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Multi-ancestry genome-wide analyses identify 95 loci associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and implicate candidate genes, pathways and neurobiological systems underlying its pathophysiology.

Global environmental change complicates the goal of securing adequate nutrition for a growing world population. This study assesses the per capita availability of food nutrients for various scenarios to the year 2050. Results suggest that economic growth will expand food and macronutrient access more than climate change will suppress it, but that micronutrient inadequacies will plague some regions.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Case report of an individual heterozygous for a rare RELN-COLBOS variant that confers resilience, via a gain-of-function mechanism, to Alzheimer’s disease.

Circulating tumour DNA profiling in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer can be used to track single-nucleotide variants in plasma to predict lung cancer relapse and identify tumour subclones involved in the metastatic process.

Observations from the Lucy spacecraft of the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh reveals unexpected complexity, with a longitudinal trough and equatorial ridge, as well as the discovery of the first contact binary satellite.

A single field-enhanced terahertz pulse was used to create 1\({T}^{{\prime} }\)-MoTe₂ out of few-layer H-MoTe₂ crystals, providing insights into the ultrafast polymorphic transition dynamics and resolving a long-standing debate over the realization of this transition by high-energy photon irradiation.

A method of endowing thermoset plastics with a degree of recyclability and reprocessability by incorporating cleavable chemical linkages in the strands of the polymer, rather than in the crosslinks, is presented.

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.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and strength associated with physical disability during ageing. Here, the authors analyse muscle biopsies from 119 patients with sarcopenia and age-matched controls of different ethnic groups and find transcriptional signatures indicating mitochondrial dysfunction, associated with reduced mitochondria numbers and lower NAD⁺ levels in older individuals with sarcopenia.

Post-international travel quarantine has been widely implemented to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but the impacts of such policies are unclear. Here, the authors used linked genomic and contact tracing data to assess the impacts of a 14-day quarantine on return to England in summer 2020.

Magnons—quanta of spin waves—have potential applications in signal processing technology. But it is challenging to obtain coupling between different magnons. Now a study achieves this by demonstrating nonlinear magnon mixing in an antiferromagnet.

Inducing coherent interactions between distinct magnon modes—collective excitations of magnetic order—has been challenging. A canted antiferromagnet has demonstrated coherent magnon upconversion induced by terahertz laser pulses.

Genetic and testing data from England show that the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7 has a transmission advantage over other lineages.

An orally bioavailable small-molecule active-site inhibitor of the phosphatases PTPN2 and PTPN1, ABBV-CLS-484, demonstrates immunotherapeutic efficacy in mouse models of cancer resistant to PD-1 blockade.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) has led to the cure of HIV in one individual, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors present a model of allo-HCT in SHIV-infected nonhuman primates and show that the SHIV reservoir persists in multiple tissues early after transplantation.

For over half a century, temperature wave was deemed exotic and mattered only at extremely low temperatures. Here, the authors reported direct observation of second sound, signature of the temperature wave, at a record-high temperature of over 200 K.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Exciton-polaritons present opportunities for quantum photonics, next generation qubits, and tuning material photophysics. Here Laitz et al. study the temperature dependence of 2D perovskite microcavity polaritons, revealing material-specific relaxation mechanisms towards the control of polariton momentum.

Genome-wide association analyses based on whole-genome sequencing and imputation identify 40 new risk variants for colorectal cancer, including a strongly protective low-frequency variant at CHD1 and loci implicating signaling and immune function in disease etiology.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health problem. Here, the authors report a GWAS from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium in which they identify two risk loci in European ancestry and one locus in African ancestry individuals and find that PTSD is genetically correlated with several other psychiatric traits.

A terahertz camera based on an upconversion mechanism to the visible range can image both THz polarization state and field strength.

Our perception of a speech sound tends to remain stable despite variation in people’s vocal characteristics. Here, by measuring neural activity as people listened to speech from different voices, the authors provide evidence for speaker normalization processes in the human auditory cortex.

Multiple genetic variants have been identified that influence the outcome of HIV infection. Carrington and colleagues investigate the mechanism of one of the strongest variants, rs1015164, and show that it influences expression of a lncRNA controlling CCR5 expression.

A genome-wide association study identifies 17 genetic loci that are associated with the risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), and shows that the modulation of haematopoietic stem cell function drives MPN risk.

Genomic analyses of major clades of huge phages sampled from across Earth’s ecosystems show that they have diverse genetic inventories, including a variety of CRISPR–Cas systems and translation-relevant genes.

An innovative technique uses ultrafast below-bandgap electric-field pulses to induce and probe an insulator–metal transition in an oxide thin film on which a metamaterial structure has been deposited.

According to Fourier theory, thermal transport is a diffusive process. However, this cannot be the case at length scales smaller than the mean free path of the energy carriers. The first experimental study of thermal transport at the nanoscale is now reported in the case of a point-like heat source, providing a quantitative description of the transition between the ballistic and diffusive regimes.

The influence of X chromosome genetic variation on blood lipids and coronary heart disease (CHD) is not well understood. Here, the authors analyse X chromosome sequencing data across 65,322 multi-ancestry individuals, identifying associations of the Xq23 locus with lipid changes and reduced risk of CHD and diabetes mellitus.

Protective efficacy of novel vaccine candidates in rhesus monkeys opens new paths for the development of an HIV-1 vaccine.

Bullet-proof materials made of nanostructured composites outperform conventional materials, yet little is known of their nanoscale response to high-speed impact. Using laser-propelled microscopic projectiles, Lee et al.directly visualize this process in layered nanocomposites.

Direct measurement of electron-phonon interactions at the single-mode level has been a challenge. Here, Liaoet al. use a three-pulse photoacoustic spectroscopy technique to investigate the damping of a single sub-terahertz coherent phonon mode by photo-excited free charge carriers in silicon at room temperature.

Photoluminescence blinking is a ubiquitous phenomenon that detrimentally reduces emission stability and quantum yield. Now, an all-optical method, which employs ultrafast mid-infrared pulses, can effectively suppress the blinking of single CdSe/CdS core–shell quantum dots.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

Extreme mechanical deformation processes can lead to nanograins in many metals, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Nanotwinning-assisted dynamic recrystallization is shown to facilitate grain refinement to the nanoscale at high strains and strain rates.

An integrated methodology that includes climate, crop, economic and life cycle assessment models was developed to explore the climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities throughout the US potato and tomato supply chains. This study shows that supply chains for two popular processed products in the United States, French fries and pasta sauce, will be remarkably resilient, through planting adaptation strategies.

To what extent the charge carriers can alter phonon heat conduction at environmental temperatures through electron–phonon interactions is an open question. Here, the authors demonstrate substantial reduction in thermal conductivity at high charge carrier densities due to significant phonon scatterings by electrons.

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.

Nanoarchitected materials have predominantly been studied in the quasi-static regime. Here, the supersonic microparticle impact regime for three-dimensional nanomaterials is uncovered, showcasing extreme energy dissipation and a predictive framework for damage.