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This study reveals that α-lipoic acid (ALA) is reduced in aged mouse and human intestine and ALA supplementation reduces aging hallmarks. Paneth cells play a role in the effects of ALA.

Anti-EGFR therapy plus doublet chemotherapy is standard of care for patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) but the role of triplet chemotherapy is unclear. Here, the authors report a randomised phase 2 trial testing the superiority of adding cetuximab (anti-EGFR) over bevacizumab (anti-VEGF) to modified FOLFOXIRI (5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and irinotecan) in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC.

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.

Oxide-ion conductors are important in various applications for clean energy. Here, authors report high oxide-ion conductivity of hexagonal perovskite-related oxide Ba₇Nb_3.9Mo_1.1O_20.05, which is ascribed to the interstitialcy diffusion and low activation energy for oxide-ion conductivity.

The gut commensal Christensenalla minuta produces a previously undescribed class of secondary bile acids that counteract features of metabolic disease and are depleted in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Altermagnets combine the rapid dynamics and zero magnetization of collinear antiferromagnets with the spin-splitting of ferromagnets, making them an idea platform for both fundamental research and applications. Here, Yang, Li and coauthors map the large altermagnetic spin-splitting in CrSb located near the Fermi level.

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.

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.

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.

A subset of Macro-positive macrophages is identified to have immunosuppressive functions in the periportal vein zones of the liver to mediate excessive inflammation, and their effects depend on commensal gut bacteria.

Uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) plays a central role in energy dissipation in brown adipose tissue. Here the authors show that FGF6 and FGF9 induce UCP1 expression in adipocytes and preadipocytes, via modulation of a transcriptional network that is dissociated from brown adipogenesis.

D. Iyama et al. study the generation and quantum coherence of Schrödinger cat states in a superconducting Kerr parametric oscillator, a Kerr nonlinear resonator with a two-photon pump. They also manipulate the quantum interference of the cat states by implementing single cat-state gate operations.

Serial femtosecond crystallography reveals the structural dynamics of photosystem II during the S-state transitions that produce dioxygen, providing insight into electron transfer, water insertion, proton release and O–O bond formation on sub-microsecond timescales.

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.

Connecting cerebral organoids with an axon bundle models inter-regional projections and enhances neural activity. Optogenetic stimulation induces short-term plasticity, offering insights into macroscopic circuit development and functionality.

A close-up look at the action of space weathering on carbonaceous asteroids, provided by Ryugu’s returned samples, highlights its role on the dehydration of the first micrometre-thick layer of the surface, possibly hiding a water-rich interior. The depth of the 2.7 µm hydration band may be an indication of the level of space weathering withstood by a C-type asteroid.

The reasons why influenza infection promotes a broader antibody response compared with vaccines are not fully understood. Here the authors show that unmasking of haemagglutinin epitopes and IL-4 signals in the germinal centre contribute to broader antibody responses after infection.

Using more than 100 independent iPSC lines derived from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the authors discovered loci associated with the neuronal production of amyloid β and confirmed their influence using RNA interference.

Dying cells display an “eat me” signal through phospholipid scrambling. Here, the authors show that activation of the plasma membrane-bound Xkr4 scramblase requires extracellular calcium as a “molecular glue” for connecting transmembrane regions.

Ubiquitin is a stable and soluble protein, but it is commonly found in inclusion bodies in neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Here, Morimoto et al. report that increasing ubiquitin chain length leads to the formation of amyloid-like fibrils, which are degraded by an autophagy mechanism.

Many rules have been suggested to rationalize the behaviour of transition metal oxides but the complex underlying physics often leads to deviations from the expected behaviour. Here the authors show that the metal-insulator transition in CsW₂O₆ satisfies the Anderson condition in an unusual way.

Murine norovirus protects intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) from chemical injury by inducing a type I interferon (IFN-I) response in the colon via the viral non-structural protein NS1/2. IFN-I signalling in IECs, in turn, stimulates the production and signalling of the cytoprotective cytokine interleukin-22.

Quantum supremacy is demonstrated using a programmable superconducting processor known as Sycamore, taking approximately 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times, which would take a state-of-the-art supercomputer around ten thousand years to compute.

The T2K experiment constrains CP symmetry in neutrino oscillations, excluding 46% of possible values of the CP violating parameter at a significance of three standard deviations; this is an important milestone to test CP symmetry conservation in leptons and whether the Universe’s matter–antimatter imbalance originates from leptons.