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Big data collected through apps can facilitate large-scale study of diet and lifestyles. Information from the ZOE COVID Study indicates the variety and extent of impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the diets and lifestyles of adults in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Immune lymphocyte estimation from nucleotide sequencing (ImmuneLENS) infers B cell and T cell fractions from whole-genome sequencing data. Applied to the 100,000 Genomes Project datasets, circulating T cell fraction provides sex-dependent and prognostic insights in patients.

Nutritionist Rachel Davis advises on the foods to eat to help keep your energy up all day.

Swanton and colleagues present a clonal expression signature, ORACLE, which, in combination with clinicopathological and molecular risk factors, can predict survival of patients with lung adenocarcinoma, and they prospectively validate its prognostic value.

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.

Interventions involving bacteria or fungi could help to sequester greenhouse gases, create more sustainable products and clean up pollution — in ways that are economically viable and safe.

Fungal siderophores are biosynthesised by nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) with highly unusual domain architectures. Here, the authors characterise cryptic programming events occurring within SidC NRPS, responsible for ferricrocin biosynthesis in Aspergillus nidulans.

Complete sequences of chromosomes telomere-to-telomere from chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan and siamang provide a comprehensive and valuable resource for future evolutionary comparisons.

A major earthquake 2500 years ago caused one of the largest rivers on Earth to abruptly change its course. A recurrent event would pose the risk of such cascading hazards to the densely populated floodplains of present-day Bangladesh.

The MICrONS mouse visual cortex dataset shows that neurons with similar response properties preferentially connect, a pattern that emerges within and across brain areas and layers, and independently emerges in artificial neural networks where these ‘like-to-like’ connections prove important for task performance.

An archetype of collaboration, community development and vision, who made fundamental contributions to biology through his studies on the often-unseen part of the plant, the root.

It has proven difficult to measure the release of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, in the human brain. Here, the authors introduce and validate a new method that infers dopamine release based on minute-by-minute fluctuations of the positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand [11C]raclopride.

Analysis of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data from stimulated T cells identifies genetic variants that disrupt transcription factor binding sites within ATAC-seq peaks. ATAC quantitative trait loci (ATAC-QTLs) are enriched for autoimmune disease-associated variants.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Phytoplankton account for a large proportion of global primary production and comprise a number of phylogenetically distinct lineages. Here, Uwizeye et al. use FIB-SEM to study ultrastructural plasticity of 7 distinct taxa and describe how subcellular organisation is linked to energy metabolism.

Here, the authors show that the Hox genes Antennapedia (Antp) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx) control flight appendage morphology in Drosophila. This role is dependent on a particular spatial expression profile and dosage, which was also found in evolutionary distant four-winged insect species.

Helitron elements are proposed rolling-circle transposons in eukaryotic genomes, but experimental evidence for their transposition has been lacking. Here, Grabundzija et al. reconstruct an active Helitron from bats which they name Helraiser, and characterize its mechanism of transposition in cell-free reactions and in human cell cultures in vitro.

A charcoal-rich product called biochar could boost agricultural yields and control pollution. Scientists are putting the trendy substance to the test.

Although single reference genomes are valuable resources, they do not capture genetic diversity among individuals. Sherman and Salzberg discuss the concept of ‘pan-genomes’, which are reference genomes that encompass the genetic variation within a given species. Focusing particularly on large eukaryotic pan-genomes, they describe the latest progress, the varied methodological approaches and computational challenges, as well as applications in fields such as agriculture and human disease.

Optimization of monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 for enhanced Fc-effector function increase their effectiveness for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in multiple animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Carbon nanotubes are used in a growing number of applications, but recent European Union actions propose to ban them. This Perspective highlights gaps in knowledge regarding potential safety and environmental risks throughout the life cycle of carbon nanotubes and provides a framework to inform policy decisions.

A de novo-designed protein that precisely assembles a chlorophyll dimer has been developed. The design matches the conformation of the native ‘special pair’ of chlorophylls that functions as the primary electron donor in natural photosynthetic reaction centers. In the designed protein, excitonically coupled chlorophylls participate in energy transfer. The proteins were also redesigned to assemble into 24-chlorophyll nanocages.

Fruit acidity is an important factor affecting fleshy fruit taste. Here, the authors identify the PHgene that regulates fruit acidity in a number of species and report a mutation that is responsible for the diversification and evolution of the sweet melon.

The impact of photo-damage on natural photosynthetic systems is lessened through their autonomous self-repair, and now a synthetic photoelectrochemical complex that mimics this behaviour has been developed. It is shown that a series of regeneration steps, driven by chemical signalling, increases the photo-conversion efficiency of the system and extends its lifetime indefinitely.

The NFκB signalling pathway is regulated through the formation of transcription factor dimers but mechanisms controlling their formation are poorly understood. Here, Tsui et al. report that IκBb is a positive regulator of Rel-NFκB dimer formation, using in vitro and in vivoexperiments and mathematical modelling.

This protocol describes procedures for speed-breeding approaches using growth cabinets and LED-supplemented glasshouses. The approaches can be used to accelerate crop research and are compatible with a wide variety of crops.

The GREGoR consortium provides foundational resources and substrates for the future of rare disease genomics.

The use of groundwater with high levels of geogenic contaminants, such as arsenic, has caused severe health impacts and mortality in communities globally. This Review examines the drivers and occurrence of groundwater contamination by naturally occurring arsenic, fluoride, selenium and uranium.

Circulating tumour DNA profiling in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer can be used to track single-nucleotide variants in plasma to predict lung cancer relapse and identify tumour subclones involved in the metastatic process.

The newly launched Diversity Seek initiative emphasizes the importance of state-of-the-art phenotypic and genotypic information. But to achieve its aims, it will also need to encourage the management of historical data, such as the metadata on the germplasm collections themselves.

Cells spatially organize biochemical reactions within membrane-bound and membraneless compartments. The extent to which intrinsically disordered proteins themselves can form discrete compartments or condensed phases is poorly understood. Now a pair of model IDRs that display orthogonality in condensation and the chain features governing selective assembly have been identified.

In the TRACERx cohort of 171 patients with lung cancer, the ultrasensitive detection of ctDNA improves preoperative patient stratification, also in early-stage disease.

We present the complete 62,460,029-base-pair sequence of a human Y chromosome from the HG002 genome (T2T-Y) that corrects multiple errors in GRCh38-Y and adds over 30 million base pairs of sequence to the reference.

Combination of epidemiology, preclinical models and ultradeep DNA profiling of clinical cohorts unpicks the inflammatory mechanism by which air pollution promotes lung cancer

Antibodies against dengue virus are linked to increased risk for severe dengue. This study identified the mechanisms by which these antibodies mediate pathogenic activities, guiding the development of novel approaches to control dengue disease.

Mammalian genomes are scattered with repetitive sequences, but their biology remains largely elusive. Here, the authors show that transcription can initiate from short tandem repetitive sequences, and that genetic variants linked to human diseases are preferentially found at repeats with high transcription initiation level.

Nephropathic cystinosis is a lysosomal storage disease characterized by proximal tubular cell dysfunction. Here Festa and colleagues show that these lysosomal alterations lead to defective autophagic clearance of mitochondria and increased oxidative stress that, in turn, activates the transcription factor ZONAB leading to impaired cell differentiation.

An integrated analysis of de novo and inherited coding variants in 42,607 individuals with autism spectrum disorder identifies 60 risk genes of which five have not previously been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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.

Researchers from Hawaii and an international consortium have produced a draft genome assembly for 'SunUp', the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree. Comparison of this plant genome to those of Arabidopsis and others sheds light on evolution of characteristics such as biosynthesis, starch deposition, control of photosynthesis and pathways for creating volatile compounds.

RNA sequencing data and tumour pathology observations of non-small-cell lung cancers indicate that the immune cell microenvironment exerts strong evolutionary selection pressures that shape the immune-evasion capacity of tumours.

Cryo-electron microscopy and biochemical studies elucidate the read–write mechanisms of non-canonical PRC1-containing RYBP in histone H2A lysine 119 monoubiquitination and their roles in maintaining epigenetic inheritance.

Computational and machine-learning approaches that integrate genomic and transcriptomic variation from paired primary and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer samples from the TRACERx cohort reveal the role of transcriptional events in tumour evolution.

Analyses of multiregional tumour samples from 421 patients with non-small cell lung cancer prospectively enrolled to the TRACERx study reveal determinants of tumour evolution and relationships between intratumour heterogeneity and clinical outcome.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.