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Policies that centre principles of justice and human rights, specify inclusive decision-making processes and identify and challenge underlying drivers of injustice are linked to more just food system outcomes.

This Perspective study highlights the necessity for paradigm shifts in psychopathology research, emphasizing resourcefulness, coalition-building and outreach to enhance assessment, diagnosis and treatment methodologies within the field.

Urban biodiversity underpins ecosystem services in cities, but faces multiple pressures from human activities, declining engagement of urban residents with nature, and inadequate governance systems. This Review discusses the benefits provided by urban biodiversity, the challenges it faces, and approaches to its promotion and conservation.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the need to transform governance for the world to develop sustainably. Using a mixed method approach, this study presents 13 principles for transformative ocean governance that can help turn ocean-use practices into more sustainable ones.

A study proposes four ways in which foods sourced in aquatic environments can contribute to healthier, more environmentally sustainable and equitable food systems, and examines the relevance of these ambitions to nations.

In this Viewpoint article, we asked five Black cancer researchers and clinicians to present their ideas on how we can attract and retain more diverse researchers to the cancer community and how we begin to close the gap in cancer disparities.

Philanthropic foundations need to make a more concerted effort to fund more equitable, diverse and inclusive (EDI) organizations to work on the energy transition in Canada, argues Christina Hoicka.

In this work, authors assess airway microbiome dynamics to show bacterial pneumonia in critically ill COVID-19 patients is significantly associated with death, corticosteroid treatment, disruption of the lung microbiome and a distinct pulmonary host response.

Molecular biologist Rana Dajani works to support the careers and education of women and minority groups in the Arab world and beyond.

Within-sibship genome-wide association analyses using data from 178,076 siblings illustrate differences between population-based and within-sibship GWAS estimates for phenotypes influenced by demographic and indirect genetic effects.

In this Perspective, Gennetian et al. present a framework for child-centric reparations for slavery and legacies of structural and systemic racism in the USA.

In this Stage 2 Registered Report, Buchanan et al. show evidence confirming the phenomenon of semantic priming across speakers of 19 diverse languages.

Authors present a comparative immunological characterisation of Chlamydia vaccine, CTH522/CAF®01, in mice and humans. Findings suggest the mouse to be a good predictor of human immunity to the Chlamydia vaccine CTH522/CAF®01, and long-lasting protection in the mouse further supports the development of this promising vaccine candidate.

Outdoor air pollution contributes to millions of deaths worldwide yet air pollution has differential exposures across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. While green infrastructure has the potential to decrease air pollution and provide other benefits to human health, vegetation alone cannot resolve health disparities related to air pollution injustice. We discuss how unequal access to green infrastructure can limit air quality improvements for marginalized communities and provide strategies to move forward.

Crop failures are potentially predictable much further in advance than previously thought possible. Using multiyear forecasts of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Anderson et al. show that crop failures can be predicted before the planting season even begins in some countries.

Here, the authors show that high alpha diversity, differences in beta diversity, and a high abundance of Bacteroides in the gut microbiome are associated with positive vaccine take and stool shedding following administration of RV3-BB vaccine in the neonatal schedule, but not in the infant schedule or placebo groups, suggesting that the early-life gut microbiome provides a gut environment that optimizes the potential for a positive vaccine response.

The Food Compass is a nutrient profiling system to characterize the healthfulness of diverse foods, beverages and meals. In a nationally representative cohort of 47,999 U.S. adults, the authors validate a person’s individual Food Compass Score against health outcomes.

The Urinary Tract Infection Global Alliance (UTIGA) — a new society in the field of urinary tract infection — has been established to promote cross-disciplinary interactions, provide access to new information, identify research needs and standardize patient management. UTIGA will also provide mentorship opportunities and patient advocacy.

The 2021 unprecedented Pacific Northwest heatwave broke temperature records by extraordinary amounts. Impacts included hundreds of deaths, mass-mortalities of marine life, increased wildfires, reduced crop and fruit yields, and river flooding.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Timothy Frayling, Joel Hirschhorn, Peter Visscher and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for adult height in 253,288 individuals. They identify 697 variants in 423 loci significantly associated with adult height and find that these variants cluster in pathways involved in growth and together explain one-fifth of the heritability for this trait.

Here, the authors discuss how structural racism underlies many of the health disparities that affect individuals from minority racial groups. They also examine how the use of race coefficients in estimated glomerular filtration rate equations might contribute to health inequities in Black patients with kidney disease.

A genome-wide association study in Ghana, West Africa, to identify genetic variants associated with malaria pathogenesis reveals two previously unknown loci on chromosomes 1 and 16.

Efforts to improve people’s capacity to adapt to climate change have so far focussed on a relatively narrow understanding of adaptive capacity. In this Perspective, the authors propose an approach to build adaptive capacity across a broader set of domains.

After early initiation of anti-retroviral therapy in infants infected with HIV-1 in utero, some children sustain undetectable virus levels, despite treatment interruption, which associated with distinct features of the transmitted virus.

The link between conspiracy beliefs and reactionary movements that promote intolerance and undermine democracy was investigated in 21 countries. Economic prosperity and democratic functioning moderated the positive link between anti-migration conspiracy beliefs and commitment to reactionary action.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health problem. Here, the authors report a GWAS from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium in which they identify two risk loci in European ancestry and one locus in African ancestry individuals and find that PTSD is genetically correlated with several other psychiatric traits.

The integrated and indivisible nature of the SDGs is facing implementation challenges due to the silo approaches. We present the three interconnected foci (SDG interactions, modeling, and tools) at the science-policy interface to address these challenges. Accounting for them will support accelerated SDG progress, operationalizing the integration and indivisibility principles.

Genome-wide meta-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and severity phenotypes in up to 756,646 samples identifies a rare protective variant proximal to ACE2. A 6-SNP genetic risk score provides additional predictive power when added to known risk factors.

The members of Independent SAGE reflect on their experience in setting up, developing and running a science communication platform and service to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this Perspective, the authors discuss the importance of preventing zoonotic spillover to prevent pandemics. They highlight mechanisms by which environmental changes can enable spillover, identify ecological interventions for spillover prevention and suggest policy frameworks through which interventions can be implemented.

Much of the western United States relies on seasonal snowpacks for water supply. This Review examines the projected changes and impacts of a declining western United States snowpack, and discusses the adaptation opportunities available to mitigate against such snow losses.

Genetic analyses of ancestrally diverse populations show evidence of heterogeneity across ancestries and provide insights into clinical implications, highlighting the importance of including ancestrally diverse populations to maximize genetic discovery and reduce health disparities.

An investigation into the cause of death of St. Louis Individual, a 23-year old Black or African American male who died in the 1930s, reveals evidence of structural violence and the impact of systemic racism in historically marginalized communities.

Well-being and resilience are considered related or even synergistic dimensions of sustainable development. This Perspective highlights how trade-offs emerging from narrow interpretations of resilience and well-being could threaten sustainable development outcomes.

It is widely reported that ‘tens of thousands of girls’ are living in the UK with the risk of experiencing Female Genital Cutting or Mutilation (FGC/M). This paper reviews the data on which such claims are based. It finds that the data available with which to establish the scale of such risk is both sparse and problematic, and that the numbers claimed to be at risk are considerably over-inflated. For example, data collected by the National Health Service suggests that as few as eight girls had FGC/M while resident in the UK since their records began, with as few as one or two experiencing FGC/M types 1, 2 or 3. Other data publicly available or retrieved from Freedom of Information requests to the Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service, Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, National Health Service and academic sources also suggest that the ‘tens of thousands of girls’ claim is misplaced. Current UK FGM-safeguarding approaches, though well-intentioned, appear to be based on inaccurate estimates of FGC/M prevalence and risk. Existing research shows that these approaches directly harm communities, contributing to institutional discrimination, racially/religiously-motivated victimisation and the criminalisation of innocent families. This is an issue which must be urgently addressed.