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Centromeres play an essential function in faithful chromosome segregation. Here, the authors demonstrate the mechanism by which human cells dynamically modulate the activity of the Bloom’s syndrome helicase complex to safeguard centromere integrity throughout mitotic progression.

The study of an iron-fertilized phytoplankton bloom dominated by diatoms, which takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, shows that a substantial proportion of the bloom eventually sinks to the deep-sea floor, sequestering the carbon for timescales of centuries or more.

Deposition of Siberian wildfire aerosols, which contained nitrogen, enhanced phytoplankton growth in the eastern Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean in summer 2014, suggest satellite-based ocean color data and atmospheric transport modeling.

Shifts in species’ migration timing as a result of climate change can result in mismatched temporal overlap with their critical resources. Here the authors show that the magnitude and direction of shifts in juvenile Pacific salmon migration timing vary among species and populations, resulting in variable mismatch with marine productivity, which has implications for climate change vulnerability.

It is found that carbon export fluxes to the deep ocean from a highly productive, naturally iron-fertilized region of the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean are two to three times larger than the carbon export fluxes from an adjacent high-nutrient low-chlorophyll area not fertilized by iron. These findings support the hypothesis that increased iron supply to the glacial sub-Antarctic may have directly enhanced carbon export to the deep ocean.

Antarctic ice cap discovered to be home to huge (6% of the currently mapped area identified as terrestrial photosynthetic life in Antarctica) and unique photosynthetic microbe community but their darker colour on the surface is likely to make the snow and ice melt faster.

Snow algae bloom along the coast of Antarctica and are likely to be biogeochemically important. Here, the authors produced the first map of such blooms, show that they are driven by warmer temperatures and proximity to birds and mammals, and are likely to increase given projected climate changes.

A combination of high-resolution spatial imaging, spatial proteomics and transcriptional data reveals sparse and heterogeneous bacterial signals in gliomas and brain metastases.

This Registered Report presents the results of the Long-read RNA-Seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project, which is a community effort for benchmarking long-read methods for transcriptome analyses, including transcript isoform detection, quantification and de novo transcript detection.

The authors use a machine learning approach and in situ pigment samples to identify summer shifts (1997–2023) in the abundance and composition of Antarctic phytoplankton. While smaller phytoplankton groups generally increased, diatom chlorophyll a broadly decreased, with putative impacts on food webs and the carbon sink.

Intrinsic capacity (IC) was introduced by the World Health Organization to promote healthy aging. Here, using data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, the authors develop an IC measure for older Indian adults. Their analysis shows that higher IC scores are associated with better health and functioning and reveals regional and sociodemographic variations.

Rapid discovery of functional resistance genes is enabled by a high-expression signature and high-throughput transformation. This approach identified 31 new resistance genes for wheat and can be applied across crops to support food security.

A 471-metagenome time series from Lake Mendota in Wisconsin, USA, reveals seasonal and decadal shifts in bacterial functional and ecological dynamics, especially in response to environmental extremes.

Satellite-based mapping of vegetation shows that photosynthetic life occupies a total area of 44.2 km² across Antarctica.

Marine darkwaves can be used to compare patterns and ecological consequences of episodic light reduction in marine ecosystems, according to application of the framework to both in situ and satellite based light irradiance data from California and New Zealand.

Exceptionally warm years in 2017–2019 have caused changes in the physical and biological characteristics of the Pacific Arctic Ocean. What these changes mean for the ecosystem and societal consequences will depend on if they are evidence of a transformation or anomalies in the system.

The Zika viral protease NS2B-NS3 is a crucial target for antiviral drug development due to its role in processing viral polyproteins. Here, the authors utilize crystallographic fragment screening and deep mutational scanning to identify binding sites for resistance-resilient inhibitors.

The authors describe the isolation and characterization of broadly cross-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against diverse H5Nx viruses from individuals who received a monovalent H5N1 vaccine 15 years ago. They identify five mAbs that potently neutralized the majority of H5 clades and protected against lethal 2.3.4.4b H5N1 infection in mice.

Here the authors evaluate neutralizing antibodies following COVID-19 bivalent vaccination and find that both Pfizer BA.5 (BNT162b2) and Moderna BA.1 (mRNA-1273) vaccines elicit similar neutralization against Omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.5, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1.5 in patients with end-stage kidney disease.

In situ analysis of natural Crocosphaera populations revealed diel cycling of transcript abundances for a range of metabolic pathways, indicating that these cyanobacteria are dominant nitrogen fixers and contributors to primary productivity.

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 cryosphere remains one of the least-understood microbial ecosystems on Earth, but as climate change accelerates, cryosphere microbial communities will have an increasingly prominent role in Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. In this Review, Whyte and co-workers discuss the effects of climate change on cryosphere microbial ecosystems.

The choroid plexus is a crucial but understudied brain tissue. Here, the authors use stem cells and tissue samples to trace its origins and lineage during pregnancy and to create new models for its support of the developing human brain.

The number and diversity of organisms known to produce the environmentally important sulfur compound dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is expanded with the discovery of a family of DMSP synthesis enzymes.

Mass screening diagnostics for Mycobacterium tuberculosis exist, but criticisms exist regarding the sensitivity and specificity of these tools. Here the authors use RNA-Seq and a modular bioinformatics approach using data from their own cohorts and meta-analysis of published cohorts to create a reduced signature for detection of tuberculosis that does not detect other diseases.

The Sargasso Sea is a natural laboratory for understanding future conditions of warmer oceans and associated nutrient limitation. Here, the authors combined short- and long-read sequencing to survey Sargasso Sea viral communities.

In this Review, Gorbunova and colleagues discuss the links between DNA damage, inflammation and ageing. They focus on the implications for premature ageing syndromes and multiple age-related diseases, and highlight potential therapeutic targets.

Clinical benefit or intestinal toxicity resulting from combined immune checkpoint blockade in patients with melanoma associates with prevalent commensal bacteria and can be decoupled by IL-1R inhibition.

Using an autonomous underwater vehicle, this study presents an integrated biogeochemical and multiomic analysis of microbial eukaryotes from the North Atlantic Ocean. The work highlights diverse communities that shift through depth zones, with signatures of nutrient biomarkers changing across a coastal-offshore spatial gradient.

Oceanic evasion, which mainly occurs in the Marginal Ice Zone, is the main cause of the summertime maximum of gaseous elemental mercury in the central Arctic Ocean

The effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiota can lead to enhanced colonization of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) and toxin-mediated pathogenesis. Here, using defined toxin-mutant strains and a murine model, the authors provide insights into how toxin-induced inflammation alters C. difficile metabolism, host tissue gene expression and gut microbiota, together influencing a beneficial niche for infection.

Immunocompromised individuals are predisposed to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, with transplant recipients typically displaying impaired immune response to pathogens, due to typical life-long immunosuppressive treatment. In this work, the authors evaluate the immune response to Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2 in organ transplant recipients across a diverse clinical spectrum.

Previous work on the mechanisms responsible for the formation of deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM) has focused on phytoplankton physiology and behaviour. Here the authors used mathematical models informed by laboratory grazing studies to show that microzooplankton has a mechanism that can reduce phytoplankton biomass but allows accumulation at depth.

The XPD/Rad3 helicase, YoaA-χ, helps resolve DNA damage in E. coli. Here, the authors show that single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) affects helicase activity in a substrate specific manner. Single molecule experiments show YoaA- χ can pull SSB along DNA while translocating

Investigation of variation in three cohorts has identified multiple genetic signals associated with the pregnancy-specific liver disorder, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, giving insight into the disease which can cause preterm birth and stillbirth.

Satellite measurements of chlorophyll are used to infer phytoplankton biomass changes and the relationship to sea surface temperature. This study shows that chlorophyll changes can be light-driven so the temperature–biomass relationship may not hold in the future.

Patrick Sullivan and colleagues report a multi-stage genome-wide association study for schizophrenia in a Swedish population. They identify 13 loci newly associated with schizophrenia.

The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in phytoplankton varies greatly with taxa and growth conditions. An ecosystem model suggests that the relative abundance of fast- and slow-growing phytoplankton controls the amount of new nitrogen added to the ocean.