Search

Antigenic characterization of new SARS-CoV-2 variants is important to evaluate population immunity and the need for vaccine updates. Here, neutralizing antibodies against newly emerged Omicron variants were analysed in bivalently boosted individuals.

Missegregated chromosomes that are sequestrated in micronuclei are subject to changes in histone modifications leading to abnormalities in chromatin accessibility that remain long after the chromosomes have been reincorporated into the primary nucleus.

Evidence that a dry-season outbreak of malaria in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia is caused by Anopheles stephensi carrying Plasmodium falciparum with diagnostic and drug resistance mutations calls for heightened vector surveillance in both urban and rural settings.

The crystal structure of human DNA pol beta with DNA template and an incoming 8-oxo-dGTP forming a mutagenic pair with template base A is now presented, revealing the structural constraints within the polymerase active site that result in this mutagenic incorporation.

In the final report of a phase 1 trial evaluating intracerebroventricular B7-H3-targeting CAR T cells in children and young adults with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, repeated intracranial infusions were feasible and well tolerated with a median overall survival of 19.8 months and 3 patients surviving over 40 months from diagnosis.

Unbiased chemical biology strategies for direct readout of small molecule protein interactomes provide advantages over target-focused approaches. Here, the authors describe the BioTAC system, a network-scale small molecule guided proximity labeling platform, to rapidly identify ligand-target interactomes.

Cas12a is widely used in diagnostic platforms. Here the authors show that Cas12a can be programmed to directly detect RNA substrates, this is due to the 3’-end of the crRNA tolerating both RNA and DNA substrates: they use this to report a method, SAHARA, to detect RNA sequences.

Analysis of antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccines encoding variant-specific spike, with or without ancestral spike, suggests no loss of neutralization of the ancestral virus with variant-only vaccines, which may simplify future vaccine updates.

In metastatic breast cancer, subclonal evolution can drive drug resistance. Here, the authors genetically and transcriptionally follow the evolution of four breast cancers over time and treatment, and suggest a phenotype-targeted treatment strategy to adapt to cancer as it evolves.

The response of Drosophila larva to light depends on both spatial and temporal inputs. Here the authors show that Rhodopsin5 photoreceptors, but not Rhodopsin6 photoreceptors, are required for conveying spatial light cues.

In this study, the authors identify a population of deep dorsal horn interneurons that receive inputs from both sensory neurons and the descending motor tracts and that can evoke activity from functionally related motor pools. These cells may represent the central node for coordinating motor output programs in the spinal cord.

The optimal disambiguation of similar sensory stimuli by neuronal networks is essential to adapt animal behavior. Gschwend and colleagues show that the olfactory bulb network acts as a pattern separator, increasing slight differences between highly related odors. Inhibitory interneuron activation causally improves pattern separation and facilitates odor discrimination learning.

Variants of the genetically encoded sensor iGluSnFR extend the range of conditions under which glutamate neurotransmission can be visualized. In addition, chromatic variants of iGluSnFR improve compatibility with various illumination schemes.

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.

Here, the authors combine theory and photoluminescence measurements on WSe₂ bilayers and demonstrate the electrical tunability of the trion energy landscape, by showing that an out-of-plane electric field modifies the energetic ordering of the lowest lying trion states.

Regulated trafficking of major histocompatibility complex class II and CD86 is a prerequisite of antigen presenting cell functionality. Authors show here that ubiquitin-like protein 3 is critically involved in the ubiquitination process that controls trafficking, with wide-ranging immunological consequences.

The cofactor iron is essential for cellular energy metabolism. Proteomics reveals how the interplay of iron limitation with glucose signaling underlies how a green alga turns off photosynthesis during lipid accumulation.

Sustainable strategies for shepherding active particles are at the heart of many prospective applications. Here, Palacios et al. use the emerging topological properties of a microfluidic maze array to passively guide self-propelled colloids from the interior to the edges of the device.

Retrospective simulation of several global COVID-19 distribution scenarios shows that equitable and altruistic vaccine sharing strategies could have substantially reduced the global burden of SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated mortality.

Identifying sources of quasiparticle poisoning is an active problem in superconducting quantum circuits. Here the authors show that the rate of quasiparticle bursts in a cryogenic calorimeter decreases by two orders of magnitude in a low-stress suspended state, suggesting stress as a key mechanism.

Sleep is essential for homeostasis and insufficient or excessive sleep are associated with adverse outcomes. Here, the authors perform GWAS for self-reported habitual sleep duration in adults, supported by accelerometer-derived measures, and identify genetic correlation with psychiatric and metabolic traits

Ghosh et al. report findings showing that the atypical kinase RIOK2 functions as a winged helix-turn-helix domain containing transcription factor that regulates the differentiation of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells toward erythroid, myeloid and megakaryocytic lineages. RIOK2 enhances GATA1 and KLF1 expression, while suppressing other transcription factors like RUNX3, SPI1 and GATA2.

Single-cell DNA sequencing identifies recurrent copy number changes in healthy breast tissue from women with wild-type or germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

A new class of molecules can recruit downstream transcription factors or endogenous cancer drivers to cell death promoters and activate the expression of these genes.

Bladder cancer can often exhibit genomic and morphological heterogeneity. Here, the authors use genomics analysis to show lineage plasticity of bladder cancers with squamous differentiation, and identify key transcription factors related to this morphological and immune heterogeneity.

A genome-wide association study of cardiac magnetic resonance-derived left ventricular mass index including 43,000 UK Biobank participants reveals 12 associations (11 novel), implicating genes involved in cardiac contractility and cardiomyopathy.

Designing biocompatible and flexible electronic devices for neuromrophic applications remains a challenge. Here, Kireev et al. propose graphene-based artificial synaptic transistors with low-energy switching, long-term potentiation, and metaplasticity for future bio-interfaced neural networks.

mRNA boosters have been shown to be effective against severe COVID-19 illness. In this work, the authors show that in high-risk populations, three doses of mRNA-1273 vaccine instead of BNT162b2 vaccine conferred a small benefit against death or hospitalization with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Here, Heitmann et al. report results from a Phase I/II trial evaluating CoVac-1, a peptide-based T-cell activator, in patients with B-cell deficiency, demonstrating potent induction of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses along with a favorable safety profile.

DNA origami may enable more versatile gene delivery applications through its ability to create custom nanoscale objects. Here the authors show that genes folded in DNA origami with custom scaffolds express efficiently when delivered to mammalian cells and can be assembled into multimeric arrays to deliver and express defined ratios of multiple genes simultaneously.

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

Quantum phase transitions, occurring at zero temperature for a given system, can be induced by the application of physical or chemical pressure, and can help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of unconventional superconductivity. Here, using Raman spectroscopy, the authors report scaling properties indicative of a marginal Fermi liquid for an Fe-based superconductor tuned through a quantum critical point by chemical substitution.

A novel model for submarine tephra dispersal by hydrothermal megaplumes is proposed. The energy flux inferred from our model aligns with megaplume observations, and suggests that the catastrophic release of hot crustal fluids, as opposed to lava heating, is responsible for megaplume generation.

Here the authors report results from a randomized clinical trial testing a combination of ChAOx1/MVA.HTI vaccines and the TLR7 agonist vesatolimod in men living with HIV-1. While the treatment showed a good safety profile and induction of HTI-focused T-cell responses, viral rebound was similar in treatment arm and placebo arm.

H2AX phosphorylation is an early response to DNA damage and is mediated by the ATM/ATR kinases. By examining the genome-wide location of γ-H2A in wild type and mutant S. cerevisiae strains, loci that tend to engage ATR (Mec1) and ATM (Tel1) are identified as a route to mapping fragile sites in this genome.

Lee, Barone et al. engineered a mutant form of LSD1, Y391K, which renders the nucleosome demethylase activity of LSD1 insensitive to Lys14 acetylation of histone H3, providing a useful tool to illuminate the functional consequences of disconnecting histone modification crosstalk.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

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

A combination of biochemical, single-molecule, and in vivo assays reveals that the UV-DDB complex that removes UV-induced DNA lesions via the nucleotide excision repair pathway also promotes removal of oxidative lesions via base excision repair.

Type 1 regulatory (Tr1) T cells are characterized by their immunosuppressive activity and cytokine secretion profile; however, their isolation and enumeration are limited by the absence of specific markers. Here Richard Flavell, Maria-Grazia Roncarolo and colleagues report that CD49b and LAG-3 are coexpressed by human and mouse Tr1 cells. These markers can be used to isolate Tr1 cells in vitro and in vivo and can be used to quantify Tr1 cells in tolerant subjects.

A string-based computational tool enables swift, robust identification of post-translational modifications in MS/MS datasets.

Two algal proteins, MITH1 and SAGA1, play key roles in formation of membranes that deliver CO₂ to the pyrenoid, a CO₂-concentrating organelle. Their discovery marks a key milestone towards engineering a pyrenoid into land plants for improved yields.

The Ly49 gene family mainly encodes inhibitory or activating surface receptors on natural killer cells. Here the authors show that in mice, inhibitory and activating Ly49 genes are regulated by two distinct sets of cis-regulatory elements, and that different Ly49 genes can be cross-regulated.

A plethora of solid-state nanodevices rely on engineering the quantization of electrons in quantum wells. Here, the authors leverage the thickness of exfoliated 2D crystals to control the quantum well dimensions in few-layer semiconductor InSe and investigate the resonance features in the tunnelling current, photoabsorption and light emission spectra.

Prime-editing mouse models enable the study of specific cancer mutations in vivo.

The deep mantle of Mars displays markedly lower seismic attenuation than that of Earth, which could reflect differences in water content, grain size, oxygen fugacity, or temperature, according to an analysis of seismic data from marsquakes and meteorite impacts