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A global synthesis of >600 studies finds that across agro-ecosystems, grasslands and forests in temperate and tropical zones, increasing plant diversity has a consistently positive effect on plant performance and the suppression of antagonists.

Addressing how the nitrogen-induced changes in plant diversity differ from those in soil organisms is critical. This global meta-analysis suggests that nitrogen enrichment has stronger negative effects on plant diversity but modest to negligible effects on soil bacterial and fungal diversity.

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).

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.

The earliest known human burial in Africa, that of a young child, is dated to around 78,000 years ago.

Black phosphorus (BP) is considered a promising van der Waals material for the realization of mid-infrared detectors. Here, the authors report the realization of flexible infrared imagers based on solution-processed BP photodiodes on thin plastic substrates, showing long term stability and mechanical robustness.

Growth of high-quality III–V semiconductors for electronics and optoelectronics usually requires an atomic-lattice matched substrate. Here, the authors use templated liquid-phase crystal growth to create single-crystalline III–V material up to ten micrometres across on an amorphous substrate.

Openshaw and colleagues find myeloid inflammation and complement activation signatures in patients with long COVID who were previously hospitalized.

Biology has often served as the inspiration for the design of body armor; one common limitation is the flexibility of the resultant armor. Here, the authors examine the armour of chiton and use the observed design principles to 3D print flexible armor.

COVID-19 can be associated with neurological complications. Here the authors show that markers of brain injury, but not immune markers, are elevated in the blood of patients with COVID-19 both early and months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in those with brain dysfunction or neurological diagnoses.

Black phosphorus/molybdenum disulfide mid-wave infrared photodiodes with external quantum efficiencies of 35% across 2.5–3.5 μm at room temperature and a peak detectivity of 1.1 × 10¹⁰ cm Hz^1/2 W^–1 at 3.8 μm are demonstrated.

A high-throughput screen identified a small molecule that promoted inclusion of SMN2 exon 7, increased SMN2 protein levels and extended survival in a SMA mouse model through stabilization of the interaction between SMN2 pre-mRNA and U1 snRNP complex.

Managing landscapes sustainably is challenging given the competing interests of different stakeholder groups. By combining broad ecological data with information on the ecosystem service priorities of multiple stakeholder groups, this study provides a tool to quantify the social impact of land-use changes.

Type IIn supernovae are luminous core-collapse explosions of massive stars that, unlike other types, are very bright in the ultraviolet and have strong, long-lived emission lines that should enable detection at redshift z ≈ 2. Here, three spectroscopically confirmed type IIn supernovae are reported at redshifts z = 0.808, 2.013 and 2.357, detected in archival data.

Neonicotinoid as insecticide on oilseed rape can reduce bee colony density, but its effect at a large geographical scale is unclear. This study describes 18-year long wild bee tracking data in England and show neonicotinoid use is correlated with wild bee population declines at real landscape scales.

Global change may affect the resilience of ecosystem functions by altering community composition. Here, Oliver et al.show that in Great Britain since the 1970s there have been significant net declines among animal species that provide key ecosystem functions such as pollination and pest control.

A cosmological simulation shows that low-mass galaxies can form with far less dark matter than expected, with results matching some observed characteristics. Roughly one-third of massive central galaxies may host at least one such dark-matter-deficient satellite.

The use of doped-silicon contacts in silicon solar cells adds cost and complexity to the fabrication process. These issues can now be circumvented by using dopant-free carrier-selective interfaces on silicon, realized by alkali metal fluorides and metal oxides.

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is an anti-inflammatory drug proposed as a treatment for COVID19. Here the results are reported from a randomised trial testing DMF treatment in 713 patients hospitalised with COVID-19. DMF was not associated with any improvement in day 5 outcomes.

Recurrent glioblastomas (rGBM) have dismal outcomes, but long-term survival has been observed in subsets of patients after immunotherapy. Here the authors report a positive association between low tumor mutation burden, inflammatory gene signatures, and survival after immunotherapy in rGBM patients.

Seronegative healthcare workers with an innate signature of infection preferentially expand pre-existing T cells targeting the conserved replication transcription complex of SARS-CoV-2 in abortive infection.

The fields of medicine and marketing use large data volumes and computational power to target individuals. This Perspective argues that applied ecologists should draw on such approaches to provide decision-makers with specific, site-level intervention strategies.

brainlife.io is a one-stop cloud platform for data management, visualization and analysis in human neuroscience. It is web-based and provides access to a variety of tools in a reproducible and reliable manner.

Microtubules regulate activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, but the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. Here the authors show that MARK4 binds NLRP3 and shuttles it to the microtubule-organizing centre to promote optimal inflammasome activation.

To achieve net-zero carbon emissions, we must close the carbon cycle for industries that are difficult to electrify. Developing the needed science to provide carbon alternatives and non-fossil carbon will accelerate advances towards defossilization.

Chen et al. report findings from a phase 1 dose expansion study of the tumor microenvironment modulator VT1021 in patients with solid tumors. VT1021 is found to be safe and tolerable, with preliminary evidence of efficacy and biomarkers of response.