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Spherulites, prevalent in fields from geology to medicine, have poorly understood crystallization dynamics and growth conditions. Here, the authors demonstrate that divalent metal ions in sulfate salt solutions induce spherulitic growth of sodium sulfate through non-classical nucleation, revealing high viscosity and slow dynamics as key factors.

COVID-19 can be associated with neurological complications. Here the authors show that markers of brain injury, but not immune markers, are elevated in the blood of patients with COVID-19 both early and months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those with brain dysfunction or neurological diagnoses.

A cross-ancestry meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci, reveals putative causal genes, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as potential drug targets, and provides cross-ancestry integrative risk prediction.

Many genetic loci have been identified to be associated with kidney disease, but the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here, the authors perform epigenome-wide association studies on kidney function measures to identify epigenetic marks and pathways involved in kidney function.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood malignancy. Here, the authors report 35 MM risk loci and two causal mechanisms for genetic MM risk: longer telomeres and elevated plasma B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and interleukin−5 receptor alpha (IL5RA) levels.

Seufert et al. analyse chromatin accessibility to identify sites that open simultaneously in response to TNF. They discover two distinct types of co-accessible regulatory module for controlling the induction of proinflammatory gene expression.

Genome-wide association analyses of magnetic resonance imaging data describe the genetic architecture of 13 cortical phenotypes at both global and regional levels, implicating neurodevelopmental and constrained genes.

There is currently no disease-modifying treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a common neurodegenerative disorder. Here, the authors use genetic variation associated with gene and protein expression to find putative drug targets for Parkinson’s disease using Mendelian randomization of the druggable genome.

Serum urate concentration can be studied in large datasets to find genetic and epigenetic loci that may be related to cardiometabolic traits. Here the authors identify and replicate 100 urate-associated CpGs, which provide insights into urate GWAS loci and shared CpGs of urate and cardiometabolic traits.

A global model compiling seabird surveys finds that 37 seabird species and around 25% of the world’s tropical seabird individuals nest on atolls, where they act as major nutrient pumps within tropical oceans.

Understanding the immunological underpinnings of long-term survival in cancer is of high interest. Here, authors dissect the immune parameters of multiple myeloma long-term survivors following a single line of therapy longitudinally, and find sustained changes, including inflammation and impaired immune function.

A cross-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) including 29,612 patients with ALS and 122,656 controls identifies 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology.

Many individual genetic risk loci associate with multiple diseases, but the molecular basis of these loci often remains unclear. Here, the authors provide a framework to reveal the genetic cross-disease associations at the PROCR vascular disease locus.

Alterations of locus coeruleus signal intensity have been associated with functional changes in health and disease. Here, the authors tested a pre-registered hypothesis on a large number of subjects as part of the Cam-CAN consortium.

The spatial architecture of multiple myeloma remains to be explored. Here, the authors perform bulk and single cell sequencing for samples from newly diagnosed patients and reveal gene signatures associated with focal lesions and spatial heterogeneity in the tumour microenvironment.

Data-driven composite sleep health scores, combining self-reported sleep duration, snoring, chronotype, insomnia, and sleepiness, provide heritable, interpretable phenotypes and novel GWAS discoveries elucidating regulatory pathways.

Poeck and colleagues identify a microbiome signature in patients receiving allogenic stem cell transplantation, which is associated with protective immune-modulatory metabolites, improved survival and less transplant-related mortality.

The immune system is tolerized against the neuromyelitis optica autoantigen AQP4 by thymic B cells, which present their endogenous AQP4 to AQP4-reactive thymocytes.

Huebner et al. develop a 2D culture system to study gastric isthmus stem cells and identify a role for Sox2 in specifying enterochromaffin cells in the stomach.

Relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) is characterized by a remarkable heterogeneity and high drug resistance. Here, the authors analyse RRMM samples by single-cell RNA-sequencing, revealing molecular features associated with high-risk chromosomal 1q-gain and changes in the tumor microenvironment.

The COSIMA mass spectrometer on the Rosetta spacecraft has analysed the solid organic matter found in dust particles emitted by comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko; this matter is similar to the insoluble organic matter extracted from carbonaceous chondrites such as the Murchison meteorite, but is perhaps more primitive.

Quantum tunnelling may be advantageous for quantum annealing, but multiqubit tunnelling has not yet been observed or characterized theoretically. Here, the authors demonstrate that 8-qubit tunnelling plays a role in a D-Wave Two device through a nonperturbative theory and experimental data.

Analysis of circulating proteins across multiple cohorts identifies proteins that are associated with cognitive function and may serve as targets to understand the relationship between immunity and Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Cosmic-ray muon radiography has been used to non-invasively visualize the voids in the Great Pyramid (Khufu’s Pyramid), revealing a large void situated above the Grand Gallery.