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Dynamic nuclear polarization is the transfer of electronic angular momentum to nuclear spins and is a potential route for coherently manipulating spin in quantum information. Here, the authors show that spin–orbit coupling can quench dynamic nuclear polarization in a gallium arsenide quantum dot.

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.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Mutations in components of the MAP kinase pathway are associated with a group of syndromes known as RASopathies. Here, the authors identify gain-of-function mutations in BRAF in patients with RASopathies and congenital hypopituitarisms.  This article demonstrates a central role for BRAF in the development of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis leading to endocrine deficiencies in patients with RASopathies.

The observation of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has been limited to epitaxial thin films, which has restricted their experimental investigation. Now, a technique is reported for the release of millimetre-scale freestanding superconducting nickelate membranes. This geometry enables a range of studies, including the response of superconductivity to strain.

GIANT, a genetically informed brain atlas, integrates genetic heritability with neuroanatomy. It shows strong neuroanatomical validity and surpasses traditional atlases in discovery power for brain imaging genomics.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Measurements of a superconducting infinite-layer nickelate show that its upper critical field is largely isotropic despite its quasi-two-dimensional structure. This indicates that, unusually for layered oxides, the superconductivity is Pauli-limited.

By moving to a substrate that better stabilizes conditions, the doping series of Nd_1–xSr_xNiO₂ is synthesized free from extended defects, resulting in enhancement of superconductivity in terms of transition temperature and range of doping.

He et al. develop a network-based metric of amyloid-β burden by integrating individualized brain connectomes with amyloid-PET imaging. This approach improves prediction of future cognitive decline in older adults and may support earlier identification of individuals at risk of dementia.

Naive B and T cells exist in discrete zones in lymph nodes. Turley and colleagues demonstrate that a distinct subset of fibroblastic reticular cells reside in B cell zones, where they sustain B cell survival by providing BAFF.

A short hairpin RNA screen to identify genes that modify the action of tumour-infiltrating CD8 T cells in tumour-bearing mice pinpointed the phosphatase subunit Ppp2r2d as a new target for tumour therapy; knockdown of Ppp2r2d in T cells enabled their accumulation in tumours and significantly delayed tumour growth.

The impact of the DART spacecraft on the asteroid Dimorphos is reported and reconstructed, demonstrating that kinetic impactor technology is a viable technique to potentially defend Earth from asteroids.

This study finds that sST2 is a disease-causing factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Higher sST2 levels impair microglial Aβ clearance in APOE4⁺ female individuals. A genetic variant, rs1921622, is associated with a reduction in sST2 level and protects against AD in APOE4⁺ female individuals.

The BIN1 SNP rs744373 is associated with higher CSF tau and phosphorylated tau levels. Here the authors show, using PET imaging, that this SNP is associated with tau accumulation in the brain as well as impaired memory in older individuals without dementia.

Whether Alzheimer’s disease originates in basal forebrain or entorhinal cortex remains highly debated. Here the authors use structural magnetic resonance data from a longitudinal sample of participants stratified by cerebrospinal biomarker and clinical diagnosis to show that tissue volume changes appear earlier in the basal forebrain than in the entorhinal cortex.

Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is a complex multi-factorial disorder. Here, the authors perform a data-driven analysis of LOAD progression, including multimodal brain imaging, plasma and CSF biomarkers, and find vascular dysfunction is among the earliest and strongest altered events.

Brain-iron elevation is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the impact of the metal on disease outcomes has not been analysed in a longitudinal study. Here, the authors examine the association between the levels of ferritin, an iron storage protein, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of AD patients and show that CSF ferritin levels predict AD outcomes.

Several studies show that APOE-ε4 coding variants are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk. Here, Zhou et al. perform fine-mapping of the APOE region and find AD risk haplotypes with non-coding variants in the PVRL2 and APOC1 regions that are associated with relevant endophenotypes.

Progressive diseases tend to be heterogeneous in their underlying aetiology mechanism, disease manifestation, and disease time course. Here, Young and colleagues devise a computational method to account for both phenotypic heterogeneity and temporal heterogeneity, and demonstrate it using two neurodegenerative disease cohorts.

Stephen Chanock and colleagues report a genome-wide association study of pancreatic cancer. They identify common variants at the ABO blood group locus associated with susceptibility to pancreatic cancer, consistent with previous epidemiological evidence suggesting that individuals with A or B blood types have greater risk of this cancer than individuals with blood type O.

Stephen Chanock and colleagues identify three new susceptibility loci for pancreatic cancer on chromosomes 13q22.1, 1q32.1 and 5p15.33. The association signal at 13q22.1 maps to a large nongenic region, whereas the signals at 1q32.1 and 5p15.33 map near the NR5A2 gene and CPTM1L-TERT region, respectively.

Typically, quasiparticles are injected into superconductors at energies comparable to the pairing energy in order to gain insights into quasiparticle dynamics. Tunnelling spectroscopy of a mesoscopic superconductor under high electric field now provides insights into a regime where electrons impinge with 10⁶ times the pairing energy.

Analysis of the FGF14-SCA27B repeat locus identifies a common 5′-flanking insertion that represents the major allele, is present exclusively on nonpathogenic alleles, enhances repeat stability and increases chromatin accessibility.

Mark Daly, Ramnik Xavier and colleagues report that a 20-kb deletion polymorphism upstream of IRGM is associated with altered IRGM expression and Crohn's disease. They also show that manipulation of IRGM levels in cells modulated the efficiency of autophagic responses to internalized bacteria, suggesting a mechanism by which the deletion variant might influence disease risk.

Time of reproduction may be altered as the climate changes. For seabirds, it is shown that there has not been an adjustment in timing as the climate changes and the sea surface warms. This lack of plasticity could result in a mismatch with food resources.

Zhou et al. utilise deep learning to improve polygenic risk analysis for Alzheimer’s disease. Their computational approach outperforms existing statistical methods and helps to identify potential biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease risk.