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This study describes structures of the transcription factor brachyury revealing the mechanism of DNA recognition. They identify fragments using X-ray fragment screening and optimize these into potent ligands with potential as cancer therapeutics.

Despite observed routinely from spacecrafts landing on, e.g., lunar soil, the origin of radial streak patterns has been unclear up to now. Here, the authors report an experimental study of such instabilities in the coupled dynamics of rocket plumes and sand surfaces.

Cities are renowned for catalyzing human interactions, but their effects on urban species are less clear. This Perspective argues for such a focus, and proposes a framework for studying interactions between urban species.

Machine-learned potentials (MLPs) have become widely adopted alternatives to traditional electronic structure and molecular mechanics methods; however, most MLPs remain prone to instability when deployed in molecular dynamics simulations, particularly at elevated temperatures. Here, the authors present physics-informed Gaussian process (GP)-based atomic energy models that achieve enhanced stability in NVT simulations at temperatures as high as 1000 K, demonstrating their robustness in simulations of flexible organic molecules (peptide-capped glycine and serine, malondialdehyde, and aspirin) with a cumulative simulation time of 0.5 microseconds completed within two CPU days.

Extraction of ubiquitinated proteins from chloroplasts in CHLORAD is driven by the cytosolic ATPase Cdc48. The UBX-domain protein PUX10 is shown to be a CHLORAD component that recruits Cdc48 to the chloroplast surface.

Deep-learning models for the automated measurement of retinal-vessel calibre in retinal photographs perform comparably to or better than expert graders in associations of measurements of retinal-vessel calibre with cardiovascular risk factors.

A genetics-led translational approach integrating functional genomic predictors, knowledge of network connectivity and immune ontologies defines the drug target prioritization landscape for 30 immune traits at the gene and pathway level.

This Perspective analyses how biological and economic factors determine whether a commercial plant breeder will opt for a hybrid breeding system, and finds that the cost of seed production is a key factor.

The authors couple calculations of historical heatwave intensity at present and future global temperatures with exposure–response functions to quantify mortality from extreme heat events in Europe. They project tens of thousands of excess deaths, with limited attenuation from existing adaptations.

Deep generative perfusion-deficit mapping of CTA-derived computed perfusion maps in 1,393 patients reveals the neural substrates of clinical deficits in the hyperacute phase of ischaemic stroke.

Cell state plasticity of neuroblastoma cells is linked to therapy resistance. Here, the authors develop a transcriptomic and epigenetic map of indisulam (RBM39 degrader) resistant neuroblastoma, demonstrating bidirectional cell state switching accompanied by increased NK cell activity, which they therapeutically enhance by the addition of an anti-GD2 antibody.

A screening-level analysis that considers system-wide benefits and costs is used to identify opportunities where engineered nanomaterials can advance the sustainability of crop-based agriculture.

Although plant functional trait combinations reflect ecological trade-offs at the species level, little is known about how this translates to whole communities. Here, the authors show that global trait composition is captured by two main dimensions that are only weakly related to macro-environmental drivers.

The One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining green plant evolution that comprises the transcriptomes and genomes of diverse species of green plants.

Here, Olari et al show that alpha-synuclein enhances HIV-1 entry and replication in human T cells, macrophages and microglia which may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative disease.

mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) often contain regulatory PH domains. In this work, Soubias et al, using an integrated structure-function approach, discovered a mechanism where a GAP PH domain binds directly to a GTPase to induce allosteric changes facilitating GTP hydrolysis.

Clonalscope is a method for cancer subclone detection leveraging copy number profiles estimated using spatial and single-cell sequencing data.

Long-lived pionic helium atoms (composed of a helium-4 nucleus, an electron and a negatively charged pion) are synthesized in a superfluid-helium target, as confirmed by laser spectroscopy involving the pion-occupied orbitals.

Fagaceae are diverse family including trees of ecological and economic importance. This phylogenomic analysis of nuclear and plastid genomes reconstructs evolutionary history and finds evidence of multiple adaptive introgression events in this important plant family.

A dandelion-inspired wireless solar-powered sensing device weighing 30 milligrams that transmits data through radio backscatter achieves dispersal over a wide area by travelling on the breeze, and successfully lands upright.

Prenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure can lead to a spectrum of developmental issues, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here the authors show that prenatal ZIKV exposure in macaques disrupts neurodevelopment, causing prolonged maternal attachment and visual deficits at 3 months that normalize by 12 months, independent of sensory function.

Signal peptide sequences appear in secreted proteins. Here, authors use these sequences in a proteomic search method called “signal strapping” to discover metalloproteins, which have an N-terminal histidine that chelates a transition metal ion.

A combination of genome-wide functional screening, imaging and chromatin profiling identifies a new class of highly prevalent genomic elements that help retain extrachromosomal DNA copies in dividing cells and persist across generations.

An appetite-regulating subnetwork in humans involving the lateral hypothalamus and the dorsolateral hippocampus is implicated in obesity and related eating disorders.

Robbie Waugh, Nils Stein, Gary Muehlbauer and colleagues report the exome sequencing of 267 landraces and wild accessions of barley from diverse regions to study adaptations to different agricultural environments. They observe correlations of days to heading and height with environment and find that variation in flowering-associated genes has strong geographical structuring.

The authors investigate the broad-scale climatological and soil properties that co-vary with major axes of plant functional traits. They find that variation in plant size is attributed to latitudinal gradients in water or energy limitation, while variation in leaf economics traits is attributed to both climate and soil fertility including their interaction.

Before maize-based agriculture, there existed in eastern North America a crop system that is now only known from archaeological data. Present research is exploring whether these crops, which sustained ancient societies for millennia, can be re-domesticated.

Genomic and phenomic screens of 827 wheat landraces from the A. E. Watkins collection provide insight into the wheat population genetic background, unlocking many agronomic traits and revealing haplotypes that could potentially be used to improve modern wheat cultivars.

Fully enclosed, controlled-environment growth chambers can accelerate plant development. Such ‘speed breeding’ reduces generation times to accelerate crop breeding and research programmes, and can integrate with other modern crop breeding technologies.

Invertebrates are key components in the ecological functioning of tropical forests. Here, Ewers et al. show that, compared to primary forest, logging halves the contribution of invertebrate species to several key ecosystem processes, including litter decomposition.

The precursor for miRNA-151 is found to compete with mature forms for target sites on E2f6 mRNA but not on a different mRNA. These findings indicate that miRNA processing can affect individual mRNA targets differently.

Cell surface receptors perceive immunogenic elicitors, triggering downstream signalling via receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases such as BIK1. Here the authors define and use the phosphorylation motif of BIK1 to find novel substrate candidates.

The accumulation of alpha-synuclein fibrils within neurons is the defining feature of Lewy body dementia (LBD). Here the authors report a method to produce large quantities of alpha-synuclein fibrils that reproduce the complex structure of the fibrils that accumulate in LBD brain tissue.

Bacterial colonies growing on solid surfaces can exhibit robust expansion kinetics, with constant radial growth and saturating vertical expansion. Here, the authors use modeling and experiments to show that colony growth dynamics are driven by an interplay of mechanical constraints and nutrient gradients arising from obligatory metabolic processes.

An analysis of whole-genome sequencing data from patients with Barrett’s oesophagus or oesophageal ademocarcinoma shows that extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is strongly associated with cancer progression, and that a wide range of oncogenes are amplified on ecDNAs.

The authors present SVclone, a computational method for inferring the cancer cell fraction of structural variants from whole-genome sequencing data.

A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of regional-scale anthropogenic activity on plant diversity.