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This study finds that native tree extinctions and alien naturalizations are pushing forests towards fast-growing, resource-demanding species. This global shift could affect carbon storage and ecosystem stability, highlighting the need to protect slow-growing trees.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially fatal heart condition with poorly understood molecular causes. Here, the authors show that loss of the protein PTRH2 in female mice leads to postpartum heart failure, identifying it as a potential therapeutic target.

Benito-Martínez, Salavessa and colleagues show that keratin intermediate filaments and microtubules control the three-dimensional perinuclear position of melanin-containing organelles, shielding the DNA from photodamage.

Allosteric transcription factors (aTFs) are promising tools for environmental and human health monitoring. Here the authors develop a multi-objective, machine learning-guided method to engineer an aTF-based portable diagnostic for environment sensing of lead in drinking water at the legal limit.

Genomic analyses applied to 14 childhood- and adult-onset psychiatric disorders identifies five underlying genomic factors that explain the majority of the genetic variance of the individual disorders.

HIV remission of more than 6 years was achieved in a patient with functional viral co-receptors after CCR5 wild-type/Δ32 allogeneic stem cell transplantation, providing evidence of other mechanisms that can be harnessed to attain long-term remission.

Achieving control over the thermomechanical properties of functional materials is desirable, yet remains highly challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate continuous negative-to-positive tuning of thermal expansion in two Prussian blue analogues, by varying the concentration of adsorbed CO₂.

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

In prostate cancer, the contribution of germline structural variants (SVs) remains under-appreciated, especially in patients with African ancestry. Here, the authors identify potentially pathogenic germline SVs and their possible functional and clinical impact in whole-genome sequencing data from African men with prostate cancer.

Mechanosensitive ion channels protect bacteria from a hypoosmotic shock. Here, Flegler et al. use electron microscopy to describe the gating transition of the MscS-like channel YnaI and a chimera generated from MscS and YnaI.

Analysis of soundscape data from 139 globally distributed sites reveals that sounds of biological origin exhibit predictable rhythms depending on location and season, whereas sounds of anthropogenic origin are less predictable. Comparisons between paired urban–rural sites show that urban green spaces are noisier and dominated by sounds of technological origin.

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 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.

Combined analysis of new genomic data from 116 ancient hunter-gatherer individuals together with previously published data provides insights into the genetic structure and demographic shifts of west Eurasian forager populations over a period of 30,000 years.

There are limited approaches to monitor virus spread in vivo. Here, the authors report PET/CT-based in vivo imaging to track SARS-CoV-2 biodistribution in a COVID-19 non-human primate model using a radiolabeled human antibody revealing persistent detection in the lung and brain 3 months after infection.

Measuring acoustic phonons across the Brillouin zone reveals important information on electrical and thermal transport in materials. Temnov et al.generate giant acoustic strain pulses in gold/cobalt bilayers and monitor their nonlinear reshaping in the gold layer with plasmonic interferometry.

The advantage of living in cities compared with rural areas with respect to height and BMI in children and adolescents has generally become smaller globally from 1990 to 2020, except in sub-Saharan Africa.

Inborn errors of the alternative NF-κB pathway in humans impair the development of AIRE-expressing medullary thymic epithelial cells, thereby underlying the production of autoantibodies against type I IFNs and predisposition to viral diseases

Sperm chromatin retains post-translationally modified histones whose function, after delivery to egg, is unclear. Using H2AK119Ub1 edited sperm the authors show that a sperm derived epigenetic cue is necessary for frog embryo development.

Repurposed antiviral drugs present as a valuable resource in the defence during outbreaks, with rigorous evaluation in large animal models keys for translation to clinical implementation. Here, the authors explore the antiviral activity of favipiravir against Zika virus and SARS-CoV-2 in cynomolgus macaques, in order to support future clinical investigations into this RNA polymerase inhibitor.

Effusive volcanism dominates at water depths of 300 m or greater while phreatomagmatic Surtseyan eruptions become prevalent at shallower depths, according to analyses of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, multibeam bathymetry, and seafloor imagery.

Zuhra and Petrosino et al. report evidence that cyanide acts as a regulatory gasotransmitter in mammalian cells, where it is shown to affect cellular bioenergetics, most likely via protein S-cyanylation.

Islet transplantation is a feasible approach to treat type I diabetes, however inflammation and poor vascularisation impair long-term engraftment. Here the authors show that incorporating human amniotic epithelial cells into islet organoids improves engraftment and function of organoids, through enhanced revascularisation.

Here, the authors develop the Gut Microbiome Wellness Index 2 (GMWI2), an enhanced version of the original GMWI prototype, designed as a disease-agnostic health status indicator based on gut microbiome taxonomic profiles.

Organ-specific aging clocks for multiple brain and body systems show that the biological age of one organ system selectively influences the aging of multiple other systems via characteristic aging pathways.

The Omicron variant evades vaccine-induced neutralization but also fails to form syncytia, shows reduced replication in human lung cells and preferentially uses a TMPRSS2-independent cell entry pathway, which may contribute to enhanced replication in cells of the upper airway. Altered fusion and cell entry characteristics are linked to distinct regions of the Omicron spike protein.

Immune profiling of the tumour microenvironment of soft-tissue sarcoma identifies a group of patients with high levels of B-cell infiltration and tertiary lymphoid structures that have improved survival and a high response rate to immune checkpoint blockade therapy.

Monoclonal antibodies show great promise in treating Covid-19 patients. Here, Maisonnasse, Aldon and colleagues report pre-clinical results for COVA1-18 and demonstrate that it reduces viral infectivity in three animal models with over 95% efficacy in macaques upper respiratory tract.

A case–control study investigating the causes of recent cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology in 32 children identifies an association between adeno-associated virus infection and host genetics in disease susceptibility.

Hydroxychloroquine did not confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection or reduce the viral load after infection in macaques; these findings do not support the use of hydroxychloroquine as an antiviral drug treatment of COVID-19 in humans.

Here, the authors study the effects of expression quantitative trait loci on enhancer activity and promoter contacts in primary monocytes isolated from male individuals, suggesting an inherent genetic link between the activity of enhancers, their contacts to target gene promoters and gene expression.

Adoptive transfer of regulatory T (Treg) cells holds promise for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, but maintaining a therapeutic capacity is challenging. Here, the authors show that engineering Tregs to express an IL-2 partial agonist enhances Treg persistence and suppression of inflammation in mouse models, representing a potential optimization for Treg therapy.

Data collected from more than 2,000 taxa provide an unparalleled opportunity to quantify how extreme wildfires affect biodiversity, revealing that the largest effects on plants and animals were in areas with frequent or recent past fires and within extensively burnt areas.

Friction forces at the interface between tissues play a key role in tissue morphogenesis. Now friction at the cellular scale is shown to influence cell shape and cell rearrangements.

The XXXII IAU General Assembly, held for the first time on the African continent from 6–15 August 2024, marked a historic milestone in the global astronomy community. Driven by a bold vision, the event highlighted Africa's growing scientific capacity, and embodied the African spirit of Ubuntu, emphasizing accessibility, impact, and sustainability.

Platform-based approaches for gene-editing therapies could markedly improve development efficiency, reduce costs and increase access for patients with rare diseases. Although gene editing has shown remarkable clinical success for a small number of Mendelian disease indications, broader adoption faces substantial hurdles. We propose strategies to overcome these challenges through modular platforms for nonclinical and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) data reuse, risk-based manufacturing quality, and streamlined umbrella clinical trials for regulatory efficiency and accelerated approval.

Spatial transcriptomics aims to pair omic data with tissue structure. Here the authors report Spatially PhotoActivatable Colour Encoded Cell Address Tags (SPACECAT) to track and isolate live cells by location; this enables spatially informed downstream assays like scRNA-seq and flow cytometry.

There is a requirement for improved adjuvants to improve responses to vaccines, including adjuvants that induce Th17 cells. Here, the authors use a MINCLE and TLR9 agonist-based vaccine adjuvant and show induction of Th17 and mucosal immune responses to vaccine recall antigens in mice and non-human primate models of vaccination.

Phylogenomic analysis of 7,923 angiosperm species using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes produced an angiosperm tree of life dated with 200 fossil calibrations, providing key insights into evolutionary relationships and diversification.

In this study, Marlin et al. provide insights into the potential use of subunit vaccines that induce a high level of protection against SARS-CoV-2 in animal models.

Precise patterning of lipid-stabilised aqueous droplets is a key challenge in building synthetic tissue designs. Here, the authors show how the interactions between pairs of droplets direct the packing of droplets within 3D-printed networks, enabling the formation of synthetic tissues with high-resolution features.

The mechanisms underlying neuron specification and maturation are unclear. Here the authors provide an integrated epigenomic and transcriptomic analysis of mouse and marmoset neocortical neuronal classes. Pan-neuronal programs active during early development are more evolutionary conserved but not neuron-specific, whereas pan-neuronal programs active during later stages of maturation are more neuron- and species-specific.

Single cell analysis provides insight into cell states and transitions, but to interpret the data, improved algorithms are needed. Here, the authors present CellRouter as a method to analyse single-cell trajectories from RNA-sequencing data, and provide insight into erythroid, myeloid and lymphoid differentiation.

A DNA sequencing method with single-molecule fidelity detects mismatches and damage present in only one of the two DNA strands with patterns that are both similar and distinct compared to known mutation patterns.

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.