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Genome-wide sequencing of 180 ancient individuals shows a continuous gradient of ancestry in Early-to-Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers from the Baltic to the Transbaikal region and distinct contemporaneous groups in Northeast Siberia, and provides insights into the origins of modern Uralic and Yeniseian speakers.

This Perspective proposes a new framework to support the inclusion of Black, Indigenous and people of colour in conservation initiatives.

Large-effect variants in autism remain elusive. Here, the authors use long-read sequencing to assemble phased genomes for 189 individuals, identifying pathogenic variants in TBL1XR1, MECP2, and SYNGAP1, plus nine candidate structural variants missed by short-read methods.

‘Commercial fisheries have decimated keystone species, including oysters in the past 200 years. Here, the authors examine how Indigenous oyster harvest in North America and Australia was managed across 10,000 years, advocating for effective future stewardship of oyster reefs by centering Indigenous peoples.’

A collaborative study initiated by the sovereign nation of Picuris Pueblo in the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico addresses gaps in traditional knowledge and furthers understanding of their population history and ancestry.

The majority of incident HIV infections in Eastern and Southern Africa occur in the general population. Here, the authors harmonise data from eight open population-based cohort studies from six countries and describe individual and community-level risk factors for HIV acquisition.

Analyses of ancient human DNA show that cultural and political transformations in Central Europe during the second half of the first millennium ce were associated with movements of Slavic populations into Germany, Poland and Croatia.

How climate, caribou and human well-being are linked is not well known. Using interviews conducted over 9 years with Indigenous hunters from the Western Arctic of America, this study analyses the mechanisms linking climate, caribou and human capacity to satisfy cultural and subsistence needs in a human–caribou system.

Analyses of 34 ancient genomes from northeastern Siberia, dating to between 31,000 and 600 years ago, reveal at least three major migration events in the late Pleistocene population history of the region.

Indigenous-led structured decision-making workshops with local Indigenous people on Bundjalung Country in Australia identified and prioritized culturally significant species and determined Bundjalung-led actions for the management of these culturally significant entities.

Net-zero policies can put pressure on land use, which can conflict with preserving natural landscapes, cultural sites and agricultural areas. Now a study integrates national energy models with proactive and collaborative planning to design net-zero pathways that conserve natural capital and address diverse concerns.

Rare earth mineralisation at Maoniuping formed when its carrying carbonatite brine-melt reacted with surrounding siliceous rocks, forming an antiskarn. The melt lost its fluxing alkali elements, which led to deposition of coarse grained bastnäsite.

New Zealand implemented stringent COVID-19 control measures early after identification of its first case. Here, the authors perform whole genome sequencing of samples taken until 22 May 2020 and find high viral diversity indicative of multiple separate introductions and limited community transmission.

Federated learning (FL) algorithms have emerged as a promising solution to train models for healthcare imaging across institutions while preserving privacy. Here, the authors describe the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge for the decentralised benchmarking of FL algorithms and evaluation of Healthcare AI algorithm generalizability in real-world cancer imaging datasets.

Past human land modification in the Amazon has resulted in nutrient- and carbon-rich soil deposits of great cultural and environmental value. A new remote-sensing and machine-learning approach reveals the extent of Amazonian dark earth and its potentially substantial carbon reservoir.

What is the state of trust in scientists around the world? To answer this question, the authors surveyed 71,922 respondents in 68 countries and found that trust in scientists is moderately high.

Species classified as Critically Endangered are at greatest risk of extinction, and their preservation and recovery are crucial to meeting global biodiversity aims. This Review assesses the geographical and taxonomic distribution of Critically Endangered species, their threats, current and required conservation actions, and strategies to facilitate effective, coordinated conservation.

Genomic analysis of Plasmodium DNA from 36 ancient individuals provides insight into the global distribution and spread of malaria-causing species during around 5,500 years of human history.

Temperature extremes increase energy use and reliance on the services that energy provides, which can increase energy insecurity and the associated risks of harm. This study examines energy use of Indigenous communities in remote Australia and finds increased disconnection rates for prepayment-meter users during temperature extremes.

In Australia, remote settlements and Indigenous settlements are respectively 18% and 15% more likely to be underserved across five categories of electricity retail legal protections. These settlements are therefore likely to enter the energy transition on an uneven footing.

Including First Nations’ cultural and ecological values in natural capital accounting by engaging with land and sea managers helps bridge the gap between Indigenous and Western knowledge and enables inclusive decision making, as discussed through three Australian case studies in this Perspective.

The GREGoR consortium provides foundational resources and substrates for the future of rare disease genomics.

Federated ML (FL) provides an alternative to train accurate and generalizable ML models, by only sharing numerical model updates. Here, the authors present the largest FL study to-date to generate an automatic tumor boundary detector for glioblastoma.

An alternative concept of sustainable development, based on the two-way flow of contributions between nature, the economy and social systems, provides a theoretical foundation for an inclusive and diverse notion of sustainability, according to an assessment of the current market-based framework and alternative options.

A shift towards more-frequent, less-intense fires in Australia began about 11,000 years ago due to management by Indigenous societies, according to charcoal and stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon records extending back 150,000 years.

In this Perspective article, the authors discuss how Indigenous Peoples' desires for greater involvement and oversight when participating in genomic research projects can be balanced against calls for unrestricted data access. They provide practical recommendations for the handling and sharing of Indigenous genomic data, with the aim of achieving mutual benefit for the research community and participating Indigenous communities.

Mutations in linker 2 of KLF1 are identified in cases of non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia. Here, the authors show the molecular mechanisms of disease due to linker 2 mutation in mice using ChIPseq and RNAseq.

The Nature Relationship Index offers a new way to measure and engage human aspirations to shape a better future for people and all life on Earth.

Strontium isotope analysis can be applied to animal and plant tissues to help determine their provenance. Here, the authors generate a strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa using data from 2266 environmental samples and demonstrate its efficacy by tracing the African roots of individuals from historic slavery contexts.

Following a wide-ranging review of studies, reports and policies about nature’s multiple values, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation of nature, address barriers to uptake in decision-making, and make transformative changes towards more just and sustainable futures.

This Perspective highlights the global consensus on the urgency and growing threat of invasive alien species, and management needs, as found by the 2023 report on invasive alien species conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe between 12000 and 500 bc reveals that the region acted as a genetic crossroads before and after the arrival of farming.

This Review identifies and describes interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity and diversity of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, and uses case studies from South America to illustrate the conservation and human benefits that can arise from protecting both biological and cultural diversity.

Wood density is an important plant trait. Data from 1.1 million forest inventory plots and 10,703 tree species show a latitudinal gradient in wood density, with temperature and soil moisture explaining variation at the global scale and disturbance also having a role at the local level.

Reducing the stigma and discrimination that people living with liver conditions experience requires rethinking how diagnoses, diseases, etiologies and circumstances are perceived — a shift that begins with the language used to name and describe them.

A population genomics study reveals a high similarity between a New World landrace of African rice and an Ivory Coast landrace. Together with diaries from captains of slave ships, the evidence presented traces the ancestry of the New World rice to its African origin.

When modern humans colonized India is debated. Here, Clarkson and colleagues report an archaeological site in India that has been occupied for approximately 80,000 years and contains a stone tool assemblage attributed to Homo sapiens that matches artefacts from Africa, Arabia, and Australia.

A study aimed at revealing the role of small-scale fisheries in sustainable development shows they provide at least 40% of the global fishing catch and affect the livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the world, among other important contributions.

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

The origin and dispersal of the chicken across Eurasia is unclear. Here, the authors examine eggshell fragments from southern Central Asia with paleoproteomics to identify chicken eggshells, suggesting that chickens may have been an important dietary component as early as 400BCE.

A reconstruction of the genomic history of japonica and indica rice over 9,000 yr with geographic, environmental, archaeobotanical and paleoclimate data.

Ancient DNA reveals genetic differences between stone-tool users and people associated with ceramic technology in the Caribbean and provides substantially lower estimates of population sizes in the region before European contact.

Biological nitrogen fixation may impose stronger constraints on the carbon sink in natural terrestrial biomes and represent a larger source of agricultural nitrogen than is generally considered in analyses of the global nitrogen cycle.

Analysis of soundscape data from 139 globally distributed sites reveals that sounds of biological origin exhibit predictable rhythms depending on location and season, whereas sounds of anthropogenic origin are less predictable. Comparisons between paired urban–rural sites show that urban green spaces are noisier and dominated by sounds of technological origin.

Evidence from genetics, skeletal remains and dietary isotopes indicates that sex-specific height disparities in Early Neolithic Europe can be linked to culture, more than environment or genetics. This suggests that a cultural preference for males may have had biological effects 7,000 yr ago.

Multicriteria optimization identifies global priority areas for ecosystem restoration and estimates their benefits for biodiversity and climate, providing cost–benefit analyses that highlight the importance of optimizing spatial planning and incorporating several biomes in restoration strategies.

Analysis of ground-sourced and satellite-derived models reveals a global forest carbon potential of 226 Gt outside agricultural and urban lands, with a difference of only 12% across these modelling approaches.