Nature

Can brain scans reveal behaviour? Bombshell study says not yet

Most studies linking features in brain imaging to traits such as cognitive abilities are too small to be reliable, argues a controversial analysis.

Are ‘COVID toes’ actually caused by the coronavirus?

Study adds to evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection doesn’t cause an inflamed-toe condition called chilblains, but it doesn’t close the door.

Cassandra Willyard
News 16 Mar 2022
Beauty and wonder of science boosts researchers’ well-being

Appreciating the phenomena they study helps scientists to persevere in the face of setbacks.

Brian Owens
News 17 Mar 2022
Machine learning and phone data can improve targeting of humanitarian aid

Machine-learning algorithms can take advantage of survey and mobile phone data to help to identify people most in need of aid, complementing traditional methods for targeting humanitarian assistance.

Emily Aiken
Suzanne Bellue
Joshua E. Blumenstock
Article Open Access 16 Mar 2022
Daily briefing: Thrilling image from the James Webb Space Telescope

A calibration image from the James Webb Space Telescope is the highest resolution infrared image ever taken from space. Plus, ‘COVID toes’ might be normal chilblains and a call to end the argument over the limits to growth.

Flora Graham
Nature Briefing 17 Mar 2022
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Current Issue 17 Mar 2022

News & Comment

Vaccines protect against infection from Omicron subvariant — but not for long

Two doses of COVID vaccine cut the risk of infection and mild illness from the rising BA.2 subvariant, although protection wanes quickly.

Saima May Sidik

News 18 Mar 2022
Beauty and wonder of science boosts researchers’ well-being
Brian Owens
News 17 Mar 2022
Can brain scans reveal behaviour? Bombshell study says not yet
Ewen Callaway
News 17 Mar 2022
Scientists struggle to probe COVID’s origins amid sparse data from China
Amy Maxmen
News 17 Mar 2022
Funder bars university from grant programme over white-male award line-up
Freda Kreier
News 17 Mar 2022
A more-inclusive genome project aims to capture all of human diversity
Roxanne Khamsi
News Feature 16 Mar 2022
Are there limits to economic growth? It’s time to call time on a 50-year argument

Editorial 16 Mar 2022

Latest Reviews & Analysis

- Long-lived non-equilibrium quantum states could lead to improved electronic devices
  
  Exotic quantum states called Floquet–Andreev states have been generated by applying microwave light to superconducting devices known as Josephson junctions made of graphene. The spectral properties of these states suggest that they are long-lived and could therefore be used for practical electronics applications.
  
  Research Briefing 16 Mar 2022
- Savannahs store carbon despite frequent fires
  
  An analysis of carbon stored in the plants and soil of an African savannah suggests that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations — and thus global warming — might be less affected by frequent fires than we thought.
  Niall P. Hanan
  Anthony M. Swemmer
  
  News & Views 16 Mar 2022
- A smart sensor that can be woven into everyday life
  
  A hybrid design combines sensitivity and flexibility to create an acoustic single-fibre sensor that can be knitted into fabric. The future of tracking our health and fitness looks wearable — and perhaps even implantable.
  Wenhui Song
  
  News & Views 16 Mar 2022
- Net carbon uptake has kept pace with increasing fossil-fuel emissions
  
  Roughly half of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere, but whether this airborne fraction is changing has been unclear, partly because the emissions from deforestation are uncertain. We used proxy data on deforestation emissions over the past six decades to show that the airborne fraction has decreased.
  
  Research Briefing 16 Mar 2022
- Superfluid confines exotic atoms without disrupting precision measurements
  
  High-precision measurements of exotic atoms containing antimatter are shown to be equally precise when the atoms are immersed in superfluid helium. Such immersion could be used for other atoms in studies of dark matter.
  Yukari Matsuo
  
  News & Views 16 Mar 2022
- The land-to-ocean loops of the global carbon cycle
  Pierre Regnier
  Laure Resplandy
  Philippe Ciais
  
  Perspective 16 Mar 2022
- From the archive
  
  News & Views 15 Mar 2022
- Promising reversible protein inhibitors kept on target
  Stephan M. Hacker
  
  News & Views 14 Mar 2022
- Trade-offs between stability and manoeuvrability in bird flight
  Aimy Wissa
  
  News & Views 10 Mar 2022

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Latest Research articles

Machine learning and phone data can improve targeting of humanitarian aid

Machine-learning algorithms can take advantage of survey and mobile phone data to help to identify people most in need of aid, complementing traditional methods for targeting humanitarian assistance.

Emily Aiken
Suzanne Bellue
Joshua E. Blumenstock
Article Open Access 16 Mar 2022
A multidimensional coding architecture of the vagal interoceptive system

Single-cell profiling of vagal sensory neurons from seven organs in mice and calcium-imaging-guided spatial transcriptomics reveal that interoceptive signals are coded through three distinct dimensions, allowing efficient processing of multiple signals in parallel using a combinatorial strategy.

Qiancheng Zhao
Chuyue D. Yu
Rui B. Chang
Article Open Access 16 Mar 2022
A genome-scale screen for synthetic drivers of T cell proliferation

A genome-scale gain-of-function screen using overexpression of nearly 12,000 open reading frames (ORFs) identifies positive regulators of human T cell function and suggests that ORF-based screens could be applied clinically to improve T cell therapies.

Mateusz Legut
Zoran Gajic
Neville E. Sanjana
Article 16 Mar 2022
A single-cell atlas of human and mouse white adipose tissue

A single-cell atlas of white adipose tissue from mouse and human reveals diverse cell types and similarities and differences across species and dietary conditions.

Margo P. Emont
Christopher Jacobs
Evan D. Rosen
Article 16 Mar 2022
Limited increases in savanna carbon stocks over decades of fire suppression

A direct estimate is provided of the whole-ecosystem carbon response to fire suppression in a mesic African savanna, showing limited increase in carbon storage despite a large increase in tree cover.

Yong Zhou
Jenia Singh
A. Carla Staver
Article 16 Mar 2022