Month: October 2026

Alveolar stem cells transdifferentiate to drive bronchiolar regeneration

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11127-wIdentification of a cross-compartmental cellular mechanism for bronchiolar epithelial repair informs therapeutic strategies for airway injury.

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11127-w

Identification of a cross-compartmental cellular mechanism for bronchiolar epithelial repair informs therapeutic strategies for airway injury.

5-oxoETE links redox control of epithelial damage detection and resilience

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11121-2The DHRS7–OXER1 pathway links oxidative stress to immunity and tissue resilience by modulating 5-oxoETE via NADP+–NADPH, activating OXER1 to recruit antimicrobial…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11121-2

The DHRS7–OXER1 pathway links oxidative stress to immunity and tissue resilience by modulating 5-oxoETE via NADP+–NADPH, activating OXER1 to recruit antimicrobial cells and induce NUDIX enzymes that protect epithelial redox integrity.

A Jurassic mammaliaform swimmer and transformation of the mammalian pharynx

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11107-0A swimming and water-foraging mammaliaform, Megacauda sungei gen. et sp. nov., had a lifestyle analogous to the extant platypus, and was capable of mammal-like sw…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11107-0

A swimming and water-foraging mammaliaform, Megacauda sungei gen. et sp. nov., had a lifestyle analogous to the extant platypus, and was capable of mammal-like swallowing and suckling.

An early predecessor to mammals could swim, suckle and swallow

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03069-0A fossil of an early ancestor of mammals from the Jurassic period reveals a mammal-like throat passage (pharynx) and throat bones (hyoids). It fills a gap in our …

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03069-0

A fossil of an early ancestor of mammals from the Jurassic period reveals a mammal-like throat passage (pharynx) and throat bones (hyoids). It fills a gap in our knowledge about throat features in the animals from which modern mammals evolved their ability to swallow as adults and suckle milk as babies.

Retrofitting language models to operate over bytes

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11111-4Byteification is a general method for retrofitting large language models to operate over bytes such that they approach the capabilities of subword-based systems a…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11111-4

Byteification is a general method for retrofitting large language models to operate over bytes such that they approach the capabilities of subword-based systems and may be better for scientific data.

Gut microbes that trace ancient human journeys

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02969-5The Indigenous African Hadza and South American Tsimane share gut microorganisms that shed light on human dispersals and microbial losses in industrialized societ…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02969-5

The Indigenous African Hadza and South American Tsimane share gut microorganisms that shed light on human dispersals and microbial losses in industrialized societies.

Dynamics of human cardiogenesis and its disruption in trisomy 21

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11125-ySingle-cell and spatial multiomics are combined to define niches in the developing human heart, revealing pacemaker-cell organization, cardiomyocyte maturation an…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11125-y

Single-cell and spatial multiomics are combined to define niches in the developing human heart, revealing pacemaker-cell organization, cardiomyocyte maturation and compaction, and developmental perturbations associated with trisomy 21.

Semiconductors pushed into insulator territory

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02968-6A material that was previously assumed to be an electrical insulator has been shown to be a semiconductor, with potential uses in electronics and optics.

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02968-6

A material that was previously assumed to be an electrical insulator has been shown to be a semiconductor, with potential uses in electronics and optics.

Genome accessibility reveals disease risk that gene expression misses

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03072-5Most disease-associated genetic alterations do not affect the genes themselves, but instead change how strongly they are expressed, often by modifying genome acce…

Nature, Published online: 07 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03072-5

Most disease-associated genetic alterations do not affect the genes themselves, but instead change how strongly they are expressed, often by modifying genome accessibility. Gene expression and accessibility have now been analysed simultaneously in 10 million immune cells from 1,108 people, linking disease-associated changes in accessibility to gene expression.