Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks.

A strong material becomes more rigid or more relaxed when its constituent gears are spun.

A long-running La Niña climate event could persist into 2023. Plus, breast cancer cells are more likely to go rogue at night, and research to quantify and reduce inequality.

The lineages’ rise seems to stem from their ability to infect people who were immune to earlier forms of Omicron and other variants.

‘Microorganism’ is a misnomer when it comes to centimetre-long Thiomargarita magnifica.

Membranes with methane-excluding pores can remove nitrogen and carbon dioxide from natural gas in an energy-efficient and cost-effective way.

Scientists can now check whether a journal website has been cloned before submitting their manuscript.

The ε4 variant in the APOE gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. How does this gene impact different cell types in the brain to increase disease risk? In this issue of Cell, TCW and colleagues report APOE-driven cell-type-specific changes that may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Targeted protein degradation has emerged as a powerful tool for therapeutic development and biological exploration. In this issue of Cell, Morreale et al. report the development of the BacPROTAC technology to enable targeted protein degradation in Gram-positive bacteria and mycobacteria via reprogramming of Clp proteases.

Interferons are potent antimicrobial effectors and thus an attractive target for pathogen interference. In this issue of Cell, Alphonse et al. reveal that the Shigella effectors OspC1 and OspC3 employ a surprising mechanism to block interferon signaling and attenuate antibacterial responses, thus securing their replicative niche.

Plant immune receptors often contain TIR domains, which can oligomerize to form active enzyme complexes in response to pathogen infections. In this issue of Cell, Yu and colleagues discover that some plant TIR domains possess a novel 2′,3′-cAMP/cGMP synthetase activity that cleaves double-stranded RNA/DNA, triggering cell death during plant immune responses.

Many approved drugs, including antivirals, are small-molecule inhibitors of disease-causing proteins. Such inhibitors often elicit resistance during treatment. Chaturvedi et al. propose new, feedback-disruptor (FD) antivirals that efficiently cure infected cells from viruses and minimize the chance of resistance, providing a new paradigm to treat viral infections and possibly other diseases.

Abstract not available

Abstract not available

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 119, Issue 27, July 2022.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 119, Issue 27, July 2022.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 119, Issue 27, July 2022.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 119, Issue 27, July 2022.

Chemist who developed ways to synthesize and depict bioactive products.

African researchers have been warning about monkeypox outbreaks for years. As vaccines are deployed globally, they worry they will be left behind.

Meteorologists are forecasting a third consecutive year of La Niña. Some researchers say similar conditions could become more common as the planet warms.

The heart, the first organ to develop, undergoes complex morphogenesis that when defective results in congenital heart disease (CHD). With current therapies, more than 90% of CHD patients survive into adulthood but often suffer premature death from heart failure (HF) and non-cardiac causes 1. To gain insight into poorly understood disease progression, we performed single nuclear RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq)

There is a well-documented gap in the observed number of scientific works produced by women and men in science, with clear consequences for the retention and promotion of women in science1. The gap might be a result of productivity differences2-5, or it might be due to women’s contributions not being acknowledged6,7. This paper finds that at least part of this gap is due to the latter: women in research

Low-powered technology based on entangled photons delivers clearer sound than a classical equivalent.

Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 22 June 2022

COVID has exposed stark inequality - we walk through the latest data

These extinct uber-predators occupied an ecological niche that has no known equivalent in the modern ocean.

Jasmin Graham has a passion for predators and promoting inclusive science.

In separate books, leading economists explore the wide-ranging changes needed to produce a more just society.

‘This is not an acceptable normal for the long run,’ says US COVID czar Ashish Jha. Plus, the biodiversity COP15 will move to Canada and a gentler sonar based on shrimp snaps.

Data reveal that to earn credit on scientific articles, women need to work harder than men.

Allison McClure describes how she secured her first postdoctoral position and shares her thoughts on how laboratories can attract candidates.