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Thermogenic adipocytes are ideal targets to counteract obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Here, the authors show a regulatory role of linker histone variant H1.2 on iWAT browning and thermogenesis through an H1.2-IL10rα axis.

Distinct electronic and optical properties emerge from quantum confinement in low-dimensional materials. Here, combining optical characterization and ab initio calculations, the authors report an unconventional excitonic state and bound phonon sideband in layered silicon diphosphide.

The regulatory mechanism and function of astrocytic epigenetic effects on depression remain to be explored. Here, the authors show astrocytic ALKBH5 contributes to depressive-like behaviors via the m6A RNA methylation of GLT-1.

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.

While Bell inequalities have been violated several times—mostly in photonic systems—their violations within particle physics experiments are less explored. Here, the BESIII Collaboration showcases Bell-violating nonlocal correlations between entangled hyperon pairs.

In animals, sensory systems appear optimized for the statistics of the external world. Here the authors take an artificial psychophysics approach, analysing sensory responses in artificial neural networks, and show why these demonstrate the same phenomenon as natural sensory systems.

The magnetic anisotropy of the van der Waals ferromagnet Fe₅GeTe₂ can be continuously tuned—from an initial out-of-plane orientation to a canted orientation and then finally to an in-plane orientation—using electrical gating.

A broad-range human antibody with neutralizing activity against various coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, targets a unique epitope within the highly conserved S2’ site and the fusion peptide of the spike protein that is exposed during interaction with the host cell. The pan-coronavirus antibody protects mice against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 following prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.

Coronavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein is important for viral genome packaging and virion assembly. Here the authors show that natural chemical (-)-gallocatechin gallate (GCG) disrupts the liquid–liquid phase separation of N and inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication.

The benefit of induction chemotherapy before definitive chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for patients with esophageal cancer is still uncertain. The results of this phase II randomized trial show that the addition of induction chemotherapy to CRT does not improve the response rate or survival of patients with unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The reversible deactivation process in polymerization using chain-end hydrogen atoms remains underexplored and difficult to control. Now, deprotonation–protonation equilibrium-driven C(sp³)–H alkylation polymerization of cyclopropanes is reported using the cooperative catalysis of an organic base and a metal salt to control the polymerization.

Covalent organic frameworks are generally not dispersible in common solvents resulting in the poor processability which limits their practical application. Here, the authors develop a top-down process to produce solution-processable covalent organic frameworks based on the assistance of ionic liquids by means of intermolecular hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions.

Biocompatible and degradable silk materials with programmable mechanical properties can be directly obtained from regenerated amorphous silk using thermal moulding.

Environments where antibiotics are used indiscriminately exhibit microbial communities that can represent hot-spots of resistance gene enrichment, which in turn could spread to humans. Here, the authors characterize how exposure to swine farms environment lead to temporal changes in the gut microbiome and resistome of healthy veterinary students.

Critical period plasticity describes a developmental process whereby neural circuits are fine-tuned for specific functions. Here, the authors show that the Rett syndrome protein MeCP2 in GABAergic parvalbumin-expressing neurons is required for critical period plasticity of the visual cortex.

The costimulatory molecule CD40 expressed on B cells has an important role in B cell-mediated immunity but some aspects of CD40-mediated signalling remain unknown. Here the authors show that the ubiquitin ligase NEDD4 is a part of a CD40 signalling complex required for CD40-induced Akt activation.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting up to 3% of the population. Here, Zuo et al.perform exome array analysis, identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms at 15 new loci, implicating several biological pathways in psoriasis risk and disease heritability.

Through ChIP-sequencing and ChIP‒qPCR analysis, authors discover a positive feedback loop between histone lactylation and reactive oxygen species which exacerbates neutrophil recruitment under light disorder conditions in Zebrafish.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

Cell-type-specific recording and manipulation is important for understanding neural circuits. Here the authors describe molecular tools to access cell types based on genetics and connectivity in the brain, and demonstrated the utility of these tools in neural recording and manipulations.

Fluctuation of the cation valence state plays a crucial role in emergent quantum phenomena in correlated electron systems. Here, the authors demonstrate a valence-fluctuation-driven insulator-to-superconductor transition in the van der Waals insulator GeP as a function of hydrostatic pressure.

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is caused by mutations in WASP, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be explored. Here the authors reveal that WASP deficiency results in aberrant RNA splicing, and that WASP regulates the transcription of splicing factor genes and co-transcriptional RNA splicing via a phase-separation process that involves splicing factors and nascent RNA.

To run algorithms on a computer they are broken down into logical operations that are implemented in hardware. A quantum logical AND gate has now been demonstrated, which could substantially improve the efficiency of near-term quantum computers.

The improved genome assemblies of allotetraploid cotton species Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense provide insights into cotton evolution and inform the construction of introgression lines used to identify loci associated with fiber quality.

The human gut microbiota can metabolize xanthan gum, a food additive that was introduced to our diets relatively recently in processed foods. A Ruminococcaceae species can degrade this complex polysaccharide and, in some individuals, Bacteroides intestinalis can grow on the released oligosaccharide products.

Obesity changes the characteristics of the immune response induced in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis, suggesting therapies that could be used against immune dysregulation in obesity.

Reversible cysteine oxidative modifications have emerged as important mechanisms that alter protein function. Here the authors globally assess the cysteine reactivity and an array of cysteine oxidative modifications in C. elegans, providing insights into redox signaling at the organismal level.

Wu et al. develop trispecific antibodies that recognize CD38, CD3 and CD28 and induce T cell activation and co-signaling. They show in mice and non-human primates that by engaging multiple targets, these antibodies induce enhanced tumor-cell killing.

Binding of RNA polymerase II during zygotic genome activation in mouse embryos is determined using the newly developed method Stacc–seq.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) can influence tumor growth and its response to therapy. Here, the authors develop a fibrinogen and thrombin based artificial ECM that can starve tumours and prevent dissemination of cancer cells.

An understanding of the domestication of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has important implications for studying its evolution and diversity. Here, the authors show that Far East Asia is likely the center of origin of the domesticated populations of the yeast based on genomic and phenotypic characterization of a large collection of isolates.

Microtubule asters originate from centrosomes but their role during interphase remains largely unknown. Here, the authors find that microtubule asters anchored by previously-uncharacterized FSD1 play a role in ciliogenesis by maintaining the dynamic localization of centriolar satellites.

Particulate matter (PM) pollutants have been considered serious threats to public health but effective removal of nanoscale particles (NPs) by filter materials is challenging. Here, the authors fabricate an ionic liquid based self-powered air filter that can be used in high-efficiency removal of PM, including NPs.

Successive fusion of yeast chromosomes is used to produce a single-chromosome strain that is viable, albeit with slightly reduced fitness.