A resampling-based approach to share reference panels.

For many genome-wide association studies, imputing genotypes from a haplotype reference panel is a necessary step. Over the past 15 years, reference panels have become larger and more diverse, leading to improvements in imputation accuracy. However, the latest generation of reference panels is subject to restrictions on data sharing due to concerns about privacy, limiting their usefulness for genotype imputation. In this context, here we propose RESHAPE, a method that employs a recombination Poisson process on a reference panel to simulate the genomes of hypothetical descendants after multiple generations. This data transformation helps to protect against re-identification threats and preserves data attributes, such as linkage disequilibrium patterns and, to some degree, identity-by-descent sharing, allowing for genotype imputation. Our experiments on gold-standard datasets show that simulated descendants up to eight generations can serve as reference panels without substantially reducing genotype imputation accuracy.

I(nsp1)ecting SARS-CoV-2-ribosome interactions.

While SARS-CoV-2 is causing modern human history's most serious health crisis and upending our way of life, clinical and basic research on the virus is advancing rapidly, leading to fascinating discoveries. Two studies have revealed how the viral virulence factor, nonstructural protein 1 (Nsp1), binds human ribosomes to inhibit host cell translation. Here, we examine the main conclusions on the molecular activity of Nsp1 and its role in suppressing innate immune responses. We discuss different scenarios potentially explaining how the viral RNA can bypass its own translation blockage and speculate on the suitability of Nsp1 as a therapeutic target.