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Many complex properties of real networks appear as consequences of a small set of their basic properties. Here, the authors show thatdk-random graphs that reproduce degree distributions, degree correlations, and clustering in real networks, reproduce a variety of their other properties as well.

Regulating guest access and release in porous materials remains an important goal. Here, May and colleagues elucidate the mechanism by which guest admission can be temperature-regulated in typical microporous materials, and experimentally exploit this process to achieve appreciable and reversible hydrogen storage.

Sensitive and label-free imaging methods to visualize nerve degeneration are currently lacking. Here authors show that stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy can be used to monitor peripheral nerve degeneration in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and in postmortem tissue from ALS patients.

Electronic devices and sensors that can sustain large amounts of mechanical deformability enable new applications. Here, the authors present a new type of highly deformable liquid-state electronic device, taking advantage of the inherent property of the liquid phase.

Braiding by topological defects in an active nematic fluid produces macroscopic chaotic advection, such that the defects themselves act as effective stirring rods. The resultant mixing is revealed to be a result of sliding on a molecular scale.

Biodiversity researchers have focused on diversity at the cost of ignoring the networks of interactions between organisms that characterize ecosystems.

JWST–NIRSpec spectroscopic confirmation of two luminous galaxies is presented, proving that luminous galaxies were already in place 300 million years after the Big Bang and are more common than what was expected before JWST.

Complexes of iron in high oxidation states play a pivotal role as active intermediates in numerous catalytic processes. Now, using a multimethod approach on a single molecular system, it has been shown that a stable high-valent Fe(VI) nitride can be converted to a reactive, superoxidized, heptavalent Fe(VII) nitride.

Observations from the JWST MIRI/LRS show the detection of SO₂ spectral features in the 5–12-μm transmission spectrum of the hot, Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b, suggesting that photochemistry is a key process in high-temperature exoplanet atmospheres.

Haematopoiesis has high clonal diversity up to about 65 years of age, after which diversity drops precipitously owing to positive selection acting on a handful of clones that expand exponentially throughout adulthood.

Humans, and many other species, carry a large set of beneficial microbes. Here, the authors present new theory and data to argue that these vital relationships only work when hosts can control their microbiome and suppress wayward symbionts.

Barrett’s esophagus is a pre-malignant condition that can progress to esophageal cancer. Here, the authors carry out whole genome sequencing of samples from patients who did or did not progress to cancer and find that mutations in many genes occur regardless of progression status, but also find features associated with progressive disease.

Vaccination against COVID-19 has shown activation of different immune cell types. Here the authors characterise the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine using longitudinal CyTOF single cell approaches to characterise antigen specific B and T-cell responses promoted by this vaccine.

Non-classical crystallization may proceed through formation of intermediate phases, but it is not known whether these are linked to the final crystallization. Here, using an atomic force microscope at 90 bar, brucite carbonation is directly observed, with an amorphous intermediate acting as the seed for crystalline nesquehonite.

Courtney et al. found that the C-terminal amphipathic helix of a presynaptic protein, complexin, can dramatically remodel phospholipid bilayers. This activity enables complexin to increase the size and stability of SNARE-mediated fusion pores.

Individually addressable ‘T centre’ photon-spin qubits are integrated in silicon photonic structures and their spin-dependent telecommunications-band optical transitions characterized, creating opportunities to construct silicon-integrated, telecommunications-band quantum information networks.

The longstanding goal of combining the optical sectioning of light-sheet illumination and the resolving power of multidirectional structured illumination microscopy is realized using an oblique plane microscope for improved fast 3D subcellular imaging.

A citywide experiment tested the effects of three high-pay-off, geo-targeted lotteries to motivate adults to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Zip-code-targeted lotteries in which residents were given 50–100× boosts in their chances of a win did not result in higher vaccine uptake.

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants raise concerns on immune evasion. Here, the authors evaluate the neutralization efficiency of COVID-19 mRNA vaccinee sera against representative viruses of 13 WHO-designated SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern/interest.

Identifying the designers of engineered biological sequences would help promote biotechnological innovation while holding designers accountable. Here the authors present the winners of a 2020 data-science competition which improved on previous attempts to attribute plasmid sequences.

G-quadruplex (G4) forming sequences are highly enriched in the human genome and function as important regulators of diverse range of biological processes. Here the authors show that while G4 structures on template strand block transcription, folding on the non-template strand enhances transcription by means of successive R-loop formation.

Streptomyces bacteria have a linear chromosome, with core genes located in the central region and gene clusters for specialized metabolite biosynthesis found in the ‘arms’. Here, Lioy et al. show that such chromosome structure correlates with genetic compartmentalization, and the onset of metabolic differentiation is accompanied by a rearrangement of chromosome architecture.

The utility of AsCas12a can be limited to poor editing efficiency. Here the authors identify a variant, “AsCas12a Ultra”, that has high on-target specificity demonstrated through editing of clinically relevant T cell genes.

A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.

To highlight uncertain norms in authorship, John P. A. Ioannidis, Richard Klavans and Kevin W. Boyack identified the most prolific scientists of recent years.

Moiré materials are an emerging class of strongly correlated quantum materials designed by the rotational or lattice misalignment of 2D crystals. This Review discusses how local probe techniques are uniquely positioned to elucidate the microscopic mechanisms underlying the electronic phases in moiré materials.

The epigenetic changes underlying the heterogeneity of RA disease presentation have been the subject of intense scrutiny. In this study, the authors use multiple single-cell sequencing datasets to define ‘chromatin superstates’ in patients with RA, which associate with distinct transcription factors and disease phenotypes.

The flavoenzyme nicotine oxidoreductase degrades nicotine in the bloodstream. Now, genetic selection in bacteria has been used to improve the catalytic performance of nicotine oxidoreductase, isolating variants with increased O₂ reactivity that were more effective at degrading nicotine in the blood of rats.

Advanced photonic probes are important for the development of non-contact wafer-scale testing of photonic chips. Here, Vynck et al. develop a quantitative technique based on mapping of transmittance variations by ultrafast perturbations to analyze arbitrary linear multi-port photonic devices.

By implanting ¹¹⁷Sn, a fibre-packaged nanophotonic diamond waveguide with optically addressable hyperfine transitions separated by 452 MHz is demonstrated. This enables the formation of a spin-gated optical switch and achieving a waveguide-to-fibre extraction efficiency of 57%.

The shift in fluorescence lifetime of tumour tissue with respect to normal tissue after systemic injection of the near-infrared dye indocyanine green can be used to distinguish tumour tissue from normal tissue with high accuracy.

SH2 domains are challenging to target using small molecules. Here, the authors develop phosphotyrosine-based covalent ligands of the E3 ligase SOCS2 using structure-based design. A pro-drug approach yields cell active inhibitors that block SOCS2 substrate recruitment.

SNAREs mediate the formation of a fusion pore during exocytosis which connects the lumen of a vesicle with the extracellular space. Here, authors use single molecule approaches to define the role of synaptotagmin 1 and NSF in synaptic pore formation and dissolution.

OTULIN is a deubiquitinase for linear ubiquitin chains. Here the authors show, using genetic mouse models and single-cell RNA-sequencing, that deficiency of OTULIN in keratinocytes causes skin inflammation and verrucous carcinoma via the induction of keratinocyte death, thereby implicating a function of OTULIN in keratinocyte homeostasis.

Temporal changes in brain dynamics are linked with cognitive abilities, but neither their stability nor relationship to psychosis is clear. Here, authors describe the dynamic neural architecture in healthy controls and patients with psychosis and find that they are stable over time and can predict psychotic symptoms.

The development of a drug delivery system capable of prolonged retention in the gastrointestinal tract remains a clinical challenge. Here the authors present a bio-adhesive liquid coacervate coating on the intestinal tract that acts as a flowable drug carrier, mediates the sustained release of diverse drugs, and potentially enhances therapeutic efficacy against gastrointestinal diseases.

Oxygen vacancies can impart interesting properties in complex oxides, but specific architectures designed to create high-density oxygen vacancies are largely unknown. Here the authors report a fluorite-bixbyite nanobrush platform to tune interfacial oxygen and show that an atomically well-defined heterointerface can induce charge modulation.

Using mantle plumes to reconstruct past plate motion is complicated, because plumes may not be fixed. Here, the authors demonstrate using ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages that the Rurutu plume is relatively stable compared to the rapidly moving Hawaiian plume, yet it has a similar deep mantle origin.

Lithium ion battery electrodes employing anion redox exhibit high energy densities but suffer from poor cyclability. Here the authors reveal that the voltage of anion redox is strongly affected by structural changes that occur during battery cycling, explaining its unique electrochemical properties.

Multiple drugs have been in the past associated with myocarditis. Here the authors perform a pharmacovigilance study and analyze 5108 reports of drug-induced myocarditis reporting temporal trends and overall mortality and identifying emerging drug classes among the treatments associated with myocarditis.

A combined analysis of SARS-CoV-2 viral load and whole-genome sequences from COVID-19 patients, including some who were previously vaccinated, reveals that vaccine breakthrough infections are more commonly associated with antibody-resistant SARS-CoV-2 variants than infections in unvaccinated individuals, and that symptomatic breakthrough infections may be as efficient in spreading COVID-19 as unvaccinated infections.

Genome-wide association analyses of 41,917 bipolar disorder cases and 371,549 controls of European ancestry provide new insights into the etiology of this disorder and identify novel therapeutic leads and potential opportunities for drug repurposing.

City-level analysis of data from the SALURBAL project shows vast heterogeneity in life expectancy across cities within the same country, in addition to substantive differences in causes of death among nine Latin American countries, revealing modifiable factors that could be leveraged by municipal-level policies aimed toward improving health in urban environments.

Using a three-dimensional multi-resolution method the early events leading to the cellular uptake of peptide-modified nanoparticles are visualized in real time.

An extreme Einstein ring ~10,000 times as bright as the Milky Way in the infrared is studied with VLT/ERIS and ALMA, and the authors find that the lensed galaxy is a starburst with a fast-rotating disk, rather than being driven by a major merger.

A nested orbit-to-ground approach for microbial landscape patterns at different scales, tested in the high Andes, provides a machine learning-based search tool for detecting biosignatures on terrestrial planets.

Measurements of subclonal expansion of ctDNA in the plasma before surgery may enable the prediction of future metastatic subclones, offering the possibility for early intervention in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.