A single-cell transcriptomics study of the fetal-maternal tissue interface in preeclampsia at different stages of gestation provides new information about the distinct maternal and fetal cell processes contributing to the serious pregnancy complication and points in the direction of potential therapeutic targets.

After a decade of research, the NIH 4D Nucleome program on July 23 delivered a wealth of new insights into how spatial changes in chromatin structure and DNA methylation regulate gene expression in health and disease. In a collection of eight papers published in Science and Science Advances, researchers describe how they have applied single-cell level multi-omics data and tools and techniques developed in the first part of the 4D Nucleome program to track changes in the noncoding part of the genome that are involved in heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, brain aging, retinal health and immune cell development.

The HIV vaccine field is increasingly focusing on inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that can recognize the virus’s genetic diversity. Recent experimental approaches include germline-targeting vaccines, sequential immunization strategies, mRNA-based immunogens, and nanoparticle platforms displaying engineered HIV envelope (Env) trimers. Several studies published in 2025 and 2026 how these designs guide antibody maturation in humans and generate broad neutralizing responses in nonhuman primates, although no HIV vaccine has yet demonstrated protective efficacy in large clinical trials.