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A thixotropic, injectable hydrogel composed of elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) nanofibers and oxidized dextran (OD) was developed as a sealant for anastomotic reinforcement. The ELP nanofibers form a physically cross-linked network that undergoes reversible sol–gel transitions in response to shear stress, while covalent bonding with OD reinforces the network against mechanical deformation and imparts tissue adhesive properties via residual aldehyde groups. The resulting hydrogel exhibited tissue adhesion strength comparable to that of fibrin glue in ex vivo and demonstrated self-hardening behavior upon exposure to the biological environment in vivo, suggesting its potential utility as a practical and effective surgical sealant.

Using blood-based genome sequence data, non-genetic and genetic factors associated with control of Epstein–Barr virus during persistent infection are reported.

Wolbachia, not the host genome, primarily determines femaleness in Wolbachia-infected Ostrinia strains, potentially arising from prolonged host-symbiont co-evolution. Here authors show loss of the host’s endogenous feminizer in infected Ostrinia moths.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

Effective antivirals are critical for combatting SARS-CoV-2 infections. Here, the authors develop two orally available small molecules, which specifically inhibit the activity of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and potently block the infectivity and replication of various SARS-CoV-2 strains in cells and mice.

Bacterial symbionts, such as Wolbachia species, can manipulate the sexual development and reproduction of their insect hosts. Here, the authors identify a Wolbachia protein that interacts with a host masculinization factor and leads to male killing in lepidopteran insects.

A first-in-human clinical trial of iPS cell-derived invariant natural killer T cells in patients with recurrent head and neck cancer demonstrated safety and early signs of efficacy, showing tumor growth suppression and activation of immune pathways.

Authors present results from a national surveillance in Japan that found MRSA strains causing bloodstream infections are predominantly from three clonal lineages. They also identified the emergence of highest 30-day-mortality MRSA clone ST764-SCCmecII and traced its evolutionary path.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are attracting considerable interest because of their diverse structures and properties. Now a method to access a wide array of PUFAs by full solid-phase synthesis has been developed and used to discover an anti-inflammatory fatty acid.

The acid–base balance regulates cellular responses, but little has been known about its molecular mechanism. Here, the authors unveil a bicarbonate-sensing GPCR, GPR30, that underlies cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury by regulating blood flow recovery.

Osada et al. used MRI and brain stimulation to outline the macroscopic cerebral circuits for response inhibition: visual cortex→dorsal anterior insula→inferior frontal cortex→basal ganglia/motor cortex, confirming the insula’s critical bridging role.

Methodologies to study the mechanisms of cell–cell interactions in metastatic niches remain scarce. Here, the authors develop a secretory GFP reconstitution-based system to tag tissue-resident cells neighboring on cancer cells within the metastatic niche.

The secretion of blood coagulation factor V and factor VIII (FV and FVIII) are driven by secretion factors ERGIC-53 and MCDF2. Here, the authors report a 10 amino acid motif from FVIII that can enhance secretion of another glycoprotein erythropoietin (EPO).

Sarcomas are rare malignant tumours of bone and soft tissue whose diagnosis remain difficult. Here, the authors analyse serum samples from over 1000 patients and using separate discovery, training and validation cohorts, identify and validate a 7-microRNA index that distinguishes malignant sarcomas from benign disease.

Klebsiella pneumoniae from the gut microbiota of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) can damage the intestinal epithelial barrier, resulting in bacterial translocation and T helper 17 cell responses in the liver, indicating a role in PSC pathogenesis.

The formation of the continuous digestive tract was a key feature during bilaterian evolution, but how the function of the early through-gut is regulated is not well known. Here they uncover light-modulated neural control of sphincters in sea urchin larvae, providing insights into the evolution of through-gut regulation in ancient bilaterians.

Relapse is a limitation for the efficacy of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-inhibitor alectinib in ALK-rearranged lung cancer. Here, the authors show that YAP1 activation upon alectinib treatment leads to therapy resistance and that inhibiting both YAP1 and ALK leads to longer tumor remission in mice.

Screening methods for early detection of ovarian cancer is technically difficult. Here, the authors investigated circulating microRNA in human blood serum and developed a model using 10 microRNAs to discern between ovarian cancer and being ovarian tumors, solid tumors, and non-cancer patients.

The asteroid Ryugu samples are by far the freshest extraterrestrial carbonaceous material. The authors report soluble ions and organic sulfur molecules linked with primordial brine and prebiotic organic evolution of the primitive asteroid.

In physiologically normal epithelia, age-related expansion of clones that carry mutations in NOTCH1 and other driver genes is accelerated by risk factors for developing oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, such as alcohol consumption or smoking.

The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the resolution of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis remain incompletely understood. Here the authors report a single cell-based analysis that identified CD8 + tissue-resident memory T cells, which contribute to resolution of liver fibrosis potentially via elimination of hepatic stellate cells through Fas-mediated cytotoxicity.

Tin based perovskites are easily oxidized, which generates large density of defects and compromised the solar cell efficiency. Here Nakamura et al. add metallic tin nanoparticles in the precursor solution to suppress tin (IV) impurities and enable high efficiency tin based perovskite solar cells.

A liver–brain–gut neural circuit responds to the gut microenvironment and regulates the activity of peripheral regulatory T cells in the colon by controlling intestinal antigen-presenting cells in a muscarinic signalling-dependent manner.