From the journals

Researchers at Tsinghua University developed Airscope, a wireless miniature microscope weighing 1.0 g with a 6 mm field of view. It recorded cortical activity at the level of thousands of cells in mice running and swimming without cables.

Researchers at the University of Toronto expanded the map of tiny exons that are inserted only in neurons, used machine learning to read the rules that regulate them, and found variants in the genomes of autistic people that are predicted to disrupt splicing.

Researchers grew pieces of human lung tissue intact to make organoids that contain T, B and NK cells, and confirmed the defensive function of tissue-resident memory T cells.

A circuit in mice was identified in which sensory cells in the colon detect flagellin from gut bacteria and reduce food intake through the vagus nerve.

A lasso-shaped peptide made by a soil bacterium blocks a new site on the bacterial ribosome and inhibited even resistant bacteria.

In human and mouse adipose tissue, gene expression changes that arose during obesity remained after weight loss.

A 40% calorie restriction extended lifespan the most, but genetic background divided individual lifespans more than diet did.

Individualised precision brain mapping showed that the frontostriatal salience network was markedly expanded in people with depression compared with healthy people.

Giving an IL-11 antibody to 75-week-old mice improved metabolic and muscle function and extended median lifespan by 22.5% in males and 25% in females.

AlphaFold 3, which switched to a diffusion model, predicted protein-ligand and protein-nucleic acid binding structures more accurately than specialised tools.

The saponin vaccine adjuvant QS-21, which depended on Chilean soapbark tree bark, was made from start to finish in genetically engineered yeast.

Obinutuzumab β, a type II anti-CD20 antibody that depletes B cells, greatly reduced 1-year relapses in patients with AQP4 antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica.

In cognitively normal older adults with high amyloid levels, more steps were associated with slower tau accumulation and slower cognitive decline, an observational finding.

Of two diets that followed the same nutrition guidance, the minimally processed diet produced about twice the weight loss of the ultra-processed diet.

In more than 100,000 people followed for up to 30 years, those who adhered best to plant-centred diets were more likely to age healthily.

Autopsy samples showed higher plastic concentrations in the brain than in the liver or kidney, but the authors said they do not show a causal health effect.

In a veterans' diabetes cohort, the benefits and harms for more than 210,000 GLP-1 users were compared across 175 outcomes.

Adding AI to Germany's national breast cancer screening raised the cancer detection rate without increasing recalls.

An ageing clock built from the plasma proteins of about 45,000 UK Biobank participants predicted the onset of chronic disease and the risk of death.

Among patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction who were receiving standard care, the risk of the composite event was lower in the group that added Qiliqiangxin than in the placebo group.

A plasma p-tau217 ratio test found Alzheimer's pathology as accurately as an FDA-cleared cerebrospinal fluid test and was better at identifying tau.

Lonvoguran ziclumeran (lonvo-z), a therapy that edits liver cell genes directly inside the body, lowered the average monthly number of attacks by 87% compared with placebo in a phase 3 trial. The results, from 80 people randomised 2:1, were published in NEJM.

In a double-blind trial of dialysis patients, the group taking high-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplements had fewer major cardiovascular events than the placebo group.

As first-line treatment for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, aficamten alone improved exercise capacity and symptoms more than metoprolol alone.

In an interim analysis of 800 patients with stage 2 to 3 fibrosis steatohepatitis, liver tissue measures improved more than with placebo.

In a 3-year analysis of a phase 3 trial, weight fell by up to 19.7% and progression to type 2 diabetes was much lower than with placebo.

Lenacapavir, given every six months, allowed no new HIV infections in a phase 3 trial of young women in South Africa and Uganda.

A therapy that edits a patient's blood stem cells with gene scissors to revive fetal haemoglobin nearly eliminated vaso-occlusive crises in a phase 3 trial.

Compared with colonoscopy, a blood cfDNA test found 83% of colorectal cancers but caught only 13% of precancerous lesions.

In a follow-up of 257 carotid surgery patients, the group with plastics in their plaques had a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology followed 171 people who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and found that people with more flagellated gut bacteria and higher signs of gut inflammation before vaccination had a higher risk of fever. Organoid and germ-free mouse experiments also supported causality.

A team led by Jay Shendure at the University of Washington used a molecular recorder that leaves records in DNA in order each time a cell divides to reconstruct about two weeks of development in a single mouse embryo as a lineage tree of 1.28 million cells.

Bridge recombinases, which recombine DNA under RNA guidance, were engineered for human cells to achieve 20% insertion and megabase-scale inversions and deletions.

After adjusting for deaths from external causes, the heritability of human lifespan came out more than double earlier twin-study estimates (20 to 25%).

A meroterpenoid that could not be synthesised because of its dense polycyclic scaffold was completed through a divinylcyclopropane rearrangement.

A generative protein model that handles sequence, structure and function together designed a new protein far from existing fluorescent proteins, and it actually glowed.

Researchers found the enzyme that makes the oxetane ring of the anticancer drug paclitaxel's skeleton and used it to make the precursor baccatin III in tobacco plants.

Final results show that adding the bispecific antibody to chemotherapy improved overall survival in EGFR-mutant lung cancer that progressed after targeted therapy.

In a randomised trial of 200 patients with atrial fibrillation who underwent cardioversion, those who kept drinking coffee had fewer recurrences.

In a randomised trial of 2,111 older Americans, an intensive structured program produced a slightly larger gain in overall cognition.

In an analysis of 2.48 million Swedish children, no association was found between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders once sibling-control analysis was applied.

Zilebesiran, which switches off angiotensinogen production in the liver, lowered systolic blood pressure by more than 14 mmHg compared with placebo in a phase 2 trial in mild to moderate hypertension.

In long-term follow-up of 262 participants from randomised trials, blood glucose control and remission rates stayed ahead in the surgery group.

Increasing fatty acid chain length is an ageing feature conserved across species, and reversing it extended lifespan in worms.

In a mouse study, when chaperone-mediated autophagy declined, immune cells could not engulf senescent cells.

Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, found with a gut microbiome ageing clock, and its metabolite extended healthspan in mice.

In tissues with frequent cell turnover, random mutations built up with age, while in the heart and brain, mutations at specific positions did.

A single infusion of CAR-T cells targeting uPAR, a marker of senescent cells, durably improved glucose tolerance and exercise capacity in aged mice.

The AstraZeneca Centre for Genomics Research analysed whole genomes from 467,152 UK Biobank participants and examined, all at once, associations between large genomic rearrangements of 50 bases or more (structural variants) and more than 18,000 traits. Conventional methods could not see 82% of these variants.

An expanded single-cell reference atlas covering more than 20 organs reveals how transcription factors and senescent cells vary by tissue.

A genetic circuit engineered into the commensal bacterium Bacteroides made it report rising gut osmolarity in a diarrhoea mouse model through fluorescence over a long period.

When male cynomolgus monkeys were given metformin for 40 months, brain ageing was set back by about 6 years on a multi-omics ageing clock.

In the Dutch Lifelines cohort of 105,812 people followed for a median of 13.25 years, a higher Mediterranean lifestyle score, covering diet, activity, rest and social activity, was linked to lower all-cause mortality, and this association appeared regardless of income and education level.

In a double-blind trial by French researchers, saffron extract did not change the composite score for subclinical depressive symptoms.

When 18 adults with obesity and prediabetes ate cinnamon for 4 weeks each, their continuous glucose monitoring readings were lower than during the placebo period.

In an analysis of a U.S. nurses cohort, protein intake in midlife, especially plant protein, was associated with health status in later life.

In a phase 3 trial of 63 adults with FOP, garetosmab, an antibody that blocks activin A, cut the number of new heterotopic bone lesions over 56 weeks by more than 90% compared with placebo. The results were published in The Lancet.

Among 2,749 patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk, major cardiovascular events occurred at a rate similar to that with insulin glargine.

An analysis pooling measured data on 141 million people found the burden of diabetes concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.

The low-cost malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M showed high efficacy in a phase 3 trial of about 4,800 African children.

In mice, Serpina3n from fat tissue prevented muscle loss in models of ageing, limb immobilisation and cancer cachexia.

Mice in which NAD+ synthesis in skeletal muscle was blocked, cutting it by 85%, kept normal muscle function and whole-body metabolism throughout life.

Analysing 114 muscle biopsies from 19 men pointed to MINDY1, a new protein that regulates insulin action.

In a follow-up of 1,108 middle-aged Finns for 7 to 9 years, a basic risk factor model predicted disease onset better than any ageing clock model.

In a randomised trial applying 25% calorie restriction to healthy adults, there was no significant difference in telomere change over 2 years.

Researchers at Jinan University found new oligomers in Artocarpus communis and made seven compounds in 7 to 9 steps by biomimetic synthesis.

Waking an unexpressed gene cluster in an environmental actinomycete produced a new antibiotic that also works against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

In a trial of 5,420 newborns under 2 kg in neonatal intensive care units in India, neonatal deaths fell in the group vaccinated right after birth.

Intermittent fasting, such as time-restricted eating and alternate-day fasting, showed no large difference from daily calorie reduction in improving weight and metabolic markers.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) NDA Panel concluded that synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) of at least 98% purity is safe as a food supplement at up to 2 mg a day. Pregnant and breastfeeding women and people under 25 are excluded, and safety for people taking medication has not been established.

The European Food Safety Authority concluded that aspartame, acesulfame K and the salt of the two raise no safety concern at current uses and use levels.

Researchers at the University of Parma in Italy fermented chickpea dough with each of four lactic acid bacteria and evaluated its texture, protein structure, volatile compounds, allergenicity and antioxidant capacity together. Every strain improved dough structure, and allergenicity fell to a moderate degree.

Researchers at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague screened 101 samples, including plant protein isolates, extruded products and veggie burgers, for 57 mycotoxins and 48 plant alkaloids using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Tenuazonic acid reached up to 2,800 μg/kg, and atropine and scopolamine were also found in soy.

In a trial of people with obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease but without diabetes, berberine did not change visceral fat or liver fat.

In an analysis of 390,000 U.S. adults without chronic disease, no association was seen between taking multivitamins and a lower risk of death.

Researchers at Meijo University in Japan showed that a lipoxygenase from the cyanobacterium suizenji-nori oxidises alpha-linolenic acid to make the gateway intermediate in saclipin biosynthesis.

Mining the genomes of the MAR4 lineage of Streptomyces isolated from the sea turned up a new class of halogenated, broad-spectrum antibiotics.

UC San Diego researchers found a new macrolide in Okeania sp., solved its stereostructure and confirmed nanomolar activity against trypanosomes.

A marine-derived alkaloid targeted the FDX1 protein to trigger cuproptosis and also overcame oxaliplatin resistance.

Researchers at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences mapped the entire biosynthetic pathway of escin Ia, a raw material for drugs treating brain oedema and venous insufficiency, and reproduced it in a tobacco relative.

Researchers at Peking University identified four enzymes for the biosynthesis of HSYA, a component found only in safflower flowers, and synthesised it from scratch in a relative of tobacco.

Even meals matched for calories and nutrients produced different post-meal metabolic and brain responses depending on how processed they were.

The senescent cell-clearing drugs dasatinib plus quercetin showed a higher fibrosis improvement rate than placebo in MASH patients with fibrosis.

4-Hydroxybenzoic acid was found to convert white fat cells into beige fat cells through AMPK and DRP1.

In a double-blind trial of 400 patients after polyp removal, the share with adenoma recurrence within 2 years was lower in the herbal granule group.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences analysed ginseng population genomics together with 169 ginsenosides and found PgUXT and PgURT, key branch-point enzymes.

A discovery method uses antibiotics that suppress bacteria at high concentrations at low concentrations to draw out production of hidden secondary metabolites.

BBzP, DBP and DINP were all placed in Group 2B, but the evidence for cancer in humans was 'inadequate' for all three.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified two herbicides as Group 2A and the fungicide vinclozolin as Group 2B. This is a classification of the strength of evidence, not of the size of risk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalised the withdrawal of its authorisation for the petroleum-based food colour Orange B and proposed withdrawing the authorisation for Citrus Red No. 2, used to colour orange peels. The basis is abandonment, meaning industry no longer uses them, not a new safety determination.

Under the Delaney Clause, the U.S. FDA revoked authorisation for Red No. 3 in food and oral drugs.

Researchers at Germany's HIPS expanded myxobacterial taxonomy to 28 families and 90 genera and released ABC-Myxo, an atlas of biosynthetic gene clusters.

In a Rush University cohort in the United States, the most socially active older adults were predicted to develop dementia about five years later than the least active.

When male mice on a high-fat diet were fed the complex extract for 12 weeks, weight gain, fatty liver and fat cell enlargement were reduced.

In long-term follow-up of a randomised trial of about 36,000 postmenopausal women, calcium and vitamin D supplementation had no effect on overall mortality.

Morroniside, a compound derived from Cornus, reduced fat cell differentiation and curbed weight gain in obese mice.

Tracking the gut microbial genomes of 81 infants showed that strains from fathers were passed on steadily regardless of delivery mode.

The blood glucose benefit of bariatric surgery differed by Tübingen cluster, which groups people by metabolic characteristics.

The more the fasting glucose, glucose tolerance and HbA1c criteria overlapped, the higher the risk of type 2 diabetes, and indicators of insulin secretion and sensitivity added predictive power.

An animal study reported that a triterpenoid from the traditional medicinal herb Phellodendron bark lowered inflammatory signalling by inducing degradation of the fatty acid metabolism enzyme ACOT1.

Lead, cadmium, arsenic and other metals were measured in tampons from 14 brands, but whether they are actually absorbed by the body has not yet been confirmed.

A validation study found that Py-GC-MS, widely used to analyse human samples, is not yet suitable for quantifying polyethylene and PVC in blood.

Observational and experimental results suggest that the sugar alcohol sweetener xylitol raises platelet reactivity and is associated with cardiovascular event risk.

In a dose-response meta-analysis pooling data on 8,819,894 adults from 51 prospective cohort studies, ultraprocessed food intake was consistently associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and death. However, the certainty of the evidence is "low to moderate."

A review that Indian researchers published in Food and Chemical Toxicology summarises the types of cyanotoxins found in supplements derived from cyanobacteria and microalgae and their organ-specific toxicity mechanisms, and points out that data on chronic low-dose exposure and bioavailability are lacking.

In an analysis of 8,905 people in the COSMOS trial, cocoa extract did not lower the overall incidence of hypertension.

A dietary component grew specific commensal bacteria, which split the roles of providing antigen and an adjuvant signal to build the gut mucosal antibody response.

Loganin, a representative compound of Cornus, was observed to suppress fat cell differentiation in cells and in an obese mouse model.

In adults with both impaired glucose tolerance and metabolic abnormalities, the risk of developing diabetes was lower in the Jinlida group than in the placebo group.

In a randomised trial in the U.K., the ketogenic diet lowered depression scores slightly more than a healthy control diet, but the clinical meaning was uncertain.

In a randomised, double-blind trial, the body fat percentage and body fat mass of the group taking the extract fell significantly more than in the placebo group.

In an animal study, a water extract of Aurantii Fructus suppressed caspase-4 in the mouse hippocampus and increased neurogenesis and synaptic proteins.

In a post hoc analysis of a randomised trial in Chinese nursing homes, the incidence of hypertension in older adults using the salt substitute was about half that of the regular salt group.

Comparing four blending ratios, the 7:3 blend of Cornus and Ribes fasciculatum extracts showed the greatest suppression of fat-production genes.

This annual review organises 1,256 new compounds reported in one year from marine microbes, algae, sponges and more by source and activity.

A deep learning model trained on 45,000 PAMs predicted the recognition sequences of Cas proteins and designed variants that widen the range of editable targets.

The biosynthetic pathway to the core scaffold of an anti-leukaemia drug once obtained from endangered plants of the genus Cephalotaxus has been nearly completed.

People who ate a wide range of flavonoid-containing foods, such as tea, berries and apples, had a lower risk of death and major chronic diseases.

Researchers at the University of Toronto handled cell type classification and perturbation response prediction in one model trained on single-cell transcriptomes as if they were 'sentences.'

Mouse brains cleared less of an injected fluorescent tracer when asleep or anaesthetised than when awake.

Researchers decoded the astragalus genome, found six enzymes that make astragaloside IV, and reproduced its production in a relative of tobacco.

A commission of 58 experts proposed dividing obesity into a 'disease' and a 'risk state' based on whether organ function is impaired.

Among carriers of familial Alzheimer's mutations, the group given gantenerumab for longer showed a trend towards lower risk of symptom progression.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalised its first legally enforceable tap water standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.