Search

The capacity of a plasmid to express genes is constrained by parameters such as its length and copy number. Here, Maddamsetti et al. present a computational method that enables rapid and accurate determination of plasmid copy numbers at a large scale, revealing fundamental constraints on these parameters and thus on plasmid evolution and functional organization.

Shared inter-brain neural dynamics, reflecting aspects of social interaction including self and other’s behaviours, arise in GABAergic neurons of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of socially interacting mice, as well as in the neurons of socially interacting artificial intelligence agents.

Distal gene regulation is increasingly recognised as a major contributor to complex trait variability. Here, the authors show that a heritable, biologically interpretable transcriptome signature driven by distal regulation predicts metabolic traits across mice and humans.

Vaccination provides protection from COVID-19, but optimization in design and route is an ever-ongoing process. Here the authors pursue an open-label, multi-arm phase I clinical trial to report the safety of a multi-valent, aerosol vaccine administered via inhalation, as well as superior mucosal immunity induced by ChAd over HuAd vectors.

ACTA2 p.R179 variants cause pediatric strokes due to moyamoya disease (MMD)-like occlusions. Here, the authors show that Acta2^R179C/+ smooth muscle cells are immature, causing MMD-like lesions that are reversed by altering cellular metabolism.

A modelling study suggests that Mars had a desert-like climate with intermittent liquid-water oases regulated by a negative feedback among solar luminosity, liquid water and carbonate formation.

The Einstein Probe has discovered a fast X-ray transient, EP240414a, associated with a broad-lined type Ic supernova. Its unusually soft spectrum and weak jet add to the diversity of stellar deaths and suggest a previously unknown Wolf–Rayet star explosion mechanism.

Zeinert et al. provide cryo-EM structures of the E. coli Mg²⁺ importer MgtA: unexpectedly, this P-type ATPase is a dimer with an uncommon transmembrane ion-binding site and knotted N-terminus, which are functionally important features.

Cellular senescence drives aging, with the p53–FOXO4 axis sustaining senescent cell viability. This study reveals structural insights into p53 binding to FOXO4/FOXO4-DRI, informing the development of p53-targeted senolytics for age related diseases.

Children can learn language from very little experience, and explaining this ability has been a major challenge in cognitive science. Here, the authors combine the flexible representations of neural networks with the structured learning biases of Bayesian models to help explain rapid language learning.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a ___location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

The role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in human cortical development remains largely unexplored. Here authors investigate CHRNA7 and CHRFAM7A, uncovering their involvement in radial glial cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation, and identify YAP1 as a downstream effector of cholinergic signaling.

Bats harbor diverse viruses but it’s less clear how they tolerate infection. Here, by characterizing innate immune responses in bat cells the authors show that IFN-beta signaling resists antagonistic activity by viruses and identify interferon stimulated genes with enhanced antiviral activity.

The study of isotopes away from the beta stability valley is crucial for the understanding of nuclear structure, especially for neutron-deficient heavy nuclei. Here, the authors report the observation of the alpha-decay isotope 210-protactinium (Pa), extending the alpha-decay systematics of underexplored regions of the nuclides chart.

While Bell inequalities have been violated several times—mostly in photonic systems—their violations within particle physics experiments are less explored. Here, the BESIII Collaboration showcases Bell-violating nonlocal correlations between entangled hyperon pairs.

Using Kepler, this study identifies a compact multiplanetary system that is not flat, where gravitational interactions cause its planets’ periods to change by nearly a day per cycle and their orbital planes to tilt back and forth.

Macrophage-augmented organoids integrate macrophages into organoids that are cultured from human liver tissue for analysis of immune responses during three different viral infections.

A hybrid extracellular matrix–hydrogel with tunable mechanical stiffness and biochemical composition of young or aged cardiac tissue is used to identify the specific contributions of extracellular matrix ligands and mechanics for fibroblast aging.

Xu, Meng, St-Germain et al. report that S1P in HDL induces a calcium signalling cascade involving E-Syt1 that ultimately promotes the formation of contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane, as well as HDL-derived cholesterol transport.

An aromatic metallo-annulene, comprising a 15-carbon macrocycle enclosing an osmium complex, with the metal residing within the plane of the macrocycle is reported.

The functions of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in cancer remain to be studied. Here the authors show that the snoRNA Snord67 promotes lymph node metastasis of breast cancer cells through guiding modifications of the spliceosome and regulating the splicing landscape.

Deep-sea hydrothermal plumes support an array of microbial metabolisms, but the fate of organic carbon in these systems is unknown. Here, the authors used metabolic rate assays and metagenomic data to show that heterotrophic bacteria contribute significantly to carbon cycling in the deep sea.

Fang and colleagues show that the metabolite succinate can inhibit succinylation, and consequently protection from ubiquitin-mediated degradation, of the transcription factor FOXP3, with consequences on T_reg cell-suppressive function and IBD pathology.

Species’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. Here, the authors find that dominant tree species are taller and have softer wood compared to rare species and that these trait differences are more strongly associated with temperature than water availability.

The mechanisms of intratumoral subtype heterogeneity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unclear. Here, the authors analyse PDAC tumours and preclinical models using multi-omics and imaging; they demonstrate that AP1 dichotomy influences tumor plasticity, heterogeneity, and immune response, with potential therapeutic implications.

Polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer’s disease derived from individuals of European ancestry can show improved performance in multiancestry settings after incorporating genome-wide association summary statistics from diverse populations.

The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues Network aims to create a reference catalogue of somatic mosaicism across different tissues and cells within individuals.

Wang, Wang, Pan and colleagues uncover a C864–C869 disulfide linkage stimulated by viral RNA that drives RIG-I activation, phase separation and stimulates downstream innate immune signalling.

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.

Wastewater treatment plants are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, the authors analyze ARGs in a global collection of samples from wastewater treatment plants across six continents, providing insights into biotic and abiotic mechanisms that appear to control ARG diversity and distribution.

Adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by pathogenic CSF1R mutations. Here the authors find that microglial loss is linked to reduced myelinating oligodendrocytes, an expansion of neuropilin-2⁺ oligodendrocytes and a maladaptive stress response in astrocytes.

Enteric viral diseases pose major global health burdens. Here, Xu et al. establish macrophage-augmented intestinal organoids to study pathophysiology and antiviral response of enteric viral infections. The organoids also facilitate testing of combination treatments that target virus infection and inflammatory signalling.

Dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria produce saxitoxin (STX) congeners that block voltage-gated sodium channels. Here authors show how amphibians may sequester STX congeners using a ‘lock and key’ mode, expanding the understanding of toxic sponge action.

Researchers demonstrated integrated non-magnetic isolators with 24.5-dB contrast, –2.16-dB insertion loss and 2-THz (16-nm) optical bandwidth.

Using satellite and carbon-flux data, the authors show that enhanced gross primary productivity in recent decades is driven primarily by increases in the rate, rather than the duration, of carbon uptake. They highlight asymmetric changes in productivity across seasons, which may worsen under climate change.

Ultrasound-driven microbubbles are promising candidates for drug delivery, but the mechanism of action is unclear. Now, single microbubbles induce drug uptake through cyclic microjets formed at mild ultrasound pressures via interfacial instability.

Chromosome-level genome assemblies of nine tetraploid and two diploid wild Oryza species provide insights into genome evolution within the genus Oryza and the potential for crop improvement and neodomestication.

MultiSTAAR provides a general and flexible statistical framework for functionally informed multi-trait rare variant analysis of biobank-scale sequencing studies by jointly analyzing multiple traits and incorporating annotation information.

In preclinical studies, the FDA approved TSP-1 antagonist gabapentin has been shown to disrupt neuronal-glioma interactions, slowing glioblastoma progression. Here, authors report a retrospective cohort study demonstrating a survival benefit associated with gabapentin in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Spin ices are magnetic materials in which excitations equivalent to monopoles can occur. Using high-pressure techniques, Zhouet al. synthesize a new member of the spin ice family, Dy₂Ge₂O₇, in which monopoles exist at higher densities, and can stabilize as dimers.

The APOE4 allele is a major genetic risk factor for the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this manuscript, Butovsky and colleagues suggest that APOE4 impairs the microglial response in AD by inducing TGFβ-mediated checkpoints.

The semileptonic decay channels of the Λc baryon can give important insights into weak interaction, but decay into a neutron, positron and electron neutrino has not been reported so far, due to difficulties in the final products’ identification. Here, the BESIII Collaboration reports its observation in e+e- collision data, exploiting machine-learning-based identification techniques.

Material implementation of machine learning algorithms for advanced computing at cryogenic temperature remains rare. Here, the authors report a cryogenic in-memory computing platform using chiral edge states of magnetic topological insulators.

This Review considers how DNA methylation-based biomarkers can be used to monitor brain ageing and stratify neurological disease risk. The authors focus on epigenetic clocks, which can be applied across multiple tissues to estimate biological ageing, and blood-based epigenetic scores, which can track brain-based phenotypes and risk factors for neurological disease.

The authors report on acoustic loudness factor (ALF), which can be used to benchmark small-molecule photoacoustic probes, analogous to fluorescence brightness. The ALF enables the direct comparison of probes used for photoacoustic imaging.

Mutations of the histone H3K36-specific methyltransferase ASH1L have been linked to several human diseases. Here, the authors report the mechanism by which three C-terminal domains in ASH1L regulate its enzymatic activity and interact with chromatin.

Introducing spin–orbit coupling by substrate proximity effect leads to an enhancement of superconducting phases in rhombohedral trilayer graphene.

Combination radiotherapy (RT) + αPD-L1 enhances tumor control via a tumor-draining lymph node (TdLN)-derived CD8+ PD-1+ TCF-1+ T cells. RT + αPD-L1 induces a novel LY6A+ subset in the TdLN that migrates to the tumor and differentiates into effectors.