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Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic.

Hans van Bokhoven and colleagues report mutations in the ISPD gene as a cause of Walker-Warburg syndrome. Knockdown of ispd in zebrafish causes hydrocephalus, reduced eye size, muscle degeneration and α-dystroglycan hypoglycosylation.

cellSTAAR advances noncoding rare variant association analysis by integrating single-cell genomics data.

Disease heterogeneity complicates precision medicine, which focuses on single conditions and ignores shared mechanisms. Here the authors introduce ‘pan-disease’ analysis using a deep learning model on multi-organ data, identifying 11 AI-derived biomarkers that reveal new therapeutic targets and pathways, enhancing patient stratification for disease risk monitoring and drug discovery.

Analysis of ground-sourced and satellite-derived models reveals a global forest carbon potential of 226 Gt outside agricultural and urban lands, with a difference of only 12% across these modelling approaches.

Genomic analyses applied to 14 childhood- and adult-onset psychiatric disorders identifies five underlying genomic factors that explain the majority of the genetic variance of the individual disorders.

The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Atlantic marine systems and fisheries is complex. This Review outlines the mechanisms by which El Niño–Southern Oscillation impacts the tropical and South Atlantic, connecting physical climate perturbations to biogeochemical and ecological responses.

Crystal structures of HIV Env trimer with native glycosylation in complex with neutralizing antibodies reveal a glycan shield of high-mannose and complex-type N-glycan and indicate a path for germline-targeting vaccine design.

TM287/288 is a heterodimeric ABC transporter found in Thermotoga maritima. The crystal structure of TM287/288 in the inward-facing AMP-PNP–bound state provides new insight into nucleotide binding by heterodimeric transporters and will serve as an important model for eukaryotic disease-associated homologs.

The extreme hot and dry conditions of 2023 reduced soil respiration and enhanced net forest carbon sequestration in Canada, offsetting wildfire emissions, according to satellite-based and in situ observations of CO₂ fluxes.

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).

Here the authors provide an explanation for 95% of examined predicted loss of function variants found in disease-associated haploinsufficient genes in the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD), underscoring the power of the presented analysis to minimize false assignments of disease risk.

Data collected from zoos and aquariums worldwide show that hormonal contraception or permanent surgical sterilization in mammals increase life expectancy, with different mechanisms in males and females.

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.

Pilcher et al. present a single-cell transcriptomics-based immune atlas of participants with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, reporting on the association of cell types, gene expression and intercellular interactions with disease progression phenotypes.

The DNA nanoengine constitutes a chemical energy-driven unidirectional rotor that directionally walks along a predefined multistep track.

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) can offer strong protection against HIV. Here, the authors demonstrate that rare resistant variants of SHIV are capable of abrogating bNAb protective efficacy, causing productive infection in rhesus macaques challenged with virus that is over 99.9% sensitive to the antibody.

PcdA interacts with DivIVA and FtsZ, promoting Z-ring formation and division plane selection in Staphylococcus aureus, which increases virulence in mice and reduces sensitivity to cell-wall-targeting antibiotics.

The bacterial Tad pilus extends and retracts using a single bifunctional ATPase CpaF. Here, the authors employ cryo-EM, fluorescent microscopy, and AlphaFold modelling to propose how a rotary mechanism of CpaF catalysis drives Tad pilus assembly.

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 MRN complex plays a key role in detecting, signalling, and processing DNA double-strand breaks. This study reports the cryo-EM structures of human MRN bound to DNA, alone and with telomeric protection factor TRF2, revealing MRN’s structural transitions and regulatory mechanisms.

The AAA-ATPase Drg1 is a key factor in eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis that initiates cytoplasmic maturation of the large subunit. Here the authors report the structure of Drg1 in complex with its specific inhibitor diazaborine and provide insight into the mechanism of inhibition and specificity of this class of inhibitors.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

A new study combines MRI data with proteomic, metabolomic and RNA data to develop and examine seven organ-specific MRI-based aging clocks, uncovering links to overall mortality and organ-specific diseases.

The predictive value of blood levels of GDF11/8 proteins in humans for future disease outcomes has been unclear. Here, the authors show that low levels of specific activated GDF11/8 subforms are strongly associated with future cardiovascular events, mortality, and dementia risk.

Two-dimensional polyaramid polymers are synthesized to form nanofilms that exhibit the lowest gas permeability of any polymer by orders of magnitude, despite lacking crystallinity, enabling molecular-scale nanomechanical resonators and barrier materials.

Here, the authors introduce carbon-to-carbon metal migration as a platform for dynamic association and show how such migrations, in combination with the incorporation of a simple hydrocarbon, can be harnessed to achieve autonomous directional translational motion of a metal centre along the length of a polyaromatic thread.

Detecting change in tropical cyclones is difficult from observational records. Here a reconstruction using reanalysis data of annual cyclone numbers shows they have declined globally and regionally over the twentieth century.

In this study, the authors present structures and functional analyses for the RAD51C-XRCC3 tumor suppressor complex, providing insights into recurrent mutations in cancer and Fanconi Anemia patients that uncover distinct DNA replication fork protection, restart and reversal regions.

Parity induces an accumulation of CD8⁺ T cells, including cells with a tissue-resident-memory-like phenotype within human normal breast tissue, offering long-term protection against triple-negative breast cancer.

Therapeutic options for patients with renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) are limited. Here the authors report the results of a phase II clinical trial of anti-PD1 nivolumab plus anti-CTLA4 ipilimumab in RMC, associating the activation of a myeloid mimicry program in tumor cells to the rapid disease progression and hyper-progression observed in treated patients.

Schlafen 11 serves as a biomarker in cancer, a sensor of single-stranded DNA, and as an antiviral restriction factor. Here, the authors use cryo-electron microscopy and biochemical assays to explain how phosphorylation regulates Schlafen 11’s tRNA cleavage and single-stranded DNA binding activities.

Several moons in the outer Solar System have oceans encased beneath an ice shell. If the ice shell thins, ocean pressure decreases. Modelling shows that on Mimas, Enceladus, and Miranda, the ocean can boil. On larger bodies, instead, compressional forces form tectonic features.

Cryo-EM analysis reveals that the 9-1-1 clamp loader Rad24-RFC recognizes the 5′-recessed DNA end. The Rad24 subunit holds the DNA above the clamp, thereby loading the 9-1-1 clamp in the opposite direction of RFC loading DNA into the PCNA clamp.

MCC950, a small-molecule inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, interacts directly with NLRP3 at the Walker B motif that hydrolyzes ATP, as defined by a protease-susceptibility assay, mutational analysis, and surface plasmon resonance analysis.

With the generation of large pan-cancer whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing projects, a question remains about how comparable these datasets are. Here, using The Cancer Genome Atlas samples analysed as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes project, the authors explore the concordance of mutations called by whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing techniques.

The ATPase CpaF from C. crescentus powers pilus dynamics in the bacterial Tad pilus system. Cryo-EM and light microscopy characterisation of CpaF uncovers a mechanism for how CpaF may drive both pilus extension and retraction.