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Genomic history of early dogs in Europe

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10112-7

Genome-wide analysis shows European dogs existed by 14,200 years ago, were already genetically distinct, received less Neolithic Southwest Asian admixture than humans did and contributed substantially to later European dogs.

Exposed phosphatidylserine is an inhibitory molecule in T cell exhaustion

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10266-4

Insights into the mechanism by which phosphatidylserine functions as a non-classical inhibitory molecule during T cell exhaustion, and how phosphatidylserine-targeting antibodies enhance T cell responses are explored.

Pembrolizumab and olaparib in homologous-recombination-deficient metastatic pancreatic cancer: the phase 2 POLAR trial

Nature Medicine, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04299-5

Results of the phase 2 POLAR trial show that biomarker-guided treatment in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer based on homologous repair deficiency leads to encouraging clinical response rates in immune cell-infiltrated tumors.

Oxygen supply through the tracheolar–muscle system does not constrain insect gigantism

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10291-3

New evidence suggests that diffusive oxygen transport through the tracheolar–muscle system is not the limiting factor on insect body size.

Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z

Ultrafast electron imaging shows full phase-space dynamics of optical singularities, which can reach superluminal velocities before annihilation and break the particle-like analogy of topological defects.

<i>LRRK2</i>-targeting antisense oligonucleotide in Parkinson’s disease: a phase 1 randomized controlled trial

Nature Medicine, Published online: 24 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04262-4

The first-in-human clinical trial of the LRRK2-targeting antisense oligonucleotide BIIB094 in Parkinson’s disease demonstrates that the treatment is well tolerated and produces dose-dependent reductions in cerebrospinal fluid levels of LRRK2 and phosphorylated Rab10, indicating successful target engagement.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor is critical for both AR-dependent and AR-indifferent enzalutamide resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer

Oncogene, Published online: 23 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41388-026-03723-x

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor is critical for both AR-dependent and AR-indifferent enzalutamide resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer

Generalist biological artificial intelligence in modeling the language of life

Nature Biotechnology, Published online: 20 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41587-026-03064-w

This Review discusses the promises and pitfalls of biological AI algorithms and presents a vision for generalist biological artificial intelligence, in which models can perform diverse tasks across biological domains.

Pluripotent stem-cell-based screening uncovers sildenafil as a mitochondrial disease therapy

Leigh syndrome is a severe and untreatable mitochondrial disease. Using patient-derived models in 2D and 3D, Zink and colleagues identify the PDE5 inhibitor sildenafil as a repurposable drug candidate, leading to lifespan extension in mammalian models and clinical improvement in six individuals with Leigh syndrome.

Human-specific features of the cerebellum and ZP2-regulated synapse development

Human-specific transcriptomic and regulatory features are present in the cerebellum, with ZP2 playing a key role in synapse regulation. ZP2 expression is induced by pontine mossy fibers, leading to decreased synaptic proteins and neuronal activity, which provides insights into the evolutionary development of the human cerebellum.

β-hydroxybutyrate enhances the metabolic fitness of CAR T cells in cancer

β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the ketone body associated with a ketogenic diet, metabolically reprograms and fuels CAR T cells to achieve proliferation, cytokine production, and superior tumor control. These findings suggest that BHB supplementation may be a practical way to boost adoptive cancer immunotherapy.

Fungal-derived cellobiose metabolic pathway fuels T cells to bypass intratumoral glucose competition

Equipping T cells with fungal enzymes to utilize cellobiose (a safe and natural disaccharide of glucose obtained from the wood polymer cellulose) enhances their viability and effector function in tumor microenvironments where glucose concentrations are constrained.

Tuning the sensitivity of mechanosensory receptors through histidine scanning

Histidine scanning represents a broadly applicable technique for the identification of critical interaction sites within TCRs and other mechanosensory receptors to enhance receptor signaling strength and augment therapeutic efficacy via the catch bond mechanism.

Genomic atlas of Bifidobacterium infantis and B. longum informs infant probiotic design

A global genomic survey of infant gut bifidobacteria shows that B. infantis remains highly prevalent and diverse in infants from low- and middle-income countries but scarce in Western, industrialized populations and poorly represented in current probiotics. This genomic and culture collection catalogs geo-specific B. infantis strains and provides a blueprint for developing probiotics tailored to local diets and populations to support infant health.

Extracellular matrix sensing regulates intratumoral heterogeneity of autophagic flux

Human pancreatic cancer cells sense specific components of the ECM to fine-tune their autophagy flux levels, conferring the ability to coordinate proliferation, survival, and responsiveness to chemotherapy. Targeting ECM sensing may turn this ability into a therapeutic opportunity.
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