Volume 551 Issue 7681, 23 November 2017

Tool to scrutinize research papers identifies mistakes in gene sequences.

Sensitive radio dishes of the Square Kilometre Array will affect phone reception — and could harm local economies, say farmers.

TB remains a big killer despite the development of a better test for detecting the disease.

Some top researchers prosper in Hungary as country tries to improve its international standing in science.

A large-scale study has been assessing microbial diversity by analysing DNA sequences from samples submitted by scientists around the globe. The initial results are now being used to create an open-access resource. See Article p.457

The fossil of a gliding mammal from the Jurassic period sheds light on both the evolution of gliding and the development of the middle ear, as it has a previously unseen five-ossicle auditory system.

As phase 1 of the Earth Microbiome Project, analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences from more than 27,000 environmental samples delivers a global picture of the basic structure and drivers of microbial distribution.

A new DNA ‘base editor’ can change targeted A•T base pairs to G•C, allowing disease-associated mutations to be corrected and disease-suppressing mutations to be introduced into cells.

A high-resolution structure of the human ribosome determined by cryo-electron microscopy visualizes numerous RNA modifications that are concentrated at functional sites with an extended shell, and suggests the possibility of designing more specific ribosome-targeting drugs.

High-resolution X-ray spectra show near-solar abundances of chromium, manganese and nickel with respect to iron in the Perseus cluster, suggesting that the progenitors of type Ia supernovae could be near- and sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs.

Ground-based observations during a thunderstorm provide conclusive evidence of positrons being produced after lightning, confirming that lightning can trigger photonuclear reactions.

In a step towards hybrid quantum networks, a quantum state can be transferred between two fundamentally different systems—a cold atomic ensemble and a solid-state crystal—by a single photon.

Using a ligand as a promoter enhances the reactivity of the palladium catalyst in non-directed C–H functionalization of arenes, enabling the arene to be used as the limiting reagent.

A reaction between iron and water at the high pressure and temperature of the lowermost mantle is described that produces hydrogen-bearing iron peroxide, which has the properties expected of the ultralow-velocity zones at Earth’s core–mantle boundary.

A combination of advanced sequencing and mapping techniques is used to produce a reference genome of Aegilops tauschii, progenitor of the wheat D genome, providing a valuable resource for comparative genetic studies.

The calcium-sensing protein synaptotagmin 7 mediates facilitation that is masked by depression, but supports frequency-invariant transmission in mouse cerebellar and vestibular synapses.

Quantitive microbiome profiling reveals that total microbial load is an important determinant of enterotypes and may be a key driver of microbiota alterations in patients with Crohn’s disease.

The analysis of T-cell antigens in long-term survivors of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma suggests that neoantigen immunogenicity and quality, not purely quantity, correlate with survival.

An immune fitness model for tumours under checkpoint blockade immunotherapy is proposed, through which the authors show that the presentation and recognition properties of dominant neoantigens distributed over tumour subclones are predictive of response in melanoma and lung cancer cohorts.

Crystal structures of the nucleotide sugar transporter Vrg4 are reported in both the substrate-free and the bound states.

Electron cryo-microscopy structures of the human peptide-loading complex shed light on its operation and on the onset of adaptive immune responses.