COVID can wake up a slew of dormant viruses inside you

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02443-2Reactivation of typically harmless anelloviruses, in particular, seems to be linked with developing long COVID, study finds.

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02443-2

Reactivation of typically harmless anelloviruses, in particular, seems to be linked with developing long COVID, study finds.

Switching off the <i>FNIP1</i> gene protects against metabolic disease

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02391-xA study of more than one million people shows that rare genetic variants that disrupt the FNIP1 gene are associated with a favourable metabolic profile and a rough…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02391-x

A study of more than one million people shows that rare genetic variants that disrupt the FNIP1 gene are associated with a favourable metabolic profile and a roughly 60% lower risk of cardiometabolic disease than the general population. Silencing genes in the FNIP1 pathway in mice induces fat breakdown and reproduces the metabolic benefits associated with the variants in humans.

An ancient mitochondrial program tunes translation to haem availability

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10885-xAn evolutionarily conserved mitochondrial haem-sensing mechanism that predates the emergence of haemoglobin-based oxygen transport could have therapeutic value in …

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10885-x

An evolutionarily conserved mitochondrial haem-sensing mechanism that predates the emergence of haemoglobin-based oxygen transport could have therapeutic value in iron deficiency disorders.

A cholinergic hub in the nucleus accumbens gates opioid-reward learning

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10887-9Cell-type-specific opioid blockade in accumbal cholinergic interneurons abolishes morphine-reward learning without impairing analgesia and decouples morphine-evoke…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10887-9

Cell-type-specific opioid blockade in accumbal cholinergic interneurons abolishes morphine-reward learning without impairing analgesia and decouples morphine-evoked dopamine elevations from acetylcholine dips, suggesting pro-cholinergic strategies to limit early opioid reward acquisition.

Encapsulation epitaxy of air-stable 2D superconductors for quantum circuits

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10865-1An ‘encapsulation epitaxy’ mechanism is used to grow air-stable, two-dimensional superconducting films at the interface of a 2D–3D hybrid substrate, holding promis…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10865-1

An ‘encapsulation epitaxy’ mechanism is used to grow air-stable, two-dimensional superconducting films at the interface of a 2D–3D hybrid substrate, holding promise for use in fabrication of superconducting quantum circuitry.

A tumour-derived organoid biobank maps cancer gene dependencies

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10830-yA clinically annotated multi-omic organoid resource with matched tumour samples from 256 patients across 5 cancers maps gene dependencies, reveals subtype-specific…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10830-y

A clinically annotated multi-omic organoid resource with matched tumour samples from 256 patients across 5 cancers maps gene dependencies, reveals subtype-specific vulnerabilities and uncovers treatment-driven changes, expanding mechanistic insight and models for precision oncology.

An entangling gate for dual-rail erasure qubits

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10822-yA fast, low-error entangling gate for dual-rail cavity erasure qubits preserves a strong error hierarchy, advancing scalable quantum error correction with substant…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10822-y

A fast, low-error entangling gate for dual-rail cavity erasure qubits preserves a strong error hierarchy, advancing scalable quantum error correction with substantially improved fault-tolerant performance.

Pseudogap in a Fermi–Hubbard quantum simulator

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10875-zA cold-atom quantum simulator reveals the pseudogap metallic state in the Hubbard model, mapping its phase diagram and advancing understanding of doped Mott insula…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10875-z

A cold-atom quantum simulator reveals the pseudogap metallic state in the Hubbard model, mapping its phase diagram and advancing understanding of doped Mott insulators and high-temperature superconductivity.

Upcycling of polyvinyl chloride into polyalphaolefin lubricants

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10867-zA mild chemical process upcycles polyvinyl chloride waste into polyalphaolefin lubricants with tunable properties, offering an economical route to plastic recyclin…

Nature, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10867-z

A mild chemical process upcycles polyvinyl chloride waste into polyalphaolefin lubricants with tunable properties, offering an economical route to plastic recycling and improved carbon circularity.