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Genome-wide association meta-analyses of waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index in more than 224,000 individuals identify 49 loci, 33 of which are new and many showing significant sexual dimorphism with a stronger effect in women; pathway analyses implicate adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Erik Ingelsson and colleagues report a large-scale genome-wide meta-analysis for associations to the extremes of anthropometric traits, including body mass index, height, waist-to-hip ratio and clinical obesity. They identify four loci newly associated with height and seven loci newly associated with clinical obesity and find overlap in the genetic structure and distribution of variants identified for these extremes of the trait distributions and for the general population.

Disentangling the various pathways by which climate change may drive community shifts in real-world ecosystems is challenging. Here the authors apply a trend attribution approach to a large dataset from the MASTIF database to assess the contribution of direct and indirect effects of climate on tree fecundity in North America, finding that the latter dominate trends by affecting tree growth and size and thereby fecundity.

Find sheds light on prehistoric flying reptiles.

Detection of neoepitopes from tumours is time consuming and requires the integration of genomic and/or RNA sequencing expression data. Here, the authors propose a machine learning method to enable direct identification of additional, tumour-specific sequences using mass spectrometry through integration of de novo peptide sequencing scores, MHC class I binding prediction, and peptide retention time prediction.

Sweat, Cao et al. used different genetic and epigenetic approaches to show that Tbx5 is essential for the maintenance of atrial identity in postnatal cardiomyocytes by binding atrial-specific enhancers and maintaining the atrial-specific chromatin architecture, in a dose-dependent manner.

Extracting information about polymer network topology from mechanical properties alone remains challenging. Here the authors develop a forensic approach to quantify network structural information by analysing their nonlinear mechanics.

To consider the impact of sex on adaptation to space, the European Space Agency initiated VIVALDI dry immersion microgravity simulation in female subjects. Here, the authors show marked deconditioning with 5-day exposure, and propose comprehensive multi-system physiological assessment in 18 healthy women.

Whereas transitions from solid- to fluid-like states in systems of active particles have received much attention, the characterization of phase transitions in active fluids with self-organized vortices so far has remained elusive. James et al. take us on a numerical tour de force from active turbulence to active vortex crystals.

Advanced ecological modelling reveals how Sahul (Australia and New Guinea) was first peopled, suggesting the most probable routes and surprisingly rapid early settlement of this continent by anatomically modern humans starting 50,000 to 75,000 years ago.

The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide may be accelerated by President Carter's new-found enthusiasm for synthetic fuel. But the atmospheric ‘crisis’ may come too slowly to bother the politicians, argues Michael Glantz.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a hallmark of chronic kidney disease. Here, Pattaro et al. conduct a meta-analysis to discover several new loci associated with variation in eGFR and find that genes associated with eGFR loci often encode proteins potentially related to kidney development.

In cancer, the impact on cellular fitness of copy-number gains affecting collaterally-amplified genes remains poorly understood compared to oncogenes. Here, the authors integrate genomic data from tumours and cell lines and identify a class of ‘Amplification-Related Gain Of Sensitivity’ (ARGOS) genes, with potential therapeutic applications.

Hoetker et al. show that H3K36 methylation exerts a dual role in cell identity maintenance: it integrates TGFβ signals at mesenchymal targets to keep them active and prevents the activation of alternative lineage programmes via enhancer methylation.

Observations of ZTF SLRN-2020, a short-lived optical outburst in the Galactic disk accompanied by bright, long-lived infrared emission, show that the resulting light curve and spectra are consistent with the signatures of a planet being engulfed by its host star.

It is certainly possible to define the reliable prediction of individual earthquakes so narrowly that success is impossible. For instance, in Main's level 4 he refers to predictions with such precision and accuracy that a planned evacuation can take place. None of the contributors have yet to suggest that this is a possibility and I agree with Wyss that using this straw man as the standard will not lead to a useful debate. However, Main's levels 2 and 3 may lead to socially useful tools regardless of whether we call them predictions or probabilistic forecasts.

Mosasaurs were the dominant marine reptiles in the Late Cretaceous. Lindgren et al. report a mosasaur fossil with preserved soft tissue, providing the first evidence that mosasaurs were propelled by hypocercal tail fins.

RNA–DNA hybrids are immunogenic species that can aberrantly accumulate in the cytoplasm after R-loop processing, linking R-loop accumulation to cell death through the innate immune response.

Reusswig et al. use engineered systems to force DNA replication in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. This unscheduled G1 replication shows hallmarks of S phase replication, but leads to over-replication and DNA breaks from replication collisions.

The high dark current of perovskite photodetectors hinders the full potential of perovskites as active material for X-ray detectors. Here, Jin et al. provide a strategy to reduce the dark current to zero and massively enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of perovskite X-ray detectors and photodetectors.

The first gibbon genome to be sequenced provides clues about how genomes can be shuffled in short evolutionary time frames, and about how gibbons adapted and diversified in the jungles of southeast Asia. See Article p.195

The hippocampal code in freely flying bats is highly stable over days and across contexts if behaviour is taken into account.

Germline mutations in the DNMT3A gene can cause an overgrowth syndrome associated with behavioural and hematopoietic phenotypes. Here the authors describe a mouse model of this syndrome that recapitulates many of these features, including conserved alterations in DNA methylation in the blood cells of both species.

Stress transitions from horizontally forced compression to vertically forced extension during subduction initiation, according to seismic images of the Puysegur plate boundary, New Zealand.

Disruption of the blood brain barrier can occur in several diseases. Here the authors show that targeted ablation of astrocytes results in a plasticity mechanism in nearby cells to maintain cerebrovascular coverage, but that this mechanism is impaired in older animals.

From mouse experiments, the authors link iron deficiency in mothers with cardiovascular defects and increased retinoic acid signalling in their offspring, and giving iron early in pregnancy can prevent most defects.

The authors show increased negative extremes in gross primary productivity in northern midlatitude ecosystems, particularly over grasslands and croplands, attributed to impacts of warm droughts. This highlights the vulnerability of terrestrial carbon sinks and food security to increasing extreme events.

Developing high-capacity batteries with high-rate performance has been a challenge. Here, the authors use a liquid metal alloy as anode in the aluminum-ion battery to push the boundaries, enabling the discovery of new roles of electric double layers in facilitating a high-rate charge transfer.

Claudia Langenberg, James Meigs and colleagues apply a joint meta-analysis approach that accounts for differences in body mass index to identify variants associated with glycemic traits. They report six new loci associated with fasting insulin levels and provide insights into the genetic basis of insulin resistance.

Sequencing data from two large-scale studies show that most of the genetic variation influencing the risk of type 2 diabetes involves common alleles and is found in regions previously identified by genome-wide association studies, clarifying the genetic architecture of this disease.

Mark McCarthy and colleagues identify twelve new risk loci for type 2 diabetes through a large-scale genome-wide association and replication study in individuals of European ancestry. The identified loci affect both beta-cell function and insulin action and are enriched for genes involved in cell cycle regulation.

The relationships that control seed production in trees are key to understand evolutionary pressures that have shaped forests. A global synthesis of fecundity data reveals that while seed production is not constrained by a strict size-number trade-off, it is influenced by taxonomy and nutrient allocation.

Observations of an eclipsing double-white-dwarf binary with an orbital period of 6.91 minutes that is decaying as predicted by general relativity are reported; once launched, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) should swiftly detect this binary.

Common cold helps grow swift protection against bird flu.

One hundred and ten Zika virus genomes from ten countries and territories involved in the Zika virus epidemic reveal rapid expansion of the epidemic within Brazil and multiple introductions to other regions.

Semiconductor nanoplatelets emit light in narrow spectral ranges. Here, the authors establish a theoretical model showing this behavior is controlled by the inhomogeneities of the ligand layer on the nanoplatelet surface.

The authors discuss the dysregulated host response in sepsis and the use of biomarkers to gauge the immunological status of patients and potentially guide precision medicine. They also highlight potential immunomodulatory therapies for sepsis and discuss the future of sepsis clinical trials.

Applying the concept of ecosystem energetics to a grassland biodiversity experiment, the authors show that the storage and flow of energy across the whole trophic network, both above- and belowground, becomes more efficient as plant diversity increases.

Several persistent challenges limit the efficacy and applicability of adoptive T cell therapies for cancer, including suboptimal function and/or persistence in vivo, a narrow range of targetable antigens and complex manufacturing processes. This Review discusses the potential of ‘CRISPR 2.0’ precision gene-editing platforms, such as base editing and prime editing to address all of these challenges, and describes the progress made towards clinical translation of these technologies.

Exome-wide analysis identifies rare and low-frequency coding variants associated with body mass index. Gene-based meta-analysis and functional studies implicate 13 genes, eight of which are novel, and neuronal pathways as factors in human obesity.

This Consensus Statement presents the standards for technical reporting in environmental and host-associated microbiome studies (STREAMS) guidelines.