On 5 May, the World Health Organization lifted its designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. The abatement of the pandemic represents an extraordinary scientific achievement. However, COVID-19 remains a threat and its effects will continue to be felt for years.

Victims frequently report immobility during rape and sexual assault, often using the term ‘freezing’. Neuroscientific evidence suggests fear and threat can block cortical neural circuits for action control, leading to involuntary immobility. Defence arguments that blame victims for freezing are thus inappropriate and unjust.

Citizens often vote against the democracies they claim to cherish. Braley et al. find that in the United States, voters’ misperceptions about opposing partisans’ commitment to democracy may unintentionally contribute to this democratic backsliding.

Blair and Weintraub evaluate a military policing programme in Cali, Colombia. They find little to no evidence that the programme reduced crime, improved citizens’ perceptions of safety or mitigated human rights abuses.

This systematic review examines the evidence on whether and how hormone therapy for transgender people influences psychosocial functioning. Overall, the strongest evidence was found for reductions in depressive symptoms and psychological distress after hormone therapy.

Citizens often vote against the democracies they claim to cherish. Braley et al. find that in the United States, voters’ misperceptions about opposing partisans’ commitment to democracy may unintentionally contribute to this democratic backsliding.

Blair and Weintraub evaluate a military policing programme in Cali, Colombia. They find little to no evidence that the programme reduced crime, improved citizens’ perceptions of safety or mitigated human rights abuses.

In an experiment using publicly available New York City traffic camera feeds, Sands and Dietrich find that pedestrians tend to avoid Black men more than white non-Hispanic men by leaving more space when passing.

The authors use information on 14 traits and create a representative pseudo-sample of the UK Biobank population, showing that participation bias distorts behavioural genome-wide association study and Mendelian randomization findings.

Boda et al. find that refugee adolescents in Germany have fewer friends and are more often rejected in school. However, ethnic diversity supports social integration, with majority group peers building more positive ties to refugees in more diverse settings.

On 5 May, the World Health Organization lifted its designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. The abatement of the pandemic represents an extraordinary scientific achievement. However, COVID-19 remains a threat and its effects will continue to be felt for years.

Victims frequently report immobility during rape and sexual assault, often using the term ‘freezing’. Neuroscientific evidence suggests fear and threat can block cortical neural circuits for action control, leading to involuntary immobility. Defence arguments that blame victims for freezing are thus inappropriate and unjust.

The metaverse can improve the accessibility of scientific laboratories and meetings, aid in reproducibility efforts and provide new opportunities for experimental design. But researchers and research institutions must plan ahead and be ready to mitigate potential harms.

Cases of scientific misconduct can have a massive impact on scholars (especially junior scholars), and repercussions may last years. They need support, writes Marret K. Noordewier.

The election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (‘Lula’) as president of Brazil on 30 October 2022 marked the end of the populist Bolsonaro era. In this Feature, five Brazilian scientists discuss their hopes and expectations for the new presidency and its scientific policies.