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Functional and structural characterization of PtmA2 reveals that it is an unusual non-adenylating acyl-CoA ligase and part of a system wherein the canonical acyl-CoA ligase reaction is separated into two half-reactions performed by distinct enzymes.

Climate change is expected to impact microbes degrading organic matter in northern peatlands. Here, using a warming experiment, the authors show that communities remain stable after three years of warming, likely due to metabolic versatility and an ability to obtain electron acceptors from organic matter cleavage.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

Mangroves provide ecosystem services but are threatened by anthropogenic activities. This study identifies priority areas that maximise the protection of mangrove biodiversity and ecosystem services. The authors show that biodiversity can be protected whilst maximising ecosystem benefits, with little or no increase in the protected area required.

Populations of many migratory taxa have been declining over recent decades. This study examines how well protected areas in Europe cover the dynamic distributions of migratory birds throughout their annual cycles and finds that many species are inadequately protected, especially farmland birds, and that higher protected area coverage correlates with more positive long-term population trends.

This study shows that conserving approximately half of global land area through protection or sustainable management could provide 90% of ten of nature’s contributions to people and could meet representation targets for 26,709 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. This finding supports recent commitments to conserve at least 30% of global lands and waters by 2030.

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Acclimation of tree photosynthesis to warming may be affected by elevated CO₂. Here, the authors show that mature boreal conifers may be able to maintain leaf-level C uptake under warming and elevated CO₂ even if optimum temperature of photosynthesis does not track increased temperature.

Protected areas would need to expand to 33.8% of the total land surface to adequately represent environmental conditions across the habitats of amphibians, birds and terrestrial mammals, far exceeding the current 17% target.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Global spatial data for terrestrial vertebrate and vascular plant diversity, above- and below-ground biomass carbon, and potential clean freshwater volume are combined in a joint optimization study to identify potential synergies for conservation management.

Lean body mass is a highly heritable trait and is associated with various health conditions. Here, Kiel and colleagues perform a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for whole body lean body mass and find five novel genetic loci to be significantly associated.

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of individuals with primary immunodeficiency identifies new candidate disease-associated genes and shows how the interplay between genetic variants can explain the variable penetrance and complexity of the disease.

A structure of the prostaglandin E₂ receptor 3 (EP3) bound to the agonist misoprostol shows a completely enclosed binding pocket with a structured water molecule that coordinates misoprostol's ring structure and explains the receptor's selectivity.

A genome-wide association study of critically ill patients with COVID-19 identifies genetic signals that relate to important host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage that may be targeted by repurposing drug treatments.

A wearable electrochemical patch for the real-time monitoring of the biomarker C-reactive protein in sweat detects elevated concentrations of the protein in patients with acute or chronic inflammation.

EZH1 and EZH2 are associated with epigenetic bone and cartilage developmental defects. Here the authors show that cartilage-specific double knockout mice have reduced skeletal growth and how these histone methyltransferases regulate chondrogenesis and endochondral bone development.

Smith and colleagues find that a multivariate signature of unresolved inflammation and altered iron homeostasis detected beyond 2 weeks following acute COVID-19 onset was the strongest early differentiator of those who report long COVID symptoms at 3–10 months.

Over 170 susceptibility loci have been identified by genome-wide association studies in breast cancer. Here, the authors interrogated the role of risk-associated variants from non-breast tissue, and using expression quantitative trait loci, identify potential target genes of known breast cancer susceptibility variants, as well as 11 regions not previously known to be associated with breast cancer risk.

When brain metastases form, the blood–brain barrier morphs into the blood–tumor barrier (BTB), surrounded by neuroinflammatory response. Here, the authors show that S1P3 is upregulated in neuroinflammatory response in highly BTB permeable lesions, and modulation of S1P3 could impact BTB permeability.

The microbial content of the human gut has been the focus of much research interest recently. Now another layer of complexity has been added: the viral content of the gut. Virus-like particles were isolated from faecal samples from four sets of identical twins and their mothers, at three time points over a one-year period. The viromes (metagenomes) of these particles were then sequenced. The results show that there is high interpersonal variation in viromes, but that intrapersonal diversity was very low over this time period.

Whole-genome sequencing and phenotype data sharing are introduced in a national health system to streamline diagnosis and to discover coding and non-coding variants that cause rare diseases.

A crucial element of conservation planning is spatial prioritization: the identification of areas that are high priority for conservation. This Review synthesizes advances in climate-smart spatial prioritization, which takes into account the effects of climate change on biodiversity.

Observations from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ionospheric Connection Explorer confirm the link between thermospheric winds and ionospheric plasma variability.

Large-scale, multimodal phenotypic characterisation is a valuable tool to explore brain function. Poldrack et al. collect and relate MRI, psychological, physiological, metabolic and gene expression data from a single human over an 18 month period, providing a rich resource for future studies.

The recent FACE model–data synthesis project used data from two FACE experiments to assess land ecosystem models. This Perspective details the 'assumption-centered' approach used to identify and evaluate the causes of model differences.

Experimental whole-ecosystem warming treatments of a Picea–Sphagnum peat bog reveal the likely phenological consequences of future temperature increases that exceed those of historical climate regimes.

The Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP) presents its production phase: the generation of spatial maps of functional tissue units across organs from diverse populations and the creation of tools and infrastructure to advance biomedical research.

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a central role in physiological processes and are common drug targets. This GPCR precrystallization screen uses small culture volumes to determine which conditions result in maximal protein expression and stability.