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Rashan, Bartlett and colleagues show that mammalian 4-hydroxy fatty acids are primarily catabolized by ACAD10 and ACAD11 (atypical mitochondrial and peroxisomal acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, respectively) that use phosphorylation in their reaction mechanisms.

Here, the authors characterize how different dietary components lead to functional alterations in the gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, showing effects on the orientation of phase variable regions in humans, in vivo, and in vitro, and on modulating the bacterium´s proteome and immune-modulatory functionality.

The authors generate ~1-km² growth curves for aboveground live carbon in regrowing forests, globally. They show that maximum carbon removal rates can vary by 200-fold spatially and with age, with the greatest rates estimated at about 30 ± 12 years, highlighting the role of secondary forests in carbon cycling.

The antiviral protein SP140 negatively regulates Ifnb1 mRNA stability by directly repressing the expression of the immune regulator RESIST.

Macrophages serve important functions in defense and tissue homeostasis. Jung and colleagues demonstrate that a resident population of macrophages controls the innervation of brown adipose tissue and thereby regulates energy use.

Genome-wide analyses identify 30 independent loci associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, highlighting genetic overlap with other psychiatric disorders and implicating putative effector genes and cell types contributing to its etiology.

The climate of the northwest Atlantic shifts between phases, shaping ecosystem productivity and fisheries. Tracking these phases can support climate and ecosystem-informed fisheries management.

Analyses of 2,658 whole genomes across 38 types of cancer identify the contribution of non-coding point mutations and structural variants to driving cancer.

mTORC2 activates Akt, a regulator of cell growth and metabolism, however, the role of mTORC2 in adipocytes is incompletely understood. Here the authors report that a mTORC2-Akt axis specifically activates ACLY to promote lipid synthesis and histone acetylation during brown adipocyte differentiation.

Measurement of aerosol concentrations, soot amount and solar fluxes over the polluted Indian Ocean using three vertically stacked light weight unmanned aerial vehicles finds that atmospheric brown clouds enhance lower atmospheric solar heating by about 50 per cent. A model study also suggests that atmospheric brown clouds contribute as much as the recent increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases to regional lower atmospheric warming trends.

Timber plantations in temperate countries are twice as likely to be destroyed by wildfires compared to natural wood-producing forests under similar conditions. The increasing threat of wildfires in the future will threaten global wood security.

Earth system models often categorize plants to just a few functional types, and plant characteristics are defined per type, neglecting their diversity. The authors show how the use of plant traits can improve the modeling of global carbon, water, and energy fluxes

A distinct population of CD4 T cells resides in specific regions of the steady-state brain, and these T cells are programmed in the periphery by the microbiome to coordinate adaptive behaviour.

SLC35B1, initially thought to be a nucleotide sugar transporter, is an essential ATP/ADP exchanger that imports ATP into the endoplasmic reticulum through a unique stepwise translocation mechanism.

Hevener and Correa provide a comprehensive overview of the preclinical and clinical evidence showing the metabolic role of oestradiol and its receptors in both women and men.

Moisan, Cowan and colleagues perform a small-molecule screen to identify compounds that promote white-to-brown adipocyte conversion in vitro. They report that two inhibitors of the JAK–STAT signalling pathway stimulate browning of human adipocytes.

Trees come in all shapes and size, but what drives this incredible variation in tree form remains poorly understood. Using a global dataset, the authors show that a combination of climate, competition, disturbance and evolutionary history shape the crown architecture of the world’s trees and thereby constrain the 3D structure of woody ecosystems.

Cowan and colleagues have developed a method to efficiently differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into functional white or brown adipocytes, through the transient expression of PPARG2 alone or in combination with CEBP and PRDM16. The programmed cells are able to give rise to ectopic fat pads with white or brown adipose tissue characteristics.

Here, the authors present and characterise a collection of human gut bacteria including novel taxa associated with health conditions and a large diversity of plasmids. All isolates, their genomes and metadata are publicly available, facilitating research by others (www.hibc.rwth-aachen.de).

In CHIP, somatic mutations in a hematopoietic stem cell lead to a clonal subpopulation of blood cells. Here, the authors perform a CHIP meta-EWAS to establish its epigenetic features and age-related outcomes.

How signaling pathways recruit SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes is not known. Here the authors suggest a ubiquitin directed mechanism targeting SWI/SNF for Wnt pathway dependent transcription, important for development and cancer.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A study of human and mouse models of pancreatic cancer finds that inhibiting the lipid kinase PIKfyve interferes with the cancer’s lipid homeostasis, making it a potential target for drug development.

The Middle Palaeolithic of southwest Asia witnessed interactions and knowledge sharing between archaic and modern humans ~130,000–80,000 years ago. These interactions led to increased behavioural complexity and consolidation of a uniform behavioural set across Homo groups in the region.

A brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis enables a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to synthesize his voice in real time by decoding neural activity, demonstrating the potential of brain–computer interfaces to enable people with paralysis to speak intelligibly and expressively.

The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 cancer whole genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.

Multimodal results (iEEG, fMRI and MEG) of predictions from integrated information theory and global neuronal workspace theory align with some predictions of both theories on visual consciousness, but also critically challenge key tenets of both theories.

T cells undergo age-related changes that impair their organismal functions. Here Soto-Heredero et al. show that regulatory T cells characterized by the expression of KLRG1 accumulate with age in both mice and humans and exhibit features including mitochondrial decline and an inflammatory phenotype.

The authors compare genomic and phenotypic changes between genetic backgrounds of seed beetles evolved at hot or cold temperatures. Despite phenotypic changes being more rapid and predictable at hot temperatures, the underlying genome-wide changes are less predictable across genetic backgrounds, suggesting that genomic predictions may become difficult to implement as climates warm.

A genome-wide study by the Long COVID Host Genetics Initiative identifies an association between the FOXP4 locus and long COVID, implicating altered lung function in its pathophysiology.

Brown fat has a tremendous capacity to oxidize fatty acids and generate heat, owing to the presence of an 'uncoupling protein', UCP1. The fatty acids themselves are understood to activate UCP1, but Chouchani et al. now propose that oxidation of a critical cysteine residue on UCP1 is additionally required to sensitize the protein to fatty acids.

CREBBP mutations in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) are linked to poor prognosis and chemoresistance. Here, the authors show that genetic or pharmacological inactivation of CREBBP sensitizes B-ALL cells to the BCL2 inhibitor Venetoclax, inducing ferroptotic cell death and extending survival in B-ALL preclinical mouse models.

Heterozygous mutations in the mechanoenzyme dynamin (DNM2) manifest as either a myopathy or a peripheral neuropathy. Here, the authors show antagonistic effects of these mutations and combining them, in mice, mitigates the phenotypic manifestations observed in individual mutants.

SUMO modification regulates protein function, with SENP enzymes controlling SUMO removal. Here, the authors present crystal structures of SENP5 bound to SUMO1 and SUMO2, revealing how structural features drive its preference for SUMO2 and offering insights into SUMOylation regulation.

Stadler et al. evaluate the diagnostic value of urinary tract infection biomarker, nitrite, in predicting disease progression and treatment efficacy. The longitudinal measurement of nitrite in an in-vitro UTI distinguishes between amoxicillin-resistant and susceptible E. coli strains and correlates with bacterial colony-forming unit counts in-vitro and in clinical UTI.

Basal cell adenoma (BCA) and basal cell adenocarcinoma (BCAC) of the salivary gland are rare tumours. Here the authors report that BCA and BCAC patients possess distinct genomic profiles despite histopathological similarities, and identify a recurrent FBXW11 missense mutation (p.F517S) which leads to accumulation of β-catenin in BCA and higher expression of Wnt/β-catenin targets.

Former chief science advisor to the UK government David King once said that last month's talks in Copenhagen would be the “last chance saloon” for tackling climate change. But there is hope beyond Copenhagen, says King. Olive Heffernan reports.

The targeted development of proteome-wide selective covalent probes remains a challenge. Here, the authors show the exploration of the natural product Sulphostin as a starting point for dipeptidyl peptidase 8 and 9 inhibitor development.