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Global analysis of obesity trends from 1980 to 2024 in 200 countries and territories using data from 4,050 population-based studies reveals that framing obesity as a single global epidemic masks the highly varied dynamics across countries and age groups.

Wild meat is a fundamental component of the diets of rural Central African populations, accounting for 20% of the recommended daily protein intake, compared with 13% and 6% for those living in towns and cities.

By comparing newly produced RNA in the nucleus with mature RNA in the cytosol, genetic variants that control gene expression showed striking differences in localization and biological mechanisms, helping explain how they contribute to disease.

Coastal nitrogen pollution is a critical sustainability challenge with environmental, social and economic consequences. Upstream ‘sweet spots’ where interventions will have maximum mitigation effectiveness and social buy-in are attractive but may prove difficult to implement in urban stream networks.

The authors conduct a national inventory on individual tree carbon stocks in Rwanda using aerial imagery and deep learning. Most mapped trees are located in farmlands; new methods allow partitioning to any landscape categories, effective planning and optimization of carbon sequestration and the economic benefits of trees.

Assessment of how 16 taxonomic groups in a lowland tropical forest resist and recover from anthropogenic disturbance shows the potential of protecting naturally regenerating secondary forests to reverse biodiversity losses.

The authors examine public, private, and family time investments in children in the United States using ten nationally representative surveys between 2010 and 2023.

DNA-sequencing data from primary tumours and paired metastases from participants in the TRACERx lung study and PEACE autopsy programme are used to analyse the metastatic diversity of advanced non-small cell lung cancer and the seeding patterns that underpin it.

To forge a strong climate accord in Paris, nations must agree on a common goal in everyone's self-interest, say David J. C. MacKay and colleagues.

The Marshall Institute advocates that the United States should deploy space-based missile interceptors in the near future. At best such weapons would not be cost effective, at worst they would be useless.

The future of food prices is uncertain yet key for food security and climate mitigation policies. This study estimates future food prices for 136 countries and 11 distinct food groups, showing that future food prices will become less sensitive to agricultural market dynamics and land-based mitigation policies, given the global transition towards more complex and industrial food systems.

Green subsidies (carrots) are now becoming a more politically acceptable climate policy option compared with corrective regulations (sticks). However, researcher show that carrots without quick and appropriate sticks will not be sufficient to reach the deep decarbonization goal in the long run.

Analysis of 15,836 ancient West Eurasian genomes reveals hundreds of instances of directional selection, showing that sustained changes in allele frequency were widespread, rather than being rare over this period as previously assumed.

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.

This study applies a global food and land system modelling framework to quantify the impact of 23 food system measures on 15 outcome indicators related to public health, the environment, social inclusion and the economy—from today until 2050.

Many people globally still use solid fuels for cooking and heating, leading to programmes designed to subsidize cleaner alternatives. This study analyses possible effects of climate mitigation policies on fuel costs and hence the effectiveness of such schemes.

Peer-to-peer energy trading can foster participation in the energy transition, but little is understood about prosumer preferences and their effect on the grid. Pena-Bello et al. use an online experiment among German homeowners to study decision-making strategies and simulate their impact on the operation of an energy community.

This analysis of net-zero strategies designed in an iterative stakeholder dialogue finds that without behavioral change and with restriction of technologies, the target of greenhouse gas neutrality in the European Union cannot be reached.

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).

The recent drop in oil prices is having a profound impact on global energy markets, raising questions about how these markets might evolve over the long term. This study uses scenarios to assess the energy and emissions impacts of diverging oil price futures and which uncertainties they depend upon.

Biofuel prices depend on related commodities—such as corn, sugar cane and palm oil—but their connection to other non-feedstock commodities is less well explored. Filip et al. analyse a data set of 33 commodities and assets and examine their relationships to biofuels in Brazil, the US and Europe.

Impacts from a climate event can cascade through natural, anthropogenic and socio-economic systems. Here the authors assess cascading climate impacts on the EU and identify intervention points for adaptation related to water, livelihoods, agriculture, infrastructure and economy, and violent conflict.

Natural disasters induce power outages with unequal impacts on poverty and non-poverty counties in China. Climate change will further exacerbate this disparity.

Natural gas and carbon removal can play roles in reaching net-zero emissions in the U.S. electric sector and can lower decarbonization costs, though wind and solar have higher generation shares for most regions and scenarios.

An integrated assessment model analysis shows that a moderately differentiated carbon price could achieve as much climate mitigation as a uniform carbon tax, avoiding concerns regarding equity between participating countries or sovereignty.

The results obtained by seventy different teams analysing the same functional magnetic resonance imaging dataset show substantial variation, highlighting the influence of analytical choices and the importance of sharing workflows publicly and performing multiple analyses.

Bioenergy has been widely viewed as an alternative for fossil fuels and an option for carbon dioxide removal, but there are doubts given the induced land-use changes. This study shows the importance of uniform regulation and comprehensive coverage of carbon-rich areas in reducing total emissions.

Data on the nutrient content of almost 3,000 aquatic animal-source foods is combined with a food-systems model to show that an increase in aquatic-food production could reduce the inadequate intake of most nutrients.

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.

Results show meaningful variations in electric vehicle costs and emissions benefits across the United States, differing by vehicle category and charging systems: Direct Current Fast Charging, Battery Swapping, and Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer.

An error detecting code running on a trapped-ion quantum computer protects expressive circuits of eight logical qubits with a high-fidelity and partially fault-tolerant implementation of a universal gate set.

Genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 58 independent risk loci for major anxiety disorders among individuals of European ancestry and implicates GABAergic signaling as a potential mechanism underlying genetic risk for these disorders.

Despite exporting nutrient-rich seafood, developing countries import seafood with higher nutrient density per dollar than developed nations. These nutritional bargains are linked to differences in processing and product forms of traded seafood.

Using multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and fine-mapping, 298 loci and 36 credible genes are identified in the aetiology of bipolar disorder.

Upcycling urine in wastewater for nitrogen and phosphorus production has gained attention, but their low market values hamper the application. Here, the authors develop a yeast platform that mimics osteoblast mechanisms to produce the high-value hydroxyapatite directly from urine.

Ecosystem accounts quantify trade-offs between the economy and the environment. Here, the authors apply this approach to a regional case study of native forest use to show how it can be used to inform policy about complex land management decisions.

Nanotechnology has the potential to increase the net revenue from agricultural products and alleviate the environmental impact of conventional fertilizers and pesticides. Further improving the efficiency of nanoformulations is necessary for their wide adoption.

Income reduction in high-income regions is insufficient for mitigating food systems greenhouse gas emissions. A deeper transformation is required that changes consumption patterns and prices emissions.

The study develops a printable concrete using cellulose nanofibers and limestone filler, enhancing rheological and mechanical properties while reducing cement content. It demonstrates improved buildability and sustainability, with potential for large-scale 3D printing applications in construction.