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Neotropical tree community composition shows opposing successional pathways for wet and dry forests, but as vegetation cover increases over time, trends converge. Selecting species that have similar wood density to early successional communities could improve reforestation prospects.

Wood density is an important plant trait. Data from 1.1 million forest inventory plots and 10,703 tree species show a latitudinal gradient in wood density, with temperature and soil moisture explaining variation at the global scale and disturbance also having a role at the local level.

Species’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. Here, the authors find that dominant tree species are taller and have softer wood compared to rare species and that these trait differences are more strongly associated with temperature than water availability.

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

Drought is a growing issue in tropical rainforests. Here, the authors revisit a long-term rainfall manipulation experiment in the Amazon to show that tree mortality was followed by community-level adjustments to reduced precipitation.

Analysis of ground-sourced and satellite-derived models reveals a global forest carbon potential of 226 Gt outside agricultural and urban lands, with a difference of only 12% across these modelling approaches.

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).

Chronic care manages long-term, progressive conditions, while acute care handles short-term ones. Here, authors show chronic conditions account for most of the global health burden, with 68% of DALYs and 93% of YLDs attributed to chronic care needs.

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.

Earth-abundant Ni-X (X= Zn, Ga, In) bimetallic nanocrystals are achieved via colloidal synthesis and studied as alkyne semihydrogenation catalysts, for which the Ni₃Zn composition is found to offer an optimal balance between selectivity and activity.

A cost-based method to assess lithium-ion battery carbon footprints was developed, finding that sourcing nickel and lithium influences emissions more than production location. This aids in designing green industrial policy.

Phosphorus limitation can significantly reduce the response of the Amazon forest to CO₂ fertilization, according to ecosystem-model ensemble simulations of a free-air CO₂ enrichment experiment.

A combined experimental and theoretical investigation of phononic properties in nanocrystal-based semiconductors reveals that unusually strong coupling between phonons and electrons originates from the mechanical softness of the surfaces of the nanocrystalline domains and sheds new light on their recombination in nanocrystal-based devices.

Patients with acute myeloid leukaemia are often unable to tolerate intensive chemotherapy, and the outcomes of these patients have improved considerably following the availability of regimens containing the BH3 mimetic venetoclax. Nonetheless, not all of these patients will respond to venetoclax, and virtually all will ultimately develop resistance, indicating a need for novel treatment strategies targeting this pathway. In this Review, the authors describe the development of BCL-2 inhibitors, discuss mechanisms of resistance and summarize ongoing research efforts aimed at optimizing the therapeutic benefit of these agents.

Natural climate solutions can mitigate climate change but misunderstandings about what constitutes a natural climate solution generate unnecessary confusion and controversy. This Perspective distills five foundational principles of natural climate solutions and fifteen operational principles for practical implementation.

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.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been shown to relate to the epidemiology of child infectious diseases, but evidence for child deaths is limited. Here, the authors show that maternal exposure to high levels of ENSO before conception and giving birth may increase under-five mortality.

Iron is shown to have a central role in senescence, both by triggering senescence and through its accumulation in senescent cells, which is driving the senescence-associated secretory phenotype and, in turn, promotes fibrogenesis.

The authors investigate the broad-scale climatological and soil properties that co-vary with major axes of plant functional traits. They find that variation in plant size is attributed to latitudinal gradients in water or energy limitation, while variation in leaf economics traits is attributed to both climate and soil fertility including their interaction.

It remains critical to understand the genomic events in response to treatment of oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). Here, the authors perform a multi-omics analysis of OAC patients from the DOCTOR phase II clinical trial, finding genomic features and immune clusters associated with survival.

Examining drivers of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in a global database of local tree species richness, the authors show that co-limitation by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors causes steeper increases in richness with latitude in tropical versus temperate and boreal zones.

An analysis of above-ground biomass recovery during secondary succession in forest sites and plots, covering the major environmental gradients in the Neotropics.

COVID-19 can be associated with neurological complications. Here the authors show that markers of brain injury, but not immune markers, are elevated in the blood of patients with COVID-19 both early and months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those with brain dysfunction or neurological diagnoses.

There is a requirement for improved adjuvants to improve responses to vaccines, including adjuvants that induce Th17 cells. Here, the authors use a MINCLE and TLR9 agonist-based vaccine adjuvant and show induction of Th17 and mucosal immune responses to vaccine recall antigens in mice and non-human primate models of vaccination.

It is unclear whether trait trade-offs and optimality principles observed at the individual level scale up to the ecosystem level. Here, the authors show that plant trait coordination principles also predict patterns between community-level traits and ecosystem-scale processes.

The degree to which wildfire activity in Australia is affected by climate change is not well quantified. Here, the authors show that the frequency of forest fires and the area burned have increased significantly over recent decades, mainly due to an increase in dangerous fire weather conditions through warmer temperature and circulation changes.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Circulating monocytes contribute to the transition to pain chronicity but the molecular events that cause their deployment are still unclear. Using a mouse model of hyperalgesic priming, here the authors show that blood monocytes contribute to the emergence of chronic pain via a mechanism that requires a transient disruption of NAAA-regulated lipid signaling.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales cause healthcare-associated infections but modes of transmission are not well understood. Here, the authors find evidence of transmission without direct patient contact, indicating presence of undetected environmental reservoirs, whilst half of the transmission events are likely due to plasmid-mediated transmission.

Na_v1.7 channels are known to regulate pain perception in humans and mice. Here, the authors provide evidence that Na_v1.7 deletion leads to transcriptional upregulation of opioid peptides in sensory neurons, and that treatment with the opioid blocker naloxone helps reverse analgesia in mice and human Na_v1.7 nulls.

In the observational ZERO Childhood Cancer Precision Medicine Program PRecISion Medicine for Children with Cancer (PRISM) trial, children with high-risk cancer were treated with molecular tumor board-recommended therapies, resulting in overall clinical response rates that translated into survival benefit after long-term follow-up.

Data on marine litter are scattered. Harmonizing worldwide aquatic litter inventories, this study finds global litter dominated by plastics from take-out food, followed by fishing, with litter being trapped in nearshore areas and land-sourced plastic reaching the open ocean mostly as small fragments.

Temperature extremes increase energy use and reliance on the services that energy provides, which can increase energy insecurity and the associated risks of harm. This study examines energy use of Indigenous communities in remote Australia and finds increased disconnection rates for prepayment-meter users during temperature extremes.

Exercise has beneficial effects on cognition. Here, authors utilize an exercise model to show ACVR1C to be an essential bidirectional regulator of memory and synaptic plasticity in adult, aging and 5xFAD mice beyond the context of exercise.

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is partially successful as a cancer therapy. Here using mouse models, the authors transcriptionally monitor responding and non-responding tumours showing that responding tumours were associated with transient IFN-β signalling which could promote the anti-tumour response.

How cell-cell contact is sensed by Hippo pathway is poorly understood. Here, the authors show that KIRREL1 functions as a feedback regulator of the mammalian Hippo pathway by sensing cell-cell interaction and recruiting SAV1 to cell-cell contacts.

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 randomized trial in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed no benefit and potentially increased harm associated with the use of convalescent plasma, with subgroup analyses suggesting that the antibody profile in donor plasma is critical in determining clinical outcomes.

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

Precise patterning of lipid-stabilised aqueous droplets is a key challenge in building synthetic tissue designs. Here, the authors show how the interactions between pairs of droplets direct the packing of droplets within 3D-printed networks, enabling the formation of synthetic tissues with high-resolution features.

The authors describe microscopic channels that directly connect the skull marrow cavities with the meninges. Neutrophils originating from the skull marrow have a higher propensity to travel to the ischemic mouse brain than cells in the tibia.

The structure of an ideal glass, crystallisation mechanism, nanoscale effects, and even parallels to organic chemistry can be drawn by conceptualizing the amorphous GeTe structure as a superposition of Te and Ge lattices with atom-specific dynamics.