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The authors report on a temperate Earth-sized planet orbiting the cool M6 dwarf LP 791-18 with a radius of 1.03 ± 0.04 R_⊕ and an equilibrium temperature of 300–400 K, with the permanent night side plausibly allowing for water condensation.

A polymer solar-cell based on a bulk hetereojunction design with an internal quantum efficiency of over 90% across the visible spectrum (425 nm to 575 nm) is reported. The device exhibits a power-conversion efficiency of 6% under standard air-mass 1.5 global illumination tests.

Using optical antennas in optoelectronic devices could lead to improved device performance. Photoemission from the inner core of core–shell single-walled nanotube structures where the optical bandgap of the core is smaller than that of the outer shells demonstrates that these structures channel excitons thereby acting as optical concentrators.

The current ‘second space age’ has enabled multiple studies on the effects of spaceflight on human physiology and health, which are contributing to the development of measures that will be needed to maintain astronaut health in future space missions.

The successful coating of an ionic liquid with silver, where the surface is smooth and the silver coating is stable on a timescale of months, is reported. The ionic liquid does not evaporate in a vacuum and remains liquid down to a temperature of 175 K. The synthesis of liquids with melting points <130 K should be possible.

Eruptions, comets and a see-through mouse all captured the imagination in 2014.

A proposed reinvention for urban motoring based on ultra-small electric vehicles does not address the bigger environmental or social challenges, finds Daniel Sperling.

An integrated data and sample repository for clinical, cellular and multi-omics research from diverse spaceflight missions known as Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) is presented.

Observations from the Lucy spacecraft of the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh reveals unexpected complexity, with a longitudinal trough and equatorial ridge, as well as the discovery of the first contact binary satellite.

Analysis of 97,691 high-coverage human blood DNA-derived whole-genome sequences enabled simultaneous identification of germline and somatic mutations that predispose individuals to clonal expansion of haematopoietic stem cells, indicating that both inherited and acquired mutations are linked to age-related cancers and coronary heart disease.

In this Perspective, the authors review evidence suggesting that stimulating posterior regions such as the occipital cortex and cerebellum could offer new therapeutic avenues, potentially enhancing TMS efficacy across various psychiatric conditions.

Organic aerosols that sediment from Titan’s atmosphere may float, form a film and damp waves on Titan’s seas, according to computations. This damping effect could explain the observed smoothness of Titan’s seas.

A European show reveals new ways of thinking about energy, Daniel Cressey learns.

August’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

Analysis of northern elephant seal populations shows no evidence of inbreeding depression, probably because a recent extreme bottleneck purged much of the genetic load.

Using large-aperture Cherenkov telescopes, Benbow et al. have measured the angular sizes of two stars through timely occultations by asteroids, achieving an order of magnitude improvement in resolution over the lunar occultation method.

Marek Kukula is public astronomer at London's Royal Observatory in Greenwich and the curator of Visions of the Universe, an exhibition charting the trajectory of celestial imaging, with a focus on astrophotography. On the eve of its opening, Kukula talks about eighteenth-century star maps and the co-evolution of the telescope and camera.

Multiple omics platforms and deep single-cell profiling in the I4 astronauts reveal both conserved and distinct immune system disruptions across missions, provide a single-cell immune reference for future missions.

mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

May’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

Object detection using machine learning universally requires vast amounts of training datasets. Midtvedt et al. proposes a deep-learning method that enables detecting microscopic objects with sub-pixel accuracy from a single unlabeled image by exploiting the roto-translational symmetries of the problem.

The influence of X chromosome genetic variation on blood lipids and coronary heart disease (CHD) is not well understood. Here, the authors analyse X chromosome sequencing data across 65,322 multi-ancestry individuals, identifying associations of the Xq23 locus with lipid changes and reduced risk of CHD and diabetes mellitus.

Failure to create marine reserve in Ross Sea raises questions over polar conservation.

Photodetector sensitivity is limited by charge carrier recombination. Here, Zhang et al. use nanocrystal ligand engineering and sintering to provide separate pathways for electron and holes, and to fabricate photodetectors with a high detectivity, especially promising for applications in low-light imaging.

Stellar data from the Kepler spacecraft are used to infer the existence of a sub-Mercury-sized exoplanet, the smallest yet discovered, in orbit around a Sun-like star.

The oldest minerals on Earth are thought to have formed in the Hadean eon, but the reliability of the dates has been questioned. Atom-probe tomography of an ancient zircon confirms that the mineral formed about 4.4 billion years ago, implying that any mixing event of the silicate Earth occurred before that time.

Sputtering yields from solar wind exposure on lunar regolith are up to an order of magnitude lower than expected from prior modeling and calculations, according to laboratory-based experiments on real lunar Apollo samples and advanced 3D simulations

COVID-19 can be associated with neurological complications. Here the authors show that markers of brain injury, but not immune markers, are elevated in the blood of patients with COVID-19 both early and months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those with brain dysfunction or neurological diagnoses.

Sepsis may promptly develop into lethal organ failure, so early diagnosis and treatment planning are essential. Here the authors use machine learning to develop a six-gene signature, termed Sepset, for initial diagnosis, and integrate Sepset into a microfluidic-based bench-side platform for predicting the prognosis of suspected sepsis suitable for the clinic.

The role of IFN signaling in SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcome is still debated. Here, the authors longitudinally profiled plasma samples from hospitalized patients and show that a persistent inflammatory response is linked to delayed generation of adaptive immunity and increased risk of death when coupled with severe infection.

Daniel Rabinovich outlines the history, properties and uses of aluminium — one of the most versatile, pervasive and inexpensive metals today, yet it was considered a rare and costly element only 150 years ago.

Seronegative healthcare workers with an innate signature of infection preferentially expand pre-existing T cells targeting the conserved replication transcription complex of SARS-CoV-2 in abortive infection.

Mercury has a global dayside exosphere that is very tenuous and does not extend far from the planet. Here, the authors show enhancement of neutral densities at high altitudes inferred from pickup ions that is most likely caused by the impact of a meteroid.

Ocean energy extraction is on the rise, but complex flows still challenge reliable tidal stream energy generation. Here, using aerial drones and boat-based surveys, authors map out the turbulent flows around an idled, utility-scale floating tidal turbine.