In this Review, Li and Underhill discuss recent advances in understanding the process of phagocytosis. The authors highlight how phagocytosis is integral for innate immune sensing and explain how the phagocytosed material itself shapes the phagocytosis process.

This Perspective presents a framework of ‘structural immunity’ that positions immune cells as architects of tissue structure. Beyond their roles in antimicrobial defence, we posit that immune cells contribute to tissue homeostasis by guiding structural composition and, in some cases, directly building barrier components.

As more spaceflight missions plan to take humans back to the moon — and beyond — a key goal is to understand how spaceflight affects the immune system. In this Review, researchers from academia and international space agencies discuss the emergence of the field of ‘astroimmunology’. They outline the main immunological challenges we must overcome to facilitate safe space exploration by humans.

The tumour microenvironment (TME) poses a significant obstacle to the success of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy in solid tumours. Here, the authors detail how both cellular and non-cellular components of the TME contribute to tumour resistance against CAR T cell therapy, and explore emerging strategies aimed at overcoming these barriers in order to enhance the efficacy of CAR T cell therapy.