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The publication of a potentially testable quantum field theory that can accommodate gravity is causing excitement — but it comes at the expense of Lorentz invariance.

Floating offshore wind farms can harvest the steady winds found at sea in locations where the seabed is too deep for fixed-bottom wind turbines. This Perspective explores the technical, industrial and social implications of deploying floating offshore wind on a commercial scale.

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).

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.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

Sera from vaccinated individuals and some monoclonal antibodies show a modest reduction in neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2; but the E484K substitution leads to a considerable loss of neutralizing activity.

A study using iPhones and Apple Watches to track and analyze cognitive health over 18 months in more than 23,000 US adults demonstrates the feasibility of remote cognitive health monitoring and uncovers potential methods for early detection of cognitive decline.

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.

A sensitive Breakthrough Listen search for technosignatures towards Proxima Centauri has resulted in a viable narrowband signal. The observational approach, using the Parkes Murriyang telescope, is described here, while the signal of interest is analysed in a companion paper by Sheikh et al.

A study of the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in England between September 2020 and June 2021 finds that interventions capable of containing previous variants were insufficient to stop the more transmissible Alpha and Delta variants.

Analysing camera-trap data of 163 mammal species before and after the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns, the authors show that responses to human activity are dependent on the degree to which the landscape is modified by humans, with carnivores being especially sensitive.

An investigation using various methods reports an association between adeno-associated virus 2 and paediatric hepatitis of unknown aetiology.

Change the funding system and approaches to international partnerships for US-led big science projects, urge Matt Mountain and Adam Cohen.

How the human plasma proteome is altered during hyperacute HIV-1 infection remains elusive. Here, the authors profile plasma proteins in participants from sub-Saharan African countries before, during and after hyperacute infection and report differentially expressed proteins that define early host response and might serve as biomarkers.

Study of stud horses reveals a significant role for genetics.

Invasive Salmonella Typhimurium bloodstream infection causes a significant public health burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Here, the authors analyse whole genome sequences of 1,302 S. Typhimurium isolates from Africa and describe its evolution, geographic spread, and antimicrobial resistance characteristics.

Bids peak at $5.5 million but fail to meet auctioneer's reserve price.

The goal of the 1000 Genomes Project is to provide in-depth information on variation in human genome sequences. In the pilot phase reported here, different strategies for genome-wide sequencing, using high-throughput sequencing platforms, were developed and compared. The resulting data set includes more than 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual, and can be used to inform association and functional studies.

Bright blue eggs keep males keen on fatherhood.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Health monitoring based on measuring circulating antibodies may enable the presymptomatic detection of diseases. Here, the authors report a large-scale peptide array platform that allows for a detection of the profile of circulating antibodies associated with cancers and infectious diseases.

Genome-wide ancient DNA data from individuals from the Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age documents large-scale movement of people from the European continent between 1300 and 800 bc that was probably responsible for spreading early Celtic languages to Britain.

Severe sepsis has a high mortality rate. Here, the authors provide genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic data across four sepsis-causing pathogens and identify a signature of global increase in fatty acid and lipid biosynthesis as well as cholesterol acquisition.

The authors construct a time-calibrated phylogeny spanning >90% of spiny-rayed fishes to explore patterns of body shape disparity within acanthomorphs. They find a trend of steady accumulation of lineages from the Cenozoic, with an increase in morphological disparity following the Cretaceous–Palaeogene event, facilitating the radiation of diverse morphotypes that characterize acanthomorphs’ widespread ecological success today.

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias identifies new loci and enables generation of a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

Chen et al. construct a model of the neural bases of semantic representation that unifies domain-specific (distinct systems represent different kinds of things) and domain-general (knowledge for all kinds is encoded in a single network) accounts.

Early stellarator designs suffered from high particle losses, an issue that can be addressed by optimization of the coils. Here the authors measure the magnetic field lines in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, confirming that the complicated design of the superconducting coils has been realized successfully.

A state-of-the-art machine-learning method combs a 480-h-long dataset of 820 nearby stars from the SETI Breakthrough Listen project, reducing the number of interesting signals by two orders of magnitude. Further visual inspection identifies eight promising signals of interest from different stars that warrant further observations.

The UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization recently announced a further delay before considering the subject of widespread human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in teenage boys, thereby excluding an estimated 2.9 million boys from receiving an effective treatment in this interim period. Vaccination of boys can offer significant clinical, economic and ethical advantages.

A radio signal detected in the direction of Proxima Centauri in a Breakthrough Listen programme is analysed for signs that it was transmitted by extraterrestrial intelligent life, using a newly developed framework. However, the signal ‘blc1’ is likely to be terrestrial radio-frequency interference.

Cellobiohydrolases are promising tools in biofuel production by hydrolysing cellulose into cellobiose. Here the authors use optical tweezers to show that Cellobiohydrolase 1 fromTricodermia reeseifunctions processively against moderate load, and likely uses multiple energy sources to fuel each step along the cellulose fibre.

The spike protein of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 has a higher affinity for ACE2 than Delta, and a marked change in its antigenicity increases Omicron’s evasion of therapeutic and vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies.

A mother's instinct is to protect her children at any cost. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae this 'maternal instinct' comes at a high price — accelerated ageing and premature death.

Build models that identify and mitigate the causes of discrimination.

Agriculture can reduce environmental pressures and tackle poverty and related injustices. Showing examples of agricultural systems that do so while producing food and energy, this Perspective calls for a refocused debate away from the misleading ‘fuel versus food’ dichotomy.

Jonathan Carlson and colleagues report that pre-adaptation of HIV to a recipient's major histocompatibility complex class I alleles impairs immune control of the virus.