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Analysis of the blood DNA virome in patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune disease associates endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and high anellovirus load with increased disease risk, most notably for systemic lupus erythematosus. eHHV-6 carriers show a distinct immune response.

Genetic mechanisms influencing COVID-19 susceptibility are not well understood. Here, the authors analyzed whole blood RNA-seq data of 465 Japanese individuals with COVID-19, highlighting thousands of fine-mapped variants affecting expression and splicing of genes, as well as the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs.

A genome-wide association study highlights a variant in DOCK2, which is common in East Asian populations but rare in Europeans, as a host genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19.

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.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 73 Japanese patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 75 healthy controls were analyzed using single-cell transcriptomics. Combining these data with genotyping data highlights the interplay between host genetics and the immune response in modulating disease severity.

Perovskite quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized via an anion-exchange process where CsPbBr₃ is used to realize a highly efficient red light-emitting diode (LED). The perovskite QD-based LED exhibits the highest external quantum efficiency of more than 20% compared with perovskite LEDs.

The highly soluble hyperbranched oligothiophene (SH-oligothiophene), which is composed of bithiophene and N,N,N′,N′-tetraphenyl-1,3-phenylenediamine groups, is newly prepared and the photocarrier transport property of the SH-oligothiophene film prepared by spin coating from a chloroform solution is investigated by a time-of-flight method. Transient photocurrent profiles indicate that hole carriers drift preferentially compared with electrons and that dispersive transport characteristics are obtained.

About 0.5% by volume of the Ryugu particle C0009 is made up of anhydrous silicates, mostly olivines, despite the extensive aqueous alteration of its parent body. Such aggregates, rich in ¹⁶O, were present in Ryugu’s protolith and survived fluid activity.

The sample taken from carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu and brought back to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft contains outer Solar System-derived materials uncontaminated by terrestrial processes. Even CI carbonaceous chondrites, despite their closeness to solar abundances, are not pristine.

Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP) is a complex lung disease caused by abnormal surfactant homeostasis. Here, the authors carry out a genome-wide association study of aPAP in a Japanese cohort, finding variants in the MHC and suggesting predisposition to abnormal antibody production.

Signatures of impact-induced shocks are found on Ryugu returned particles. Observations show that they happened at moderate temperatures (~500 °C) and pressures (~2 GPa) and did not dehydrate the particles substantially, suggesting that bigger meteoroids, rather than micrometeoroids, provide Earth with hydrated minerals.

Ryugu is more primitive than carbonaceous chondrites, according to elevated noble gas concentrations. Elevated Xe and its isotopic composition further provide constraints on fractionation of the solar composition to form the early planetary components.

Oxygen isotopic measurements from the Ryugu returned sample suggest that primitive hydrated carbonaceous chondrites are an important source of early water and other volatiles to Earth, despite being underrepresented in our meteorite collection due to their preferential destruction during atmospheric entry.

The shoot apical meristem of flowering plants transitions from forming leaves to floral organs. Here Higo et al. show that DNA methylation of many transposons that are hypermethylated in gametes is established in the SAM before flowering, suggesting it protects against harmful transposition long before germ cell differentiation.

Cancer cells can disrupt cell-to-cell junctions, thus allowing migration and metastasis. Here starting from a chemical screening, Ito et al. reconstitute a step-by-step mechanism linking microtubule depolymerization and epithelial cell junction restoration.

The inhibition of solution-processed 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN) crystallization by mixing additives was successfully achieved for hole injection layers (HILs) in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Among various additives, the film mixed with pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline-2,3-dicarbonitrile (PPDN) showed both transparent appearance and high solvent resistances to an upper layer coating solvent. We applied the HAT-CN mixed with PPDN for an HIL in an OLED including solution-processed four-layer stack. The device showed lower driving voltage and higher luminescent efficiency than a device containing conventional HIL, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS).

A comparison of copper and zinc isotopic measurements between the Ryugu samples and various carbonaceous chondrites excludes any genetic link between the two except for the CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites. Ryugu-like material might have accounted for ~5% of Earth’s mass.

Mayumi Tamari and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for adult asthma in a Japanese population. They identify three new asthma susceptibility loci.

The returned samples from Hayabusa2 show that C-type asteroid Ryugu experienced various steps of mineralogical alteration within only 1–2 million years after accretion.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common pediatric disease leading to spinal deformities. Here, the authors report GWAS followed by genome-wide meta-analysis in up to 79,211 Japanese individuals, identifying 20 genetic loci for AIS, 14 of which were previously unreported, and perform in vitro validation for rs1978060.

Structural variations disrupting the 3′ region of PD-L1 are shown to aid immune evasion in a number of human cancers, including adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma, and in a mouse tumour model, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of the 3'-UTR of Pd-l1 is also shown to result in immune escape, suggesting that PD-L1 3′-UTR disruption could provide a diagnostic marker to identify patients who will benefit from anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

Seishi Ogawa and colleagues report the landscape of somatic mutations in Down syndrome–related myeloid disorders. They identify recurrent mutations in multiple cohesin components, CTCF and epigenetic regulators in Down syndrome–related acute megakaryoblastic leukemia.

The aqueous activity responsible for carbonate formation on Ryugu happened much earlier—less than 1.8 million years after CAI formation—than estimates (4–6 Myr) from carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Ryugu’s parent body either was smaller than ∼20 km in diameter or was disrupted before reaching the high temperatures required.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses identify 124 risk loci for rheumatoid arthritis, of which 34 are novel. A polygenic risk score based on multi-ancestry data showed comparable performance between populations of European and East Asian ancestries.

Augmented AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity inhibits cell migration through an unknown mechanism. Here, Yan et al.show that AMPK phosphorylates the novel substrate PDZ and LIM ___domain 5 (Pdlim5), and that phosphomimetic Pdlim5 impairs cell migration by disrupting the Rac1-Arp2/3 signalling pathway.

Some π-conjugated molecules exhibit tunable luminescence—a property that is useful for the next generation of optical devices. Yagai et al. propose a strategy to design these materials on a molecular level, which tailors the emission colour via structural changes in response to mechanical stimuli.

Advanced colorectal cancers are characterised by intra-tumour heterogeneity dictated by neutral evolution. Here the authors analyse early colorectal tumours by whole-exome sequencing and find that Darwinian evolution determines the fate of early lesions in colorectal adenoma and carcinoma in situ.

Cellular senescence—the permanent cessation of cell proliferation—is a process that can be deregulated in cancer and other aging-related diseases. Here the authors demonstrate that the SCF^Fbxo22-KDM4A complex plays an essential role during senescence as an E3 ligase that targets methylated p53 for degradation.