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Functional tissue units (FTUs) form the basic building blocks of organs and are important for understanding and modeling their healthy physiological function and disease states. Here, the authors present a catalog of 22 anatomically based FTUs from 10 healthy human organs as part of an ongoing international effort to construct a Human Reference Atlas of all cells in the human body.

Acetic acid efficiently depolymerizes aliphatic and aromatic epoxy-amine thermosets used in carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) to yield recoverable monomers and pristine carbon fibres, which, based on process modelling, techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment, could enable industrial recycling of CFRPs.

Double-gyroid networks assemble in diverse soft materials, yet the molecular packing that underlies their complex structure remains obscure. Here, authors advance a theory that resolves a long-standing puzzle about their formation in block copolymers.

Lungs from patients who died from COVID-19 show atypical fused cells, the formation of which is mediated by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and drugs that inhibit TMEM16F can prevent spike-induced syncytia formation.

A phenotypic screen led to the identification of potent inhibitors of mouse BAK-driven apoptosis. The compounds interact with VDAC2 and stabilize its interaction with BAK, blocking apoptosis at an early stage to preserve long-term cell survival.

The outflow pathway of cerebrospinal fluid into lymph nodes in the neck and how non-invasive mechanical stimulation can enhance drainage and restore impaired outflow in aged mice are explored.

A connectome of the right optic lobe from a male fruitfly is presented together with an extensive collection of genetic drivers matched to a comprehensive neuron-type catalogue.

This study identifies a unique multiple sclerosis lesion, the broad rim lesion, which is associated with rapid disease progression and marked by a distinct inflammatory profile involving innate inflammation, cellular stress, unfolded protein response and apoptosis.

Mechanical forces modulate tumor cell phenotype, which in turn shapes the tumor microenvironment and contributes to downstream processes such as invasion and metastasis. Here authors show in primary patient-derived breast cancer explant cultures that low compression changes the tumour cells to a less differentiated state, leading to secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, which impacts the tumor resident immune cells.

Since their discovery more than fifty years ago, α-neurotoxins have been used to study acetylcholine receptor-coupled ion channels. Here, daCostaet al. find that toxin binding to a single site of the pentameric α7 receptor blocks function, suggesting the five binding sites are interdependent and the toxin arrests the sites in the inactive conformation.

Oxidative DNA damage is linked to cancer and aging, but its genomic effects remain hard to map. Here, authors develop a nanopore-based method using synthetic DNA and deep learning to detect 8- oxo-dG, revealing its distribution and interplay with DNA methylation.

Two nanobodies that bind SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD are shown to block interaction with receptor ACE2 and thus neutralize the virus, and have an additive effect with antibody CR3022.

Experiments in mice show that a cortico-thalamic circuit generates prediction-error signals in primary visual cortex that amplify visual input that deviates from animals’ expectations.

Inflammatory monocytes in the brain meninges promote stress-induced fear behaviour, and the pathways involved can be modulated using psychedelic compounds.

This study reports that herbivory-induced volatiles can trigger plant–soil feedbacks that boost performance and yields of cereals in the field.

Rapid accretion and differentiation of planetesimals in the outer Solar System is indicated by early crystallization ages in a carbonaceous dunite sample dated by in-situ Al-Mg isotope analysis.

Mitochondrial diseases lead to chronic health impairment, aggravated by infections and other environmental exposures. Here authors show, in a mouse model of polymerase gamma (Polg)-related mitochondrial disease, that Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection prompts innate immune hyperreactivity via interferon-mediated upregulation of caspase11 and guanylate-binding proteins, leading to lung inflammation.

Extremely high-resolution simulations reveal that interstellar medium-type turbulence significantly deviates from classical magnetized turbulence models.

Beck et al. conducted single-cell and spatial profiling of embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes, finding that malignant cellular hierarchies are driven by developmental programs and specific members of the chromosome 19 microRNA cluster.

There is an abundance of solar observational data taken by various instrumentation with different quality and resolutions. Here, the authors provide a deep learning framework for instrument-to-instrument translation of solar observation data, enabling homogenized data series of multi-instrument data sets.

The cGAS-STING pathway senses cytosolic DNA to activate interferon responses, but has also been implicated in autophagy induction. Here the authors show that, during herpes simplex virus infection, cGAS-induced autophagy is mediated by TBK1-induced TRIM23 phosphorylation and downstream signaling events to assist in antiviral immunity.

Natural killer cells can act as rheostats, or ‘master regulators’, controlling antiviral T-cell responses.

The mechanisms underlying the activity of non-receptor tyrosine kinase, TNK1, in cancers are unclear. Here the authors show that MARK mediates 14-3-3 and TNK1 interaction which restrains TNK1 activity, while the release of TNK1 from 14-3-3 leads to TNK1 activation through its interaction with ubiquitin and thus results in TNK1-mediated tumor growth in vivo

El-Shennawy et al. report that ACE2⁺ circulating extracellular vesicles (evACE2) are associated with COVID-19 severity and that evACE2 inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern at a higher efficacy than soluble ACE2.

Two EEG studies in healthy human adults suggest that choice history and stimulus probability-induced biases in somatosensory perception are reflected in distinct prestimulus beta power modulations across distinct cortical regions.

In vivo gene delivery to haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in newborn mice using engineered lentiviral vectors shows promise as an effective treatment for genetic diseases.

Ohenhen et al. used space geodetic measurements to rigorously quantify land subsidence in the 28 most populous US cities. They find that over 20% of the area in each city is sinking, affecting approximately 34 million people and placing more than 29,000 buildings at high risk of damage.

The computational mechanism by which the mediodorsal (MD) thalamus enhances prefrontal activity to enable cognitive flexibility in context-dependent decision making is not fully understood. Here authors build a computational model incorporating genetically identified thalamocortical connectivity and interneuron cell types. Together with experimental testing, authors show that addition of a feedforward MD thalamus to the recurrent prefrontal cortex circuit increases robustness to low cueing signal-to-noise ratio, enhances working memory, and enables rapid context switching.

Multi-resonant Au/Si particles exhibit unique photoluminescence spectra, enabling creation of physical unclonable functions with sub-diffraction-limited critical sizes. These findings pave the way for advanced anti-counterfeiting and cryptography.

The composition and characteristics of a C-rich clast within the LaPaz Icefield 02342 meteorite suggests that the clast is composed of materials related to comets and icy bodies. The clast probably formed in the outer Solar System, was transported inward and finally accreted into LaPaz’s parent body.

DREDge is a software tool for motion correction of high-density electrophysiology recordings. It can handle action potential or local field potential data and is demonstrated on a variety of acute or chronic recordings from humans, nonhuman primates and mice.

How the navigational system of the brain constructs spatial maps that require both rapid changes and representational accuracy is explored.

Tumor cells can evade immune detection by downregulating commonly recognized antigens, presenting a major challenge for effective immunotherapy. In this first-in-human study, the authors showed that the activation of T cells recognizing a new class of tumor antigens presented by immunotherapy-escaped tumor cells is safe and may lead to clinical benefit.

Anti-TNF CAR macrophages show anti-inflammatory efficacy in both acute and chronic inflammatory disease mouse models.

PIGEON is a statistical framework that uses summary statistics from genome-wide interaction studies to estimate how genes and environments jointly influence human complex traits.

A genetic study of natural variation in potato tuberization onset, an important phenotype for breeding potatoes adapted to different global day lengths, has revealed a role for StCDF1, a member of the DOF family of transcription factors.

The authors use experimental and modelling approaches to understand the response of microbial photosynthesis to peatland warming. They show that warming amplifies microbial photosynthesis, which could offset rising CO₂ emissions from northern peatlands by 6.0–13.7% in 2100 (SSP 2-4.5–SSP 5-8.5).

Precise control over both sequence and chirality remains a challenge in polymer chemistry. Here sulfur–fluoride exchange and sulfur–phenolate exchange reactions are used to create chiral oligosulfonimidates with tunable sulfur-centred chirality. This strategy enables precise three-dimensional structural control over oligomers and polymers, marking a step towards fully nature-mimicking macromolecules.