Reviews & Analysis

The function of immune cells called B cells in cancer has been controversial. Single-cell profiling has identified a previously undescribed subset of B cells that express a protein called TIM-1 and that multiply in response to melanoma tumour growth. Deletion of the gene that encodes TIM-1 in these cells unleashed an antitumour immune response.

Genes in agricultural crops are usually fine-tuned through long periods of evolution and crop domestication. In a modern strategy to genetically improve crops, genome editing was used to rapidly develop a variant of a rice gene that shows promise for increasing the plant’s resistance to several diseases.

In the first phase of its project to produce a genome reference that represents the genetic diversity of the people of China, the Chinese Pangenome Consortium analyse genomic sequences from 58 individuals representing 36 minority ethnic groups in China. The data capture genomic variability that is not currently reflected in human reference genomes.

The synthesis of high-entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA-NPs) — small particles each containing multiple principal metal elements — typically requires extreme conditions to ensure adequate mixing of constituents. Innovative experiments show that the liquid metal can act as a mixing reservoir to facilitate the synthesis of a diverse range of such nanoparticles in mild conditions.

A minimal but general method has been developed for catalysing many different cross-coupling reactions — those in which two chemical fragments are joined. It requires only the two substrate substances, a nickel salt as a catalyst precursor, a catalyst for light-driven redox reactions and, in some cases, a nitrogen-containing base.

Hybrid molecules containing organic and inorganic components were assembled through bottom-up synthesis into a continuous network of interpenetrating molecular-scale organic and inorganic ionic domains. The resulting material, called elastic ceramic plastic, shows ceramic-like hardness and strength, rubber-like deformability and resilience, and plastic-like mouldability.

A previously unknown neural circuit in the brains of female mice is activated during infanticidal behaviour, and reciprocally inhibits another circuit that promotes maternal-care behaviour. These circuits show opposing changes in excitability when female mice become mothers, explaining the switch in young-directed behaviours that occurs with motherhood.

An experiment testing two opposing theories about how biodiversity is governed in communities was done at seawall structures at the boundary between high and low tides. Rather than the conventional model, the results support one that suggests that immigration has a larger role in maintaining diversity than do niches.

Brain activity is structured in space and time. The resulting activity patterns are conventionally thought to depend on an intricate web of anatomical connections that link specialized populations of cells. This work challenges this paradigm by showing that macroscale neuronal dynamics of the human brain are fundamentally shaped by its physical geometry.

Cash-transfer programmes have emerged as central components of poverty-reduction strategies in many countries, and became even more common during the COVID-19 pandemic. An analysis of 37 low- and middle-income countries finds that these programmes led to marked reductions in population-level mortality in adult women and young children.

Axonemes are molecular machines that enable the movement of cilia, the hair-like structures found on the surface of some cells. Atomic models of axonemes from the flagella of green algae and from the cilia of human respiratory-tract cells reveal how the axoneme enables the cilia to move, and explain the effects of genetic mutations that cause human ciliary disease.

A deep-learning model called Geneformer has been developed and pretrained using about 30 million single-cell gene-expression profiles to enable it to make predictions about gene-network biology in instances in which gene-expression data are limited. Geneformer can be tuned for many downstream applications to accelerate discovery of key gene-network regulators and candidate therapeutic targets.

An original class of strong, ductile titanium alloy containing the inexpensive and abundant oxygen and iron as principal alloying elements has been created using 3D printing. The research findings offer promise for turning low‑quality titanium sponge — a waste product of the energy-intensive production of titanium — into high‑performance titanium alloys, and for innovative alloy engineering.

The degree of ionization inside giant planets and stars determines their material properties. In burning stars, ionization is controlled by temperature, whereas pressure-driven ionization is dominant in cooler objects. Experiments creating the extreme conditions needed for pressure-driven ionization in the laboratory shed light on this complex process.

Nematode worms that parasitize plants ravage food crops and threaten global food security. Conventional nematode control relies on agrochemicals that are broadly toxic, so less-risky strategies are needed. Benign precursor chemicals that are metabolically converted to lethal products selectively in worm tissue could be the solution.

Although crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells were developed nearly 70 years ago, their use is still limited. Tailoring the structural symmetry on the edges of textured c-Si wafers changes their fracture mechanism such that they can be used to fabricate flexible solar cells with a bending radius of about 8 millimetres.

Bacterial infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa can shift between chronic and acute. An investigation of P. aeruginosa gene expression during human infection identified a small RNA that is expressed in low-oxygen conditions and controls this transition.

Analyses of chromosome organization across diverse animals and non-animals provide evidence that a group of marine creatures called ctenophores, or comb jellies, are the sister clade of all other animals, bringing to bear new methods to answer a long-standing evolutionary question.

Polygenic scores can estimate the likelihood of an individual having a certain trait by using the contributions of thousands of genetic variants in their genome. An analysis shows that the accuracy of these scores varies between individuals across a continuum of genetic ancestry, even in populations conventionally considered homogeneous.

Most light-field sensors — devices that detect the angles of incoming light rays to reconstruct 3D scenes — can detect light only in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength ranges. A newly developed light-field sensor comprising perovskite nanocrystals encodes the angles of incoming visible-light beams and X-rays as different colours.