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In Drosophila, the physical structure of the eye has a key role in the directional tuning of motion-sensitive neurons, showing how navigational behaviour is tightly associated with anatomy.

Using global data from 9,000 cities, the study shows trees reduce half of the urban heat island effect but can offset only a small share of future climate warming, with cooling benefits unevenly distributed and lowest where heat risk is highest.

Why are some species widespread while others are found only in small, isolated areas? This study shows that species with narrow ranges, and thus higher extinction risk, are often island-restricted, poor dispersers, and have evolved relatively recently.

Studying craters on atmosphere-less bodies can unlock information about planetesimal histories. Here, Marchi et al. present results from the NASA Dawn mission to Ceres showing that craters >100–150 km in size are largely absent, and find that Ceres’ internal evolution is responsible for their absence.

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.

This study maps global hotspots of cropland expansion into non-forest ecosystems, revealing extensive conversion inside and outside protected areas that threatens biodiversity and underscores an urgent need for conservation efforts beyond forests.

Mangrove ecosystems are facing severe climate threats. However, this study shows that strategically expanding protected areas to include the most climate-resilient sites can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem services for the future, and this can be achieved with only a modest increase in protected area.

The high-resolution global model of soil temperature and snow cover change in mountain ecosystems developed here shows that areas nearby glaciers are warming faster than other mountain regions, and these effects are particularly rapid in tropical mountains.

Even outside urban and agricultural areas, ecosystems are vastly transformed as a result of human activities. Here the authors map patterns in climate change, defaunation and floristic disruption to quantify the global exposure of ecosystems to novel conditions.

Gradients of cell recognition molecules wire a sensorimotor interface in Drosophila.

Biodiversity loss threatens deep time evolutionary history. Here, the authors describe patterns of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species across all tetrapod groups and identify 25 priority zones which are insufficiently protected and exposed to high human pressure.

Data from the NASA GRAIL spacecraft recover the lunar gravity field suggesting preservation of a predominantly thermal anomaly in the nearside mantle, which could influence the spatial distribution of deep moonquakes.

This study reveals high variability in deforestation emission baselines typically used to derive carbon credits, with median error at 0.778 times the actual rate. It underscores the need for enhanced methods to improve carbon market accuracy and reliability.

Not all forest cover is of equal quality. Here, the authors ask whether forest cover or forest structural complexity influences extinction risk in tropical rainforest vertebrates, finding that forest structural conditions are more important than cover alone in terms of buffering species against extinction and population declines.

Assessing 3,129 species of trees and shrubs found in 164 global urban areas shows that over half of the species currently experience non-ideal climates. They project increases in risk due to climate change by 2050 and highlight cities where all species are at risk.

An estimated area of 215 million hectares has the potential for natural forest regeneration across tropical forested countries and biomes, representing an above-ground carbon sequestration potential of 23.4 Gt C.

Coastal and marine projects in the Global South can exacerbate existing contextual inequities, particularly in high-stakes locations found across all ocean basins and identified using current investment levels and a composite index of inequity.

Gravity and shape measurements for Ceres obtained from the Dawn spacecraft mission show that it is in hydrostatic equilibrium with its inferred normalized mean moment of inertia of 0.37, suggesting that Ceres has a rocky chondritic core overlaid by a volatile-rich icy shell.

Deformable poly-acrylamide co-acrylic acid microparticles (DAAM-particles) are tunable hydrogel microparticles for quantifying cellular forces. This comprehensive protocol details their synthesis, functionalization and applications.

Rooftop photovoltaic systems are often seen as a niche solution for mitigation but could offer large-scale opportunities. Using multi-source geospatial data and artificial intelligence techniques, the authors map their potential for reducing global temperatures and analyse regional differences.

Multicriteria optimization identifies global priority areas for ecosystem restoration and estimates their benefits for biodiversity and climate, providing cost–benefit analyses that highlight the importance of optimizing spatial planning and incorporating several biomes in restoration strategies.

Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 was triggered by Kerguelen Large Igneous Province volcanism. Short-lived sedimentary mercury enrichments and changes in sediment provenance suggest that southern hemisphere volcanic activity drove climate and carbon cycle changes.

Indigenous peoples’ lands (IPLs) are important reservoirs of biodiversity; however, the extent to which these lands are affected by the growing number of biological invasions worldwide is still unknown. This study evaluates whether IPLs harbour fewer alien species compared with other lands globally.

Land management and ownership by Indigenous Peoples are critical components of conservation strategies, but information on these has previously never been aggregated. Here, global data is compiled to show that Indigenous Peoples have tenure rights or manage a quarter of the world’s land area and 40% of all protected areas and intact ecosystems.

Understanding the role of biodiversity in maintaining the provision of Nature’s Contributions to People is critical to sustainability. This study finds a substantial contribution of high-biodiversity areas to the regulation of air quality, climate and freshwater quantity, with important implications for conservation efforts.

A disruption of deep-water exchange between the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific occurred at ca. 10 Ma, caused by the final closure of the deep Indonesian Gateway. This event significantly changed Miocene oceanic circulation.

Globalization facilitates the spread of invasive alien species, while environmental change can ease invasion. Here, Early et al. identify vulnerable regions globally and evaluate capacity in vulnerable countries to prevent invasions arising from sources such as air travel, horticulture, and pet trade.

High-resolution gravity data from Dawn’s second extended mission could probe the global and local structure of Ceres’s crust. The results show significant spatial and vertical variations of crustal density and porosity, associated with ice features and ice-related processes driven from the interior, and impacts.

The geographic spread of mosquito insecticide resistance has unclear evolutionary origins. Here, the authors identify partial sweeps at resistance genes on two chromosomes from two species of mosquitoes, characterizing their global distribution.

Exploring more than 17,000 privately protected areas in 15 countries across 5 continents, the authors identify the contribution of this kind of protected area to global conservation efforts and identify the roles they can play to achieving new biodiversity conservation targets.

Analysis of a comprehensive database of mammalian host–virus relationships reveals that both the total number of viruses that infect a given species and the proportion likely to be zoonotic are predictable and that this enables identification of mammalian species and geographic locations where novel zoonoses are likely to be found.

Thermodynamics predicts equilibrium crystal structures and kinetics discover the pathway to form them. The authors investigate the interplay of thermodynamics and kinetics in the formation of colloidal clusters and reveal a bifurcation at an early stage of the crystallization process.

Restoration of degraded ecosystems is known to enhance biodiversity and vegetation structure. Using a global meta-analysis, Crouzeilles et al. identify the drivers of restoration success in forest ecosystems at both the local and landscape scales.

Prior studies have investigated macroecological patterns of host sharing among viruses, although certain mammal clades have not been represented in these analyses, and the findings have not been used to predict the true network. Here the authors model the species level traits that predict viral sharing across all mammal clades and validate their predictions using an independent dataset.

In addition to species richness, evolutionary measures of biodiversity are important considerations for conservation. Here, Gumbs et al. develop new biodiversity metrics incorporating phylogenetic diversity and human pressure and highlight conservation priorities in a global analysis of reptiles.

The effectiveness of protected areas depends not only on whether they are intact, but also on whether they are mutually connected. Here the authors examine the structural connectivity of terrestrial protected areas globally, finding that less than 10% of the protected network can be considered connected.

Investment in watershed services programs is growing, however the factors that contribute to sustainability of such programs are unclear. Here the authors use a large database of cities around the world to show that payment schemes are more likely to be present in watersheds with more agricultural land and less protected areas.

Juno’s global infrared mapping of Jupiter’s moon Io determined the distribution as well as the energy output of its volcanoes. Spatial differences emerge, with the equator more active than the polar zones and more heat flow at the north pole than at the south, indicative of an uneven lithosphere.

Lymphatic filariasis and loiasis are diseases caused by insect-borne filarial nematodes. Here, Suh et al. identify a retrotransposon that is present in the genomes of these nematodes and seven tropical bird lineages, indicating two waves of horizontal gene transfer around 17–25 million years ago.

A bright patch in the Fermi bubbles, previously attributed to a jet launched by the Galaxy’s central black hole, is actually due to gamma-ray emission by millisecond pulsars in a background, satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

An ~4,000-km-diameter and 200–500-km-thick active mantle plume is present below Elysium Planitia on Mars, indicating that the Martian interior is geodynamically active and drives the volcanic and seismic activity of the region. Studies from the InSight lander need to consider the presence of the plume.

The authors report the discovery of salts and fresh organic-rich exposures in the Urvara basin, possibly linked to a late resurfacing of the crater floor. These results are consistent with a deep-seated brine/salt reservoir in the crust of Ceres.

Human pressure on the ocean is thought to be increasing globally, yet the magnitude and patterns of these changes are largely unknown. Here, the authors produce a global map of change in cumulative human pressures over the past 5 years, and show that ∼66% of the ocean has experienced elevated human impact.

Agricultural expansion to grow food, fibre and biofuel will further threaten biodiversity. This study finds that almost 90% of terrestrial vertebrate species will lose habitat to such expansion, but proactive food policies could reduce these threats.