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A diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries provides health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end.

Insufficient AHR activation has been suggested in SLE, and augmenting AHR activation therapeutically may prevent CXCL13⁺ T_PH/T_FH differentiation and the subsequent recruitment of B cells and formation of lymphoid aggregates in inflamed tissues.

TGF-β signaling is required for microglial homeostasis, however the source of ligands in the adult brain is unknown. Here, the authors show that microglial homeostasis relies on microglia-derived TGF-β1 ligand via an autocrine mechanism, which is also important for astrocyte homeostasis.

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.

Point defects in 2D semiconductors have potential for quantum computing applications, but their controlled design and synthesis remains challenging. Here, the authors identify and fabricate a promising quantum defect in 2D WS₂ via high-throughput computational screening and scanning tunnelling microscopy.

The structure of a social network is thought to be heritable in many animals, including humans. Here, Rooke and colleagues identify a gene, which they name “degrees of kevin bacon (dokb)”, that is expressed in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster and regulates the structure of social networks.

Cocchi and coauthors report that continuous theta burst stimulation of the frontal pole shows no difference from sham in reducing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder or frontostriatal connectivity.

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, often found in the human stomach, can be classified into distinct subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host. Here, the authors provide insights into H. pylori population structure by collecting over 1,000 clinical strains from 50 countries and generating and analyzing high-quality bacterial genome sequences.

An integrated transcriptome, genome, methylome and proteome analysis of over 200 lung adenocarcinomas reveals high rates of somatic mutations, 18 statistically significantly mutated genes including RIT1 and MGA, splicing changes, and alterations in MAPK and PI(3)K pathway activity.

Here, the authors demonstrate a wafer-scale, low-temperature process using atomic layer deposition, for the synthesis of uniform, conformal amorphous boron nitride (aBN) thin films. They further fabricate aBN-encapsulated monolayer MoS₂ field-effect transistors.

Inbreeding depression has been observed in many different species, but in humans a systematic analysis has been difficult so far. Here, analysing more than 1.3 million individuals, the authors show that a genomic inbreeding coefficient (FROH) is associated with disadvantageous outcomes in 32 out of 100 traits tested.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

The microscopic structure of quantum defects in 2D materials is crucial to understand their optical properties and spin-photon interface. Here, the authors report the direct imaging of charge state-dependent symmetry breaking of sulfur vacancies and rhenium dopants in 2D MoS₂, showing evidence of a Jahn-Teller effect.

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.

Neoantigen prediction from clinical samples is improved using a neural network model trained on a large HLA peptide and genomic tumor dataset.

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.

Most steps in peptidoglycan biosynthesis are understood, but the lipid II binding properties to the flippases MurJ and FtsW remain unknown. Now, it has been shown that lipid II exhibits preferential binding to MurJ, which is modulated by ramoplanin and cardiolipins. These insights into the lipid II binding determinants suggest roles for lipids in regulating substrate binding.

Using valley-resolved scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, twisted WSe₂ bilayers are studied, including incommensurate dodecagon quasicrystals at 30° and commensurate moiré crystals at 21.8° and 38.2°.

Circular extrachromosomal DNA in high-risk medulloblastoma contributes to tumor heterogeneity and associates with relapse and survival. Enhancer rewiring events involving known oncogenes are frequent events, affecting transcription and proliferation.

Chronic inflammation, marked by C-reactive protein, has been associated with changes in methylation, but the causal relationship is unclear. Here, the authors perform a Epigenome-wide association meta-analysis for C-reactive protein levels and find that these methylation changes are likely the consequence of inflammation and could contribute to disease.

In Bacteroidetes, SusCD complexes mediate uptake of large nutrients across the outer membrane. SusCD structures in the apo state and in complex with β2,6 fructo-oligosaccharides reveal several substrate molecules in the binding cavity and suggest details of the pedal bin mechanism employed in glycan import.

A study aimed at revealing the role of small-scale fisheries in sustainable development shows they provide at least 40% of the global fishing catch and affect the livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the world, among other important contributions.

Understanding the emergence, evolution, and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is essential to combat antimicrobial resistance. Here, Munk et al. analyse ARGs in hundreds of sewage samples from 101 countries and describe regional patterns, diverse genetic environments of common ARGs, and ARG-specific transmission patterns.

Suthaharan et al. show that levels of paranoia increased in the general population during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, in association with more erratic belief updating. Government policies also played a role.

Using whole-genome data for single-nucleotide polymorphism and results from genome-wide association studies, the authors show that people’s preference for pairing with those with similar phenotypic traits has genetic causes and consequences.

Higher vitamin D is associated with improved pregnancy and live birth rates, but its potential role in the human offspring sex ratio in unknown. Here, the authors show that the levels of vitamin D at preconception are positively associated with male live birth, particularly among women presenting inflammatory markers.

This paper reports integrative molecular analyses of urothelial bladder carcinoma at the DNA, RNA, and protein levels performed as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas project; recurrent mutations were found in 32 genes, including those involved in cell-cycle regulation, chromatin regulation and kinase signalling pathways; chromatin regulatory genes were more frequently mutated in urothelial carcinoma than in any other common cancer studied so far.

Hyperbolic metamaterials exhibit interesting optical phenomena that could provide useful functionalities, if the losses can be reduced. Here Caldwell et al.show that hexagonal boron nitride supports hyperbolic polaritons, presenting a natural alternative to metamaterial systems.

Spin-polarized defects in 2D materials are attracting attention for future quantum technology applications, but their controlled fabrication is still challenging. Here, the authors report the creation and characterization of effective spin 1/2 defects via the atomically-precise generation of magnetic carbon radical ions in 2D WS₂.

Designing efficient Bayesian neural networks remains a challenge. Here, the authors use the cycle variation in the programming of the 2D memtransistors to achieve Gaussian random number generator-based synapses, and combine it with the complementary 2D memtransistors-based tanh function to implement a Bayesian neural network.

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.

Derailed differentiation of human-specific progenitors of the developing cerebellar rhombic lip is the cause of group 4 medulloblastoma, the most common childhood brain tumour. 

G_i/o protein-coupled receptors (G_i/o-GPCRs) limit β-cell insulin secretion by decreasing Ca²⁺ entry; however, the underlying mechanism has not been identified. Here, the authors show that G_i/o-GPCRs hyperpolarize mouse and human β-cell membrane potential by activating Na⁺/K⁺ATPases.

Protein microarrays are useful both in basic research and also in disease monitoring and diagnosis, but their dynamic range is limited. By using plasmonic gold substrates with near-infrared fluorescent enhancement, Tabakman et al. demonstrate a multiplexed protein array with improved detection limits and dynamic range.

Using molecular-beam epitaxy, we synthesize heterostructures of topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ and the Ising superconductor monolayer NbSe₂. By changing the Bi₂Se₃ thickness, they demonstrate a crossover from Ising- to Rashba-type superconducting pairing.

Molecular diagnostics for tuberculosis have focused on predicting drug susceptibilities in a binary manner (i.e., strains are either susceptible or resistant). Here, CRyPTIC Consortium researchers use whole genome sequencing and a quantitative assay to identify associations between genomic mutations and minimum inhibitory concentrations in over 15,000 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in children; having assembled over 1,000 samples the authors report that somatic copy number aberrations are common in medulloblastoma, in particular a tandem duplication of SNCAIP, a gene associated with Parkinson’s disease, which is restricted to subgroup 4α, and translocations of PVT1, which are restricted to Group 3.

Whole-genome alignment of 239 primate species reveals noncoding regulatory elements that are under selective constraint in primates but not in other placental mammals, that are enriched for variants that affect human gene expression and complex traits in diseases.

The incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma varies significantly across different geographical regions. Mutational signature analysis of tumors sampled from high- and low-incidence areas suggests that these variations may not be explained by mutagenic exposures.

Understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on being able to distinguish COVID-19 immune responses from cross-reactive immune responses to other coronaviruses. Here the authors show that choice of antigens and whether an ICS, ELISPOT or T cell proliferation assay is used has a major effect on this discriminatory ability.

A universal mechanical exfoliation method of creating freestanding membranes of complex-oxide materials with different crystal structures and orientations and stacking them to produce a range of artificial heterostructures with hybridized physical properties is described.

Single-crystal 2D metals are stabilized at the interface between epitaxial graphene and silicon carbide, with strong internal gradients in bonding character. The confined 2D metals demonstrate compelling superconducting properties.

Post-translational modification of histones has been implicated in gene regulation. Here, Lercher et al. generate synthetic GlcNAcylated histone 2A and nucleosomes and show that this modification can cause nucleosome destabilization, suggesting histone 2A O-GlcNAcylation may promote an open chromatin state and increase transcription.

Massively parallel DNA sequencing allows entire genomes to be screened for genetic changes associated with tumour progression. Here, the genomes of four DNA samples from a 44-year-old African-American patient with basal-like breast cancer were analysed. The samples came from peripheral blood, the primary tumour, a brain metastasis and a xenograft derived from the primary tumour. The findings indicate that cells with a distinct subset of the primary tumour mutation might be selected during metastasis and xenografting.

Synthetic lethality (SL) offers a new precision oncology approach, which is based on targeting cancer-specific vulnerabilities across the whole genome, going beyond cancer drivers. The authors develop an approach termed ISLE to identify clinically relevant SL interactions and use them for patient stratification and novel target identification.

Early-life complications modulate the association of genomic risk and schizophrenia.