeneity in skin cancer and their potential to modulate the tumor-immune microenvironment.

Studies in humans and mice show that myocardial infarction recruits monocytes to the brain’s thalamus, promoting sleep, which in turn restricts cardiac inflammation and sympathetic signalling and assists healing.

uPAR is a senescence-associated protein, and CAR T cells targeting uPAR exert senolysis. Here Eskiocak et al. identify uPAR⁺ cells as key targets of intestinal aging and show that CAR T-mediated elimination prevents and restores age-related decline in intestinal regeneration and barrier function.

Broad and potent neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 variants can be efficiently identified via accurate deep-mutational-scanning-based prediction of viral evolution and delivered to mice using mRNA–lipid nanoparticles.

Evans, Blake, Longworth and colleagues identify and characterize a tumour-suppressive role for microglia that mediate a pro-inflammatory response to restrict brain metastasis in breast cancer.

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D) identifies more than 600 T2D-associated loci; integrating physiological trait and single-cell chromatin accessibility data at these loci sheds light on heterogeneity within the T2D phenotype.

This Perspective highlights advances in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technologies for measuring intracellular drug–target engagement, expanding their use to analyze kinetics, permeability and complex mechanisms in chemical biology.

Aortic aneurysms have a heritable basis. Here, the authors report that a selenoprotein deficiency disorder due to mutations in SECISBP2, causes oxidative stress-mediated aortic cell death, predisposing to thoracic aortic aneurysm formation.

Amplification of glucose stimulated insulin secretion by lipids is not fully understood due to complex inter organ communication in glycemic regulation. Here the authors show Vaha, a Drosophila lipase synthesized in the gut, concentrates in insulin producing cells in the brain to regulate insulin like peptide release.

The relationship between lipid dyshomeostasis and tau pathology in FTLD and AD remains unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate that GRAMD1B contributes to lipid dyshomeostasis, autophagy impairment, and tau hyperphosphorylation in neurons.

Early forecasts give people in a storm’s path time to prepare, but less is known about the cost to society when forecasts are incorrect. In this observational study, the authors examine over 700,000 births in the path of Hurricane Irene and find exposure was associated with impaired birth outcomes.

DNA double-strand breaks induce local genome maintenance and inhibition of replication initiation at nearby topologically associating domains without affecting global DNA synthesis.

Single-unit ensemble activity recorded in unilateral human precentral gyrus reveals a wide range of gesture-related signals across both hands, providing an intuitive and diverse set of potential command signals for intracortical BCI use.

The integration of single-photon detectors, as superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, in photonic-integrated circuits is a goal of quantum information science. Here, Najafi et al.introduce a micrometer-scale flip-chip process enabling such a integration in a scalable way.

In this protocol, barcodes are introduced into cells via homology-directed targeted integration, and clones are tracked in xenotransplanted hosts by high-throughput sequencing. The results can be analyzed using a freely available online program.

A non-contact wearable device that defines and modulates a microclimate adjacent to the skin can measure incoming and outgoing streams of vapourized substances, offering valuable insights into physiological health, wound healing and environmental exposures.

Centrioles are broken down during oogenesis and are provided by the sperm during sexual reproduction, though how centriole numbers are regulated during asexual reproduction is unclear. Here they study two asexually reproducing nematodes and identify distinct mechanisms for maternal centrosome inheritance.

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) mediates antiviral host immune response. Here, the authors identify a catalytic activity-independent function of OGT in restraining influenza A virus replication by translocating to lipid droplets and limiting their accumulation following interaction with viral RNA.

Analyses of genome and exome sequencing data identify rare coding and structural variants associated with atrial fibrillation and highlight genetic links between atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathies.

Mysterious ‘dark energy’ — thought to be a cosmological constant — might have weakened over billions of years. Plus, skin immune cells form their own ‘bandage’ around wounds and how astronomers are tackling the growing problem of satellite pollution.

The culture of genetically unmodified human naive embryonic stem cells in specific growth conditions gives rise to structures that recapitulate those of post-implantation human embryos up to 13–14 days after fertilization.

HistoPlexer, a deep learning model, generates multiplexed protein expression maps from H&E images, capturing tumour–immune cell interactions. It outperforms baselines, enhances immune subtyping and survival prediction and offers a cost-effective tool for precision oncology.

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.

A fresh approach to protein design that incorporates excited intermediate states enables precise control over the lifetime of protein interactions, with potential applications in cell-signalling modulation and in biosensors and synthetic circuits.

Brüggeret al. identify part of the molecular machinery that controls Schwann cell development after peripheral nerve injury. Inhibiting HDAC1/2 early after injury enhances nerve regeneration and promotes functional recovery.