Henrietta Lacks: science must right a historical wrong p.7

In Henrietta Lacks’s centennial year, researchers must do more to ensure that human cells cannot be taken without consent.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02494-z

Why the United States is having a coronavirus data crisis p.13

Political meddling, disorganization and years of neglect of public-health data management mean the country is flying blind.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02478-z

Racism and harassment are common in field research — scientists are speaking up p.15

Researchers call on universities to offer inclusive policies that make fieldwork safer.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02328-y

The coronavirus is most deadly if you are older and male — new data reveal the risks p.16

A slew of detailed studies has now quantified the increased risk the virus poses to older people, men, and other groups.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02483-2

Corruption allegations plague Romanian site of huge European laser project p.18

The institute near Bucharest hosts the world’s most powerful scientific laser — but some scientists say that poor management is threatening the facility and the project.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02415-0

What the immune response to the coronavirus says about the prospects for a vaccine p.20

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02400-7

How many people has the coronavirus killed? p.22

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02497-w

Vibration overcomes gravity on a levitating fluid p.31

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02451-w

Evidence that tunnelling nanotube-like structures connect cells in mice p.32

Structures similar to closed-ended tunnelling nanotubes have now been seen connecting pericyte cells in the mouse retina. The structures enable pericytes to coordinate their responses to neural activity, thereby modulating blood flow.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02315-3

Neurodegenerative gene’s function is not all about those bases p.34

A mutation in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of two neurodegenerative diseases. A newly identified immunological function for the C9orf72 protein points to a potential therapeutic strategy for these diseases.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02382-6

Precise measurement of deuteron mass raises hopes of solving the nuclear-mass puzzle p.35

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02474-3

Cancer cells stock up in lymph vessels to survive p.36

A cellular condition called oxidative stress can kill cancer cells. The finding that skin cancer cells evade such destruction using lipids acquired while passing through lymphatic vessels reveals a mechanism that boosts cancer spread.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02383-5

Universal structure of dark matter haloes over a mass range of 20 orders of magnitude p.39

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2642-9

Penning trap mass measurements of the deuteron and the HD⁺ molecular ion p.43

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2628-7

Floating under a levitating liquid p.48

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2643-8

Stable room-temperature continuous-wave lasing in quasi-2D perovskite films p.53

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2621-1

Sub-cycle atomic-scale forces coherently control a single-molecule switch p.58

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2620-2

A disordered rock salt anode for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries p.63

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2637-6

Butterfly effect and a self-modulating El Niño response to global warming p.68

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2641-x

Accelerating homogenization of the global plant–frugivore meta-network p.74

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2640-y

Telomere-to-telomere assembly of a complete human X chromosome p.79

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2547-7

Glypicans shield the Wnt lipid moiety to enable signalling at a distance p.85

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2498-z

Interpericyte tunnelling nanotubes regulate neurovascular coupling p.91

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2589-x

C9orf72 in myeloid cells suppresses STING-induced inflammation p.96

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2625-x

Gut microorganisms act together to exacerbate inflammation in spinal cords p.102

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2634-9

An RNA vaccine drives immunity in checkpoint-inhibitor-treated melanoma p.107

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2537-9

Lymph protects metastasizing melanoma cells from ferroptosis p.113

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2623-z

Closed mitosis requires local disassembly of the nuclear envelope p.119

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2648-3

Functionally uncoupled transcription–translation in Bacillus subtilis p.124

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2638-5

Computational design of transmembrane pores p.129

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2646-5

Structural basis of CXC chemokine receptor 2 activation and signalling p.135

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2492-5

Irritant-evoked activation and calcium modulation of the TRPA1 receptor p.141

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2480-9