Reviews & Analysis

The long-debated timing of the peopling of the Americas comes into focus, thanks to some archaeological findings. What are the implications of a revised timeline for our understanding of these earliest inhabitants?

The strength of the interactions between electrons in a structure called twisted bilayer graphene has been tuned by adjusting the immediate environment — a major advance for tunable electronic quantum matter.

A clinical trial has tested the use of gene-sequencing results for lung cancer to match patients to targeted therapies. Some paired treatments were a good fit, but others did not succeed, for reasons that will require further exploration.

The prolonged cold of winter is required for the flowering of many plants. Now the identification of a previously unknown long-term cold-sensing mechanism helps to reveal how plants are able to time their flowering correctly.

Rice in deepwater paddy fields can survive a slow-rising flood by a remarkably rapid elongation of submerged stem sections. Two genes discovered to affect this process could aid targeted improvements in crop height and flood tolerance.

Non-covalent interactions can assemble molecules into complex architectures, but with limited control of the resulting topology. A method for assembling nanoscale chains shows how specific architectures can be targeted.

A bacterial toxin has been found that allows DNA in a cellular organelle called the mitochondrion to be precisely altered. This development could help to combat diseases caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA.

Large-scale removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere might be achieved through enhanced rock weathering. It now seems that this approach is as promising as other strategies, in terms of cost and CO₂-removal potential.

An active component of cannabis has been shown to disrupt the delicate metabolic balance between neurons and non-neuronal cells called astrocytes, altering social behaviour in mice.

DNA analysis of Polynesians and Native South Americans has revealed an ancient genetic signature that resolves a long-running debate over Polynesian origins and early contacts between the two populations.

The forces between electrons and nuclei in solids are difficult to image directly. A study shows that these forces can instead be indirectly imaged using the light emitted when the electrons are subjected to a strong laser field.

Fibroblast, epithelial and endothelial cells are more than just the scaffold of an organ — it emerges that they communicate with immune cells and are primed to launch organ-specific gene-expression programs for antiviral defence.

The discovery that larger quantities of blood-borne proteins enter the brains of young, healthy mice than enter those of aged animals will alter our understanding of the blood–brain barrier, and how it changes with age.

A method has been reported that improves the precision of measurements made by gravitational-wave detectors beyond an intrinsic limit — and shows that quantum fluctuations can alter the position of macroscopic objects.

Efforts are ongoing to find which human or viral factors underpin whether a person with COVID-19 will develop severe symptoms. Clinical evidence linked to two viral lineages now provides key insights into this enigma.

Astrocytes are non-neuronal brain cells that express a protein called PTB. It emerges that PTB depletion unlocks the potential of astrocytes to convert to neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

DNA damage can cause mutations due to failure of DNA repair and errors during DNA replication. Tracking the strand of the DNA double helix on which damage occurs has shed light on processes that affect tumour evolution.

Efforts are intensifying to try to harness antibodies as a therapy for COVID-19. A study reveals the insights that can be gained from antibodies made by a person who had a coronavirus infection that caused the disease SARS.

Quantum key distribution is a cryptographic method that can guarantee secure communication. A satellite-based experiment has shown that this technique can be applied over long distances without the need for trusted relays.

Global warming is threatening the survival of coral reefs. A laboratory model system has now been developed that should aid efforts to understand reef biology and the processes that underlie harmful bleaching events.