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Rare forms of the MC4R gene could explain why some people with obesity maintain good heart health. Plus, grant success is getting tougher in Europe and the solution to an iconic CIA cryptographic puzzle.

Efforts to conserve Florida corals must now shift towards trying to develop heat-resistant strains, scientists say. Plus, what gives civet coffee its flavour and what we can learn from Brazil about saving rainforests.

Some researchers want an upgraded version of Alan Turing’s AI thought experiment; others want it scrapped entirely. Plus, why the rate of peanut allergies might have dropped in the United States and a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease.

A wireless implant paired with camera-glasses has improved the vision of people with age-related blindness. Plus, breastfeeding boosts immune cells that protect against breast cancer and how AI tools are changing universities.

Female stinkbugs rub fungal symbionts onto their eggs to shield them from parasitic wasps. Plus, how to stop fake scientists from publishing real papers and perspectives on animal-testing alternatives.

Three perspectives on how to fix the plastic-pollution problem. Plus, glowing sperm helped to reveal secrets of mosquito sex and seven times that basic science changed the world.

Scientists are only now starting to understand the full role of the plant cell wall. Plus, the risks of a less-familiar form of avian influenza virus and how tides impact the development of urbanization.

A loophole-free violation of Bell’s inequality with superconducting circuits shows that non-locality is a viable new resource in quantum information technology realized with superconducting circuits, promising many potential applications.

Early Neoproterozoic marine productivity fell due to nutrient drawdown following a switch from an iron-rich to a sulfide-rich ocean, according to records of phosphorus geochemistry measured from sedimentary sections in North China.

An electrifying discovery about black holes, serology surveys from hard-hit cities show we are nowhere near herd immunity to the coronavirus, and how precious ultramarine paint ultimately dulls the colours of Renaissance art.

Tips for defusing authorship disputes, a Y-chromosome database is challenged over ethics and how graphs revolutionized problem-solving.

The idea of using quantum optics to protect the transmission of sensitive data is becoming a commercial reality and starting to be deployed. Duncan Graham-Rowe takes a look at recent progress in quantum cryptography.

There are 78 confirmed COVID-19 vaccine candidates, 5 of which have already entered clinical trials. Plus: an engineered enzyme that dissolves one of the world’s most commonly used plastics, and giant dinosaur footprints found on the roof of a cave.

Detailed maps of the cells in human organs give an unprecedented view of the placenta, intestines and kidneys. Plus, a gene variant linked with asymptomatic COVID and the multi-front fight against malaria.

One of the biggest and deepest astronomical surveys carried out by the James Webb Space Telescope has identified some of the earliest galaxies ever seen. Plus, a robotic raspberry teaches machines how to pick fruit and why NIH postdoc numbers are dropping.

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 phonon density of states in diamond is engineered using phononic crystals to suppress single-phonon processes that induce decoherence in individual quantum emitters.

An antiretroviral injection given every two months prevents men and trans women from becoming infected with HIV, according to results that have not yet been peer-reviewed. Plus: the golden age of physical volcanology and the globe-straddling scientific endeavor to solve the structure of the coronavirus.

A systematic census at 1,636 sites around Australia from 2008 to 2021 finds that more than 30% of shallow invertebrate species in cool latitudes exhibit a high extinction risk due to declining populations and oceanic barriers, but tropical coral species remain relatively stable.

A post-Sturtian Snowball episode of ocean deoxygenation, followed by a shift toward less reducing, but still largely anoxic conditions in the ocean, is characterised by nutrient and sulfate limitation and recorded in the Taishir Formation, Mongolia.

Most of the common side effects that people experience after a COVID-19 vaccination can be blamed on the ‘nocebo’ effect. Plus, the Tonga volcano eruption triggered mysterious atmospheric gravity waves, and a prototype cheaper, quieter MRI machine.

Results from a phase 1 clinical trial show that a broadly neutralizing, HIV-specific antibody is durably expressed in vivo from a viral vector, highlighting an alternate approach for the delivery of antibodies in humans.

Mathematical modeling of evolutionary dynamics of neoantigens and immune escape in growing tumors shows that strong negative selection for neoantigens inhibits tumor growth but also provides a strong selective pressure for the evolution of immune escape.

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.

Analyses of the hominin skull from Broken Hill, Zambia, place it at an earlier date than previously thought, confirming that later Middle Pleistocene Africa was home to at least three lineages of hominin.

Ultramarathon runners, arctic explorers and pregnant women reveal how hard humans can go. Plus, new restrictions on fetal-tissue research in the US and a flood of research ethics violations at a Japanese hospital.

Integration of phylogenetics, comparative genomics and palaeobiological approaches suggests that the last universal common ancestor lived about 4.2 billion years ago and was a complex prokaryote-grade anaerobic acetogen that was part of an ecosystem.

Evaporite dissolution coupled with pyrite burial can lead to biogeochemical feedbacks that explain the enigmatic Neoproterozoic carbon isotope record, according to numerical model simulations.

Fluctuations in early Cambrian biodiversity of animals coincided with extreme oscillations in atmospheric and shallow-ocean oxygenation, according to analyses of carbon and sulfur isotopes in Cambrian-age marine carbonates.

Multiple mechanisms of immune evasion exploited by cancer cells have been described. Here, the authors show that genetic inactivation or pharmacological inhibition of tumor-induced Th2-mediated de novo steroidogenesis are sufficient to restore an efficient anti-tumor immune response and restrict tumor growth.

Regional ocean redox variability and associated nutrient cycling in the Mesoproterozoic can be explained by climate forcing at individual locations, rather than specific events or step-changes in global oceanic redox conditions.

Deeper ocean waters were anoxic during the Neoproterozoic. Geochemical data suggest a transition from sulphidic to iron-rich mid-depth waters about one billion years ago, coincident with increased iron influx from the supercontinent Rodinia.

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.

The Cambrian explosion of biological diversity has been associated with widespread ocean oxygenation, yet early Cambrian ocean redox conditions remain controversial. Here, the authors present a suite of molybdenum isotope data and show that the ocean was oxygenated to modern-like levels by 521 Ma.

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.

Isotopic evidence from carbon and sulphur points to the spread of anoxia and toxic sulphide as the chief culprits in at least one of a series of crises for marine ecosystems during the nascent stages of early animal evolution. See Letter p.80

The late Ediacaran to early Cambrian interval witnessed extraordinary radiations of metazoan life, in which the role of physical environment remains debated. Here, Wang et al. show that increased nutrient nitrogen availability may have exerted an important control on both macroevolution and ocean oxygenation.

Statins are effectively used to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease, but patient response to these drugs is highly variable. Here, the authors identify two new genes associated with the response of LDL cholesterol to statins and advance our understanding of the genetic basis of drug response.

The termination of the Marinoan glaciation 635 million years ago is one of the most spectacular climate change events ever recorded. Methane release from equatorial permafrost might have triggered this global meltdown.

Mark McCarthy and colleagues identify twelve new risk loci for type 2 diabetes through a large-scale genome-wide association and replication study in individuals of European ancestry. The identified loci affect both beta-cell function and insulin action and are enriched for genes involved in cell cycle regulation.

Despite dramatic changes in carbon sinks, severe Snowball Earth glaciations have not occurred since the Cryogenian. Here, via the measurement of global subduction zone lengths and carbon cycle modelling, the authors show that a two fold increase in volcanic CO₂ input likely thwarted global glaciation.

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.

The biosynthesis of iron-sulfur clusters in anaerobic organisms has not been extensively investigated. Here, the authors identify and characterize a multi-subunit protein that stores iron and sulfur in thioferrate for the assembly of the clusters inPyrococcus furiosus.

The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway transports folded proteins across membranes in bacteria and plant chloroplasts; the crystal structure of TatC, an integral membrane protein and core component of this complex, is now presented.