Volume 600 Issue 7890

Editorial

News

How severe are Omicron infections? p.577

As cases spread and countries plan their response, researchers await crucial data on the severity of the disease caused by the coronavirus variant.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03794-8

News Features

News & Views

Alternatives to standard quantum theory ruled out p.607

Standard quantum theory contains square roots of negative numbers. But how essential are these ‘imaginary’ numbers? A way of disproving analogous theories that omit them has been proposed — and confirmed experimentally.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03678-x

Stomach cancer gets a triple punch of therapy p.608

Harnessing immune cells to target tumours is a growing trend. The results of a clinical trial combining such treatment with other standard therapies for gastric cancer have altered medical practice — and more changes are to come.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03458-7

Low-power light modifies electron microscopy p.610

An optical device designed to control the properties of electron waves inside an electron microscope demonstrates that clever platforms for integrated photonics need not be powered by expensive laser systems.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03767-x

Gut clues to weight gain after quitting smoking p.611

Research has uncovered factors that underlie the weight gain associated with cessation of smoking. Here, scientists consider the implications of this finding from the perspectives of gut biology and of smoking.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03548-6

What surveys really say p.614

Increasing the sample size of a survey is often thought to increase the accuracy of the results. However, an analysis of big surveys on the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines shows that larger sample sizes do not protect against bias.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03604-1

Articles