Women must not be obscured in science’s history p.501

The literature has failed to acknowledge many female researchers, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. But a new generation of historians is changing the narrative.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00770-0

Politicians must dial down the rhetoric over COVID vaccines p.502

Vaccine confidence will be the casualty of Europe’s war of words over the AstraZeneca–Oxford vaccine.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00769-7

A month on Mars: what NASA’s Perseverance rover has found so far p.509

No signs of past life have emerged yet, but rocks at the landing site show signs of having been shaped by wind and water.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00698-5

Lab-grown structures mimic human embryo's earliest stage yet p.510

The experiments use human cells to imitate the blastocyst phase — offering a crucial window into human development.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00695-8

Has COVID peaked? Maybe, but it’s too soon to be sure p.512

Global COVID-19 cases have fallen significantly since they peaked in early January. Scientists are asking whether this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00705-9

COVID antibody treatments show promise for preventing severe disease p.513

But uptake by patients and physicians has been low in the United States, where some therapies have been authorized for months.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00650-7

Mars’s core has been measured — and it’s surprisingly large p.514

Mars becomes the first inner planet after Earth to have the size of its core estimated.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00696-7

Scientists grew tiny tear glands in a dish — then made them cry p.515

Organoids made of tear-producing cells offer chances to study, and possibly treat, eye disorders.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00681-0

The fight against fake-paper factories that churn out sham science p.516

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00733-5

Five reasons why COVID herd immunity is probably impossible p.520

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00728-2

First complete model of the human embryo p.531

Early in development, human embryos form a structure called the blastocyst. Two research groups have now generated human blastocyst-like structures from cells in a dish, providing a valuable model for advancing human embryology.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00581-3

Effects of rising CO2 levels on carbon sequestration are coordinated above and below ground p.532

An analysis of experiments in which the air around terrestrial plants or plant communities was enriched with carbon dioxide reveals a coordination between the resulting changes in soil carbon stocks and above-ground plant biomass.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00737-1

Atomic clocks compared with astounding accuracy p.534

Three atomic clocks based on different atoms have been compared with record accuracy. The findings bring a redefinition of the second a step closer and aid the search for dark matter — an elusive component of the Universe.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00738-0

Mitochondria are mixed during cell division p.535

Organelles called mitochondria have essential roles in the cell and must be inherited successfully as it divides. It turns out that three types of interaction with filaments of actin protein mix and partition mitochondria during cell division.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00511-3

Road map for domesticating multi-genome rice using gene editing p.537

Having more than two sets of chromosomes can help plants to adapt and evolve, but generating new crops with this type of genome is challenging. A road map for doing just that has now been developed using wild rice.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-00589-9

Towards a rigorous understanding of societal responses to climate change p.539

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2

A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture p.551

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03308-6

Frequency ratio measurements at 18-digit accuracy using an optical clock network p.564

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03253-4

Nondestructive detection of photonic qubits p.570

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03290-z

Control and readout of a superconducting qubit using a photonic link p.575

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03268-x

A four-qubit germanium quantum processor p.580

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03332-6

Macroscopic materials assembled from nanoparticle superlattices p.586

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03355-z

Summertime increases in upper-ocean stratification and mixed-layer depth p.592

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03303-x

A trade-off between plant and soil carbon storage under elevated CO2 p.599

A synthesis of elevated carbon dioxide experiments reveals that when plant biomass is strongly stimulated by elevated carbon dioxide levels, soil carbon storage declines, and where biomass is weakly stimulated, soil carbon accumulates.

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03306-8

Decoding and perturbing decision states in real time p.604

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03181-9

Single-neuronal predictions of others’ beliefs in humans p.610

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03184-0

Reset of hippocampal–prefrontal circuitry facilitates learning p.615

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03272-1

Blastocyst-like structures generated from human pluripotent stem cells p.620

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03356-y

Modelling human blastocysts by reprogramming fibroblasts into iBlastoids p.627

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03372-y

Multi-kingdom ecological drivers of microbiota assembly in preterm infants p.633

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03241-8

Evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-CoV-2 p.639

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03207-w

Metabolic support of tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells by lactic acid p.645

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03045-2

CTLA-4 blockade drives loss of Treg stability in glycolysis-low tumours p.652

CTLA-4 promotes glucose uptake by tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells, making them unstable.

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03326-4

Actin cables and comet tails organize mitochondrial networks in mitosis p.659

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03309-5

BRCA1 and RNAi factors promote repair mediated by small RNAs and PALB2–RAD52 p.665

doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03150-2

Centromeres are dismantled by foundational meiotic proteins Spo11 and Rec8 p.671

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03279-8

Structural insights into the inhibition of glycine reuptake p.677

doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03274-z