Volume 587 Issue 7834, 19 November 2020

The fields of computer science and artificial intelligence are struggling with the ethical challenges of biometrics. Researchers, funders and institutions must respond.

As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to erode huge gains against much more devastating infections, I look for silver linings.

A borehole in an ice cap gives researchers an unexpected close-up of a glacial flood, or jökulhlaup.

Prehistoric grave contains the remains of a baby who died at birth and those of his twin, who survived for an additional six to seven weeks.

After scientists activate specialized cells in a mouse’s brain, the rodent acts is if it were somewhere else.

A Swiss design could help to bring an ultra-high-resolution mapping tool to the scientific masses.

The latest science news, in brief.

Preliminary data show that the immunization is 94% effective and seems to prevent severe infections.

The US president-elect has already announced a coronavirus advisory board and an updated strategy that researchers say follows the science.

The analysis found the mutations probably won’t jeopardize vaccines, but scientists say the rampant spread means the animals still need to be killed.

Identifying the source will be tricky, and investigators will need to grapple with the sensitive political situation.

Trapped-ion systems are gaining momentum in the quest to make a commercial quantum computer.

US mobile data suggests restaurants, gyms and cafes can be COVID hotspots — and reveals strategies for limiting spread.

The technology is improving — but the bigger issue is how it’s used.

Growing use of surveillance technology has prompted calls for bans and stricter regulation.

Journals and researchers are under fire for controversial studies using this technology. And a Nature survey reveals that many researchers in this field think there is a problem.

A sociologist embedded in the agency shows that what gets discovered depends on how scientists collaborate.

Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks.

Avoid unwarranted certainty, neat narratives and partisan presentation; strive to inform, not persuade.

The pandemic has temporarily closed mines, factories and borders and destabilized flows of cobalt, lithium and other metals that are crucial for batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.

The second article in a series on Nature’s inaugural survey of postdocs in academia worldwide uncovers a sense of instability among the research precariat.

Open science and 3D printing are making it easier than ever for researchers to embrace do-it-yourself lab tools.

Leena Tripathi uses CRISPR gene-editing technology to protect bananas and other staple crops across Africa against killer pathogens.

Atmospheric particles that increase levels of cellular oxidants when inhaled might be especially harmful. An analysis reveals which emissions should be limited to minimize the potential adverse health effects of such particles in Europe.

Our understanding of how mammalian embryos develop is based largely on mice. A study now reveals striking similarities and intriguing differences between mouse, cow and human embryos.

An analysis of worldwide data finds that human mobility has a hierarchical structure. A proposed model that accounts for such hierarchies reproduces differences in mobility behaviour across genders and levels of urbanization.

When determining whether gut microbes affect human health, it is hard to distinguish between a causal and a correlative relationship. Analysis of microbial links to human traits and habits correlated with disease offers a step forward.

Understanding what contributes to the development of severe COVID-19 would be of great clinical benefit. Analysis of people in whom this occurred pinpoints a key role for the signalling pathway mediated by type I interferon proteins.

The LifeTime initiative is an ambitious, multidisciplinary programme that aims to improve healthcare by tracking individual human cells during disease processes and responses to treatment in order to develop and implement cell-based interceptive medicine in Europe.

Observations and stellar evolution models of a blue ring nebula and its central star (TYC 2597-735-1) suggest that the remnant star merged with a lower-mass companion several thousand years ago.

Quantum simulation in a 71-site optical lattice certifies gauge invariance, showing how this essential property of lattice gauge theories can be maintained across a quantum phase transition.

A theoretical model in the form of a stochastic differential equation is proposed that describes, more accurately than previous models, the population evolution of cities, revealing that rare but very large interurban migration is a dominant factor.

A model shows that human mobility is organized within hierarchical containers that coincide with familiar scales and that a power-law distribution emerges when movements between different containers are combined.

Spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations of the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction establish that reaction rates depend on the amount of charge stored in the electrocatalyst, and not on the applied potential.

Observations and air-quality modelling reveal that the sources of particulate matter and oxidative potential in Europe are different, implying that reducing mass concentrations of particulate matter alone may not reduce oxidative potential.

A yeast clonal descendant of an ancient hybridization event is identified and sheds light on the early evolution of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Alpechin lineage and its abundant Saccharomyces paradoxus introgressions.

The onset of maternal behaviour in mice involves an interaction between intrinsic tuning of auditory cortical neurons and experience-dependent plasticity.

Timing and position of spontaneously arising waves of activity in the visual cortex predict the sensitivity of visual perception in awake, behaving marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

The authors identify long-lasting transcriptional programmes in neurons and glia that are associated with the storage of a remote memory.

Comparative analysis of human, cow and mouse embryos shows that a mechanism involving atypical protein kinase C initiates the trophectoderm program during the morula stage in these three species.

The authors use a machine-learning approach to uncover confounding variables in studies that seek to establish an association between the gut microbiota and human disease.

A multi-organ circuit is activated in female flies after mating, leading to changes in enteric neurons that increase food intake.

Heart atria produce a large pool of calcitonin (previously well-recognized as a thyroid-secreted hormone with roles in calcium and bone metabolism) that in the heart acts as a paracrine signal controlling atrial fibrosis and fibrillation.

Viral infection of the respiratory system induces exuberant fibroblast activity, resulting in extensive remodelling of the extracellular matrix and cytokine release, which promote immune cell infiltration of the affected area at the expense of respiratory function.

IgA-secreting plasma cells that originate in the intestine are found in the meninges, where they protect the brain against pathogens.

The evolution of myeloid malignancies is investigated using combined single-cell sequencing and immunophenotypic analysis.

The molecular steps that lead to the disaggregation of amyloid fibrils are shown to involve the synergistic action of HSP70 and its co-chaperones DNAJB1 and HSP110.

The binding and activation of HSP70 by class B J-domain proteins is subject to an autoinhibitory regulatory mechanism that controls substrate targeting to HSP70 and is required for the disaggregation of amyloid fibres.

Structures of the assembled matrix protein 1 of influenza A virus in intact virus particles and of oligomers of this protein reconstituted in vitro reveal mechanisms of assembly and disassembly of influenza virus.

Using cryo-electron microscopy, the authors report the structures of G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor–G_s complexes and reveal the structural basis of bile acid recognition.