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There is no single correct procedure for the attribution of responsibility for growth in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations because results are closely dependant on how carbon sinks are accounted for and linked to emissions. Now research that uses two different approaches—one assuming geographically constrained sinks and the other unconstrained—unambiguously attributes the largest share of the historical increase in CO₂ to developed countries.

A comparative analysis of bat genomes, including five newly assembled chromosome-scale genomes, provides insights into the diversification of horseshoe bats and reveals molecular adaptations with a potential role in antiviral immune response.

A quantum spin liquid is an intriguing exotic state of matter involving a magnetic system in which a magnetically ordered ground state at low temperatures is avoided despite strong interactions between magnetic units, due to quantum fluctuations. Experimental evidence for the existence of such a state has become available, but there are many fundamental questions about this novel state. This study uses an advanced magnetic probing technique, called muon spin rotation, to study a molecular layered system that is widely regarded as a prime candidate for quantum spin liquid. A complex magnetic phase diagram for this system is determined and characteristic critical properties of the spin liquid are measured, thereby providing important new insights into this exotic state of matter.

Induced magnetic ordering at complex oxide interfaces holds potential for spintronic applications. Here, Bruno et al.image the imprinting of domains between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic thin films in oxide heterostructures, and demonstrate the effects on tunnelling magnetotransport.

The extragalactic background light at far-infrared wavelengths comes from optically faint, dusty, star-forming galaxies with star formation rates at the level of a few hundred solar masses per year. These faint submillimetre galaxies are challenging to study individually, but their average properties can be studied using statistics such as the angular power spectrum of the background intensity variations. This study reports excess clustering over the linear prediction at arcminute angular scales in the power spectrum of brightness fluctuations at 250, 350 and 500 micrometres. It is found that submillimetre galaxies are located in dark matter haloes with a minimum mass of log₁₀[M_min/solar mass]=11.5^+0.7_-0.2 at 350° micrometres.

The determination of Jupiter’s even gravitational moments by the Juno spacecraft reveals that more than three thousand kilometres below the cloud tops, differential rotation is suppressed and the gas giant’s interior rotates as a solid body.

Observations of a six-day-long radio transient following a fast radio burst have yielded the host galaxy’s redshift, which, combined with the dispersion measure, provides a direct measurement of the cosmic density of ionized baryons in the intergalactic medium including all of the so-called ‘missing baryons’.

Dicke superradiance is an important collective quantum phenomenon, but its analysis is hindered by the exponential growth of the state space with atom number. Here, the authors develop a theoretical framework that overcomes this, and predict a critical distance below which superradiant decay can be observed in large ordered arrays.

Deep γ-ray observations of the Galactic Centre with arcminute angular resolution show traces of petaelectronvolt protons within the central ten parsecs of our Galaxy; the accelerator of these particles could have provided a substantial contribution to Galactic cosmic rays in the past.

Cosmic rays are believed to be mainly accelerated by the winds and supernovae of massive stars, although definite evidence for this is lacking. The active regions of starburst galaxies have exceptionally high rates of star formation, and therefore should produce cosmic rays that interact with interstellar gas and radiation to produce diffuse γ-rays. The detection and analysis of >700-GeV γ-rays from M82, the prototype small starburst galaxy, now links cosmic-ray acceleration to star formation activity.

Stuart Cook and colleagues study the role of TTN (titin)-truncating variants using a combination of heart physiology experiments in rats and genomic analysis in humans. Their data show that TTN variants are associated with a range of cardiac phenotypes in healthy individuals and in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

A direct measurement of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons with unprecedentedly high energy resolution reveals a spectral break at about 0.9 teraelectronvolts, confirming the evidence found by previous indirect measurements.

The effect of temperature on marine phytoplankton growth strategies, metabolism and composition is studied using a range of techniques. This approach indicates that temperature plays a previously unrecognized, critical role in resource allocation and marine phytoplankton elemental ratios, with implications for biogeochemical cycling.

Crustose coralline algae (CCA) are potential ‘poster children’ of ocean acidification stress, yet their stress responses have been poorly studied in a natural or ecological context. Now, a comparison of historical and modern specimens from a site with a declining pH trend over a 30-year period reveals trade-offs in skeletal traits tied to calcium carbonate use in response to ocean acidification in four CCA species.

The observation of a flare of radiation from the centre of an inactive galaxy fits a model of the tidal disruption of a helium-rich stellar core and its accretion onto a black hole of about three million solar masses.

Data from the Cassini spacecraft identify strong electron acceleration as the solar wind approaches the magnetosphere of Saturn. This so-called bow shock unexpectedly occurs even when the magnetic field is roughly parallel to the shock-surface normal. Knowledge of the magnetic dependence of electron acceleration will aid understanding of supernova remnants.

Deforestation contributes 6–17% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. However, much uncertainty in the calculation of deforestation emissions stems from the inadequacy of forest carbon-density and deforestation data. Now an analysis provides the most-detailed estimate so far of the carbon density of vegetation and the associated carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation for ecosystems across the tropics.

Observations at submillimetre and X-ray wavelengths show that rapid star formation was common in the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei when the Universe was 2–6 Gyr old, but that the most vigorous star formation is not observed around powerful black holes, thereby confirming a key prediction of models in which an active galactic nucleus expels the interstellar medium of its host galaxy.

Want faster permits? Start by giving agencies the staff they need to do their jobs, then let’s talk about updating laws.

The antiquated legal standard that natural laws and products are not eligible for patent protection is ill-suited for gene and diagnostics patents. Here, I propose a new, technology-agnostic framework for determining patent eligibility that is tailored to the meet the US Constitutional objective of promoting innovation.

Both greenhouse gas emissions and changes in land use and cover have modified the Earth’s climate since preindustrial times. A modelling study now shows that the impact of land-cover change on regional climate depends critically on how snow cover and rainfall change under increased greenhouse gases.

The extent to which crop pests and pathogens have altered their latitudinal ranges in response to climate change remains largely unknown. Now observations of hundreds of pests and pathogens reveal an average poleward shift of 2.7±0.8 km yr⁻¹ since 1960, supporting the hypothesis of climate-driven pest movement.

Pronounced increases in winter temperature result in lower seasonal temperature differences, with implications for vegetation seasonality and productivity. Research now indicates that temperature and vegetation seasonality in northern ecosystems have diminished to an extent equivalent to a southerly shift of 4°– 7° in latitude, and may reach the equivalent of up to 20° over the twenty-first century.

Understanding how climate change will impact whole ecosystems, rather than single species within them, remains challenging. Now, research into the direct and indirect impacts of climate on the functioning of Arctic terrestrial ecosystems reveals effects on tundra primary production, food-web structure and the strength of species interaction.