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Widely cited studies have claimed that musical training is associated with enhanced neural encoding for sound at early stages of the auditory system. Results from this large-scale multisite study do not support this earlier claim.

DNA affinity purification and sequencing (DAP-seq) allows genome-scale studies of transcription factor (TF)-binding sites with high reproducibility. Here, Lax et al. use this technique to characterize 58 TFs encoded by genes regulated by adenine methylation, and provide insights into the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression in an opportunistic pathogenic fungus.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare inflammatory disorder characterised by asthma, eosinophilia and vasculitis. Here, the authors describe a genome-wide association study of EGPA that reveals clinical and genetic differences between subgroups stratified by autoantibody status (ANCA).

The study reports the application of data-driven techniques to structural neuroimaging data of people with recent-onset psychosis or recent-onset depression and matched controls for the prediction of transdiagnostic clinical symptom severity and clinical outcomes.

A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.

Stephen Holgate argues for a return to more human-centred studies of allergy and asthma.

Hoang et al. developed a deep-learning framework called ENLIGHT–DeepPT that predicts therapy response based on imputed transcriptomics and shows predictive power across patient cohorts and cancer types.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The influence of X chromosome genetic variation on blood lipids and coronary heart disease (CHD) is not well understood. Here, the authors analyse X chromosome sequencing data across 65,322 multi-ancestry individuals, identifying associations of the Xq23 locus with lipid changes and reduced risk of CHD and diabetes mellitus.

Genetic testing for rare heart conditions might someday expand to more common cardiac ailments. Already there are signs testing is dramatically changing how some conditions are treated and doctors' definition of who a patient is. Stephen Strauss reports.

Salt has been humanity's great taste enhancer, preservative and all-around go-to food ingredient for 8,000 years. But the ubiquitous white crystal is now thought to have caused an epidemic of heart attacks and strokes. In response, many food manufacturers are devising new ways to curb sodium intake while trying to maintain food's saline-stoked good flavor. Stephen Strauss gets a taste of the leading technological solutions for cutting back on the tabletop seasoning.

Dairy farmers are rapidly adopting molecular profiling to accelerate the process of siring cows. But this seismic shift in breeding practices is raising new questions and translating more slowly to the beef industry. Stephen Strauss reports.

Several exposures are required for protection from clinical malaria in endemic areas. Using the controlled human malaria infection model, Ferrer et al. here show that two exposures to Plasmodium falciparum infected mosquitoes induce partial preerythrocyte immunity in previously malaria naïve individuals. Immunity correlates positively with both anti-circumsporozoite protein antibody and CD69 + CD8 + T cell levels.

A computational deep learning approach is used to design synthetic proteins that target the neosurfaces formed by protein–ligand interactions, with applications in the development of new therapeutic modalities such as molecular glues or cell-based therapies.

The voltage-gated sodium channel Na_v1.7 has a dual role in osteoarthritis—in chondrocytes, it promotes joint damage, and in dorsal root ganglia neurons, it increases pain transmission.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of AAA identifies 121 independent risk loci and highlights potential therapeutic targets such as proprotein convertase, subtilisin/kexin-type 9 (PCSK9).

Oxygen in shallow shelf waters rose linearly with atmospheric oxygen in the Neoproterozoic era, potentially driving the first radiation of marine animals, but widespread ocean oxygenation came later, according to reconstructions of oxygen levels and marine productivity.

Straussman and colleagues undertake clonal analyses and show that drug tolerance to EGFR therapy in lung cancer cell populations is an inherited continuous trait that is determined by IRS1 phosphorylation.

Breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers varies depending on other genetic factors. Here, the authors perform a case-only genome-wide association study and highlight novel loci associated with breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers.

In this Consensus Statement, an international group of experts and patient representatives validates and endorses the transition from the term ‘Sjögren syndrome’ to ‘Sjögren disease’, and issue several additional recommendations regarding the nomenclature of this disorder.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is highly heritable, yet not well understood from a genetic perspective. Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 34,179 POAG cases, identifying 44 previously unreported risk loci and mapping effects across multiple ethnicities.

Better analytical methods are needed to extract biological meaning from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric disorders. Here the authors take GWAS data from over 60,000 subjects, including patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, and identify common etiological pathways shared amongst them.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

Spangler et al. used a substrate inhibitor covalent conjugate strategy to solve cryo-EM structures of nucleosomes in complex with the lysine demethylase KDM2, which demonstrates that KDM2A, but not its closely related paralog, KDM2B, anchors to the acidic patch to direct histone H3K36-specific demethylation.

Narcolepsy has genetic and environmental risk factors, but the specific genetic risk loci and interaction with environmental triggers are not well understood. Here, the authors identify genetic loci for narcolepsy, suggesting infection as a trigger and dendritic and helper T cell involvement.

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

Ancestry and socioeconomic factors influence predictable changes in the vaginal microbiome that occur early in pregnancy in women who experience normal term birth.

As part of the second phase of Human Microbiome Project, the Multi-Omic Microbiome Study: Pregnancy Initiative presents a community resource to help better understand how microbiome and host profiles change throughout pregnancy as well as to identify new opportunities for assessment of the risk of preterm birth.

Microcompartments with a temperature-responsive membrane are used to stably localize DNA-encoded files, which enables parallel, repeated polymerase-chain-reaction-based random access and DNA file sorting using fluorescent barcodes.