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Long COVID is associated with challenges in energy management, with limited interventions available. In this study, a just-in-time app-based energy management intervention for long COVID did not reduce postexertional malaise compared to usual care, though both groups improved over time, showing the approach was safe but not effective.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) plays an important role in decarbonization pathways to meet climate goals, but some methods are land-intensive. Multimodel analysis reveals conflicts between biodiversity and CDR that are distributed unevenly, and shows that synergies are crucial to meet climate and conservation goals.

Wildfire smoke, spore-spread fungal diseases and microplastic are all on the rise, even as the US government slashes support for respiratory research and policy.

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).

The R21/Matrix-M vaccine, but not the ME-TRAP vaccine, was protective against intradermal challenge with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites, while neither was protective against direct venous inoculation, potentially explaining previously observed differences in protection.

The effects of current protected areas on freshwater biodiversity are poorly understood. Here, the authors show that European protected areas have overall limited influence on changes in river biodiversity, underscoring the urgent need for improved effectiveness.

Very little is known about the molecular basis of chromosome segregation in archaea. Here, the authors describe conformational changes in the chromosome during the cell cycle of the archaeon Sulfolobus. The changes depend on candidate chromosome segregation proteins that interact with the cell division machinery.

Urban water hazards like flooding and contamination are worsening due to climate change, and their risks are deeply influenced by historical oppression and inequitable infrastructure decisions. This Perspective examines how urban flood risk is inequitably distributed and argues that climate adaptation should prioritize systemic, justice-focused reforms to address both resilience and historic social injustices.

Despite extensive structural studies elucidating how antigens are anchored to antigen-presenting molecules and presented to T cells, little is known about the display mechanism of the lipid-antigen-presenting molecule CD1c. Here, by combining structural immunology, lipidomics, and biophysical analysis, the authors reveal that the CD1c binding cleft accommodates two different lipids, one of them with a bulky headgroup positioned sideways for display to T cells, rather than upwards, different from the conventional upright antigen-presentation mode

The oncogenic potential of interfollicular stem and progenitor cells in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) remains poorly understood. Here, the authors modelled rapidly growing cSCC driven by the hyperactivation of the MAPK signalling pathway in mice and showed that SOX2 overexpression renders progenitor cells prone to transformation.

The authors discover a tissue-scale fitness sensing mechanism in the lung, where mesenchymal Yap antagonizes epithelial Yap to dictate epithelial cell fate. This inter-tissue cell competition orchestrates lung architecture and lung disease.

Here, the authors examine the mechanisms behind cheatgrass’s successful invasion of North American ecosystems. Their genetic analyses and common garden experiments demonstrate that multiple introductions and migrations facilitated cheatgrass local adaptation.

Picks include a rogue gene-editor, a wunderkind physicist and a DNA detective who helped catch a serial killer.

Translation initiation and elongation factors can be targets for cancer treatment. Here, the authors show that inhibiting translation elongation through eIF5A impairs mitochondrial function, slowing the proliferation of tumour cells.

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.

Dengue early warning systems integrating climate information are an important tool for epidemic preparedness and response. Here, the authors develop a prediction model that incorporates climate and serotype data to forecast dengue outbreaks in Singapore up to two months ahead.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 also reduced circulation of endemic viruses which may have led to immune waning. Here, the authors use multiplex serology data from King County, Washington, US to characterise age-specific changes in antibody levels to a range of endemic viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors synthesize bee assemblage data from 681 crop fields across three continents, finding that local pesticide hazards and decreasing adjacent semi-natural habitats both negatively affected wild bee abundance and species richness in crop fields, while pesticides also reduced functional diversity.

Precise editing of DNA methylation has emerged as a promising tool in disease biology but most applications are limited to in vitro systems. Here, we develop two transgenic mouse lines harboring an inducible dCas9-DNMT3A or dCas9-TET1 editor to enable tissue-specific DNA methylation editing in vivo.

SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an increased risk of arterial and venous thrombotic events. Here, the authors investigate the degree to which this association is modified by virus variant and vaccination using electronic health record data for ~18 million adults in England.

An investigation using various methods reports an association between adeno-associated virus 2 and paediatric hepatitis of unknown aetiology.

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.

Living microbialites achieve high rates of carbon uptake and precipitation by bolstering photosynthesis with light-independent uptake mechanisms to provide an effective biological system to capture CO2 in the geologically stable carbonate, calcite.

Integrating molecular and anatomical data in the mouse brain requires flexible, reproducible mapping tools. Here the authors demonstrate ANTsX-based workflows for aligning MERFISH, fMOST, MRI, and LSFM data into shared coordinate frameworks.

Socially marginalized communities in the U.S. are at higher risk of contaminant releases due to sea level rise-related flooding of hazardous sites. By 2100, 5500 facilities are at risk of a 100-year flood under continued high greenhouse gas emissions.

Wastewater surveillance for disease outbreaks currently requires lab testing which causes delays. Here, authors develop ultra-sensitive quantum sensors enabling 2-hour near-source pathogen detection from raw wastewater with high sensitivity and specificity, creating a portable “lab-in-a-suitcase” system.

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.

Rachel Hughes loves tea and hates bananas, but here she tells us how she created the role of clinical treatment coordinator within her dental practice.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Jin et al. discovered Atlantic grey seal milk contains 332 complex sugars, including 166 novel structures. Seal milk rivals human milk complexity, includes giant molecules up to 28 sugar units, changes during lactation, and shows immune-boosting effects.

A high-resolution transcriptomic and epigenomic cell-type atlas of the developing mouse visual cortex from embryonic to postnatal development is presented, providing a real-time dynamic molecular map associated with individual cell types and specific developmental events.

A gene therapy method using AAV can help deliver HIV-fighting antibodies long-term, but the body often rejects them. Here the authors show that a short course of the drug rapamycin helps prevent host anti-drug antibody responses, showing successful antibody delivery in mice and monkeys.

The complex and repetitive nature of centromeres has historically posed challenges to their genomic assembly and functional understanding, which are now being overcome with long-read sequencing. This Review discusses recent genomic and epigenomic insights into human centromere biology that have positioned the field for future studies of centromere structure in chromosome biology and human disease.

Climate change is a major human rights challenge. This research shows how climate change is impeding the human rights of Ni-Vanuatu, outlines what can be done in response, and discusses how the future loss and damage fund should consider human rights restoration and compensation packages.

Pathogenic variants in UNC13A underlie a novel neurodevelopmental syndrome, with three subtypes defined by distinct genotypes with varying clinical and functional impacts characterized in cellular and animal models.

Here Plikus and colleagues provide a step-by-step protocol for the isolation and characterization of lipocartilage from mouse ear and the purification of its lipochondrocytes.

Guidance is lacking on how to best integrate sex, gender and social and structural determinants of health into neuroscience research on brain resilience in ageing and dementia. In this Roadmap article, Rajah et al. propose a way forward for conducting more inclusive research in this field.

CD16a triggers antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity but CD16a shedding dampens its anti-tumor activity. Here the authors develop a monoclonal antibody (F9H4) that prevents CD16a shedding, which synergizes with a tumor cell opsonizing antibody (cetuximab) to elicit natural killer cell-driven immunity.

Researchers analyzed 5,279 plasma proteins in 40 people undergoing feminizing gender-affirming hormone therapy over 6 months, revealing significant changes in 299 proteins. Such changes could have implications for reproductive capacity, immune regulation and long-term health.

This year marks the mid-point for the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 15 ‘Life on land’. We asked a range of researchers, working across biodiversity science, conservation, policy and implementation, to reflect on priorities for action on conserving terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems over the next seven years.

Here the authors reveal how an incoherent feedforward C/EBPα–Notch circuit times lung cell fate, guiding alveolar development, repair after injury, and shifts between protective and reparative states.