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Dutta et al. demonstrate that the tumor suppressor complex BRCA1–BARD1 physically interacts with the RNA–DNA helicase Senataxin (SETX) and upregulates the activity of SETX to resolve harmful R-loops crucial for the avoidance of transcription–replication conflicts.

Massively parallel reporter assays across five cell types identify thousands of causal, noncoding regulatory variants among 220,000 loci, revealing diverse regulatory mechanisms shaping complex traits and disease.

An Omicron investigator, a Mars explorer and an AI ethics pioneer are some of the people behind the year’s big research stories.

Picks include a quantum pioneer, a co-discoverer of Ebola and a bioethicist-turned-activist.

Picks include a rogue gene-editor, a wunderkind physicist and a DNA detective who helped catch a serial killer.

An inability to focus during a weekend trip forced Jeff Clements to ponder often-overlooked drivers of academic mental health.

But ‘fiscal cliff’ threatens science and climate goals.

Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.

Ten people who mattered this year.

Benchmarking of tumor subclonal reconstruction algorithms finds that interalgorithm variability overwhelms intertumor variability and identifies key quality metrics.

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.

mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.

Tau accumulation is associated with disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease. Here the authors use resting state fMRI and tau-PET to demonstrate that baseline connectivity in Alzheimer's disease is associated with tau spreading.

The Glasgow Climate Pact is a step forward, researchers say, but efforts to decarbonize are not enough to limit global temperature rises to 2 °C.

Nature talks to researchers studying the protests about a high-stakes congressional hearing this week and accusations of antisemitism on campus.

Energy department launches initiative to commercialize artificial photosynthesis.

Republicans sweep White House and US Congress, with uncertain implications for research.

Brazil has waged a successful war on tropical deforestation, and other countries are trying to follow its lead. But victory remains fragile.

Questions raised about conflict-of-interest disclosures by Willie Soon.

Understanding assembly processes of protein complexes is crucial. The authors have developed a method to deduce protein complex assembly paths in living cells, revealing that the altered assembly pathways of paralogous complexes enable neo-functionalization and mitigate cross-complex interference.

Wildfire increases are worsening air quality in many regions, undoing gains in pollution control. This study finds that across the United States, exposure to fine particulates in wildfire smoke worsened test scores, especially among younger students, and that most costs are borne by disadvantaged districts.

A genomic constraint map for the human genome constructed using data from 76,156 human genomes from the Genome Aggregation Database shows that non-coding constrained regions are enriched for regulatory elements and variants associated with complex diseases and traits.

Brazil is developing the last great untapped reserve of hydroelectricity, the Amazon basin.

Dirty power plants exert temporary protective effect.

The topography of axonal projections can be deciphered by retrograde labeling with multiple overlapping dye injections, as the dye composition in retrogradely transported vesicles is indicative of axonal projection sites.

Alzheimer’s disease has been associated with increased structural brain aging. Here the authors describe a model that predicts brain aging from resting state functional connectivity data, and demonstrate this is accelerated in individuals with pre-clinical familial Alzheimer’s disease.

SegCLR automatically annotates segmented electron microscopy datasets of the brain with information such as cellular subcompartments and cell types, using a self-supervised contrastive learning approach.

Annie Kritcher and her team at the US National Ignition Facility designed fusion experiments that generated more energy than they consumed.

Rap1 is a telomeric protein that is highly expressed in cancers. Here, the authors show that Rap1 interacts with several DNA repair proteins independent of its telomere function to enhance DNA repair and that its deficiency leads to accelerated tumorigenesis, but enhanced sensitivity to genotoxic stress.

Pumas are experiencing increased isolation as human persecution and habitat loss fragment the populations of this once widespread species. Here, the authors estimate the genomic consequences of this isolation by analyzing the genomes of ten pumas from across North and South America.

Lighter rains mean more fires — and more pollution.

Chairman Lamar Smith has turned once-placid panel into investigative powerhouse.

Concerned by president-elect’s choice of advisers, researchers take steps to defend their fields.

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).

US decision kicks off year-long process that will end one day after the next presidential election.

With their focus on greenhouse gases, atmospheric scientists have largely overlooked lowly soot particles. But black carbon is now a hot topic among researchers and politicians. Jeff Tollefson investigates.

It is unclear how circadian signals from the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) are decoded to generate daily rhythms in hormone release. Here, the authors show that daily corticosterone release depends on coordinated clock gene and neuronal activity rhythms in both SCN and paraventricular nucleus neurons.

Bacteria need to find the middle of the cell and prevent the formation of a division septum that bisects the chromosome. The nucleoid occlusion system, mediated by Noc inBacillus subtilis and SlmA in Escherichia coli, connects septum formation with chromosome segregation to optimize cell division.

Götz et al. find that topography is related to personality across the United States (n = 3,387,014), with people in mountainous areas being less agreeable, extraverted, neurotic and conscientious but more open. East–west comparisons suggest frontier cultural heritage and ecological demands as possible mechanisms.

A firm victory means that White House policies on climate, energy and stem cells will stay on course — but a divided Congress will remain a barrier for the US president.

Conclusions of climate-change science analysis are at odds with US President Donald Trump’s policies.

Governments look to reduce methane and black carbon as a way to slow warming.

US physical sciences benefit more than biomedical research.

Hopes dim for a science-funding increase in 2015.

Physicists and climate scientists have long argued over whether changes to the Sun affect the Earth's climate? A cloud chamber could help clear up the dispute, reports Jeff Kanipe.

The first joint biography of the father and son who developed X-ray crystallography.

The world has failed to deliver on many of the promises it made 20 years ago at the Earth summit in Brazil.