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A trail-blazing astronomer, a climate revolutionary and a transplant pioneer are some of the people behind this year’s big stories.

Fatigue is a common side effect of treatment in prostate cancer. Here, the authors carried out a genome wide association study to find correlations between genetic loci and risk of fatigue.

DNA-sequencing data from primary tumours and paired metastases from participants in the TRACERx lung study and PEACE autopsy programme are used to analyse the metastatic diversity of advanced non-small cell lung cancer and the seeding patterns that underpin it.

Assuming that it could be launched or constructed in situ, a 99-m-diameter starshade in orbit around Earth, coupled with ground-based extremely large telescopes and their adaptive optics systems, could image an exo-Earth at a distance of several parsecs.

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).

Reported detections of gases in exoplanet atmospheres, including claims of biosignatures on K2-18 b, disappear when broader models are tested, revealing that such detections often reflect modelling limits rather than real signals.

The US president wants to cut spending at the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Protection Agency, but it’s not clear whether Congress will go along.

Centaur 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 exhibits a fascinating outgassing pattern in JWST observations, with compositional heterogeneities that may be related to the bilobate nature of its nucleus. The detection of CO and CO₂ isotopologues is also reported.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

JWST detections of Si, C and Fe absorption lines in a bright z = 9.31 galaxy with a two-component clump structure suggest that mergers contributed to the rapid build-up of mass and chemical enrichment soon after the Big Bang.

This Registered Report presents evidence from 87 countries and regions showing that brief emotion-regulation interventions consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

JWST observations of CH₃⁺ in a protoplanetary disk in the Orion star-forming region are reported showing that gas-phase organic chemistry in the interstellar medium is activated by ultraviolet irradiation and the methyl cation.

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Observations of a 3-million-year-old pre-main-sequence star with a misaligned disk reveal a giant orbiting planet; the system is ideal for studying the early formation and migration of planets.

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals with clinically assessed or self-reported depression identifies 44 independent risk loci. Comparisons with other psychiatric disorders and candidate gene analyses provide new insights into major depressive disorder.

A region on chromosome 19p13 is associated with the risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Here, the authors genotyped SNPs in this region in thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients and identified SNPs associated with three genes, which were analysed with functional studies.

Observations of TOI-849b reveal a radius smaller than Neptune’s but a large mass of about 40 Earth masses, indicating that the planet is the remnant core of a gas giant.

Funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health would hold steady after Congress agrees to lift spending caps, but details are fuzzy.

The Pan-African School for Emerging Astronomers (PASEA) is an innovative short course for African university students, held by an African-led international collaboration. PASEA aims to build a critical mass of astronomers in Africa and exchange ideas about teaching across continents.

Nature's list of the key issues and appointments facing US government science agencies.

An outstanding discrepancy between observations and models of stellar limb darkening is resolved here by the inclusion of stellar surface magnetism in models. This will enable an improved characterization of transiting exoplanets.

Small inland water bodies are widely seen as important sources of methane to the atmosphere. This study demonstrates that hardwater ecosystems emit less of this potent greenhouse gas than predicted due to complex biogeochemical controls

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 releases T cells from immunosuppression by platelet-derived thromboxane A₂, thereby enhancing the immune response against metastasis.

Proposed cuts include 11% at the National Science Foundation, 18% at the National Institutes of Health and 30% at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The transmission spectrum of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b is observed to be featureless at near-infrared wavelengths and its atmosphere must contain clouds to be consistent with the data.

The authors report on a temperate Earth-sized planet orbiting the cool M6 dwarf LP 791-18 with a radius of 1.03 ± 0.04 R_⊕ and an equilibrium temperature of 300–400 K, with the permanent night side plausibly allowing for water condensation.

The RNA methyltransferase activity of SPOUT1/CENP-32 is crucial for accurate mitotic spindle organization. Here, the authors describe a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by bi-allelic pathogenic SPOUT1 variants with reduced activity and compromised function in spindle organization.

With Congress unlikely to approve tax-based boost for science, agency funding hopes are dashed.

Analysis of multiple cohorts of patients with melanoma demonstrates a positive association between cytomegalovirus serostatus and overall survival in patients treated with monotherapy but not combination immune checkpoint blockade, as well as delayed onset of immune-related adverse events across both treatment types, as well as delayed development of metastatic disease in seropositive patients.

Hydrothermal activity is recognized to be significant in regulating the dynamics of trace elements in the ocean. Here the authors report the first observational evidence of upwelled hydrothermally influenced deep waters stimulating massive phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean.

A giant planet candidate roughly the size of Jupiter but more than 14 times as massive is observed by TESS and other instruments to be transiting the white dwarf star WD 1856+534.

Observations of the super-massive Neptune-sized transiting planet TOI-1853 b show a mass almost twice that of any other Neptune-sized planet known so far and a bulk density implying that heavy elements dominate its mass.

But many research advocates worry that the proposal could backfire in the face of political opposition.

A measurement of the infrared spectrum (7.5–13.2 micrometres) of the transiting extrasolar planet HD 209458b reveals that there is a broad emission peak centred near 9.65 micrometres, which they attribute to emission by silicate clouds, and a narrow, unidentified feature at 7.78 micrometres.

Previous studies identified an association between the 2q35 locus and breast cancer. Here, the authors show that a SNP at 2q35, rs4442975, is associated with oestrogen receptor positive disease and suggest that this effect is mediated through the downregulation of a known breast cancer gene, IGFBP5.

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.

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.

TOI-500 hosts at least four planets, the innermost of which is an Earth-sized ultra-short-period body with a density similar to Earth. The architecture of the TOI-500 system can be explained by a slow, secular, low-eccentricity migration scenario.

Genetic disposition can impact response to virus infection. Here, the authors used a reinfection approach with antigenically distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants Omicron and Beta and show that differences in the immune response correlate with disease outcome in mouse models with different genetic background upon reinfection.

Circulating tumour DNA profiling in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer can be used to track single-nucleotide variants in plasma to predict lung cancer relapse and identify tumour subclones involved in the metastatic process.

Fort et al. identify CYRI as a conserved negative modulator of Scar–WAVE-induced lamellipodia by interacting directly with active Rac1, thereby conferring pseudopod plasticity and dynamics during motility.

FXR regulates the levels of ACE2 in tissues of the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems that are affected by COVID-19, and inhibiting FXR with ursodeoxycholic acid downregulates ACE2 and reduces susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.