Nature Briefing in 2021

The first reported millipede to live up to its name. Plus, Afghan academics despair under the Taliban, and how to track the rise of Omicron and other variants.

Graphics explain how vaccines shaped the year. Plus we meet Nature’s 10: profiles of people who helped shape science in 2021, and hear that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as reported.

Huge cracks in an Antarctic glacier could shatter part of it within five years. Plus, a NASA probe has travelled into the Sun’s corona for the first time and a guide to the US trial of a Harvard chemist.

Protection against SARS-CoV-2 might decline over time, even in people who have been infected and vaccinated. Plus, home zookeepers breed insects for rewilding, and Sci-Hub’s court battle in India.

Merck’s oral COVID drug appears to be less effective than originally thought. Plus, promising vaccines for the respiratory virus RSV, and the most stunning science photos of the year.

The earliest reported remains of domestic dogs in the Americas have been found in a cave in western Canada. Plus, how an AI has tackled one of chemistry’s most valuable techniques, and how to talk to your PhD adviser.

Teams of scientists tested 53 ways to induce people to keep returning to the gym and found that money talks. Plus, why we can’t wait for the James Webb Space Telescope and replication chaos in cancer biology.

Early data hint that two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine might offer less protection against Omicron than against other variants. Plus, why the most water-rich country in the world is facing drought and how to tell a compelling story in scientific presentations.

The science of coronavirus variants, the most stunning science images of the month and how to build better solar-energy systems.

What the leader of the world’s biggest public funder of biomedical research thinks about the future of science. Plus, meet a stunningly spiky new dinosaur and go deep into the science and engineering of the James Webb Space Telescope.

What the science says about the risk that the new coronavirus variant poses to the world, how it is supercharging the COVID vaccine booster debate and why border bans might do more harm than good.

What humanity should eat to stay healthy and save the planet. Plus, the world commits to a pandemic response pact and variations in Earth’s orbit influence phytoplankton evolution.

The Omicron coronavirus variant was present in the Netherlands before it was identified in southern Africa. Plus, Anthony Fauci on four decades of progress against HIV, and the ripple effect of the Moderna–NIH vaccine-patent fight.

The world’s first living robots, created from frog cells, self-replicate by pushing loose cells together. Plus, see the pendant that could be Eurasia’s oldest piece of jewellery.

In China, the first children with germline-edited genomes are growing up — but their futures hold many questions. Plus, ‘patience is crucial’ when it comes to the Omicron coronavirus variant and hopeful hints of a stem-cell cure for type 1 diabetes.

What we know about a worrying new variant of SARS-CoV-2. Plus, the ‘shadow pandemic’ in the global south and how to give great hugs.

Health-care leaders in the United States warn about the consequences of Thanksgiving-holiday travel and social mixing. Plus, the physics of snapping your fingers, and how one university is tackling research integrity.

NASA holds launch of space telescope until at least 22 December after spacecraft gets jiggled. Plus, how record wildfires are harming human health, and how dogs became humans’ best friends.

Vaccines reduce the risk of developing COVID-19 — but studies disagree on their protective effect against long COVID. Plus, lab-grown seafood is coming to a table near you and all about AI-powered protein-folding predictions.

Two scientists discovered that the journey to becoming adoptive parents has unique challenges for academics. Plus, the first quantum computer to pack 100 qubits and the vast research infrastructure being created to support China’s climate goals.