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Expression of NKG2D immunoreceptor ligands on tumour cells is believed to inhibit tumour growth through engaging NKG2D-expressing immune cells. Here, the authors show that in a model of liver cancer the NKG2D/NKG2D-ligand pathway can also promote tumour formation by sustaining an inflammatory environment.

Small space probes can thumb a ride into space and then hurl themselves around the Solar System using orbital gymnastics — meaning that you no longer need bottomless pockets to do planetary science. Robert Adler talks to the thrifty engineers who are making it happen.

An atlas study of adipose tissue in people with obesity undergoing weight loss and their lean counterparts reveals that weight loss reduces cell senescence but cannot reverse all the metabolic problems caused by obesity.

Susan Slager and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). They identify nine loci newly associated with CLL.

Geochemical analyses of an andesitic meteorite suggest the continental-crust-like composition is due to partial melting after core formation on a differentiated parent body.

It is unclear how often genetic mosaicism of chromosome X arises. Here, the authors examine women with cancer and cancer-free controls and show that X chromosome mosaicism occurs more frequently than on autosomes, especially on the inactive X chromosome, but is not linked to non-haematologic cancer risk

Experiments under simulated hydrothermal conditions suggest that the mineral fluocerite may serve as an intermediate phase that fractionates the rare earth elements in ore-forming systems.

In this study, authors introduce small molecular taxon-specific markers for bacterial detection directly in complex matrices using MS-based (spatial) metabolomics. This method has the potential to advance microbiological diagnostics and host-microbe research.

Luis Pérez-Jurado, Stephen Chanock and colleagues detect clonal chromosomal abnormalities in peripheral blood or buccal samples from individuals in the general population. They show that the frequency of such events increases with age and is associated with elevated risk of developing subsequent hematological cancers.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia has a hereditary component, much of which remains to be identified. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide association study and find new risk loci for the disease, which are associated with genes involved in immune function.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) could effectively target cancers that are resistant to traditional therapy but may initiate immune related adverse effects, such as colitis. Here, authors characterise the gut immune microenvironment during CPI-colitis by bulk RNA sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry, and find that interleukin 23 plays an important role in promoting inflammation via cytotoxic polyfunctional IFNγ-producing lymphocytes.

Identifying senescence is complicated by a lack of universal markers. Here, Duran et al. use nuclear morphology features to devise machine-learning classifiers that detect senescence in cell lines and liver sections of patients and mouse models of aging and disease.

Volatile aldehydes can be enriched in esophageal adenocarcinoma patients’ breath. Here, the authors reveal corresponding metabolic changes in EAC tumours, which may be caused by impaired detoxification of endogenous metabolites.

Numerical simulations suggest that Pluto’s moon Charon was captured intact, in a scenario in which the two bodies temporarily merged in a collision but did not coalesce due to solid strength effects.

Profiling of single epithelial cells in healthy and inflamed colons identifies specialized cellular subpopulations, including a type of goblet cell that secretes the antibacterial protein WFDC2, which preserves the integrity of the epithelial barrier layer.

Core processes, dynamically linked to mantle and climate-related surface processes, contribute to both the long-term trend and shorter-term fluctuations observed in Earth’s polar motion, according to predictions from physics-informed neural networks.

Fine silicate dust generated by the Chicxulub impact had a dominant role in the global cooling and disruption of photosynthesis that followed, according to palaeoclimate simulations constrained by grain-size analysis of Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary sediments.

Barrett’s oesophagus is associated with an increased risk of oseophageal cancer, but its cell of origin is unclear. Here the authors show, using single-cell RNA sequencing of biopsies from six patients and two unaffected subjects, that cells in Barrett’s oesophagus show a transcriptional profile that is similar to that of cells in oesophageal submucosal glands.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) promotes insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells and undergoes agonist-mediated endocytosis. Here, authors study GLP-1R endocytosis caused by different agonists and show that a longer plasma membrane retention time of GLP-1R results in greater long-term insulin release.

Lu and colleagues report that ASPP2 induces mesenchymal–epithelial transition and inhibits cancer cell invasion and metastasis by preventing the β-catenin-mediated upregulation of ZEB1.

Global estimations of the water-storage capacity in the rooting zone from satellite data reveal plant access to deep water across a third of Earth’s vegetated surface.

Spatial patterns in the phosphorus and nitrogen limitation in natural terrestrial ecosystems are reported from analysis of a global database of the resorption efficiency of nutrients by leaves.

Direct measurements of carbon fixation rates in groundwater suggest a substantial contribution of in situ primary production to subsurface ecosystem processes.

Enzymes of the nucleotide salvage pathway are shown to have substrate selectivity that protects newly synthesized DNA from random incorporation of epigenetically modified forms of cytosine; a subset of cancer cell lines that overexpress cytidine deaminase (CDA) are sensitive to treatment with 5hmdC or 5fdC (oxidized forms of 5-methyl-cytosine), which leads to DNA damage and cell death, indicating the chemotherapeutic potential of these nucleoside variants for CDA-overexpressing cancers.

Uncertainties and subjective choices affecting remaining carbon budgets should be fully considered when applying them to international and national climate policies.

Preclinical research is required to improve our understanding of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). In this Consensus Statement, a task force of experts provides recommendations on the criteria for preclinical models of CCA to increase disease understanding and help to develop novel therapeutic approaches.