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An analysis of the impact of logging intensity on biodiversity in tropical forests in Sabah, Malaysia, identifies a threshold of tree biomass removal below which logged forests still have conservation value.

A genomic and transcriptomic analysis identifies molecular features associated with long-term survival in ovarian cancer. Exceptional survival was heterogeneous across the cohort, suggesting that it is likely the function of multiple cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental factors working in combination.

Whole-genome sequencing data from more than 2,500 cancers of 38 tumour types reveal 16 signatures that can be used to classify somatic structural variants, highlighting the diversity of genomic rearrangements in cancer.

Which brain circuits are causally involved in depression? Using the human connectome as a wiring diagram, Siddiqi et al. combine data from lesions, deep brain stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation studies to show that these three methods converge in identifying a single depression circuit.

Here, the authors present a multi-omic framework using single cell technology to identify non-coding genetic variants in cranial motor neuron disorders, offering insights into their genetic basis and methods for studying other Mendelian diseases.

X-ray crystal structures of the M1 and M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, revealing differences in the orthosteric and allosteric binding sites that help to explain the subtype selectivity of drugs targeting this family of receptors.

The assembly of the genome of the koala provides insights into its adaptive biology and identifies gene expansions that contribute to its ability to detoxify eucalyptus-derived compounds and perceive plant secondary metabolites.

Genome-wide analysis identifies variants associated with the volume of seven different subcortical brain regions defined by magnetic resonance imaging. Implicated genes are involved in neurodevelopmental and synaptic signaling pathways.

Genome assembly of durum wheat cultivar Svevo enables genome-wide genetic diversity analyses highlighting modifications imposed by thousands of years of empirical selection and breeding.

Intraspecies response to climate change is expected to align with genetic affinity. Using the American pika as a case study suggests that divisions of species distributions best explain intraspecific heterogeneity in climate relationships.

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.

Whole-genome sequencing and phenotype data sharing are introduced in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover coding and non-coding variants that cause rare diseases.

The hippocampus in mammalian brain varies in size across individuals. Here, Hibar and colleagues perform a genome-wide association meta-analysis to find six genetic loci with significant association to hippocampus volume.

Nine AI-derived dimensional neuroimaging endophenotypes can identify high-risk individuals within the general population prone to developing four major brain disorders.

Remotely sensed NDVI data and contemporary field data from 84 grasslands on 6 continents show increasing divergence in aboveground plant biomass between sites in different bioclimatic regions.

The use of atomic-level simulations reveals a molecular mechanism by which a ligand can achieve selectivity between nearly identical receptors, enabling the rational design of targeted drugs.

Here, the authors evaluate the performance of AlphaFold2 and its predicted structures on common structural biological applications, including missense variants, function and ligand binding site prediction, modeling of interactions and modeling of experimental structural data.

Timothy Frayling, Joel Hirschhorn, Peter Visscher and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for adult height in 253,288 individuals. They identify 697 variants in 423 loci significantly associated with adult height and find that these variants cluster in pathways involved in growth and together explain one-fifth of the heritability for this trait.

A dataset of coding variation, derived from exome sequencing of nearly one million individuals from a range of ancestries, provides insight into rare variants and could accelerate the discovery of disease-associated genes and advance precision medicine efforts.

The GREGoR consortium provides foundational resources and substrates for the future of rare disease genomics.

The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the human adenosine A₁ receptor in complex with adenosine and heterotrimeric G_i2 protein provides molecular insights into receptor and G-protein selectivity.

Ji et al. identify an idiopathic generalised epilepsy network that links heterogeneously distributed brain abnormalities to a common brain network and deep brain stimulation sites which reduce generalised seizures.

The genomic landscape of hereditary SDHB-mutant pheochromocytomas (PC) and paragangliomas (PG) remains to be explored. Here, the authors perform multiomic analysis on 94 tumours from 79 patients and identify the molecular features of metastatic disease and treatment response.

Transcription, like DNA replication, is an error-prone process. Vermulst et al.show that transcription errors increase with age in yeast, and find that prematurely increasing the error rate overwhelms the proteotoxic stress response, allowing aggregation-prone proteins to escape protein quality control.

As life expectancy increases globally, psychotherapy for people aged 65 years and above must become more specialized and competent. In this Review, Laidlaw et al. describe findings from gerontological and psychological research that seek to improve mental health interventions in late life and enhance older adults’ emotional capabilities and motivations.

Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Here, the authors carry out a large meta-analysis of genetic data from individuals of European and Asian ancestry and identify 10 new loci associated with vertical cup-disc ratio, a key factor in the clinical assessment of patients with glaucoma.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

Exome sequencing and copy number analysis are used to define genomic aberrations in early sporadic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; among the findings are mutations in genes involved in chromatin modification and DNA damage repair, and frequent and diverse somatic aberrations in genes known as embryonic regulators of axon guidance.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are crucial in pain sensation linked to extracellular acidification, yet selective modulators for ASIC3 remain limited. Here, the authors identify WRPRFa, a selective and potent peptide modulator of ASIC3 gating, that enhances ASIC3 pH sensitivity and removes acute desensitization, offering a valuable tool for studying ASIC3 gating mechanisms.

Crossing the blood–brain barrier in primates is a major obstacle to gene delivery in the brain. Here an adeno-associated virus variant (AAV.CAP-Mac) is identified and demonstrated for crossing the blood–brain barrier and delivering gene sequences to the brain of different non-human primates species.

Assessing brain aging heterogeneity in a cohort of 49,482 individuals from 11 studies, a generative model identifies five dominant patterns of brain atrophy, with specific associations with biomedical, lifestyle and genetic factors.

Sepsis may promptly develop into lethal organ failure, so early diagnosis and treatment planning are essential. Here the authors use machine learning to develop a six-gene signature, termed Sepset, for initial diagnosis, and integrate Sepset into a microfluidic-based bench-side platform for predicting the prognosis of suspected sepsis suitable for the clinic.

‘Commercial fisheries have decimated keystone species, including oysters in the past 200 years. Here, the authors examine how Indigenous oyster harvest in North America and Australia was managed across 10,000 years, advocating for effective future stewardship of oyster reefs by centering Indigenous peoples.’

It is now possible to quantify tenderness in musculoskeletal disorders by controlling the force of the examiner's palpating fingers.

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.

The pathobiology of heart failure (HF) is incompletely understood. The authors identify 37 circulating proteins and 5 protein modules associated with HF risk, with several demonstrating causal effects on HF, risk factors, or cardiac dysfunction by Mendelian randomization analysis.

Investigation of variation in three cohorts has identified multiple genetic signals associated with the pregnancy-specific liver disorder, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, giving insight into the disease which can cause preterm birth and stillbirth.

Steady-state chemical differentiation between Earth’s mantle and crust was reached 3.5 billion years ago, following vigorous crustal recycling, according to mass balance modelling of molybdenum isotopes measured in mantle-derived volcanic rocks.

A randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.