Volume 589 Issue 7842, 21 January 2021

Geographic associations risk stigma. Researchers must quickly agree on a more meaningful and universal nomenclature.

Colleagues with critiques want the same thing as you: to understand the world.

Gut-wrenching infection encourages production of an amino acid consumed by helpful bacteria.

Data from nearly 100,000 people find no upper limit to the heart benefits of increasing exercise levels.

A common bacterium can be engineered to carry coded messages in its genome.

Elevated levels of a plant hormone tip off roots about compacted soil.

Northern India is among the regions facing shortages from climate change’s effects on mountain rivers.

Vortex ‘tweezers’ can pick up and transport particles just 1 millimetre wide.

High-voltage fish in the Amazon swarm the buffet together.

The latest science news, in brief.

Efforts to track SARS-CoV-2 sequences have helped identify worrying variants — but researchers are blind to emerging mutations in some regions.

As more lineages emerge, researchers are struggling with a patchwork of nomenclature.

As placebo-controlled testing falls out of favour, vaccine developers eye blood markers and challenge trials to assess next-generation candidates.

Despite sharp drops early in the pandemic, global emissions of carbon dioxide picked up in the second half of the year, new data show.

Researchers are studying the sensory impact of the coronavirus, how long it lasts and what can be done to treat it.

From Fortran to arXiv.org, these advances in programming and platforms sent biology, climate science and physics into warp speed.

The influential economist behind Europe’s research-funding plan lays out her reasoning.

Hair-raising sixteenth-century reports emphasize the tests’ control arms and societal benefit.

Recipients of Nature prizes on how they inspire and motivate others.

A sea-bed buoy in a busy shipping lane helps marine biologist Antonio Codarin to record underwater noise and its impact on marine species.

Oscillations in neuronal activity in the medial temporal lobe of the human brain encode proximity to boundaries such as walls, both when navigating while walking and when watching another person do so.

Precise maps of routine first-dose measles vaccinations show slowing progress around the world between 2010 and 2019, and large gaps in coverage in many places. Many countries are unlikely to achieve global 2020 coverage targets.

Fractional electric charges have been observed at crystal defects in artificial structures resembling materials called topological crystalline insulators. Such fractional charges could have various engineering applications.

Two animal studies show that restricting the dietary intake of branched-chain amino acids can extend lifespan by modulating the mTOR signalling pathway. But more research is needed before this diet should be recommended in people.

An analogue of the psychedelic drug ibogaine has been developed. The analogue mirrors ibogaine’s ability to treat addiction and depression in animal models, has fewer side effects and is much simpler to synthesize.

A device has been developed that consists of mechanical bits, analogous to the magnetic bits used in computer hard drives. Information encoded in the bits programs the mechanical properties of the device.

Unique biological traits of bats and adaptive evolution associated with flight confer immunotolerance of viral infection that may help to make bats special reservoir hosts for viruses.

Observations from the International Space Station show a blue jet that is initiated by an intense blue flash in the top of a thunderstorm cloud.

It is experimentally shown that crystallographic defects may trap fractional charges, as well as topological states, in the bulk of topological crystalline insulators.

It is experimentally shown that topological states exist at crystallographic defects in the bulk and that disclination defects trap fractional charges characteristic of topological crystalline insulators.

A reprogrammable mechanical metamaterial constructed of bistable unit cells that can be switched independently and reversibly between two stable states with distinct mechanical properties using magnetic actuation is demonstrated.

Infrared absorption by a thick CO crystal produces many vibrational quanta that can be transported and concentrated at a salt interface to drive orientational isomerization of CO molecules with enhanced efficiency.

A stable, low-temperature water–gas shift catalyst is achieved by crowding platinum atoms and clusters on α-molybdenum carbide; the crowding protects the support from oxidation that would cause catalyst deactivation.

Modelling and remote sensing show that by the end of the twenty-first century, lake heatwaves will be several degrees Celsius warmer and some will be months longer, with potentially major adverse consequences for lake ecosystems.

The response of tropical precipitation to variation in sea surface temperature is stronger than in most climate models, with cool and warm ocean regions linked by strong shallow atmospheric circulations.

Although progress in the coverage of routine measles vaccination in children in low- and middle-income countries was made during 2000–2019, many countries remain far from the goal of 80% coverage in all districts by 2019.

In real-world spatial navigation and observation tasks, oscillatory activity in the human brain encodes representations of self and others, with oscillatory power increasing at locations near the boundaries of the room.

A peptidergic brainstem circuit is identified that supports the initiation and establishment of breathing by providing a supplementary respiratory drive immediately after birth.

The pairing of genes is essential for robust expression of segmentation clock genes during development in zebrafish embryos.

Arterial development relies on the timely and MYC-dependent suppression of endothelial metabolism and the cell cycle in pre-arterial endothelial cells through Notch signalling.

RANK promotes the hormone-mediated development of thymic regulatory T cells during pregnancy; loss of RANK is associated with impaired maturation of maternal regulatory T cells, leading to fetal loss and the development of gestational diabetes.

In mouse and human squamous cell carcinoma, loss of function of FAT1 promotes tumour initiation, malignant progression and metastasis through the activation of a hybrid epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotype.

Genome-wide siRNA screens identify an essential function for sorting nexin 5 in virus-induced autophagy and immunity mediated via class III phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase complex 1.

A high-throughput, chromosome-wide analysis of DNA looping reveals its contribution to the organization of chromatin, and provides insight into how nucleosomes are deposited and organised de novo.

Design of a two-component protein array enables robust formation of complex large-scale ordered biologically active materials.

Psychedelic alkaloids served as lead structures for the development of tabernanthalog, a non-hallucinogenic and non-toxic analogue that reduces alcohol- and heroin-seeking behaviour and produces antidepressant-like effects in rodents.