The WHO is right to call a temporary halt to COVID vaccine boosters p.317

Richer countries should focus on ramping up vaccine supply to the billions who are still waiting for their first dose.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02219-w

Delta threatens rural regions that dodged earlier COVID waves p.325

Data on the variant’s spread in India make researchers fearful for areas in developing nations that lack health care and vaccines.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02146-w

How do vaccinated people spread Delta? What the science says p.327

Emerging data suggest that Delta could spread more readily than other coronavirus variants among people vaccinated against COVID-19. But key questions remain.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02187-1

‘Tortured phrases’ give away fabricated research papers p.328

Analysis reveals that strange turns of phrase may indicate foul play in science.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02134-0

Mammoth’s epic travels preserved in tusk p.329

Chemical analysis of an ice age woolly mammoth’s tusk reveals the huge distances it travelled during its lifetime more than 17,000 years ago.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02206-1

Exotic four-quark particle spotted at Large Hadron Collider p.330

Rare tetraquark is one of dozens of non-elementary particles discovered by the accelerator, and could help to test theories about strong nuclear force.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02174-6

Chelsea Clinton urges global sharing of COVID vaccine technology p.331

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02164-8

Has COVID taught us anything about pandemic preparedness? p.332

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02217-y

Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? p.336

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02222-1

Genomic analysis identifies variants that can predict the timing of menopause p.345

A broad analysis has identified genetic variants that influence age at natural menopause. The results implicate mechanisms such as DNA-damage repair and give insights into the potential for predicting and treating early menopause.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-01710-8

‘Polluter pays’ policy could speed up emission reductions and removal of atmospheric CO2 p.346

To meet climate targets, technologies that remove atmospheric carbon dioxide will probably be needed. An analysis shows how their development and use could be accelerated if carbon emitters are obliged to remove their own CO2.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02192-4

Supersolids go two-dimensional p.348

Supersolids are exotic materials whose constituent particles can simultaneously form a crystal and flow without friction. The first 2D supersolid has been produced using ultracold gases of highly magnetic atoms.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02191-5

Deranged chromatin drives uterine fibroid tumours p.349

A previously unknown subgroup of uterine fibroid tumours is driven by mutations that result in disruption of the DNA–protein complex chromatin. The findings could inform the management of this common condition.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02005-8

A cocktail of pesticides, parasites and hunger leaves bees down and out p.351

Pollinators are under threat. A meta-analysis reveals that the combination of agrochemicals, parasites and malnutrition has a cumulative negative effect on bees, and that pesticide–pesticide interactions increase bee mortality.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-02079-4

Lenghu on the Tibetan Plateau as an astronomical observing site p.353

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03711-z

Two-dimensional supersolidity in a dipolar quantum gas p.357

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03725-7

Ghost hyperbolic surface polaritons in bulk anisotropic crystals p.362

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03755-1

How to design an icosahedral quasicrystal through directional bonding p.367

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03700-2

Mobility gradients yield rubbery surfaces on top of polymer glasses p.372

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03733-7

Operationalizing the net-negative carbon economy p.377

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03723-9

The Montreal Protocol protects the terrestrial carbon sink p.384

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03737-3

Agrochemicals interact synergistically to increase bee mortality p.389

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03787-7

Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing p.393

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03779-7

Deficient H2A.Z deposition is associated with genesis of uterine leiomyoma p.398

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03747-1

Locally ordered representation of 3D space in the entorhinal cortex p.404

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03783-x

Systems vaccinology of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in humans p.410

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03791-x

Age-related immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2 p.417

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03739-1

Protective efficacy of Ad26.COV2.S against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 in macaques p.423

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03732-8

In silico saturation mutagenesis of cancer genes p.428

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03771-1

BARD1 reads H2A lysine 15 ubiquitination to direct homologous recombination p.433

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03776-w

Mechanisms of BRCA1–BARD1 nucleosome recognition and ubiquitylation p.438

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03716-8

Structure and mechanism of blood–brain-barrier lipid transporter MFSD2A p.444

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03782-y