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Mosses support carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and plant pathogen control in soils across the globe, according to a global survey of soil attributes in ecosystems with and without mosses.

Sobkowiak et al., present a comprehensive genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Peru from 2020 to 2024, highlighting the emergence and spread of key variants including Lambda and Gamma P.1.12. The work provides valuable insights into regional viral transmission dynamics in a high-burden, middle-income setting, emphasizing the importance of sustained genomic surveillance.

The molecular diversity of microglia has been described. Here the authors show that ARG1-expressing microglia are enriched in phagocytic inclusions and are involved in hippocampal innervation and spine maturation in mice. ARG1-expressing microglia also modulate cognition in a sex-dependent manner.

BRUTUS proteins are thought to act as iron sensors in plants. In-vitro studies provide biochemical evidence for the sensor function, demonstrating dynamic, redox-dependent iron binding to the unusual triple hemerythrin-like domain.

Toghani, Gupte et al. identify semaphorin 4A as a cell-extrinsic factor that protects myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells from inflammaging, mainly produced by their progeny—neutrophils—and acting via a negative feedback loop.

Public untargeted metabolomics data hold great promise for discovery but are difficult to access across repositories. Here, the authors develop universal identifiers and harmonized metadata to integrate major databases, enabling streamlined analysis and expanded research possibilities.

Genome-wide analyses of ancient DNA from individuals from California and Mexico shed light on the spread of Mexican ancestry to California and how it correlates with linguistic flow.

The paper describes a Genome in a Bottle benchmark for the X and Y chromosomes enabled by complete chromosome assemblies. This benchmark enables users to evaluate small variant accuracy in challenging repetitive regions of the sex chromosomes.

Allele-preferential transcription factor binding can influence pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk loci function. Here, the authors show allele-specific JunB and JunD binding at chr1p36.33 and propose a role for KLHL17 in protein homeostasis by mitigating inflammation.

ACE2 and TMPRSS2 have received recent attention as entry factors for SARS-CoV-2. Here the authors analyze nasal airway transcriptome data from 695 children determining ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression is induced by viral and type2 inflammation, respectively, and both exhibit eQTLs that vary across world populations.

Bondareva and Rodríguez-Aguilera et al. use scRNA-seq to analyze transcriptomes of 375,000 endothelial cells from seven organs in male mice at various stages of obesity to identify organ-specific vulnerabilities.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in sustainability-related scholarly work, such as Sustainable Development Goal research, is growing. An analysis now finds that few studies actually use AI to address normative or transformative dimensions of sustainability science, limiting the potential of relevant AI applications.

Metabolically engineered cells are yielding an expansion of specialty chemicals that rival or supplement traditional petroleum-derived chemicals. New results establish a biosynthetic route to volatile esters and larger acetate esters equivalent in size to biodiesel, providing an intriguing new direction to create fragrances, chemicals or fuels.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Deconvolution methods infer levels of immune infiltration from bulk expression of tumour samples. Here, authors assess 6 published and 22 community-contributed methods via a DREAM Challenge using in vitro and in silico transcriptional profiles of admixed cancer and healthy immune cells.

Crystalline perovskites in an optical cavity exhibit nonlinear optical effects under continuous-wave excitation, including optical bistability and polarization rotation.

The likelihood of severe COVID-19 increases with age upon SARS-CoV-2 infection and even milder disease manifestations might differ among age groups. Here authors show, by immune transcriptome analysis of samples from the upper respiratory tract and peripheral blood of participants from different age groups, that interferon responses are more typical for the young, while activation of myeloid, inflammatory, and coagulation pathways is exclusive to adults.

Loss of let-7, a key microRNA, causes lung alveolar stem cells to grow abnormally and dieprematurely, leading to scarring and lung damage. Here the study links let-7 loss to cancer-like signals and epigenomic gene changes, revealing new treatment paths for lung fibrosis.

Rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) requires longer, more toxic therapy than rifampicin-sensitive disease and is associated with a higher occurrence of long-term sequelae. In this mathematical modeling study, the authors estimate that incident RR-TB in 2020 will be responsible for ~6.9 million disability-adjusted life years; 44% due to post-tuberculosis sequelae.

Quantum electrodynamics predicts a rare process in which light is scattered by light. The ATLAS Collaboration reports signs of this elusive effect in the collisions of ultra-relativistic lead ions.

Scars are a significant problem caused by excess collagen in the skin. Here the authors develop a topical drug that reduces collagen stability and leads to improved scar appearance and stiffness in preclinical models.

Slow-cycling melanoma persister cells are characterised by a high, reversible expression of H3K4 demethylase KDM5B. Here, the authors use genetic and chemical methods to enforce a permanent high expression of KDM5B and show that these cells transit to a melanocytic differentiated state and undergo cell cycle arrest.

During the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), dermal fibroblasts become activated into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which are pro-tumorigenic. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing of patients’ samples at different stages of cSCC progression, the authors identify two main CAF subsets and deduce their potential functions using bioinformatics.

GWAS have identified numerous genetic loci for BMI and related traits. Here, Pan et al. generate Promoter Capture Hi-C data for human white adipocytes and integrate these with data of transcription factor motifs, RNA-seq and GWAS to identify eQTL-eGene relationships mediated by chromosomal interactions.

A case–control study investigating the causes of recent cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in 32 children identifies an association between adeno-associated virus infection and host genetics in disease susceptibility.

This manuscript evaluates forecasts of laboratory-confirmed influenza hospital admissions, a new target for influenza forecasting in the United States. Across two influenza seasons, the FluSight ensemble is robust compared to submitted models.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

In 1,088 pregnant individuals, assessment of abnormal serum angiogenic factors is demonstrated to be noninferior to the standard clinical approach based on estimated fetal weight and Doppler percentiles for the identification of fetuses at a higher risk of neonatal acidosis or Cesarean delivery, thus offering a beneficial option in settings where Doppler or experienced sonographers are not readily available.

Reproductive barriers can evolve despite gene flow. A combination of genomics and behavioural assays shows two mitonuclear incompatibilities originated via ancient hybridization that underlie hybrid inviability in a pair of closely related swordtail fishes.

Moreno-Loaiza et al. found that interleukin-1β, acting upon cardiac resident macrophages, promotes atrial fibrillation in mice, and this mechanism may represent a common pathway connecting various risk factors to this arrhythmia.

The authors investigate the distribution of the aminoglycoside resistance gene npmA in Gram-positive bacteria via a mobile genetic element, highlighting its global presence and cross-species transfer risk.

The Tec family tyrosine kinase, Itk, is a component of the T-cell receptor essential for optimal Th2 responses in vivo. Here the authors show in human cells and mouse models that Itk is also needed for the production of IL-9, an important contributor to allergic asthma.

The bacterial plant pathogen genus Xanthomonas uses two distinct secretion systems for antibacterial competition. Here the authors show that some Xanthomonas lineages have switched from the ancestral X-T4SS state to T6SS-i4 despite the functional similarity of the systems, with X-T4SS gene clusters subject to degradation and loss and T6SS-i4-encoding sequences inserted through independent gains.

Dyslipidemia and obesity have a high prevalence in populations with Amerindian backgrounds, such as Mexican–Americans. Here, the authors design an approach to identify Amerindian risk genes in Mexicans and identify five genomic loci, which include RORA and SIK3that may contribute to the risk of dyslipidemia and obesity in Amerindian populations.

A comprehensive analysis of models of brain metastasis and multiple cohorts of patient samples identifies a targetable molecular mechanism underlying the resistance to whole-brain radiotherapy that can inform patient selection for personalized radiotherapy.

Contrary to the view that urbanization is a major driver of the global rise in obesity, the global increase in body-mass index is shown to be mostly due to increases in the body-mass indexes of rural populations.