India, Brazil and the human cost of sidelining science p.7

Governments that ignore or delay acting on scientific advice are missing out on a crucial opportunity to control the pandemic.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01166-w

Good research begins long before papers get written p.8

Publishers are redoubling their commitment to transparency and reproducibility — but they can’t bring about change alone.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01167-9

‘We are being ignored’: Brazil’s researchers blame anti-science government for devastating COVID surge p.15

Researchers say that President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration has undermined science during an epic public-health crisis.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01031-w

Malaria vaccine shows promise — now come tougher trials p.17

Preliminary results suggest the vaccine is up to 77% effective in young children, but researchers await larger studies.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01096-7

What’s next for physics’ standard model? Muon results throw theories into confusion p.18

Anomalies to fundamental theory have physicists trying to concoct new explanations.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01033-8

How a historic funding boom might transform the US National Science Foundation p.19

Proposed budget increases for the research funding agency could bolster US innovation efforts, but some worry this will change the agency’s mission.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01076-x

Key COVID research hit by cut to UK foreign-aid budget p.20

UK scientists buffeted by uncertainty as the pandemic’s economic fallout reduces research funds.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01134-4

One million coronavirus sequences: popular genome site hits mega milestone p.21

GISAID’s impressive effort to understand the spread of COVID-19 has seen scientists upload sequences from most nations on Earth.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01069-w

Microplastics are everywhere — but are they harmful? p.22

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01143-3

Fevers are plaguing the oceans — and climate change is making them worse p.26

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01142-4

A child’s grave is the earliest known burial site in Africa p.39

The discovery of the burial of a young child in a cave in Kenya around 78,000 years ago sheds new light on the role of symbolism in the treatment of the dead during the Middle Stone Age.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00805-6

Black hole jets bent by magnetic fields p.40

The large-scale impact of magnetic fields on galaxy clusters has been unclear. Images from the MeerKAT radio telescope suggest that such fields can bend jets of particles ejected from massive black holes in galaxy clusters.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01171-z

African forest maps reveal areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change p.42

An analysis of six million trees reveals spatial patterns in the vulnerability of Central African rainforests to climate change and human activities. The maps generated could be used to guide targeted actions across national boundaries.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00978-0

Prediction for magnetic moment of the muon informs a test of the standard model of particle physics p.44

A new first-principles computation of the effect that creates most uncertainty in calculations of the magnetic moment of the muon particle has been reported. The results might resolve a long-standing puzzle, but pose another conundrum.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01172-y

Jets from MRC 0600-399 bent by magnetic fields in the cluster Abell 3376 p.47

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03434-1

Leading hadronic contribution to the muon magnetic moment from lattice QCD p.51

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03418-1

Rashba valleys and quantum Hall states in few-layer black arsenic p.56

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03449-8

Polypeptide organic radical batteries p.61

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03399-1

Correlative operando microscopy of oxygen evolution electrocatalysts p.67

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03454-x

Projected land ice contributions to twenty-first-century sea level rise p.74

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03302-y

The Paris Climate Agreement and future sea-level rise from Antarctica p.83

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03427-0

Unveiling African rainforest composition and vulnerability to global change p.90

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03483-6

Earliest known human burial in Africa p.95

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03457-8

The structure, function and evolution of a complete human chromosome 8 p.101

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03420-7

Flexible scaling and persistence of social vocal communication p.108

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03403-8

An amygdala circuit that suppresses social engagement p.114

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03413-6

Ex utero mouse embryogenesis from pre-gastrulation to late organogenesis p.119

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03416-3

The antibiotic darobactin mimics a β-strand to inhibit outer membrane insertase p.125

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03455-w

Antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 p.130

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03398-2

Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 to mRNA vaccine-elicited antibodies p.136

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03412-7

Escape of SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 from neutralization by convalescent plasma p.142

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03471-w

CAR directs T cell adaptation to bile acids in the small intestine p.147

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03421-6