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Nucleotide excision repair is a conserved DNA repair system. Here, the authors explore the structural details of damage identification by UvrA and reveal the UvrA-UvrB-DNA complex architecture at varying stoichiometries. They propose a model for damage recognition by UvrA and lesion hand-off to UvrB.

Confining plasma and managing disruptions in tokamak devices is a challenge. Here the authors demonstrate a method predicting and possibly preventing disruptions and macroscopic instabilities in tokamak plasma using data from JET.

Neuroplasticity is shaped by how humans interact with AI. We argue that passive, uncritical, reliance on AI may weaken activity-dependent brain plasticity and erode cognition, whereas active co-creation can sustain or enhance it. Drawing on plasticity rules and ethical considerations, we propose the 3R principle—Results, Responses, Responsibility—as a preventive framework for cognitive hygiene, urging education towards AI use to preserve agency, meaning-making, and long-term brain health.

Tumor-associated neutrophils exhibit heterogeneity in breast cancer. Here, the authors identify a distinct precursor population (PreNeu) in estrogen receptor-positive tumors. PreNeu suppress homologous recombination in cancer cells, promoting error-prone DNA repair and enhancing sensitivity to PARP inhibitors.

The icosahedron is the most symmetrical solid structure and is found in metal clusters, colloidal aggregates, viruses and organelles. Here, the authors propose a general theory for the design of multi-component icosahedral aggregates by packing shells of different types.

Non-coding variants can regulate transcription factor binding and gene expression at variable chromatin modules. Here, the authors show that a germline variant induces transcription factor nucleation through chromatin compaction leading to AXIN2 up-regulation and is associated to better prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

In this Review, the authors present current insights into the genetic aetiology and pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, highlighting the effect of recurrent lesions on progression, and discuss their clinical implications for management and development of novel therapeutic paradigmns.

Laura Pasqualucci and Riccardo Dalla-Favera and colleagues report exome sequencing and copy-number analyses of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Their analyses identified mutations in genes not previously implicated in DLBCL pathogenesis, such as genes encoding chromatin modifiers such as MLL2.

Here, Pelliciari et al. present resonant inelastic X-ray scattering on monolayer samples of unconventional superconductor FeSe, finding evidence for gapped and dispersionless spin excitations. These experiments are very difficult due to the extremely small scattering volume of the FeSe monolayer.

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.

The genetic mechanisms underlying mate choice decisions can inform our understanding of speciation. A study on Heliconius butterflies identifies 5 candidate genes that would allow sympatric species to evolve distinct preferences without altering their visual perception of the wider environment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have improved the clinical outcomes of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), however TKI-related diarrhoea is a common and serious adverse effect. Here the authors show in a randomized clinical trial that faecal microbiota transplantation from healthy donors can improve TKI-induced diarrhoea in patients with mRCC.

With structural models now available on a proteome scale, Malatesta et al. show that structure-based screening can help identify proteins catalyzing orphan reactions in metabolic pathways, offering functional insights beyond sequence-based approaches.

Lanzavecchia and colleagues use single-cell B cell receptor sequencing to examine the clonal structure, stability and dynamics of the B cell repertoire and the relationship between memory B cells and newly generated plasma cells in humans.

Single-cell genomic and transcriptomic analyses of longitudinal samples of patients with Richter syndrome reveal the presence and dynamics of clones driving transformation from chronic lymphocytic leukemia years before clinical manifestation

Complex molecules show element- and enantio-specific properties and reactivity. Here the authors demonstrate identification of the element- and enantiomer-selective motion of Ibuprofen molecule using X-ray photons at the carbon K-edge.

The Myc transcription factor is a major regulator of stem cell (SC) self-renewal and pluripotency but how this integrates signals from other pathways is unclear. Here, the authors show that Myc activation triggers epigenetic memory in self renewing embryonic SCs via PRC2-mediated potentiation of the Wnt pathway.

In three different subtypes of B-cell lymphomas, two papers now report frequent somatic mutations in CREBBP and EP300, present in primary tumours or acquired at relapse. These genes encode related acetyltransferases that mainly function to regulate gene expression by acetylating histones and other transcriptional regulators. The mutations found inactivate these activities and thus alter chromatin regulation of gene expression, as well as proliferation and potentially the response to therapeutic drugs.

microRNAs have recently been shown to affect diverse processes involved in metastasis. How do microRNAs interfere with or promote metastasis, could they be used as predictive markers, and are they possible therapeutic targets?

Using a compact, particle-beam-driven plasma-based accelerator to accelerate high-quality electron beams that are completely characterized in the six-dimensional phase space, free-electron lasing  is observed with narrow-band amplified radiation in the infrared range.

Following peripheral nerve injury, influx of immune cells to the site may contribute to the development of chronic pain. Here the authors show that TRPA1 is expressed on Schwann cells and contributes to immune cell influx in a mouse model of neuropathic pain.

MicroRNAs are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Pagani and colleagues identify specific microRNA signatures and their target genes in various human lymphoid subsets.

In a beam-driven plasma wakefield accelerator, the energy spread of an electron bunch is reduced with respect to the plasma entrance, which is achieved through setting a positive energy chirp that rotates the bunches’ longitudinal phase space.

The authors describe the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral load and the frequency of symptomatic versus asymptomatic and presymptomatic infection in an Italian town, before and after a strict 14-day lockdown.