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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.

Analysis of soundscape data from 139 globally distributed sites reveals that sounds of biological origin exhibit predictable rhythms depending on location and season, whereas sounds of anthropogenic origin are less predictable. Comparisons between paired urban–rural sites show that urban green spaces are noisier and dominated by sounds of technological origin.

The nucleus accumbens is a key region in rewarding and aversive behaviors. Here, authors show that nucleus accumbens shell D1- and D2-MSNs were similarly co-recruited during appetitive and aversive conditioning, yet D2-MSNs appeared to be more relevant for the extinction of aversive associations.

Reis e Sousa et al. show that cDC2As and cDC2Bs are derived from distinct subsets of bone marrow pre-cDC2s, suggesting that the two lineages are ontogenetically determined.

Here the authors identify GPATCH11 variants responsible for retinal dystrophy with neurological impairment and facial dysmorphy. They explore its function using a mouse model and demonstrate GPATCH11’s involvement in RNA regulation and splicing.

Characterizing protein-ligand interactions is crucial for drug development, however, studying weak binders like fragments remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate that Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry (HDX-MS) can effectively characterize fragment binding to Cyclophilin D, offering a valuable tool for fragment-based drug discovery, complementary to other higher resolution techniques.

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

Very early observations of a type Ia supernova—from within one hour of explosion—show a red colour that develops and rapidly disappears. These data provide information on the initial explosion mechanism: surface nuclear burning on the white dwarf or extreme mixing of the nuclear burning process.

The mechanism by which ingested material accesses the cytosol for cross-presentation is unclear. Caetano Reis e Sousa and colleagues demonstrate that signaling via the lectin receptor DNGR-1 ruptures the phagosome and releases its contents to the cytosol for cross-presentation.

Keratin 76 (Krt76) is an epithelial differentiation marker that is downregulated in oral squamous cell carcinomas, correlating with poor prognosis. Here the authors show that genetic ablation of Krt76 in a mouse model results in increased susceptibility to carcinogenesis via enhanced accumulation of Tregs.

Inflammation and wounding can promote cancer development, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here Hoste et al.show that leukocytes sensing flagellin, a component of bacteria, play a key role in inducing skin cancer in the context of wounding and chronic inflammation.

The current use of immune checkpoint inhibitors without chemotherapy on patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has not proven useful. Here this group reports a phase 2 NIMBUS trial evaluating the efficacy/safety of nivolumab + low dose ipilimumab in 30 patients with hypermutated HER2-negative MBC.

Wood density is a key control on tree biomass, and understanding its spatial variation improves estimates of forest carbon stock. Sullivan et al. measure >900 forest plots to quantify wood density and produce high resolution maps of its variation across South American tropical forests.

Ablation of Lgr5⁺ cancer stem cells does not result in regression of primary colorectal tumours, but prevents the formation and maintenance of metastasis in the liver.

The first article in our Women in Immunology series pays tribute to Delphine Parrott, who conducted pioneering work in the fields of T cell biology, lymphoid tissue anatomy, lymphocyte trafficking and mucosal immunology.

Some 3 million years ago, during the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, which was characterised by an atmospheric carbon dioxide content similar to modern levels, Greenland experienced ice growth intervals paced by a 41,000-year astronomical cycle.

HARE5, a human accelerated region enhancer, modulates cortical development by influencing neural progenitor cell behaviour, leading to an enlarged neocortex with increased functional independence between cortical regions through amplified WNT signalling.

Most Amazon tree species are rare but a small proportion are common across the region. The authors show that different species are hyperdominant in different size classes and that hyperdominance is more phylogenetically restricted for larger canopy trees than for smaller understory ones.

Altermagnets, unlike their conventional collinear antiferromagnetic counterparts, allow for an anomalous Nernst response despite their collinear compensated magnetic ordering. Here, Badura et al find such an anomalous Nernst effect at zero magnetic field in the altermagnetic candidate, Mn₅Si₃.

Colorectal cancer is a heterogeneous disease, with at least three well-known major, molecularly defined groups: the chromosomal instable, the microsatellite instable and the CpG island methylator phenotype. Although these groups differ in pathology, outcome and response to therapy, this classification is not used in clinical management. Two recent studies might change this perception.

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.

A paper reports the development of a universal tool for studying cellular interactions in biological systems, and demonstrates its coupling with single-cell transcriptomics methods to provide insights into the biology of the interactions.

An oligodendrocyte-specific genomic silencer element determines the cell type specificity for a fatal neurological disorder caused by a widely expressed nuclear protein (Lamin B1) and suggests a role for silencer elements in disease causation.

The effect of IFITM3 on viral pathogenesis is poorly understood. Here, the authors show that IFITM3 restricts cytomegalovirus pathogenesis by reducing Nogo-B-mediated inflammation in response to viral stimuli.

Coastal seaweed transported to the open ocean contributes up to 3–4% of the particulate organic carbon sinking into the deeper ocean, according to combined ecological and biogeochemical modelling.

Here, the authors show that Weddell seal mothers mobilize endogenous iron stores during lactation to provide to pups, resulting in iron concentrations in milk 100x higher than terrestrial mammals. This was associated with reduced dive durations in the mother, a cost of reproduction.

Horses have lived in Iberia since the Ice Age. Using ancient genomes to study their history, Lira Garrido et al. reveal a local wild lineage lasting until Late Iron Age, and highlight the far-reaching influence of Iberian bloodlines across Europe and north Africa during the Iron Age and beyond.

DNA:RNA hybrids are linked to genetic instability in several pathological situations. Here, the authors report that various types of DNA lesions can trigger hybrid formation in yeast and humans, calling for a re-examination of the causality between these structures and genetic instability.

The authors analyse tree responses to an extreme heat and drought event across South America to understand long-term climate resistance. While no more sensitive to this than previous lesser events, forests in drier climates showed the greatest impacts and thus vulnerability to climate extremes.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used to study the rat brain. Here, the authors provide standardized MRI brain templates and descriptive atlases for the rat, incorporating both structural and functional MRI data, along with associated resources.