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Changes in penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula in recent decades have been linked to environmental factors such as sea ice. Here, the authors show that penguin colony change on Ardley Island, NW Antarctic Peninsula during the last 8,500 years was primarily driven by volcanic activity.

The One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining green plant evolution that comprises the transcriptomes and genomes of diverse species of green plants.

A neural epigenetic signature detectable via plasma analyses is prognostic in patients with glioblastoma, resembling an oligodendrocyte-progenitor- and neuronal-progenitor-cell-like state and showing increased neuro-to-glioma synapse formation.

Predicting the fate of carbon in peatlands relies on assumptions of behaviour in response to temperature. Here, the authors show that the temperature dependency of respiratory carbon losses shift strongly over day-night cycles, an overlooked facet causing bias in peatland carbon cycle simulations.

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.

Arid soils are currently under substantial anthropogenic stress and are globally degrading. Co-operating photovoltaic plants with biocrust nurseries has potential to restore soil health alongside renewable energy production.

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).

Here, English et al. show that after expanding in lymphoid tissues, CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells recognising hepatic antigens migrate into specialised vascular liver areas where CD4⁺ T cells locally license hepatic dendritic cells and further expand CD8⁺ T cell numbers.

Analysis of more than 1,500 microbial genomes sheds light on the processing of carbon released as permafrost thaws.

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.

By analysing plant and nematode DNA from sites all around the Arctic, it is shown that vegetation before about 10,000 years ago contained more forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants) than previously believed, which changes our understanding about the functioning of the diverse northern ecosystem that existed at this time.

A global assessment shows that the wildland–urban interface occurs on all continents, showing its broad-scale patterns and providing a basis for future research on dynamics and socioeconomic and biophysical processes.

Analysis of calcified dental plaque (calculus) specimens from Neanderthals shows marked regional differences in diet and microbiota and evidence of self-medication in one individual, and identifies prevalent microorganisms and their divergence between Neanderthals and modern humans.

In plants, the shoot apical meristem generates all of the above ground organs and meristem morphology may predict important agricultural traits. Here Leiboff et al. use high throughput phenotyping and a genome-wide association study to uncover genes associated with variation in maize meristem size.

The genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum contains a record of past evolutionary forces. Here, using 2537 parasite sequences from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the authors demonstrate how drug pressure and human movement have shaped the present-day parasite population.

Several cases of replicated radiations (in which sets of similar forms evolve repeatedly within different regions) have been described in animals. Here the authors provide a well-documented example in plants, specifically the Oreinotinus lineage within the angiosperm clade Viburnum in its spread from Mexico to Argentina through disjunct cloud forest environments.

In a cohort of 281 children with diagnosed or suspected cancer presenting to the NHS, implementing routine whole-genome sequencing provided clinical benefit in 29% of cases and led to change in management in 7% of patients.

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.

The study of the electronic, thermal and optical properties of dysprosium-doped cadmium oxide reveals high electron mobility, rendering the material suitable for plasmonic applications in the mid-infrared region.

Peatland pyrogenic carbon from past fires in the Amazon plays a key role in the global carbon budget, accounting for 1.6% of the total organic carbon in Amazonian peatlands, based on an analysis of six cores from northwestern Amazonian peatlands using hydrogen pyrolysis.

Daily location data on the individuals of 14 migratory marine species from 2000 to 2009 allow annual migratory cycles to be mapped to the time spent in the high seas and the exclusive economic zones of specific countries, providing a basis for international management strategies for these species.

Satellite data suggest that contemporary climate warming has already resulted in increased productivity and shrub biomass over much of the Arctic, but plot-level evidence for vegetation transformation remains sparse. Now research provides plot-scale evidence linking changes in vascular plant abundance to local summer warming in widely dispersed tundra locations across the globe.

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

This Resource describes genetic tools for microbial eukaryotes, providing a roadmap for developing genetically tractable organisms.

This overview of the ENCODE project outlines the data accumulated so far, revealing that 80% of the human genome now has at least one biochemical function assigned to it; the newly identified functional elements should aid the interpretation of results of genome-wide association studies, as many correspond to sites of association with human disease.

Auxin binds to its receptor within a ubiquitin ligase complex and promotes the binding and degradation of transcriptional repressors. The discovery of a cyclophilin isomerase enzyme critical in this process adds a new twist to auxin signalling.

Insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cell is a tightly regulated process that is vital for maintaining blood glucose homeostasis. Here, the authors show that the RNA binding protein RBFOX2 is a regulator of insulin secretion through the alternative splicing of genes required for insulin granule docking and exocytosis.

Quantification of shale gas reserves is critical to shape the energy policies of countries. Here, the authors present a new procedure to estimate gas in place and show that important UK gas reserves are actually much lower than previously thought.

Human activities affect marine predators in complex ways, yet we lack spatial understanding of cumulative impacts across key habitats. Here the authors analyse distribution and movements of eight marine predators, and find that species and human impacts vary across space and overlap within marine sanctuaries.

The One Thousand Plant Initiative analysed an unprecedented collection of >1,000 plant vegetative transcriptomes from species spanning the green tree of life, resolved controversial phylogenetic placements and highlighted gene family expansions and whole genome duplications that occurred during different stages of evolution.

Combining ecophysiological growth models of >135,000 vascular plant species and information on plant growth form, the authors show that 33–68% of the global land surface will experience a significant change in the next 50 years in how climate supports the plant growth forms that define terrestrial ecosystems.

Analysis of peatland carbon accumulation over the last millennium and its association with global-scale climate space indicates an ongoing carbon sink into the future, but with decreasing strength as conditions warm.

The causes of the Upper Pleistocene megafauna extinction in Australia and New Guinea are debated, but fossil data are lacking for much of this region. Here, Hocknull and colleagues report a new, diverse megafauna assemblage from north-eastern Australia that persisted until ~40,000 years ago.

The origin of primary plastids in an ancestor of Archaeplastida gave eukaryotes photosynthetic capabilities. This study used single-cell genomics and phylogenomics to infer the evolutionary origin of the plastid-lacking phylum Picozoa, a group of marine microbial heterotrophic eukaryotes, showing that they belong to the Archaeplastida and changing our understanding of plastid evolution.