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Here, the authors investigate SARS-CoV-2 protein interactions across various organ-specific cell lines and saliva employing mass spectrometry and describe how protein-protein interaction networks vary for SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Group-IV color centers in diamond show promise for spin-photon interfaces, but precise positioning and activation are challenging. Here the authors combine site-controlled ion implantation with laser annealing and in-situ photoluminescence monitoring to create and tune individual tin vacancy centers in diamond.

The accretion geometry of X-ray binary Cygnus X-3 is determined here from IXPE observations. X-ray polarization reveals a narrow funnel with reflecting walls, which focuses emission, making Cyg X-3 appear as an ultraluminous X-ray source.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

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.

Mammalian DNA replication relies on various helicases and nucleases to ensure accurate genetic duplication, but how these enzymes are properly directed is unclear. Here, the authors identify USP50 as a key protein for promoting ongoing replication, restarting stalled forks, maintaining telomeres, and ensuring cell survival.

Carey and colleagues reveal 35 major latent constructs (factors) in the phenotype data of unrelated individuals with predominantly estimated European genetic ancestry from UK Biobank.

A study reports the measurement of the polarization degree and angle of X-rays from Sagittarius A^* reflected off a nearby cloud, indicating an X-ray flare about 200 years ago.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Data from a variety of sources—including satellite, climate and soil data, as well as field-collected information on plant traits—are pooled and analysed to map the functional diversity of tropical forest canopies globally.

The stability of multiply hydrogen-bonded complexes can be influenced significantly by secondary electrostatic interactions between the pairs of atoms in adjacent hydrogen bonds. Now, a quadruple hydrogen-bonding array in which all of the donors are located in one component and all of the acceptors in the other has been shown to form complexes that are exceptionally stable.

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.

Viral infections and exposure to inhaled allergens are linked to asthma onset, exacerbations and progression. Here, the authors used controlled experimental rhinovirus infection in patients with and without asthma, and further assessed in vitro the role of house dust mite allergen combined with rhinovirus and SARS-CoV-2 infection. They discovered that rhinovirus-induced activation of epithelial RIG-I inflammasome supresses antiviral immunity, promotes inflammation during asthma exacerbations and aggravates subsequent infection with SARS-CoV-2, particularly upon house dust mite exposure.

X-ray polarimetry observations with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer constrain the accretion geometry in an X-ray pulsar and provide evidence for a misalignment of the spin, magnetic and orbital axes in Her X-1.

COVID-19 can be associated with neurological complications. Here the authors show that markers of brain injury, but not immune markers, are elevated in the blood of patients with COVID-19 both early and months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those with brain dysfunction or neurological diagnoses.

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.

For Patrick Goymer, the story behind the scientists who first described the phenomenon known as hydrogen bonding is a familiar one.

A study of SARS-CoV-2 variants examining their transmission, infectivity, and potential resistance to therapies provides insights into the biology of the Delta variant and its role in the global pandemic.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Whole-genome sequencing and phenotype data sharing are introduced in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover coding and non-coding variants that cause rare diseases.

A consensus cell type atlas for the fly brain provides both an intellectual framework and open-source toolchains for brain-scale comparative connectomics.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals with clinically assessed or self-reported depression identifies 44 independent risk loci. Comparisons with other psychiatric disorders and candidate gene analyses provide new insights into major depressive disorder.

A national prospective study of patients requiring hospitalization for COVID-19 demonstrates global cognitive deficits at 1 year, associated with elevated brain injury markers and reduced gray matter volume.

The genus Serratia includes clinically-important and diverse environmental bacteria. Here, Williams et al. assemble and analyse a representative set of 664 genomes from across the genus, including historic isolates, to provide a genome-based phylogenetic framework for a better understanding of the emergence of clinical and environmental lineages of Serratia.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

The spike protein of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has a higher affinity for ACE2 than Delta, and a marked change in its antigenicity increases Omicron’s evasion of therapeutic and vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies.

Isolating nanoscale species in liquids permits their scalable manipulation, enabling numerous fundamental and applied processes. Thus, achieving true dissolution of 2D materials is particularly desirable. Now, ionic salts of a range of important layered materials have been shown to spontaneously dissolve, yielding solutions of charged, monodisperse, undamaged and easy-to-manipulate 2D nanosheets.

Annually resolved Fennoscandian tree-ring anatomy records show that the climate of the current industrial era is substantially warmer than that of the medieval period.

Genome-wide and multitrait analyses identify novel loci associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and relevant left ventricular traits. Gene-level burden analyses show that rare truncating SVIL variants are associated with high risk of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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.

In hospitals, surfaces present as a reservoir for bacteria pathogens, potentially leading to nosocomial infections. In this work, authors aim to profile extended-spectrum β lactamase- and carbapenemase-carrying bacterial species colonising neonatal hospital wards and causing neonatal sepsis.

Investigation of variation in three cohorts has identified multiple genetic signals associated with the pregnancy-specific liver disorder, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, giving insight into the disease which can cause preterm birth and stillbirth.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.