Search

The precise control and transition between multiple stochiometric phases is challenging. Here, the authors grow and characterize four wafer-scale stoichiometric phases of a Pd-Te binary compound through a sequential multi-step nucleation process.

Repurposed antiviral drugs present as a valuable resource in the defence during outbreaks, with rigorous evaluation in large animal models keys for translation to clinical implementation. Here, the authors explore the antiviral activity of favipiravir against Zika virus and SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques, in order to support future clinical investigations into this RNA polymerase inhibitor.

In a single-arm phase 2 trial evaluating intravesical delivery of the oncolytic adenovirus cretostimogene grenadenorepvec with systemic anti-PD-1 in patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ, the complete response rate at 12 months was 57.1%, meeting the primary endpoint.

Wehnes et al. examine how the oral microbiome is associated with DNA methylation–based biological age and functional health in the oldest old. They find that biologically younger individuals have lower microbial diversity and distinct bacterial patterns related to short-chain fatty-acids and cognition.

In this study, Marlin et al. provide insights into the potential use of subunit vaccines that induce a high level of protection against SARS-CoV-2 in animal models.

In breast cancer, genome-wide associations studies (GWAS) have highlighted loci associated with disease risk. Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis of GWAS data from Asian populations, discovering 31 potential new risk loci, 10 of which are validated in an independent disease cohort.

Monoclonal antibodies show great promise in treating Covid-19 patients. Here, Maisonnasse, Aldon and colleagues report pre-clinical results for COVA1-18 and demonstrate that it reduces viral infectivity in three animal models with over 95% efficacy in macaques upper respiratory tract.

Fine-mapping of causal variants and integration of epigenetic and chromatin conformation data identify likely target genes for 150 breast cancer risk regions.

Stig Bojesen, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Alison Dunning and colleagues report common variants at the TERT-CLPTM1L locus associated with mean telomere length measured in whole blood. They also identify associations at this locus to breast or ovarian cancer susceptibility and report functional studies in breast and ovarian cancer tissue and cell lines.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a clonal pathogen that has co-evolved with humans for millennia. Here, Freschi et al. reevaluate the population structure of M. tuberculosis, providing an in-depth analysis of the ancient Indo-Oceanic Lineage 1 and the modern Central Asian Lineage 3, and expanding our understanding of Lineages 2 and 4.

PSPC1 has a critical role in promoting EMT and metastasis. Here, the authors demonstrate that PSPC1 is the contextual determinant of the oncogenic switch of PTK6/β-catenin subcellular localizations to drive metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via a PSPC1/PTK6/β-catenin signaling.

T cell responses can be generated to either pathogen infection or from priming with a vaccine. Here the authors compare T cell generation, phenotype and single cell transcriptome of participants vaccinated with a mpox vaccine or infected with the virus showing that the virus induced T cells showed more effective function and phenotype.

Exponential growth of toxigenic Streptococcus pyogenes M1_UK lineage accounted for most of the 2022/2023 invasive infection upsurge in the UK. Authors provide evidence that M1_UK first emerged in 2008, has genetic evidence of enhanced fitness, and has disseminated to 3 continents.

Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles could be used as labels for the imaging of biomolecules, potentially leading to a multicolour modality in electron microscopy.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

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.

Hydroxychloroquine did not confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection or reduce the viral load after infection in macaques; these findings do not support the use of hydroxychloroquine as an antiviral drug treatment of COVID-19 in humans.

HSCs emerge from haemogenic endothelium (HE) in the dorsal aorta but whether these tissues share a common lineage is unclear. Here, the authors use a zebrafish runx1 reporter to show that HE maintains an arterial gene expression profile in the absence of Runx1, suggesting the aortic endothelium as a precursor of HE.

A de novo designed zinc-binding protein has been converted into a highly active, stereoselective catalyst for a hetero-Diels–Alder reaction. Design and directed evolution were used to effectively harness Lewis acid catalysis and create an enzyme more proficient than other reported Diels–Alderases.

Break-induced replication (BIR) is a crucial DNA double-strand break-repair pathway, but it also introduces mutations linked to cancer and genetic disorders. This Review discusses BIR regulation in mammalian cells, its roles in human disease and its potential uses in genome engineering.

Analyzing readouts of inflammaging across four cohorts, Franck and colleagues identify strong variation and observe that inflammaging, in its known form, primarily emerges in industrialized—but not nonindustrialized—populations.

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

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a clinical syndrome associated with poor quality of life, substantial health-care resource utilization, and premature mortality. Dunlay and colleagues summarize the epidemiological data on HFpEF, with a focus on the prevalence and incidence of HFpEF in the community as well as associated conditions and risk factors, morbidity and mortality after diagnosis, and quality of life.

The potential contribution of redox reactions to acidification in coastal waters is unclear. Here, using measurements from the Chesapeake Bay, the authors show that pH minimum occurs at mid-depths where acids are produced via hydrogen sulfide oxidation in waters mixed upward from anoxic depths.

An online approach for the DNA methylation-based classification of central nervous system tumours across all entities and age groups has been developed to help to improve current diagnostic standards.

Genome-wide association analyses based on whole-genome sequencing and imputation identify 40 new risk variants for colorectal cancer, including a strongly protective low-frequency variant at CHD1 and loci implicating signaling and immune function in disease etiology.

Topological edge states offer the prospect of dissipationless transport for nanoelectronics, but a precise method to spatially engineer such nanoscale conducting channels is still lacking. Here, the authors demonstrate patterning of topological boundary states in Sb₂Te₃ using a focused ion beam to create amorphous, topologically trivial regions.