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When 100 social and behavioural science claims were examined, 34% of reanalyses closely matched the original results, with 74% reaching the same conclusion, revealing limited robustness of single-path analyses and the need to address analytical uncertainty.

Genome-wide analysis shows European dogs existed by 14,200 years ago, were already genetically distinct, received less Neolithic Southwest Asian admixture than humans did and contributed substantially to later European dogs.

DDK kinase not only acts on the core replication machinery but also regulates the INO80 chromatin remodeler, shaping chromatin at replication origins and supporting replication and genome stability.

The Mouse Cancer Cell line Atlas (MCCA) provides major advances towards a mechanistic understanding of cancer genomes.

On the anniversary of the Boyden et al. (2005) paper that introduced the use of channelrhodopsin in neurons, Nature Neuroscience asks selected members of the community to comment on the utility, impact and future of this important technique.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

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).

The anterior cingulate cortex encodes affective pain behaviours modulated by opioids; targeting opioid-sensitive neurons through a new chemogenetic gene therapy replicates the analgesic effects of morphine, providing precise chronic pain relief without affecting sensory detection.

This study reveals dissociating methane hydrate mounds on the seafloor at more than 3600 m deep in the Greenland Sea. This gas hydrate cold seep supports chemosynthetic fauna similar to Arctic hydrothermal vents at similar depth, consistent with an overlap between vent and seep fauna in the region.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

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.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

The ability to encode and recall information about food is critical for survival. We reveal that ventral hippocampus projections to the lateral hypothalamus encode meal-related memories, and that disruption of this circuit promotes excessive eating.

Mirusviruses were detected in metagenomic datasets, but little is known about how they infect their hosts. Here, the authors characterize mirusviruses in the marine protist Aurantiochytrium, detecting virions, viral genes and proteins, and establishing this as a valuable model system.

A genome-wide association study meta-analysis combined with multiomics data of osteoarthritis identifies 700 effector genes as well as biological processes with a convergent involvement of multiple effector genes; 10% of these genes express the target of approved drugs.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, science is crucial to inform public policy. At the same time, mistrust of scientists and misinformation about scientific facts are rampant. Six scientists, actively involved in outreach, reflect on how to build a better understanding and trust of science.

Analysis of soundscape data from 139 globally distributed sites reveals that sounds of biological origin exhibit predictable rhythms depending on location and season, whereas sounds of anthropogenic origin are less predictable. Comparisons between paired urban–rural sites show that urban green spaces are noisier and dominated by sounds of technological origin.

Cryptochrome 4 from the night-migratory European robin displays magnetically sensitive photochemistry in vitro, in which four successive flavin–tryptophan radical pairs generate magnetic-field effects and stabilize potential signalling states.

Ex vivo engineering of T cells for adoptive T-cell therapy without pre-activation is challenging and hinders therapeutic efficacy. Here, using nanowires, the delivery of microRNAs to primary naïve mouse and human CD8⁺ T cells without pre-activation for immune protection against pathogens is demonstrated.

There is a need for effective antiviral drugs against RSV infection. Conducting an RSV repurposing screen using the ReFRAME library Sake et al. identify lonafarnib as an RSV fusion protein inhibitor, characterize its binding site within the viral protein and show its antiviral effects in a mouse model.

The efficiency of organic blends used for photovoltaic applications depends on their ability to convert photoexcited charges into free holes and electrons. It is now demonstrated that the lowermost energetic states formed at the donor/acceptor interface can reach conversion efficiencies close to 100%, and therefore do not behave as traps for charge carriers.

Mammalian genomes are scattered with repetitive sequences, but their biology remains largely elusive. Here, the authors show that transcription can initiate from short tandem repetitive sequences, and that genetic variants linked to human diseases are preferentially found at repeats with high transcription initiation level.

In this Stage 2 Registered Report, Buchanan et al. show evidence confirming the phenomenon of semantic priming across speakers of 19 diverse languages.

Metabolic engineering requires the balancing of gene expression to obtain optimal output. Here the authors present COMPASS – COMbinatorial Pathway ASSembly – which uses plant-derived artificial transcription factors and cloning of thousands of DNA constructs in parallel to rapidly optimise pathways.

Different functional variants in ADH1B (and elsewhere) in Europeans and Africans strongly affect risk for alcohol dependence. Dependence only partly genetically correlates with consumption, with strong correlations to other psychiatric disorders.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have adverse effects on health and the environment, but comprehensive and sustained strategies to curb their intake are lacking. While several countries have implemented policies, a broad suite of effective approaches has been challenging to enact and evaluate due to insufficient administrative or political capacity and strong influence from transnational corporations. Continued research, advocacy and support are needed to successfully implement, monitor, evaluate and revise strategies to reduce SSB intakes worldwide.

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.

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.

Meta-analyses in up to 1.3 million individuals identify 87 rare-variant associations with blood pressure traits. On average, rare variants exhibit effects ~8 times larger than the mean effects of common variants and implicate candidate causal genes at associated regions.

Spatially resolved images of M87 obtained at a wavelength of 3.5 mm in 2018 show a ring-like accretion structure, the inner (outer) edge of which connects the black hole (jet).

Genome-scale in vitro reconstitution of DNA replication through chromatin establishes a crucial role for the origin recognition complex in organizing nucleosome arrays that are crucial for the initiation of replication.

Cortical gamma oscillations (20–80 Hz) predict increases in focused attention, and failure in gamma regulation is a hallmark of neurological and psychiatric disease; however, what induces this activity band is unclear. Here, by using a cell-type targeted optogenetic approach, it is revealed that gamma oscillations can be driven by specific activation of fast-spiking interneurons in vivo, and that sensory input relative to these oscillations can determine the extent of evoked cortical activity.

After complete spinal cord injury, spinal segments below the lesion maintain inter-segmental communication via the intraspinal propriospinal network. Here, the authors show that neurons in these circuits can be chemogenetically modulated to improve locomotor function in mice after spinal cord injury.

The heart is formed from several spatiotemporally distinct progenitor pools during development. Here they show that modulation of retinoic acid signaling can instruct human pluripotent stems cells into heart progenitors that are useful for studying human development and disease.

A cross-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci, reveals putative causal genes, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as potential drug targets, and provides cross-ancestry integrative risk prediction.

Daniel Benjamin, Meike Bartels, Philipp Koellinger and colleagues report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of subjective well-being, depressive symptoms and neuroticism. The study leverages a large sample size together with genetic correlations between the phenotypes to identify, with high confidence, loci associated with each phenotype.

Combining analysis of host proteome and transcriptome perturbations induced by tumour virus proteins with ongoing genome-wide studies of cancer facilitates the prioritization of cancer genes.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is highly heritable, yet not well understood from a genetic perspective. Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 34,179 POAG cases, identifying 44 previously unreported risk loci and mapping effects across multiple ethnicities.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for Parkinson’s disease, and fine-mapping and co-localization analyses implicate candidate genes whose expression is associated with disease susceptibility.

Genome-wide analyses in over one million self-reported cases and controls identify genetic variants associated with stuttering and find genetic correlations with autism, depression and impaired musical rhythm, supporting a potential neurological basis for stuttering.

We uncover key processes of the genomic evolution of small cell lung cancer under therapy, identify the common ancestor as the source of clonal diversity at relapse and show central genomic patterns associated with drug response.

Observations from the Lucy spacecraft of the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh reveals unexpected complexity, with a longitudinal trough and equatorial ridge, as well as the discovery of the first contact binary satellite.