Reviews & Analysis

Marine microbial activities fuel biogeochemical cycles that impact the climate, but global models do not account for the myriad physiological processes that microbes perform. Here the authors argue for a model framework that reinterprets the ocean as physics coupled to biologically-driven redox chemistry.

Discovering a sustainable route to ammonia as a fertiliser and as an energy carrier is critically important, but many recent reports on the electrochemical nitrogen reduction are false positives. Here the authors uncover the emerging experimental traps and detail protocols to reliably avoid them.

The accurate representation of data is essential in science communication, however, colour maps that visually distort data through uneven colour gradients or are unreadable to those with colour vision deficiency remain prevalent. Here, the authors present a simple guide for the scientific use of colour and highlight ways for the scientific community to identify and prevent the misuse of colour in science.

Oncogenic signalling has been historically associated with sustained cancer cell-intrinsic proliferation, however its role in promoting tumour immunoresistance has also become evident. Here, Hamarsheh and colleagues review and discuss the preclinical work on the immune modulatory effects of oncogenic KRAS and the potential clinical application.

Reducing soil degradation and improving soil management could make an important contribute to climate change mitigation. Here the authors discuss opportunities and challenges towards implementing a global climate mitigation strategy focused on carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, and propose a framework for guiding region- and soil-specific management options.

Plastic pollution is recognized as a global threat, but policy hurdles and a lack of effective plastic substitutes contribute to the problem. In this Perspective, the authors argue that an effective and sustainable path forward must rely on key restrictions and regulations optimized for impact and efficacy.

Non-model bacteria offer unique and versatile metabolisms for synthetic biology. In this Perspective, the authors explore the limited availability of well-characterised biological parts in these species and argue that bacteriophages represent a diverse trove of orthogonal parts.

The Human Proteome Project (HPP) was launched in 2010 to enhance accurate annotation of the genome-encoded proteome. Ten years later, the HPP releases its first blueprint of the human proteome, annotating 90% of all known proteins at high-stringency and discussing the implications of proteomics for precision medicine.

Biofortification is an effective means to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Here, the authors review recent advances in biofortification and propose stacking multiple micronutrient traits into high-yielding varieties through the combination of conventional breeding and genetic engineering approaches.

The social intelligence hypothesis predicts that social organisms tend to be more intelligent because within-group interactions drive cognitive evolution. Here, authors propose that conspecific outsiders can be just as important in selecting for sophisticated cognitive adaptations.

In this Perspective, the authors review the different applications for mobile phone data to support COVID-19 pandemic response, the relevance of these applications for infectious disease transmission and control, and potential sources and implications of selection bias in mobile phone data.

The strategy of modular construction makes it possible to create ordered materials with structures that are controlled at the molecular level. In this perspective article, the author shows how the approach has yielded a new generation of materials with extraordinary properties of porosity.

Structural lubricity is one of the most interesting concepts in modern tribology, which promises to achieve ultra-low friction over a wide range of length-scales. Here the authors highlight novel research lines in this area achievable by combining theoretical and experimental efforts on hard two-dimensional materials and soft colloidal and cold ion systems.

Photon-induced charge separation phenomena are at the heart of light-harvesting applications but challenging to be described by quantum mechanical models. Here the authors illustrate the potential of machine-learning approaches towards understanding the fundamental processes governing electronic excitations.

Despite their widespread use, many fundamental questions about the internal structure of microgels are still open. Here the authors describe several pathways toward a complete understanding of microgel colloids based on recent experimental advances in nanoscale characterization.

Why do human embryos need a yolk sac and how does it form? This Perspective by Thorsten Boroviak and Connor Ross explores the development and function of the yolk sac in primate embryogenesis.

Despite numerous advances in our understanding of subduction since the theory of plate tectonics was established, the mechanisms of subduction zone initiation remain highly controversial. Here, the authors present a transdisciplinary and expandable community database of subduction zone initiation events in the last 100 Ma, which establishes a clear direction for future research.

Scarcity of high-quality annotated data and mismatch between the development dataset and the target environment are two of the main challenges in developing predictive tools from medical imaging. In this Perspective, the authors show how causal reasoning can shed new light on these challenges.

Oceans provide important natural resources, but the management and governance of the ocean is complex and the ecosystem is suffering as a result. The authors discuss current barriers to sustainable ocean governance and suggest pathways forward.