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Large-scale analyses of bird species traits reveal that land-use change reduces resilience of key ecological functions more than previously thought.

How attention facilitates complex decisions requiring the consideration of multiple options with multiple attributes remains unclear. Here, the authors found that the brain represents multiple options simultaneously and that attention modulates the representation of their value.

Reforms of energy markets are necessary to face the low carbon transition but are problematic to measure. New data evaluate implicit taxes and subsidies for gasoline in almost all countries at monthly intervals showing mixed results that highlight the difficulty in implementing effective policy tools.

A search for analogues of the human SAMD9/9L antiviral genes identifies convergent evolution of this gene family in the bacterial and animal kingdoms, with species-specific and recent genomic signatures indicative of adaptations resulting from evolutionary arms races with viruses.

Enhanced weathering of basalt (EW) removes CO2 chemically, and biotically by enhancing ecosystem growth through phosphorus release. This study shows that leveraging the biotic process can triple the contribution of EW to climate change mitigation.

Governments around the world have pledged to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, yet the actual implementation has not been measured. With a unique dataset and approach, researchers find since 2016 there are more frequent reforms, yet most of them do not survive over 12 months.

Nature in and near cities is a balm for many urban residents. This study finds that most cities globally have nearby access to biodiverse recreation areas that effectively form cost-effective mental health support.

Forests are critical for stabilizing our climate, but costs of mitigation remain uncertain. Here the authors show the global forest sector could reduce emissions by 6.0 GtCO₂ yr⁻¹ in 2055, or roughly 10% of the mitigation needed to limit warming to 1.5 °C by mid-century, at a cost of 393 billion USD yr⁻¹, or $281/tCO₂.

Urgent action is needed to ensure food security and mitigate climate change. Through a multi-model comparison exercise, this study shows the potential negative trade-offs between food security and climate change mitigation if mitigation policies are carelessly designed.

Heterogeneous battery strategy, with each province flexibly choosing different battery strategies, achieves the lowest power system costs. However, this non-uniform strategy only achieves the lowest CO₂ emissions at extremely high carbon prices.

Electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion offers opportunities for producing sustainable fuels and chemicals, but achieving strong performance with realistic CO₂ sources remains a challenge. Here a system is designed to use high-pressure captured CO₂, and achieves 85% Faradaic efficiency and high-purity C₂H₄ for over 1,500 h.

Analysis suggests that to limit global temperature rise, we must slash emissions and invest now to protect, manage and restore ecosystems and land for the future.

To meet China’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, substantial investment in upgrading power systems needs to be made to optimize the deployment of new photovoltaic and wind power plants.

Results of a clinical trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator as a lock solution improves catheter patency and reduces the risk of catheter-related infections. These effects have important clinical and economic ramifications. So why is tissue plasminogen activator not more widely used?

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.

Akinyemiju et al. develop and validate a theory-driven, empirical measure of cultural racism and identify its associations with public health disparities in the USA, including a positive association with mortality and a negative association with life expectancy.

Global shark and ray populations have declined sharply, driven by expanding fisheries and inequitable gaps in catch, trade and distribution data. This Review assesses global status, highlights drivers of decline, and outlines the regulatory, market-based and conservation actions needed to reduce mortality and reverse shark and ray biodiversity loss.

Small genes have been ignored for years in the genome of every organism due to experimental and computational limitations. Here, the authors describe a computational tool named Rp3 that integrates two high throughput approaches to identify microproteins encoded by these short genes.

Modelled supply curves show that, with policy reform and technological innovation, the production of food from the sea may increase sustainably, perhaps supplying 25% of the increase in demand for meat products by 2050.

Net-zero bioplastics are possible when combined with high recycling rates. This study presents a mixed polyester recycling process integrated with monomer separation and purification for both fossil- and bio-based plastics. Techno-economic and life cycle analyses confirm its environmental and commercial advantages, advancing the path toward circular, low-emission polyester plastics.

Fair finance in the energy sector is modelled in five climate–energy–economy models. The results show that convergence costs of capital could improve energy availability, affordability and sustainability in developing countries, thereby increasing the international equity of the energy transition.

Data from the Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative challenge the small- versus large-scale fisheries dichotomy, identifying five global archetypes to guide targeted policy and food systems transformation.

This study examines trade-offs of varying biomass use in the energy system under stringent emissions targets, finding its primary value as a renewable carbon source for chemicals, fuels and negative emissions rather than as an energy carrier.

The elimination of forced labour (Sustainable Development Goal 8.7) is a priority for the sustainability of food systems. Using data on production, trade, labour intensity and risk, this study estimates the risk of forced labour embedded in the US land-based food supply across product category, country of origin and supply chain stage.

Companies offering direct-to-consumer genomic information face tough questions about who regulates them, where they fit in health care and how to value their services. What will it take to move them from niche services to a broader customer base? Jeffrey Fox reports.

Agricultural CH₄ and N₂O emissions represent around 11% of total anthropogenic GHGs. Here agriculture mitigation potentials are quantified, in the context of the 1.5 °C target, and decomposed by emission source, region and mitigation mechanism.

Systematic changes in stock market prices or in the migration behaviour of cancer cells may be hidden behind random fluctuations. Here, Mark et al. describe an empirical approach to identify when and how such real-world systems undergo systematic changes.

An adapted framework based on the Ashby material selection strategy can be used to select nanomaterials based on their functional performance and on their environmental and human health considerations.

Measures to protect marine habitats must consider the interlinkages between conservation policies and food systems. This study illustrates how a new protected area in Palau may shift fish supply and tourist consumption, highlighting policies to avoid negative environmental consequences.

Considering equivalent emissions and reliability attributes for fossil- and electricity-based hydrogen production solutions, results suggest grid-tied electricity-based options can be lowest cost by the next decade if natural gas leakage is high for the USA.

Our annual survey highlights startups tackling intractable viruses with new vaccine design, engineering a reliable source of platelets, universalizing cell therapies, improving cancer screening, developing RNA-editing platforms and targeting protein–RNA interactions. Michael Eisenstein, Ken Garber, Caroline Seydel and Laura DeFrancesco report.

Renewable policy standards have been instrumental in the growth of renewable energy in US states. Through a ranking of policy stringency and interviews with industry stakeholders, researchers show the significance of stringency and other policy design features towards a standard’s effectiveness.

Climate change and economic inequality are critical issues, and we still lack understanding of the interaction between them. Multi-model analysis shows how climate policies compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement, including revenue-redistribution schemes, can reduce inequality—particularly in the short and medium terms.

Comprehensive policy measures are needed to close the emissions gap between Nationally Determined Contributions and emissions goals of the Paris Agreement. Here the authors present a Bridge scenario that may aid in closing the emissions gap by 2030.

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.

This study evaluates the potential of wetland conservation and restoration to improve water quality and highlights the important role of wetlands in nitrogen removal across European river basins.

The iron and steel industry is emissions intensive. Here the authors explore its decarbonisation potential based on recovering energy and recycling materials from waste streams in 2020-2050. 28.5% of CO₂ emissions under sectoral 2 °C target requirements can be reduced in a high-potential pathway.

As presented at the ESMO Congress 2025: Results of the phase 2/3 AGITG DYNAMIC-III trial show that de-escalated chemotherapy based on ctDNA-negative status in patients with stage III colon cancer did not meet non-inferiority for 3-year recurrence-free survival when compared to standard of care, although it enables better informed treatment decisions.

Global demand for “blue food” is growing. In this quantitative synthesis, the authors analyse global seafood demand and project trends to 2050, finding considerable regional variation in the relationship between wealth and consumption.

Dedicated energy crops are an important feedstock for bioenergy systems, but uncertainties remain over how best to integrate them into agricultural landscapes. Here, the authors use high-resolution ecosystem modelling to explore how selection of the soils cultivated and fertilizer application rates affects feedstock costs and emissions footprints.

The low-density lipoprotein receptor family members LRP1, LRP4 and VLDLR are entry receptors for yellow fever virus.

Wang, Huang, Nelson, Gao, and colleagues perform a head-to-head comparison of multiple platforms for imaging spatial transcriptomics, determining their relative sensitivity, specificity, and ability to identify major cell types in clinical pathology samples.

This Primer discusses key principles and experiments in quantitative ultraviolet–visible spectroelectrochemistry experiments with a focus on data-rich set-ups. The authors demonstrate the various data outputs of these experiments using worked examples and discuss the practical applications of quantitative ultraviolet–visible spectroelectrochemistry in the study of energy materials.