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This study employs a citizen science approach to identify and classify over 230,000 light sources in German city centers, suburbs and villages. The results underscore the pivotal role of citizen science in expanding knowledge of artificial light emissions and bolstering policymaking efforts to mitigate urban light pollution.

Pixel crosstalk can significantly reduce the image resolution in standard and super-resolution light microscopy using sCMOS cameras up to 28%. The effect for different imaging modalities was evaluated for several wavelengths and image sensor types.

The mutual neutralization of hydronium and hydroxide ions is a reaction of fundamental interest that has recently been implicated in the generation of high concentrations of hydroxyl radicals at the surface of water microdroplets. Using three-dimensional imaging of the coincident neutral products of the reaction of D₃O⁺ and OD⁻, two competing pathways for OH radical formation have now been experimentally observed.

Genome-wide association analyses identify new risk loci for heart failure and its subtypes, extending understanding of the underlying biological pathways and disease mechanisms.

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).

Genome-wide association analyses comprising 14,256 cases and 1,199,156 controls and incorporating correlated cardiac magnetic resonance imaging traits provide insights into the molecular etiology of dilated cardiomyopathy.

Blood phosphorylated (p)-tau 181 and p-tau 217 have been proposed as accurate biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Here, the authors find p-tau 181 and 217 are elevated in serum and muscle of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The spatial structure of vortex laser beams associates angular momentum to photons, which, in addition to their spin, can be used to tailor light-matter interactions. Here, the authors excite an atomic transition with a vortex laser beam, showing that the transfer of angular momentum modifies selection rules.

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.

Soil microbial diversity and composition is thought to play a major role in elemental cycling. Here, the authors analyse a large dataset of soil microbiome and carbon data from European forests and find that soil fungal community composition is a strong predictor of carbon storage.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Calcium-permeable AMPA receptors are identified to have a role in maintaining low feature selectivity in a specific population of inhibitory interneurons, and this function is conserved across ferrets, rodents, marmosets and humans.

Simultaneous observations of TRAPPIST-1 b from JWST at 12.8 and 15 μm indicate that it is probably a bare rock with a mineral-rich surface. However, an alternative scenario with a CO₂-rich atmosphere and hazes could also explain the observations.

Measurement of the bound-state β⁻ decay of ²⁰⁵Tl⁸¹⁺ gives a new, longer half-life, allowing for the calculation of accurate stellar ²⁰⁵Pb yields and the isolation time of the early Solar System.

Despite new treatment options, prognosis for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) remains poor. Here the authors report the clinical course of patients with GBM treated with a personalized neoantigen-derived peptide vaccine treated within the scope of an individual healing attempt.

A study reporting the results of a clinical trial co-administering the GDF-15-blocking antibody visugromab with the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab demonstrates that neutralizing GDF-15 can overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition in cancer.

The high degree of subtype plasticity in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) poses a therapeutic challenge. Here, the authors show that the non-neuroendocrine (non-NE) subtype of SCLC is sensitive to ferroptosis while the neuroendocrine (NE) subtype is vulnerable to TRX anti-oxidant pathway inhibition, and the combination of these two treatments in SCLC circumvents non-NE/NE subtype plasticity.

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 multi-ancestry genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study identifies 13 new loci associated with serum lipids.

By conducting chemical reactions involving a single pair of reactants within helium nanodroplets, Henning and Krasnokutski have measured the energetics of simple reactions relevant to astrochemistry. This approach allows the reaction pathways of surface reactions to be predicted with more accuracy than before.

Observations of the formation of individual stripes in a mixed-dimensional cold-atom Fermi–Hubbard quantum simulator are described, enhancing understanding of the phase diagram of high-temperature superconducting materials and the relationship between charge pairs and stripes.

An analysis involving the shotgun sequencing of more than 300 ancient genomes from Eurasia reveals a deep east–west genetic divide from the Black Sea to the Baltic, and provides insight into the distinct effects of the Neolithic transition on either side of this boundary.

Batch-to-batch reproducibility of device performances is crucial for perovskite photovoltaics moving towards industrialization. Here, the authors show that commercial as-received C₆₀ source materials may coalesce during repeated thermal evaporation processes, jeopardizing such reproducibility.

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.

Muscle mass is lost in patients with diabetes, which is associated with mitochondrial disfunction. Here they show that SLIRP maintains muscle mitochondria and that exercise training can compensate for SLIRP loss, improving mitochondrial function and quality control in muscle.

In hepatocellular carcinoma driven by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, aberrant T cell activation and impaired immune surveillance seem to make hepatocellular carcinoma less responsive to anti-PD1 or anti-PDL1 immunotherapy.

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.

In a GWAS study of 32,438 adults, the authors discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function and to Parkinson's disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways, including PI3K-AKT signaling.

Neuropeptides are potent feeding modulators, but how these endogenous signals shape relevant neurocircuits remains unclear. Here, the authors show that hypothalamic neuropeptide Y drives input-specific synaptic plasticity, enabling a selective shift in hunger and anxiety signaling during starvation.

Many natural products are produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases in an assembly-line fashion. How these molecular machines orchestrate the biochemical sequences has remained elusive. It is now understood that an extended-conformation ensemble is needed to coordinate chemical-transformation steps whereas the biosynthesis directionality is driven by the enzyme’s innate conformational free energies.

The JWST MIRI transmission spectrum of WASP-107b, a transiting planet with Neptune-like mass and Jupiter-like radius, shows observations of sulfur dioxide and silicate clouds but no methane in its atmosphere, providing evidence of disequilibrium chemistry and active photochemistry.

NK cell-based therapy can kill acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but immune suppression may occur. Here the authors overcome the immunosuppression of AML-targeted CAR33-NK cells via non-viral CRISPR-editing of the immune checkpoint NKG2A, leading to an enhanced potency of the CAR-NK cell product with sustained anti-tumor efficacy.

Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) is critical in sperm for stimulation of cAMP synthesis during fertilization, though there is dispute over how  HCO₃⁻ is transported into sperm. Here the authors use limit-of-detection LC/MS to characterize sperm protein expression and show that HCO₃⁻ is produced from CO₂ diffusion into sperm rather than active transport.