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Is the Arctic's biggest ice sheet in irreversible meltdown? And would we know if it were? Alexandra Witze reports.

Analysis of two-million-year-old ancient environmental DNA from the Kap København Formation in North Greenland shows there was an open boreal forest with diverse plant and animal species, of which several taxa have not previously been detected at the site, representing an ecosystem that has no present-day analogue.

The US government plans to evacuate a sick crew member from an isolated research station.

Alexandra Witze examines a book on the techheads behind commercial high-altitude travel.

Primary biliary cirrhosis is an autoimmune liver disease with poor therapeutic options. Here Cordell et al. a perform meta-analysis of European genome-wide association studies identifying six novel risk loci and a number of potential therapeutic pathways.

This study reveals that population aging intensifies heat- and cold-related deaths, more so than climate change, in 50 countries. At 1.53 °C global warming, aging contributes to rising heat-related deaths, offsetting declines in cold related death.

An in vivo screen of small-molecule compounds to inhibit the mosquito-stage development of Plasmodium identified hits that can be incorporated into bed nets and led to effective parasite killing in the insect host.

Tree swallows are becoming smaller in response to climate change, but this isn’t driven by reduced growth as chicks. The overall picture is much more complicated, with climate effects impacting adults, juveniles, males and females differently.

This study shows that photosynthesis in the Arctic Ocean can occur at lower light levels than previously thought. This finding is based on unique measurements made on microalgae underneath sea ice in the high Arctic at the end of the polar night.

Inhibitors of the protein kinase Wee1 are promising drugs for cancer therapy. Here, the authors show that these drugs activate the integrated stress response via GCN2, synergising with mRNA translation defects. They suggest strategies such as PROTACs or ISR inhibitors to improve WEE1 mediated toxicity.

Understanding the emergence, evolution, and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is essential to combat antimicrobial resistance. Here, Munk et al. analyse ARGs in hundreds of sewage samples from 101 countries and describe regional patterns, diverse genetic environments of common ARGs, and ARG-specific transmission patterns.

Fishing has had a profound impact on global reef shark populations, and the absence or presence of sharks is strongly correlated with national socio-economic conditions and reef governance.

In a broad cross-tissue analysis, the authors show that a receptor called EDA2R steadily increases with age in both humans and animal models, and becomes even more active in conditions like obesity and diabetes, intensifying inflammation-like processes in muscle cells.

Leslie and Eliot Young have spent their lives studying Pluto. Now they are gearing up for the biggest event of their careers.

Smart pandemic mitigation strategies are proposed to strategically close higher-risk economic sectors, while allowing dozens of other economic sectors to continue. This would enable schools to remain open and keep hospitalizations within capacity.

In a warming climate, snow depth increases fastest in the coldest Arctic regions, which leads to enhanced respiration and reduced carbon residence times compared to less cold areas, suggest simulations of climate-change scenarios with an Arctic-specific vegetation model.

Combining data on sea-surface chlorophyll-a with a regional ocean model and diatom abundance from sediment grabs, the authors determine the strength of pelagic–benthic coupling across the George V region in East Antarctica.

Two very different books explore the past, present and future of glaciers.

Nearly half of drifting fish aggregating devices in the Indian and Atlantic oceans becomes abandoned, lost or discarded. However, a substantial portion of this pollution passes near major ports, hence port-based recovery presents a promising strategy to reduce fishing-related marine pollution.

Optimization models using locally adapted constraints and trade-offs demonstrate that adult populations in urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, could benefit from increased legume consumption, while children would gain from increased animal protein intake. This approach could inform policy and dietary recommendations in low- and middle-income countries.

A large-scale metagenomic analysis of plant and mammal environmental DNA reveals complex ecological changes across the circumpolar region over the past 50,000 years, as biota responded to changing climates, culminating in the postglacial extinction of large mammals and emergence of modern ecosystems.

Milk proteins from the North Caucasus and Eurasian steppe support the initial development of sheep dairying during the Eneolithic, followed by subsequent intensification and husbandry of different dairy animals during the Middle Bronze Age and later periods.

Higher vitamin D is associated with improved pregnancy and live birth rates, but its potential role in the human offspring sex ratio in unknown. Here, the authors show that the levels of vitamin D at preconception are positively associated with male live birth, particularly among women presenting inflammatory markers.

From raging wildfires to melting ice in Greenland, the top of the world is screaming for help.

A conserved network of bacteria and fungi underpins cadaver decomposition despite selection effects of location, climate and season.

A second wave of closures looms as the government funding fight barrels towards a record-breaking fourth week.

US states pledge to cut their use of water from the river, which has been drained by climate change and drought.

Meteorologists investigate airborne jets that bring both floods and drought relief.

Here, Heaney et al. show that La Niña conditions are associated with higher than average incidence of childhood diarrheal disease in Botswana in the early rainy season. This finding could help to predict childhood diarrhea outbreaks in southern Africa.

Icy particles high above south pole of Saturn moon create hiccups in atmospheric models.

But proposals spur concern that development will pollute the nearly pristine site.

By harvesting aquatic vegetation that provides habitat for snails that harbour Schistosoma parasites and converting it to compost and animal feed, a trial reduced schistosomiasis prevalence in children while providing wider economic benefits.

Prasinophyte green algae are important to phytoplankton community structure, biomass, and likely export flux in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, suggests monthly sampling of the complete photic zone monthly over four years with identification of prasinophytes to the sub-species level.

Arctic warming thaws permafrost, leading to enhanced soil mercury transport to the Arctic Ocean. Mercury isotope signatures in arctic rivers, ocean and atmosphere suggest that permafrost mercury is buried in marine sediment and not emitted to the global atmosphere

Keppler and colleagues show that individuals with hematological cancers rapidly develop potent infection-neutralizing antibodies and a robust T cell response against several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in response to mRNA vaccination.

Lynch and colleagues characterize γδ T cells in colorectal and endometrial cancer and identify distinct subsets with opposing cytotoxic and wound healing functions, leading them to develop an expansion method that enhances cytotoxic functions.

Funding for the National Science Foundation, which finances research at US bases on the icy continent, has already been reduced, and the agency faces steeper cuts soon.

Analysis of the spread of the 20E (EU1) variant of SARS-CoV-2 through Europe suggests that international travel and insufficient containment, rather than increased transmissibility, led to a resurgence of infections.

Start the new year by sorting out your lab’s cold storage, to simplify purchasing, improve experiment planning and reduce the frequency of lost samples.

Cold temperatures and a strong polar vortex allowed chemicals to gnaw away at the protective ozone layer in the north.