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The shape of plant organs shows low variability. Sepals of the same age look the same. Here the authors identify one transcription factor (DRMY1) crucial for sepal size reproducibility, and its effect on initiation timing and growth of the organ.

Gene discovery and polygenic predictions from a genome-wide association study of educational attainment in 1.1 million individuals.

A universal interface connects soft, rigid and encapsulation modules together to form robust, stretchable devices in a plug-and-play manner by pressing without using pastes, which will simplify and accelerate development of on-skin and implantable devices.

Multi-iron nitrides are implicated as potential key intermediates in biological nitrogen fixation and the industrial Haber–Bosch process, but well-described functional model systems are rare. Now, a well-defined thiolate-bridged Fe^IVFe^IV μ-nitrido complex has been found to show excellent reactivity toward hydrogenation with H₂ through a stepwise pathway to form ammonia in high yield.

Atom-scale analysis of hydrogen and other elements at the grain boundaries of a 7xxx aluminium alloy shows that co-segregation of elements favours grain boundary decohesion, and that hydrogen embrittlement is prevented by strong partitioning into the second-phase particles.

Covalent organic frameworks can utilize π-stacking interactions for the formation of ordered, layered frameworks. Here, the authors report an ordered framework with tailored π-interactions resulting in periodic ordering in three dimensions, which leads to enhanced stability and electronic properties.

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.

Genetic screening identifies a rich catalogue of regulators of micronucleus formation.

Cooper pairs that form with finite centre-of-mass momentum are rare. Now there is evidence that this can happen below the Pauli limit in a bilayer material.

Assembled helical maquettes have been used to mimic basic oxidoreductase activities, but the requisite design symmetry limited advanced functions. Construction of a single-chain protein now enables intra- and interprotein electron transfer and complex cofactor interactions at rates comparable to those of natural proteins.

The millimetre image of the Centaurus A nucleus by the Event Horizon Telescope reveals a highly collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet. The source’s event horizon shadow should be visible at terahertz frequencies, consistent with the universal scale invariance of black holes.

Accelerated storage of terrestrial carbon during the slow warming period (1998–2012) can be predominantly attributed to lower land-use emissions due to decreased tropical forest loss and increased afforestation in the northern temperate regions.

A strategy for cooperation in repeated games, called cumulative reciprocity, is proposed. This strategy is robust with respect to errors, enforces fair outcomes, and evolves in environments that are usually hostile to cooperation.

Micro-crystal electron diffraction (MicroED) has shown great potential for the structure determination of crystals that are too small for X-ray diffraction but MicroED sample preparation remains challenging. Here, the authors present Preassis, a pressure-assisted method for the preparation of MicroED specimens and demonstrate that Preassis can be applied to a wide range of protein crystal suspensions with low and high viscosities, as well as those with low crystal concentrations.

Amino acid changes in a newly identified spike epitope enabled the Delta variant to evade a population antibody response.

Xu et al. use single-cell transcriptomics to reveal that targeted and systemic partial reprogramming restore the production of neuronal progenitors and new neurons in old mice and show a cell-autonomous effect of reprogramming in cultures of aged neural stem cells.

An unusual flavour of critical phenomena with a stable quantum critical phase of matter is observed in a strongly correlated material and linked to the underlying lattice structure.

Using a sample of more than 1 million individuals, Hatoum et al. identify genomic loci associated with general and substance-specific addiction risk.

Metal single-atom catalysts offer great potential in bridging the gap between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis. Here the authors demonstrate a multilayer stabilization strategy for fabricating high-loading single-atom catalysts including non-precious and noble metals.

PbFeO₃ is part of a family of lead based perovskites with many intriguing properties; however, difficulties in synthesis have hampered investigation. Here, the authors present a detailed study of the structure of PbFeO₃ observing unique charge ordering and spin orientation among the constituent ions.

At the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, observations of two meson species produced by heavy-ion collisions, ϕ and K^*0, show surprising patterns of global spin alignment, being unexpectedly large and consistent with zero, respectively.

Quantum electrodynamics predicts a rare process in which light is scattered by light. The ATLAS Collaboration reports signs of this elusive effect in the collisions of ultra-relativistic lead ions.

The measurement of the total cross-section of proton–proton collisions is of fundamental importance for particle physics. Here, the first measurement of the inelastic cross-section is presented for proton–proton collisions at an energy of 7 teraelectronvolts using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of CaNi₂ shows a band with vanishing dispersion across the full 3D Brillouin zone that is identified with the pyrochlore flat band as well as two additional flat bands that arise from multi-orbital interference of Ni d-electrons.

Exhaustion is the functional deterioration of T cells following chronic stimulation. Here, Wu et al. show that mitochondrial dysfunction drives T cell exhaustion by inhibiting HIF-1α degradation and transcriptional metabolic reprogramming.

The near telomere-to-telomere genome of Physcomitrium patens reveals 26 chromosomes and new genome structures, while also identifying new telomeres, an improved chromosomal karyotype model and intriguing differences in 3D genome models between the protonema and gametophore stages, which offer promising prospects for future research.

Kistamicin is a structurally divergent glycopeptide antibiotic (GPA) that contains a unique 15-membered A-O-B ring. Here, the authors obtained a crystal structure of the kistamicin OxyA/X-___domain complex and analysed the cyclisation cascade leading to the formation of the A-O-B ring.

Better analytical methods are needed to extract biological meaning from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric disorders. Here the authors take GWAS data from over 60,000 subjects, including patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, and identify common etiological pathways shared amongst them.

Insulin sensitivity declines with age via unclear mechanisms. Here, the authors show that the activity of membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is increased with ageing, leading to cleavage of the insulin receptor, and show that metabolic effects can be rescued by MT1-MMP inhibition in mice.

The GDF15–GFRAL axis is key for regulating energy homeostasis and body weight. Membrane-bound matrix metalloproteinase 14 is shown to negatively regulate GFRAL, whereas its downregulation protects against diet-induced obesity through increased GDF15 signaling.

Liver resident CD8 T cells have an essential role in immunopathology in a mouse model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, by becoming auto-aggressive following sequential transcriptional and metabolic activation steps .

The Impact of Genomic Variation on Function Consortium is combining single-cell mapping, genomic perturbations and predictive modelling to investigate relationships between human genomic variation, genome function and phenotypes and will provide an open resource to the community.

Evidence for balancing selection acting on loci that control complex traits is limited. Here, the authors show evidence for past selection on chemical profile in a perennial wildflower by two ecological drivers, herbivory and drought, consistent with balancing selection on this trait.

It is unclear whether the positive effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning are maintained under multifaceted anthropogenic disturbance. In this experiment, the authors show that multiple simultaneous stressors can negate the positive effect of microbial diversity on soil functions.

Mice bearing different variants of APOE exhibit different COVID-19 outcomes, with APOE2 and APOE4 associated with more severe disease, and this relationship between APOE genotype and disease severity is supported by clinical data in humans.

The Helicobacter pylori outer membrane protein HopQ interacts with human CEACAMs to mediate bacterial attachment.

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.

The origin of nematicity in kagome superconductors has been hard to explain due to other entangled phases. Now, the role of orbital hybridization and coupling is revealed to induce electronic nematicity in the kagome superconductor RbTi₃Bi₅.

During pregnancy, maternal cells are transferred to the fetus, where they can reach the developing brain. In this study, the authors demonstrate that these maternal cells play an important role in neurodevelopment.

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides are a source of antimicrobials. Here, the authors report a platform for the rapid evaluation and characterization of biosynthetic gene clusters that enables the identification of 30 structurally diverse modified peptides, including three showing antimicrobial activities.

Results for the final phase of the 1000 Genomes Project are presented including whole-genome sequencing, targeted exome sequencing, and genotyping on high-density SNP arrays for 2,504 individuals across 26 populations, providing a global reference data set to support biomedical genetics.

Recognition on sources of polyhalogenated carbazoles is needed to understand their environmental accumulation. Here, release of polyhalogenated carbazoles from 13 industries including 122 plants is identified and estimated.

Assembly of polyploid plant genomes has been technically challenging. Now, a study presents a half haplotype-resolved hexaploid genome of sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, using a novel haplotyping method.

MAL and MyD88 are downstream adaptors of Toll-like receptors (TLR) and the MAL TIR ___domain forms filaments in vitro, which in turn nucleate the assembly of crystalline arrays of the MyD88 TIR ___domain. Here, the authors present the structure of these MyD88 TIR crystalline arrays solved by both microcrystal electron diffraction and serial femtosecond crystallography, and they show with mutagenesis experiments that MyD88 interface residues are important for TLR4 signaling in vivo.

Valley anisotropy is proposed theoretically to benefit the electrical transport of thermoelectric materials but it lacks experimental demonstration. Here, the authors demonstrate how to utilize the single anisotropic Fermi pocket in p-type Mg₃Sb₂ to enhance its thermoelectric properties.

The ATLAS Collaboration reports a measurement of the ratio of the decay rates of W bosons to τ leptons and muons, in agreement with universal lepton couplings as postulated in the standard model of particle physics.

Organic non-volatile memories based on ferroelectric and semiconductor polymers are one of promising candidates for flexible electronics, yet the relevant device physics remains elusive. Ghittorelliet al. show that quantum tunnelling and charge accumulation govern the ferroelectric memory operation.