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The West African–South American lineage of Vibrio cholerae contains multiple distinct anti-phage defence systems that provide resistance to various phage families, including vibriophage ICP1, a key predator of pandemic strains.

Wei et al. perform spatial transcriptomic profiling on synovial tissue biopsy samples from individuals with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis, finding TGFβ signaling and fibrogenic fibroblast activation drive a treatment-refractory tissue phenotype.

The stalled multinational effort to protect environmental and human health from plastic pollution is salvageable, with a revamped negotiation process.

Sea-ice plays a key role in regulating nutrient dynamics and primary productivity along the Antarctica Peninsula margin. Here, the authors show that over the last 13 kyr nutrient dynamics have also been regulated by glacial discharge, highlighting the potential for future changes as glaciers continue to melt.

The causes for rising temperatures along the Antarctic Peninsula over the past few thousand years have been debated. Analyses of diatom geochemistry and assemblage ecology from Palmer Deep off the western margin of the Antarctic Peninsula reveal that atmospheric processes have dominated glacial ice discharge during the late Holocene.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

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.

Tryptophan metabolism is disrupted in aging and neurological disorders. Here, the authors show that histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 regulates tryptophan usage, and its absence results in neurotoxic products and impaired sleep that can be reversed by inhibiting the tryptophan processing enzyme TDO2.

African ancestry is a known risk factor for prostate cancer development, but the genetic determinants of this are incompletely understood. Here, the authors identify 172 potentially pathogenic variants which are enriched in an African population.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

The Scythian culture was widespread throughout the Eurasian Steppe during the 1^stmillennium BCE. This study provides genetic evidence for two independent origins for the Scythians in the eastern and western steppe with varying proportions of Yamnaya and East Asian ancestry, and gene flow among them.

Oat is an important food crop, but the genetic diversity within the gene pool remains unclear. Here, the authors report the analyses of worldwide diversity and population structure of hexaploid oat, and identify signatures of structural rearrangements within the germplasm collection.

Targeting a non-natural micropeptide ‘killswitch’ to several biomolecular condensates altered condensate compositions and revealed condensate functions in human cells

In this immunological ancillary study of the PREVAC trial, the authors show that approved Ebola virus vaccines induce memory T-cell responses that persist during the five year follow-up after initial vaccination.

Guetter et al. identify a melanoma-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan-positive subpopulation of metastasis founder cells from lymph node biopsies of patients with melanoma and observe that they mediate immune evasion and predict systemic metastasis and poor outcomes.

As presented at the ESMO Congress 2025: Results of the phase 2/3 AGITG DYNAMIC-III trial show that de-escalated chemotherapy based on ctDNA-negative status in patients with stage III colon cancer did not meet non-inferiority for 3-year recurrence-free survival when compared to standard of care, although it enables better informed treatment decisions.

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

On the basis of data from >329,000 migratory birds, this study presents multispecies migratory connectivity as a parameter representing exposure to global change and shows that connections between breeding regions in Canada and non-breeding regions in South America are at greatest risk from global change.

Little is known about the genetic underpinnings of the earliest stages of plant and animal domestication. Here, the authors show that steelhead trout respond to a single generation of domestication selection with large, heritable changes in expression of genes regulating immunity and metabolism.

Inborn errors of the alternative NF-κB pathway in humans impair the development of AIRE-expressing medullary thymic epithelial cells, thereby underlying the production of autoantibodies against type I IFNs and predisposition to viral diseases

Atmospheric methane concentrations varied substantially over the last glacial cycle. An analysis of the δ¹³C of the methane suggests that the relative strength of various methane sources and sinks varied independently of overall changes in methane concentrations.

Archaeogenetic study of ancient DNA from medieval northwestern Europeans reveals substantial increase of continental northern European ancestry in Britain, suggesting mass migration across the North Sea during the Early Middle Ages.

A human–SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map highlights cellular processes that are hijacked by the virus and that can be targeted by existing drugs, including inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the sigma receptors.

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.

Stable isotope analysis of zooarchaeological remains and pottery in a palaeo-environmental framework reveals that early Central European farmers utilized diverse regional pasturing strategies for cattle, including the use of forested environments for grazing and seasonal foddering.

On 8–11 April 2024, a Keystone meeting on human immunodeficiency virus and emerging and re-emerging viruses convened in Hannover, Germany, aiming to unite researchers studying viruses of global concern, and gain a deep understanding of unique and shared viral disease mechanisms to facilitate pandemic preparedness.

Examination of archaeological pottery residues and modern genes suggest that environmental conditions, subsistence economics and pathogen exposure may explain selection for lactase persistence better than prehistoric consumption of milk.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

Genetic mechanisms of blood pressure regulation remain poorly defined. Here, the authors perform a kidney multi-omics study to identify 399 kidney effector genes, 11 miRNAs and 97 proteins for blood pressure and hypertension.

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.

Analysis of 273 ancient horse genomes reveals that modern domestic horses originated in the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region.

Estimating the risk of long COVID is challenging because many of its symptoms are associated with other conditions. Here, the authors conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that estimate long COVID risk while accounting for background symptoms using comparator control populations.

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the national scale tracks emerging variants.

Saur, Lesage et al. report that RNA:DNA hybrids arise at double-strand breaks in transcribed genes, independently of de novo recruitment of RNA polymerase II/III, as a result of DSB-induced transcriptional repression.