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Climate action could avoid over 1 million deaths globally from air pollution in 2040. However, it is suggested that cooperation is needed between developed and developing nations to ensure that disparities in air pollution are not perpetuated in the future.

KRAS is an oncogene that switches between a GDP-bound inactive state and a GTP-bound active state. Recently developed KRAS G12C inhibitors are specific to the GDP-bound inactive state. Here, the authors develop a class of covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors capable of targeting both states for the treatment of KRAS-driven cancer.

Short HBpep peptides assemble into micron-size coacervates that are efficiently taken up by various cell types and stably retained for days. Nanobodies and bioPROTACs loaded in the coacervates enable interaction with native targets and these hubs can function as a bioreactor for target degradation

The APOE-ε4/ε4 genotype is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. Here, Brutman et al. identify a deletion common in people of African ancestry that reduces the relative risk conferred by the APOE-ε4/ε4 genotype.

Prenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure can lead to a spectrum of developmental issues, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here the authors show that prenatal ZIKV exposure in macaques disrupts neurodevelopment, causing prolonged maternal attachment and visual deficits at 3 months that normalize by 12 months, independent of sensory function.

The herpes simplex virus lytic-latent balance is incompletely understood. In this study, the authors show that it is controlled by the relative abundance of host activating and repressive forkhead box (FOX) transcription factors that recruit epigenetic cofactors to the viral genome to remodel viral chromatin.

Superoscillations enable waves to oscillate faster beyond classical limits. Here, the authors demonstrate simultaneous spatial and temporal superoscillations in structured light pulses, achieving extreme both subwavelength and ultrafast focusing in space-time.

This trial found spinal cord stimulation was well tolerated in people with gait-impaired Parkinson’s disease. It suggests that longer use improved lower-body motor symptoms while reducing thalamic hypermetabolism and cholinergic overactivity.

Johnson et al. link ARIA, a complication of anti-amyloid therapy, to clonal expansion of cytotoxic CD8 + T cells with glycolytic reprogramming and vascular trafficking potential, with implications for biomarker development and risk mitigation.

The factors contributing to the onset of Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous stage of the highly lethal esophageal cancer, remain elusive. Here, the authors identify inherited mutations in the VSIG10L gene as a key etiologic determinant affecting esophageal biology and facilitating the development of Barrett’s esophagus.

MedHELM, an extensible evaluation framework including a new taxonomy for classifying medical tasks and a benchmark of many datasets across these categories, enables the evaluation of large language models on real-world clinical tasks.

Energy gaps can be induced by spatial modulation of the electronic potential. Here, the authors demonstrate a large and robust energy gap in a free-standing carbon nanotube utilizing a 15-gate keyboard that spatially modulates the local potential.

The growing demand for rare earth elements (REEs) underscores the need for sustainable recovery methods and a reliable supply. Here the authors establish a platform using a yeast to produce bio-oxalic acid for REE recovery, achieving 99% REE recovery from low-grade ore.

GDF15 has been associated with cancer-associated cachexia. Here, the authors show that STK11/LKB1 loss-of-function mutations in non-small cell lung cancer result in an exaggerated integrated stress response culminating in the tumor cell secretion of the cytokine GDF15 promoting cachexia.

Therapies combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown limited efficacy in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here the authors report the results of a pilot phase 1 trial of neoadjuvant modified Folfirinox plus nivolumab in borderline-resectable PDAC, including safety, efficacy and immunological correlates.

In the context of ongoing A(H5N1) outbreak events, in this study, the authors use a ferret transmission model to show that genotype B3.13 viruses are shed into the air at higher levels than other A(H5N1) strains, highlighting the need for continued surveillance and aerobiological analyses.

Woven lattices offer a pathway to highly compliant and tunable mechanical metamaterials. Here, authors present a geometric design framework for woven lattices that encodes topology and compliance, allowing for arbitrary complexity and enabling programmable large-deformation and failure responses.

CRISPR-Cas12a catalyses RNA-guided DNA cleavage. Here, authors present structure-function studies of a high-fidelity Cas12a variant that reveal how helical transition of a conserved “bridge helix” facilitates R-loop propagation and DNA cleavage.

Interfacial water is of crucial importance in biology and engineering. Here, the authors identify structural transitions of interfacial water at graphite surfaces under varying electric fields and environmental conditions.

After two years of mass azithromycin distribution to preschool age children in rural Niger, in this study, authors present evidence that selection of antibiotic resistance genes was not spread from treated villages to nearby untreated villages.

O’Shea and colleagues establish that optimisation of charge and stability is sufficient to enable any single-chain variable fragment intrabody to function within the cell. The authors use AI-led inverse folding to optimise intrabody characteristics, and they present hundreds of intrabody sequences targeting sixty cytoplasmic proteins.

Misfolded α-synuclein in the gut contributes to Parkinsons’s disease pathogenesis and gut symptoms. Gut macrophages clear α-synuclein via C1q–complement pathways; loss of this response worsens neuropathology and improves gut function, implicating neuroimmune crosstalk.

Using interviews, this paper establishes that experts agree government intervention is critical in enabling climate-resilient housing, given the transformative potential of regulatory reform, finance, and information services.

Machine learning is used to understand emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from the Southern Ocean. Low-pressure storms are found to drive emissions, leading to a revised picture of marine greenhouse gas cycling

In this work, the authors present their Chloroalkane Azide Membrane Permeability (CHAMP) assay that measures cytosolic accumulation of small molecules in Escherichia coli, enabling rapid profiling of compounds, with the goal to simplify and accelerate antimicrobial drug discovery.

Aerial surveys over the Permian Basin found 500+ major methane leaks, many recurring. A few sites leaked continuously and offer quick mitigation wins. These super-emitters may produce ~50% of regional emissions, underscoring the need for frequent monitoring.

Self-oscillators are critical in various natural and engineered systems, as they enable complex collective behaviors through interactions among individual units. This study demonstrates that populations of Quincke colloids-self-oscillators whose back-and-forth motion defines both a phase and a nematic oscillation axis-can achieve a form of collective order, termed synchronematic order, characterized by hydrodynamic interactions that synchronize their oscillation phases and align their orientations.

How white matter develops along the length of major tracts in humans remains unknown. Here, the authors identify fundamental patterns of human white matter development along distinct axes that reflect brain organization.

Wafer bonding has allowed the synthesis of twisted interfaces which support polar discontinuities in ferroelectric lithium niobate. Two-dimensional sheet conductivity arises but is suppressed when twist angles lead to interfacial lattice aperiodicity.

The changing cellular, transcriptional, and genomic landscape of human lung aging can be characterized using single-cell RNA sequencing. Here, the authors show that lung aging is cell-type dyssynchronous, with alveolar epithelial and endothelial cells exhibiting the greatest changes in gene expression, transcriptional entropy, and a high level of somatic mutations.

This study applies machine learning to fMRI data to map developmental variations in functional connectivity, uncovering heterogeneity across individuals and cortical regions that predicts neurocognitive maturation in youth.

Pangenomic and epidemiological analyses reveal a genetic shift in U.S. Salmonella Hadar populations during 2019–20, driven by expansion of a lineage carrying a prophage-like element that likely arose in commercial poultry and spread to backyard flocks.

The mechanisms underlying increased cardiometabolic risk from cancer treatment in childhood cancer survivors remain to be explored. Here, epigenome-wide analysis in childhood cancer survivors identified DNA methylation sites that mediate treatment-related cardiometabolic risks and are associated with inflammatory and metabolic pathways.

Organic additives frequently shape crystallisation in natural and industrial settings, yet their precise influence on nucleation remains poorly understood. Here, Baken et al. investigate how additives affect the crystallization of the industrially relevant minerals portlandite and gypsum. Using controlled titration coupled with in situ synchrotron monitoring, the team demonstrates that both minerals form via intermediate steps: portlandite gradually becomes more ordered as it develops, while gypsum switches abruptly from a disordered to an ordered state. The study reveals that additives influence these pathways prior to nucleation by altering the nature of prenucleation clusters. How strongly an additive interacts with these clusters depends on its chemical state, which is controlled by the pH conditions specific to each mineral. These findings offer a starting point for creating an industrial “toolbox” to help select more effective additives, and they advance our understanding of biomineralisation processes.

Polarons play a crucial role in determining the (photo)electrocatalytic activity of semiconductors. Here, the authors report a reversible, potential-driven method to generate Ti³⁺ polarons on TiO₂, creating dynamic active sites that break the adsorption-potential linearity and boost hydrogen evolution.

Here, the authors show that packaging of bacterial DNA by phage-like particles is widespread in the gut microbiome, with activity of gene transfer agents being prominent in Oscillospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae; and identifying lateral transduction by a temperate phage in Bacteroides.

Nitrogen and phosphorus in Greenland ice are present in measurable amounts and exceed algal needs, suggesting these nutrients do not limit glacier ice algae growth during the melt season.

This study finds that plastic mulch substantially increases crop yields but also contaminates soils and pollutes the environment. The authors propose biodegradable films, AI-driven farming, and policy reforms to address the productivity–sustainability trade-offs.

Isoxazoles, oxazoles, and other five-membered heteroaromatics are prevalent motifs in core structure of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Here the authors report a photochemical platform for the selective conversion of isoxazoles into oxazoles, pyrazoles, pyrroles, and isothiazoles by exploiting excited-state reactivity.

Denz et al. show that loss of the antiviral protein IFITM3 allows human SARS-CoV-2 variants to adapt more rapidly in mice while preserving distinct, variant-specific patterns of infection and disease.

A M5 earthquake triggered the 2018 Sierra Negra eruption after 10 hours. Subsequent microseismicity revealed a cryptic fluid phase facilitated magma intrusion, highlighting that cascading processes are potentially essential for eruption initiations.

Tan and colleagues present “cycling molecular assemblies” that borrow cellular lipidation machinery to build nanostructures inside the Golgi apparatus. These tools enable rapid organelle imaging and selective destruction of cancer cells.

Several transmission-blocking vaccine candidates based on Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 are in clinical development, but it remains unclear whether they will demonstrate high efficacy. Here, the authors develop a stabilized chimeric antigen presenting potent epitopes from Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 in a single construct and demonstrate induction of transmission-reducing antibodies when female mice are immunized with the antigen in a self-assembling protein nanoparticle formulation.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

This study quantifies Brazil’s soil carbon debt (1.40 Pg C) and demonstrates that improved agricultural practices enhance carbon recovery. The findings reveal Brazil’s significant capacity to mitigate emissions and influence global carbon markets.

Preclinical studies indicate a synergistic effect of radiotherapy treatment (RT) and Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) on tumor growth and metastasis. However, little is known about the immunomodulatory performance of different radioisotopes on the tumor microenvironment. Here, the authors employ alpha- versus beta-particle emitting radiopharmaceuticals in combination with dual ICI therapy and dissect mechanisms of in vivo immunomodulation and timing of ICI administration relative to RT, by comparing responses in immunogenic and non-immunogenic preclinical mouse models.

Current long acting HIV therapies face challenges like prolonged pharmacokinetic tails, which increase resistance risk. The authors develop dimeric bictegravir prodrug nanosuspensions that sustain therapeutic levels for six months with a short PK tail, supporting safer ultra-long-acting HIV treatment.

The PCRCR complex of Plasmodium spp. binds basigin on the erythrocyte surface. While Rh5 of the complex is restricted to P. falciparum, PTRAMP, CSS and Ripr orthologs are present across the genus, for which the authors report common features.

In this work, the authors reveal that three non-ribosomal peptides targeting a common protein quality system differentially alter the Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteome, providing new insight into the molecular mechanisms behind their antimycobacterial activity.

A streamlined blood test using mass spectrometry improves measurement of amyloid-β for early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, requiring less sample volume and reagents while maintaining high accuracy, sensitivity and strong agreement with brain imaging.