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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.

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.

Follistatin promotes in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathogenesis in model animals and is elevated in patients with T2D. Here the authors report that plasma follistatin associates with increased risk of incident T2D in two longitudinal cohorts, and show that follistatin regulates insulin-induced suppression lipolysis in cultured human adipocytes.

The authors use spatial and single-cell transcriptomics to examine spatial dynamics during early human cardiogenesis, yielding insights into the development of the cardiac pacemaker-conduction system, autonomic innervation, heart valves and atrial septum, and heterogeneity of cardiac mesenchymal cells.

Infant KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia is associated with poor overall survival rates. Here, the authors use WGS and WES of 36 relapsed KMT2A-rearranged ALL and AML patients and find alterations in drug response genes in ALL, which may correspond with relapse time. Longitudinal analyses of >250 samples could track residual leukemia cells, clonal drug responses, and the upcoming relapse.

Folkersen et al. report the first results from the SCALLOP consortium, a collaborative framework for pQTL mapping and biomarker analysis of proteins on the Olink platform. A total of 315 primary and 136 secondary pQTLs for 85 circulating cardiovascular proteins from over 30,000 individuals were identified and replicated to yield new insights for translational studies and drug development.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are characterised by reduced regenerative potential and a loss of quiescence. Here, the authors show nicotinamide riboside treatment shrinks the age-enlarged stem cell pool and shifts aged HSC functionally, metabolically and molecularly towards the young state.

Here, the authors leveraged genetic and proteomic information from the UK Biobank and two randomized controlled trials to characterize how polygenic disease risk for T2D and related comorbidities perturbs the plasma proteome and glean therapeutic insights.

Semen-derived peptides can form amyloid fibrils that boost HIV infection in vitro, but the existence of such fibrils in semen remained to be demonstrated. Here, the authors show that human semen contains amyloid fibrils, which can bind HIV particles and increase their infectiveness.

How the carbon stocks of the Arctic–Boreal Zone change with warming is not well understood. Here the authors show that wildfires and large regional differences in net carbon fluxes offset the overall increasing CO₂ uptake.

Two Co single crystal surfaces remain metallic up to 1 bar during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The observed intermediates support the carbide mechanism as the reaction pathway. By adding and removing CO we can follow the dynamics of the (dis)appearance of intermediates.

The mechanisms underlying atherosclerotic complications in type 2 diabetes are still unknown. Here, the authors provide evidence for an impaired vascular fibrous repair response involving transforming growth factor-ß2-regulated collagen synthesis and cell differentiation as central mechanisms.

Both rare and common variants contribute to the aetiology of complex traits such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, the authors examine the effect of coding variation on glycaemic traits and T2D, and identify low-frequency variation in GLP1Rsignificantly associated with these traits.

Understanding the development of the lung will inform treatments for congenital diseases and approaches for preterm infant care. Here they map human lung development using high-parametric imaging at the single-cell level to track abundance, proliferation, and spatial organization of key cell types during early gestation.

Translocation of pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) females and eggs from the Netherlands to Sweden facilitates adaptation to changing phenological conditions, highlighting the importance of dispersal as well as plasticity and standing genetic variation in evolutionary responses to environmental change.

Boyman and colleagues perform phenotypic and B cell receptor sequencing analysis of memory B cell subsets in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-infected and subsequently vaccinated individuals up to 1 year post-infection to show that single memory B cell clones can adopt different trajectories.

Genetic association signals for fractures have been reported at the RSPO3 locus, but the causal gene and the underlying mechanism are unknown. Here, the authors show that RSPO3 exerts an important role for vertebral trabecular bone mass and bone strength in mice and fracture risk in humans.

The future of carbon dynamics in the northern high latitudes is uncertain yet represents an important potential feedback under climate change. This study uses a comprehensive observational dataset to show an increasing carbon sink in non-permafrost systems; in permafrost systems uptake was offset by loss.

Although vaccination has so far been used mainly for infectious disease, the varied roles of the immune system in atherosclerosis present the possibility of a vaccine being developed against this prevalent disease. Here, Shah and colleagues discuss some of the background and advances being made in this field.

Intra-specific variations may contribute to heterogeneous responses to climate change across a species’ range. Here, the authors investigate the phenology of two bird species across their breeding ranges, and find that their sensitivity to temperature is uncoupled from exposure to climate change.

Evidence of a transcriptional signature that marks precursors of long-lived CD8⁺ memory T cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Neutron-proton pairing is a topic of continuous interest in nuclear physics and open questions remain. The authors experimentally observe direct proton decay from the ground state of odd-odd 116La, providing support for the presence of strong neutron-proton pair correlations in this exotic, neutron deficient system.

To follow in situ and in real time how catalyst surfaces respond to gas composition changes is a challenge. This study reports on an eventaveraging method, based on cyclic gas pulsing and software-based image recognition, that overcomes the challenge for large photoelectron spectroscopy datasets.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have become a key tool to discover genetic markers for complex traits; however, environmental factors that interact with genes are rarely considered. Here, the authors conduct a GWAS of obesity traits, and find that smoking may alter genetic susceptibilities.

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.

Prosaposin (PSAP) variants are linked to Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, the authors report PSP changes in PD and lipid dyshomeostasis and PD-like phenotypes in mice lacking PSAP in dopamine neurons; PSAP overexpression counteracts experimental PD.

Genotypes causing pregnancy loss and perinatal mortality are depleted among living individuals and are therefore difficult to find. Here, using genetic data for 1.52 million individuals, the authors identify 25 genes with protein-altering variants exhibiting a strong deficit of homozygosity, suggesting they are essential for successful early development.

Manju Kurian and colleagues report heterozygous variants in KMT2B in 27 unrelated individuals with a complex progressive childhood-onset dystonia, often associated with a typical facial appearance. Their findings highlight a clinically recognizable form of dystonia and demonstrate a crucial role for KMT2B in the physiological control of voluntary movement.

The development of pan-Arctic Ocean ice shelves during peak glacials was proposed in the 1970s, an idea that has been disputed due to lack of evidence. Here, the authors present geophysical mapping data supporting the presence of such an ice shelf during the peak of the penultimate glaciation ∼140–160 ka.

Large-field multifocal illumination fluorescence microscopy and panoramic volumetric multispectral optoacoustic tomography can be combined to longitudinally assess amyloid-β deposits in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

Cells and organisms requires proper membrane composition, which the cell must modulate as membrane lipids are primary acquired from the diet. Here, Ruiz et al. identify a conserved pathway connecting the fluidity regulators AdipoR1/2 with fatty acid desaturase SCD to mediate membrane homeostasis.

High hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (HeH ALL) is driven by nonrandom chromosomal gains, which have been suggested to arise early - even before birth. Here, the authors use single-cell whole genome sequencing and in silico modelling to show that HeH ALL aneuploidies could originate early and follow punctuated evolution.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

A body of experimental studies has pointed to a role for autoimmunity in atherosclerosis in animal models. Translational studies using single-cell sequencing now confirm that is also true of the atherosclerotic plaque development in humans.