The News story ‘Jelly genome mystery’ (Nature 509, 411; 2014) wrongly stated that ctenophores might be the closest living relatives of the first animals. It should have said that ctenophores may represent the earliest lineage to split off from the common ancestor of all animals. The News story ‘US Arctic research ship ready to cast off’ (Nature 509, 542–543; 2014) incorrectly stated that a deck on the vessel able to accommodate large equipment is at the bow — it is at the stern. The News Feature ‘Complexity on the horizon’ (Nature 509, 552–553; 2014) inadvertently underplayed the role of Daniel Harlow in bringing computational complexity to fundamental physics — he worked with Patrick Hayden from the start of their project.