Germline mutations can have a severe impact on genetic diseases, genome evolution and the fate of a species. The vast majority of inheritable mutations are passed on by the paternal genome. We discovered how paternal DNA damage is repaired by maternal repair leading to the inheritance of structural variants.

Whenever a material changes phase, by melting, crystallizing, or changing symmetry, it always begins at the nanoscale. With a new ultrafast X-ray microscope we’ve taken the first video of this elusive process, revealing a surprising simplicity underlying solid-to-solid transitions in quantum materials excited by lasers.

The loss of glaciers affects sea level, water availability, and natural hazards resulting in socioeconomic impacts for communities around the world, even for those located far from these icy giants. Our study found that limiting future increases in global mean temperature to +1.5°C will still cause the loss of more than 25% of their current mass but would prevent widespread ice-loss in many high-mountain regions.

Our cells remember their cell type-specific functions during their lifetime using modifications on histones, the proteins packaging DNA. Such epigenetic memory is challenged during DNA replication when histones are evicted from DNA. We reveal new evidence that cells recycle histones H2A-H2B to replicated DNA with their modifications, hereby providing epigenetic memory across cell division.

Antibodies, nature’s guided missiles, are designed to bind to their targets with high precision. The tighter they bind, the better they’re thought to perform. But what if we’ve been wrong all this time? Our research suggests that antibodies with a looser grip can sometimes be more effective. This unexpected finding could open new avenues for improved antibody-based therapies.

The brain's immune system helps us defend ourselves against pathogens and attacks, but what happens when it doesn't or it overreacts? Could it be dangerous? More importantly - Is there a way to detect it on time? Here we have developed a potential diagnostic tool for noninvasive detection of brain inflammation, which we believe could be critical for the diagnosis and monitoring of brain diseases.