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Fluidic force microscopy combines atomic force microscopy with microfluidic probes to enable measurement and manipulation of materials at sub-micrometre resolution. In this Primer, Zambelli et al. discuss the principles of fluidic force microscopy and applications in biological research and nanotechnology.

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).

In this study, Marshall et al. studied early immune responses in the lung and blood after an aerosol infection with BCG. Understanding which cells respond to this infection can help us understand how to design new tuberculosis vaccines.

A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.

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.

Although many believe our moral circles expand with age, this Perspective discusses an early-emerging tendency to care for others.

Durable agonism of NPR1 achieved with a novel investigational monoclonal antibody could mirror the positive hemodynamic changes in blood pressure and heart failure identified in humans with lifelong exposure to NPR1 coding variants.

Modelling of the evolution of atmospheric methane emissions from the 2022 Nord Stream subsea pipeline leaks shows that the event emitted the largest recorded amount of methane from a single transient event.

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.

Employing pharmacology, genetics and all-optical approaches in zebrafish, Braaker et al. find that neuronal activity influences the growth of myelin sheaths along axons by signaling through metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 on oligodendrocytes.

Fisheries generated a total of 179 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent GHG emissions in 2011 (4% of global food production). Emissions grew by 28% between 1990 and 2011, primarily driven by increased harvests from fuel-intensive crustacean fisheries.

From 1980 to 2018, the levels of total and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreased in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe.

Changes in penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula in recent decades have been linked to environmental factors such as sea ice. Here, the authors show that penguin colony change on Ardley Island, NW Antarctic Peninsula during the last 8,500 years was primarily driven by volcanic activity.

Dynamic nanodomains in lead halide perovskites, dictated by A-site cations, crucially affect the optoelectronic properties by modulating electronic disorder and consequently enabling better solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

Following the Nord Stream pipeline explosions in 2022, an uncertain amount of methane dissolved in the Baltic Sea. Here, Reum et al. estimate subsequent outgassing from a fast-response airborne survey, providing a constraint for dissolution models.

Conventional microscopy is unable to correlate nanoscale properties of metal halide perovskites with the performance of solar cells. Frohna et al. present a multimodal operando microscopy toolkit as a diagnostic tool to address the issue.

Single-cell sequencing approaches need to balance sensitivity, throughput and experimental complexity. Here the authors combine droplet-based microfluidics and combinatorial indexing to develop OAK, a versatile method for ultra-high throughput single-cell multiomic profiling.

The Vertebrate Genome Project has used an optimized pipeline to generate high-quality genome assemblies for sixteen species (representing all major vertebrate classes), which have led to new biological insights.

A spatial transcriptomic analysis of healthy kidneys and those from individuals with chronic kidney disease characterizes the fibrotic microenvironment and highlights features that could be used to predict prognosis.

Amplification of neural progenitor cells mediates expansion of brain regions. Using imaging of progenitor cell amplification in the mouse ventral forebrain, the authors identify a new progenitor type with high frequency, which they also show to be present in expanded brain regions of other species.

The aboveground carbon stock of a montane African forest network is comparable to that of a lowland African forest network and two-thirds higher than default values for these montane forests.

This Registered Report presents evidence from 87 countries and regions showing that brief emotion-regulation interventions consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Determining progress in adaptation to climate change is challenging, yet critical as climate change impacts increase. A stocktake of the scientific literature on implemented adaptation now shows that adaptation is mostly fragmented and incremental, with evidence lacking for its impact on reducing risk.

In a new study including 200 families who experienced perinatal death, adding genomic analyses to standard autopsies improved the identification of underlying pathogenic causes and informed genetic counseling.

Comprehensive integration of gene expression with epigenetic features is needed to understand the transition of kidney cells from health to injury. Here, the authors integrate dual single nucleus RNA expression and chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and histone modifications to decipher the chromatin landscape of the kidney in reference and adaptive injury cell states, identifying a transcription factor network of ELF3, KLF6, and KLF10 which regulates adaptive repair and maladaptive failed repair.

The influence of X chromosome genetic variation on blood lipids and coronary heart disease (CHD) is not well understood. Here, the authors analyse X chromosome sequencing data across 65,322 multi-ancestry individuals, identifying associations of the Xq23 locus with lipid changes and reduced risk of CHD and diabetes mellitus.

The authors show that peripheral nerve injury induces de novo expression of colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF1) in the injured sensory and motoneurons. CSF1, transported through axons, acts on its receptor on spinal cord microglia, inducing microglia proliferation and DAP12-dependent upregulation of pain-related microglial genes, eventually leading to neuropathic pain.

The identity of the earliest murine in vivo lung epithelial progenitors (marked by NKX2-1 expression) is unclear. Here, the authors use single-cell RNA sequencing to define the genetic program of these lung primordial progenitors, which will improve in vitro lung specification of pluripotent stem cells.

Two doses of the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 boost antibody responses and functions in phase 1/2 trial participants.

A randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.

The KL-VS haplotype of the Klotho gene has been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Here the authors show an association between the KL-VS haplotype and amyloid-dependent tau accumulation using PET data.

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.

AMPK regulates cellular energy balance using its γ subunit as an energy sensor of cellular AMP and ADP to ATP ratios. Here, the authors show that γ2 AMPK activation lowers heart rate by reducing the activity of pacemaker cells, whereas loss of γ2 AMPK increases heart rate and prevents the adaptive bradycardia of endurance training in mice.

The pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus can switch from a smooth colony form (S) into a highly inflammatory, rough colony form (R) during infection. Here, Kam et al. use an adult zebrafish model of M. abscessus chronic infection to illustrate differences in the immunopathogenesis induced by R and S variants.

In this study, Massachusetts Consortium for Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR) investigators assess the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and COVID-19 disease severity and report that the levels of detectable viral RNA, especially in plasma, correlates with severity of respiratory disease, inflammatory markers and predicted risk of death.

How reproducible human kidney organoids derived from different iPSC lines are, and how faithful they are to human kidney tissue remain unclear. Here, the authors use four human iPSC lines to derive kidney organoids and show how organoid composition is reproducible, comparable to human tissue and of improved quality after transplantation.

A wearable sweat sensor powered by a flexible solar cell can continuously collect multimodal physicochemical data—glucose, pH, sodium ion, sweat rate and skin temperature—across indoor and outdoor physical activities for over 12 h.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

The BIN1 SNP rs744373 is associated with higher CSF tau and phosphorylated tau levels. Here the authors show, using PET imaging, that this SNP is associated with tau accumulation in the brain as well as impaired memory in older individuals without dementia.

Tau accumulation is associated with disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease. Here the authors use resting state fMRI and tau-PET to demonstrate that baseline connectivity in Alzheimer's disease is associated with tau spreading.

Genome-wide analyses identify eight independent loci associated with anorexia nervosa. Genetic correlations implicate both psychiatric and metabolic components in the etiology of this disorder, even after adjusting for the effects of common variants associated with body mass index.

Integration of GWAS and single-cell transcriptomic data from the entire nervous system systematically identifies cell types underlying brain complex traits and provides insights into the etiology of Parkinson’s disease.

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.

Fatty acids are fundamental biomolecular building blocks that are characterized by extraordinary structural diversity and present a formidable analytical challenge. Here the authors introduce a discovery workflow for de novo identification that adds more than 100 fatty acids to the human lipidome.

Complete vaccine-mediated immune control of highly pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis is possible if immune effector responses can intercept the infection at its earliest stages.