Ant queens produce sons of two distinct species Summary Researchers report an extraordinary reproductive system in the Iberian harvester ant (Messor ibericus). New evidence (Juvé et al., Nature 2025) shows…
Ancient DNA connects large-scale migration with the spread of Slavs Summary This Nature paper reports genome-wide ancient DNA from 1,243 samples (including 555 newly generated genomes) across transects in the…
Cocaine-activated ion channels engineered to break the loop of addiction in rats Summary Researchers have engineered ion channels that are selectively activated by cocaine and used them to reprogramme neural…
One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants Key Points • Messor ibericus queens produce hybrid workers that combine an M. ibericus maternal genome with an M.…
Dynamic fibroblast–immune interactions shape recovery after brain injury Summary This Nature paper maps how central nervous system (CNS) fibroblasts and immune cells cooperate across time after focal brain injury. Using…
Rewiring of cortical glucose metabolism fuels human brain cancer growth Summary This Nature study used clinical stable-isotope infusions and mouse models to compare how glucose is metabolised in human cortex…
Multiple overlapping binding sites determine transcription factor occupancy Summary This Nature paper introduces PADIT-seq, a high-throughput in vitro method that assays transcription factor (TF) binding to all possible 10-base sequences.…
Genetic suppression features ABHD18 as a Barth syndrome therapeutic target Summary This Nature paper uses genome-wide genetic suppression screens, biochemical analysis and in vivo models to identify ABHD18 (an α/β-hydrolase…
Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence Summary This Nature study shows that the common gut yeast Candida albicans can increase the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STm). In mouse…
PICALM Alzheimer’s risk allele causes aberrant lipid droplets in microglia Summary This Nature paper uses allele-specific open chromatin mapping (ASoC) in human iPSC-derived brain cells to prioritise functional non-coding Alzheimer’s…
