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Using the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, the authors show that earthquake-triggered landslides increased mountain carbon storage by ~10% from 2008 to 2020, as vegetation recovery and sediment burial retained carbon, revealing earthquakes and landslides function as long-term carbon capacitors.

Humanity’s Last Exam, a multi-modal benchmark at the frontier of human knowledge, is designed to be an expert-level closed-ended academic benchmark with broad subject coverage.

Here the authors apply machine learning approaches to Alzheimer’s genetics, confirm known associations and suggest novel risk loci. These methods demonstrate predictive power comparable to traditional approaches, while also offering potential new insights beyond standard genetic analyses.

Brain age gaps (BAGs) highlight deviations from healthy brain aging, yet their biophysical underpinnings in aging and dementia are not well understood. Here, the authors use EEG connectivity and generative modeling across diverse populations to reveal that BAGs are influenced by geography, income, sex and education, with implications for understanding accelerated aging and dementia.

How brain networks organize and interact based on their hierarchical position remains poorly understood. Momi, Wang et al find that high-order brain networks show stronger responses to stimulation and greater dependence on recurrent feedback compared to low-order networks.

The human pelvis exhibits distinct spatiotemporal ossification patterns and an ilium cartilage growth plate that is shifted perpendicularly compared with those of other mammals and non-human primates—two key adaptations that underlie bipedalism.

Known genetic loci account for only a fraction of the genetic contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. Here, the authors have performed a large genome-wide meta-analysis comprising 409,435 individuals to discover 6 new loci and demonstrate the efficacy of an Alzheimer’s disease polygenic risk score.

It is not clear how agricultural intensification affects spatially coupled ecosystems. Here, the authors use long-term datasets on managed grasslands coupled with unmanaged wetlands showing that grassland intensification affects ecosystem service multifunctionality of spatially coupled wetlands

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.

A genome-wide association study performed in 1,126,563 individuals identifies seven new loci associated with Alzheimer’s disease and implicates microglia and immune cells in late-onset disease.

A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of regional-scale anthropogenic activity on plant diversity.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

This study nominates immune escape as an early event in colorectal cancer and shows how this can be driven through both genetic and epigenetic changes.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) bears the hallmark loss of VHL but remains incurable. Here, the authors identify the SLC1A1 dicarboxylic amino acid transporter as an actionable, oncogenic, HIF-independent, metabolic dependency in VHL-deficient ccRCCs.

Patricia Munroe, Christopher Newton-Cheh, Andrew Morris and colleagues perform association studies in over 340,000 individuals of European ancestry and identify 66 loci, of which 17 are novel, involved in blood pressure regulation. The risk SNPs are enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells.

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.

Zhou et al. utilise deep learning to improve polygenic risk analysis for Alzheimer’s disease. Their computational approach outperforms existing statistical methods and helps to identify potential biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Inbreeding depression has been observed in many different species, but in humans a systematic analysis has been difficult so far. Here, analysing more than 1.3 million individuals, the authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested.

A Mendelian randomization study suggests that apolipoprotein B potentially contributes to shortened healthspan and increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Association analyses in over 1 million individuals identify 535 new loci influencing blood pressure traits. The results provide new insights into blood pressure regulation and highlight shared genetic architecture between blood pressure and lifestyle exposures.

Offshore wind projects are being deployed at an increasing rate, and as the scale of these projects has grown, costs have tumbled. A new study indicates that some new European projects may no longer require support from state subsidy mechanisms to be competitive.

Here the authors perform a trans expression quantitative trait locus meta-analysis study of over 3,700 people and link a USP18 variant to expression of 50 inflammation genes and lupus risk, highlighting how genetic regulation of immune responses drives autoimmune disease and informs new therapies.

Inventory data from more than 1 million trees across African, Amazonian and Southeast Asian tropical forests suggests that, despite their high diversity, just 1,053 species, representing a consistent ~2.2% of tropical tree species in each region, constitute half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees.

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.

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.

Analysis of exomes and transcriptomes from 100 African American patients with acute myeloid leukemia identifies ancestry-related variation in mutation profiles and survival. Refined risk classification suggests clinical relevance of these ancestry-associated differences.

Teabag size matters, not shape.

Ossenkoppele, Coomans and colleagues analyzed the tau PET data of 12,048 individuals from 42 cohorts worldwide. They found that age, amyloid-β status, presence of an APOE ε4 allele and female sex are key contributors to tau PET positivity, which should aid clinical decision-making and trial designs.

Transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of human microglia identifies putative gene regulatory mechanisms for 21 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk loci. SPI1/PU.1 is nominated as a key regulator of microglia gene expression and AD risk.

Genetic analyses identify widespread sex-differential participation bias in population-based studies and show how this bias can lead to incorrect inferences. These findings highlight new challenges for association studies as sample sizes continue to grow.