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The Ocean Equity Index provides a systematic, twelve-criteria framework to assess and improve equity in ocean initiatives, projects and policies, producing structured data that guide evidence-based decisions and support more equitable outcomes for coastal communities and ecosystems.

Socially marginalized communities in the U.S. are at higher risk of contaminant releases due to sea level rise-related flooding of hazardous sites. By 2100, 5500 facilities are at risk of a 100-year flood under continued high greenhouse gas emissions.

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.

Polygenic scores for body mass index and obesity constructed using data from 5 million people with different ancestries were associated with distinct weight gain trajectories from early childhood to adulthood.

Tree cover gains in the moist tropics (1982–2015) were 56% naturally regenerated forests and 27% managed tree systems, with forest type influencing carbon recovery. Effective forest restoration requires robust tracking of forest types established by restoration efforts.

The Bolwig’s organ of Drosophilalarvae consists of 12 photoreceptors and is assumed to have very limited image-resolving properties. Justice and colleagues report that these larvae can recognize the motion of other larvae and that this can be replicated using a computer screen displaying images of larvae.

A large genome-wide association study of more than 5 million individuals reveals that 12,111 single-nucleotide polymorphisms account for nearly all the heritability of height attributable to common genetic variants.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have become a key tool to discover genetic markers for complex traits; however, environmental factors that interact with genes are rarely considered. Here, the authors conduct a GWAS of obesity traits, and find that smoking may alter genetic susceptibilities.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis study of blood lipid levels in roughly 1.6 million individuals demonstrates the gain of power attained when diverse ancestries are included to improve fine-mapping and polygenic score generation, with gains in locus discovery related to sample size.

This Analysis estimates the health benefits and economic value of enhancing social determinants of mental health in Brisbane South, Australia, home to 1.2 million people. Crosland et al. analyze the impact of a 5% improvement in social cohesion, childhood difficulties, substance misuse, unemployment, underemployment, homelessness and staying engaged with education over 11 years.

Sera from vaccinated individuals and some monoclonal antibodies show a modest reduction in neutralizing activity against the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2; but the E484K substitution leads to a considerable loss of neutralizing activity.

Meehan and colleagues study access to running water in large US cities since 1970, finding that the 2008 financial crisis worsened household ‘plumbing poverty’ in many cities. This disproportionately impacted households of color and generally squeezed lower-income households into more precarious living situations.

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.

Post-international travel quarantine has been widely implemented to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but the impacts of such policies are unclear. Here, the authors used linked genomic and contact tracing data to assess the impacts of a 14-day quarantine on return to England in summer 2020.

In this study, Aggarwal and colleagues perform prospective sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 isolates derived from asymptomatic student screening and symptomatic testing of students and staff at the University of Cambridge. They identify important factors that contributed to within university transmission and onward spread into the wider community.

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.

Here, the authors leverage whole-genome sequencing from >88,000 diverse individuals to uncover 18 BMI-related genetic signals, including novel variants in participants of African genetic ancestry, highlighting the value of diversity in genetic discovery.

Genetic and testing data from England show that the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern B.1.1.7 has a transmission advantage over other lineages.

Chronic infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to the emergence of viral variants that show reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies in an immunosuppressed individual treated with convalescent plasma.

In this Stage 2 Registered Report, Buchanan et al. show evidence confirming the phenomenon of semantic priming across speakers of 19 diverse languages.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide gene–smoking interaction study identifies 13 new loci associated with serum lipids.

A multi-ancestry meta-regression study analyses diverse genome-wide association studies and genome loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use.

The relationship between new greenspaces and gentrification is an important one for urbanization. Here the authors show a positive relationship for at least one decade between greening in the 1990s–2000s and gentrification that occurred between 2000–2016 in 17 of 28 studied cities in North America and Europe.

In the United States, wildfire and prescribed burn smoke caused 200 billion dollars in health damages in 2017, with senior citizens bearing 75 percent of the cost, according to an analysis that uses emission inventory data and an integrated assessment model.

A meta-analysis using the burden of proof risk function identified consistent evidence supporting harmful associations between the exposure to intimate partner violence against women and childhood sexual abuse on health outcomes.

The authors show that political gatherings in the USA in 2021–2022 did not have any effect on COVID-19 case counts.

This Perspective article discusses the stratification of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the context of current guidelines, biomarkers and emerging and future developments of targeted treatment. The authors aim to highlight how these novel developments can enhance the stratification of patients with knee OA to improve patient outcomes.

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.

A genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI) detects 97 BMI-associated loci, of which 56 were novel, and many loci have effects on other metabolic phenotypes; pathway analyses implicate the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and new pathways such as those related to synaptic function, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.

Increasing transparency about firms’ reporting of environmental impacts is especially important in the context of a growing ocean economy. This study analyses the content of sustainability and annual reports from 75 of the largest companies across 8 sectors of the ocean economy.

Gender-based violence is widespread, affecting women and men worldwide. Stein et al. use a meta-analysis and the Burden of Proof methodology to evaluate associations between gender-based violence and eight health outcomes, including major depressive disorder, substance use and reproductive health.

A transancestral exome-wide association study for body-fat distribution identifies protein-coding variants that are significantly associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index.

Timothy Frayling, Joel Hirschhorn, Peter Visscher and colleagues report a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for adult height in 253,288 individuals. They identify 697 variants in 423 loci significantly associated with adult height and find that these variants cluster in pathways involved in growth and together explain one-fifth of the heritability for this trait.

Data from over 700,000 individuals reveal the identity of 83 sequence variants that affect human height, implicating new candidate genes and pathways as being involved in growth.

Erik Ingelsson and colleagues report a large-scale genome-wide meta-analysis for associations to the extremes of anthropometric traits, including body mass index, height, waist-to-hip ratio and clinical obesity. They identify four loci newly associated with height and seven loci newly associated with clinical obesity and find overlap in the genetic structure and distribution of variants identified for these extremes of the trait distributions and for the general population.

While electricity production has a significant impact on air quality, the opposite effect has been suspected but not empirically demonstrated. Now, using pollution and electricity consumption data, He et al. show the impact of air pollution on domestic electricity consumption.

There is a closing window of opportunity to ensure a sustainable future for all, with deep and rapid action needed this decade. Inclusive and just climate resilient development advances sustainable development and keeps open pathways to a liveable planet but requires urgent and fundamental shifts in prevailing development politics and practice.

A large international panel of experts reach consensus on a new standard for reporting settings in psychedelic trials, identifying 30 key non-pharmacological factors to strengthen the rigor of psychedelic research.

Using a set of experiments, the authors show that discrimination reduces work effort of those who are disadvantaged and those who are advantaged by it.

Wildlife are central to nature’s contributions to people (NCP) but are often overlooked in NCP policy and management. This Perspective presents evidence for the integral role of wildlife in supporting human well-being and proposes their recognition and incorporation into conservation decision-making as wildlife’s contributions to people (WCP).

Within-sibship genome-wide association analyses using data from 178,076 siblings illustrate differences between population-based and within-sibship GWAS estimates for phenotypes influenced by demographic and indirect genetic effects.

Exome-wide analysis identifies rare and low-frequency coding variants associated with body mass index. Gene-based meta-analysis and functional studies implicate 13 genes, eight of which are novel, and neuronal pathways as factors in human obesity.

The team of authors led by Seon-Kyeong Jang use whole-genome sequencing data and show that rare genetic variants explain much of the ‘missing heritability’ in smoking behaviours. These results help address a long-standing mystery in behavioural genetics.

Jose Florez, Claudia Langenberg, Erik Ingelsson, Inga Prokopenko, Inês Barroso and colleagues perform large-scale association analyses using the Metabochip to gain further insights into the genetic architecture of glucose regulation. They identify 38 new loci influencing 1 or more glycemic traits and show that many of these loci also modify risk of type 2 diabetes.

Analysis of whole-genome sequences of 25,465 individuals of European ancestry shows that rare variants contribute substantially to the heritability of height and body mass index.

After early initiation of anti-retroviral therapy in infants infected with HIV-1 in utero, some children sustain undetectable virus levels, despite treatment interruption, which associated with distinct features of the transmitted virus.