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The arts, according to a systematic synthesis of data from 95 studies (across 26 countries), may support non-communicable disease prevention by providing opportunities for increased physical activity, and helping to address social forces that contribute to health inequities.

KMT2A rearranged infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients have a poor prognosis. Here, the authors use high throughput drug screening on primary infant specimens to identify a clinically active chemotherapy combination.

Recent studies have shown that lightning is initiated by a newly-recognized discharge process called fast positive breakdown. Here, the authors present observational evidence of fast breakdown but of negative polarity, seemingly contrary to current understanding of discharge physics.

Current vaccine strategies for SARS-CoV-2 focus on eliciting neutralising antibodies to the spike protein (S), but differences in immunogenicity of full-length S versus receptor binding domain (RBD) only aren’t fully understood. Here, the authors show immunogenicity of different prime-boost strategies with S and/or RBD in mice and macaques.

An untethered, entirely soft robot is designed to operate autonomously by combining microfluidic logic and hydrogen peroxide as an on-board fuel supply.

Paul Pharoah and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study of ovarian cancer. They identify new susceptibility loci for different epithelial ovarian cancer histotypes and use integrated analyses of genes and regulatory features at each locus to predict candidate susceptibility genes, including OBFC1.

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.

An artificial intelligence model defines a data-driven set of total parenteral nutrition compositions to assist clinicians in personalized treatment of neonates in intensive care and is able to adapt recommendations to patient status, with validation from large external cohorts and a blinded reader study.

A multiancestry genome-wide association study of chronic alanine aminotransferase elevation identifies candidate risk loci for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, with replication in external cohorts defined by histology or imaging.

Materials displaying colossal permittivity are promising for a range of energy-storage and microelectronics applications. A strategy for achieving temperature- and frequency-independent colossal permittivity using defect-generated giant dipoles is now demonstrated in (Nb+In) co-doped TiO₂ rutile.

NOTCH3 signalling is shown to be the underlying driver of the differentiation and expansion of a subset of synovial fibroblasts implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Phosphorylation of eIF4E binding proteins (4E-BPs) controls their folding and regulates cap-dependent translation. Here, the authors show that phosphorylation of the C-terminal disordered region stabilizes the non-cooperatively folded 4E-BP domain to an eIF4E binding-incompatible state to control translation.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Data from wearable sensors, including heart rate, body temperature, electrodermal activity and movement, can predict clinical laboratory measurements, with highest accuracy for hematological tests such as hematocrit.

SPTBN1 mutations cause a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by intellectual disability, language and motor delays, autism, seizures and other features. The variants disrupt βII-spectrin function and disturb cytoskeletal organization and dynamics.

CMIP6 models simulate higher and more accurate cloud liquid water fraction relative to CMIP5, but both ensembles overestimate warm cloud precipitation. Correcting these warm cloud processes in a model exposes compensating biases large enough to offset CMIP5–CMIP6 climate sensitivity differences.

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.

Leviviruses are phages with ssRNA genomes that encode a protein (Sgl) that induces host autolysis by interfering with bacterial cell wall synthesis. Identification of sgl genes is complicated by their small size and lack of sequence similarity. Here, Chamakura et al. use bioinformatic and experimental approaches to identify sgl genes in 244 leviviral genomes.

Geospatial modelling shows an overall decline in morbidity and mortality due to lower respiratory infections in Africa from 2000 to 2017, but also identifies subnational areas with residual high risk.

Host microbiomes are feasible sources for drug discovery. Here, using large-scale isolations, bioactivity assays and omics, the authors uncover the antimicrobial potential of insect-associated Streptomyces and identify a compound, cyphomycin, active against multidrug-resistant fungal pathogens.

The antisense oligonucleotide rugonersen has acceptable safety and tolerability in children with Angelman syndrome and shows partial normalization of electroencephalogram abnormalities and clinical improvements relative to natural history.

Wragg and colleagues use MHC class II tetramers and TCRβ sequencing to track clonal populations of spike-specific CD4⁺ cT_FH cells from cohorts of convalescent individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 or SARS-CoV-2-vaccinated individuals over 15 months.

Longitudinal analyses are needed to show how the immune response to Sars-Cov-2 infection changes over time. Here, the authors use multiple strategies to profile the change in immune cell responses from patients with convalescent COVID-19 over the course of ~5 months, showing that although neutralizing antibody responses drop off after ~4 months, B cell immune responses strengthen.

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.

Using cryo-EM structures, single-molecule fluorescence and electrophysiological studies, Kern et al. show how LRRC8A:C volume-regulated channels assemble into heteromers and use pore-bound lipids to block conduction in a closed state.

Large language models (LLMs) can synthesize vast amounts of information. Luo et al. show that LLMs—especially BrainGPT, an LLM the authors tuned on the neuroscience literature—outperform experts in predicting neuroscience results and could assist scientists in making future discoveries.

A series of genetic studies have led to the discovery of novel independent loci and candidate genes associated with red blood cell phenotype; for a proportion of these genes potential single-nucleotide genetic variants are also identified, providing new insights into genetic pathways controlling red blood cell formation, function and pathology.

518 protein kinase genes in the human genome have been sequenced in a large sample of tumours, providing a global view of the patterns of mutations found and the variations in the number and type of mutations between individual tumours.

Sequencing data from two large-scale studies show that most of the genetic variation influencing the risk of type 2 diabetes involves common alleles and is found in regions previously identified by genome-wide association studies, clarifying the genetic architecture of this disease.

A 3D printing platform comprising a rotational multimaterial printhead is demonstrated, enabling the fabrication of helically architected filaments and lattices with programmable subvoxel control.

Integrin αβ heterodimer cell surface receptors mediate adhesive interactions that provide traction for cell migration. Here the authors show that actin flow can orient cell surface integrins during leukocyte migration, suggesting integrin activation by cytoskeletal force.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Research does not always ‘speak for itself’; high-fidelity uptake of science into policy requires active engagement between researchers and policymakers. This Perspective offers tangible recommendations to help bridge the research-to-policy gap.

Infusion of CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cells into two patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia resulted in complete tumour remission and persistence of the infused cells more than ten years later.

Individuals with the red hair/fair skin phenotype usually carry a polymorphism in the gene encoding the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) that results in the production of pigment containing a high pheomelanin-to-eumelanin ratio; here it is shown in a mouse model that inactivation of Mc1r promotes melanoma formation in the presence of the Braf oncogene, thus suggesting that pheomelanin synthesis is carcinogenic by an ultraviolet-radiation-independent mechanism.

The tunability of covalently bound cationic and anionic moieties of zwitterionic materials makes them attractive for potential applications. A family of zwitterions exhibiting molecular disorder and plasticity allows their use as a solid-state conductive matrix.

Some genes that are part of balanced translocations are reported as drivers for tumourigenesis. Here, the authors report a translocation involving MTCP1 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and show that MTCP1 overexpression leads to the disease in a murine model.

In the I-SPY2.2 trial, patients with high-risk stage 2/3 breast cancer received neoadjuvant datopotamab–deruxtecan, followed by sequential chemotherapy with or without targeted therapy, with the option of early surgical resection after each block of therapy. In a subgroup of patients, the sequential treatment strategy was superior to standard of care.

The Omicron variant evades vaccine-induced neutralization but also fails to form syncytia, shows reduced replication in human lung cells and preferentially uses a TMPRSS2-independent cell entry pathway, which may contribute to enhanced replication in cells of the upper airway. Altered fusion and cell entry characteristics are linked to distinct regions of the Omicron spike protein.

In the I-SPY2.2 trial, patients with high-risk stage 2/3 breast cancer received neoadjuvant datopotamab–deruxtecan plus durvalumab, followed by sequential chemotherapy with or without targeted therapy, with the option of early surgical resection after each block of therapy, showing that de-escalation of therapy is possible for several patient subgroups without compromising outcome and avoiding toxicity of standard chemotherapy.

The vegetative forms of chlamydiae (RBs) replicate within infected cells and then convert into infectious forms (EBs). Here, the authors use quantitative 3D electron microscopy and computer modeling to show that RB size decreases with replication, and conversion into EBs correlates with an RB size threshold.

Surveys from 2,584 sites across the Indo-Pacific identify key climate, socioeconomic and environmental drivers associated with hard coral assemblages. This informs a strategic approach to protect, recover or transform coral reef management.

Jones et al. examine the generalizability of the valence–dominance model of social judgements of faces in 41 countries across 11 world regions. They find evidence of both generalizability and variation, depending on the analytical method.

A COVID-19 test implemented in an automated microfluidic device and leveraging isothermal RNA amplification followed by T7 transcription and Cas13-mediated cleavage of a quenched fluorophore rapidly detects SARS-CoV-2 RNA in saliva samples.

Early identification of COVID-19 patients at risk of progression may facilitate more individually aligned treatment plans. Here the authors develop an online nomogram incorporating CT severity score and clinical characteristics for early predicting the disease progression risk among COVID-19 pneumonia patients.