News & Comment

Classic debates concerning the extent to which scientists can predict evolution have gained new urgency as environmental changes force species to adapt or risk extinction. We highlight how our ability to predict evolution can be constrained by data limitations that cause poor understanding of deterministic natural selection. We then emphasize how such data limits can be reduced with feasible empirical effort involving a combination of approaches.

Low-temperature carbon dioxide electrolysis is an attractive process for sustainable fuel synthesis, but current systems suffer from low efficiency. In this comment, authors discuss the limitations arising from the reaction between carbon dioxide and hydroxide, highlighting the need for new research to address this fundamental problem.

The human body supports a thriving diversity of microbes which comprise a dynamic, ancillary, functional system that synergistically develops in lock-step with physiological development of its host. The human microbiome field has transitioned from cataloging this rich diversity to dissecting molecular mechanisms by which microbiomes influence human health. Early life microbiome development trains immune function. Thus, vertically, horizontally, and environmentally acquired microbes and their metabolites have the potential to shape developmental trajectories with life-long implications for health.

Synthetic biology is among the most hyped research topics this century, and in 2010 it entered its teenage years. But rather than these being a problematic time, we’ve seen synthetic biology blossom and deliver many new technologies and landmark achievements.

Protected areas (PAs) are the most important conservation tool, yet assessing their effectiveness is remarkably challenging. We clarify the links between the many facets of PA effectiveness, from evaluating the means, to analysing the mechanisms, to directly measuring biodiversity outcomes.

Myelinating Schwann cells control the diameter of the axons they ensheath by an unknown mechanism. In a recent article in Nature Communications, Eichel and colleagues identify the tetraspan protein CMTM6 as a regulator of axonal caliber.

A large-scale screening campaign has yielded dozens of crystal structures of small molecule fragments that bind to the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. The global research community is encouraged to pursue these as drug discovery starting points for COVID-19.

Dr. Kishana Taylor (a microbiologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California, Davis), Dr. Nella Vargas-Barbosa (an electrochemist and Scientist at the Max Planck Institute) and Dr. Anouk Beniest (a geologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel) talked to Nature Communications about their recent experiences at virtual conferences as early career researchers, since the onset of international COVID-19 travel restrictions. Kishana, Nella and Anouk share tips for navigating virtual conferences as junior researchers, and they also give suggestions for conference organizers to improve virtual scientific meetings so they more inclusive for younger scientists.

In the next decade, advances in our understanding of microbes and microbiomes will likely transform our way of life; providing novel therapeutics, alternate energy sources, and shaping fundamental doctrines of biology. We explore the promises herein, and tools required to achieve this progress. Notably, it is critical that we improve the inclusivity and diversity of our research agendas and teams, so that science benefits people of all identities and backgrounds.

In light of the surging research on porous organic materials, we herein discuss the key issues of their porous structures, surface properties, and end functions. We also present an outlook on emerging opportunities, new applications, and data science-assisted materials discovery.

Research on porous materials has produced intriguing novel materials in terms of composition, porosity and structures recently. This perspective aims to provide a short overview on some of the highlights reported within the last decade in this field.

Lessons learnt from the current pandemic will be invaluable to tackle a potential second wave, however, gaps remain in our readiness to face future pandemics. At Nature Communications we wish to support further research providing insights into how national and international systems could be shaped for increased preparedness to both local or global epidemics.

Decision makers must have sufficient confidence in models if they are to influence their decisions. We propose three screening questions to critically evaluate models with respect to their purpose, organization, and evidence. They enable a more transparent, robust, and secure use of model outputs.

Cornelia Betsch (a psychologist, University of Erfurt), Vittoria Colizza (a computational epidemiologist, INSERM), Sara del Valle (a computational epidemiologist, Los Alamos National Laboratory), Chikwe Ihekweazu (a public health epidemiologist, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) and Carmela Troncoso (a data security specialist, EPFL) talked to Nature Communications about their experience with COVID-19 response and their vision on a new system for disease surveillance and control, providing a view on how this should interact with policy making.

Over the last decade, we have witnessed the emergence of ever more machine learning applications in all aspects of the chemical sciences. Here, we highlight specific achievements of machine learning models in the field of computational chemistry by considering selected studies of electronic structure, interatomic potentials, and chemical compound space in chronological order.

Computational chemistry methods with an optimal balance between predictive accuracy and computational cost hold major promise for accelerating the discovery of new molecules and materials. We at Nature Communications are eager to continue our engagement in this exciting and rapidly evolving field.

Coastal regions are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change. Preserving the ecological, economic and societal benefits of these environments will rely on synergy across disciplines.

(Photo)electrochemical cells that produce fuels have often relied on water oxidation to complete the redox cycle. Here, the authors discuss alcohol oxidation as an alternative reaction and consider general mechanistic features of oxidation electrocatalysts.

The robustness of science is best revealed when independent investigations of the same problem arrive at similar conclusions. At Nature Communications, we commit to disregard from our editorial evaluation any competing works that are published while a submission to our journal is under review or under revision by the authors.

Bayesian brain theories suggest that perception, action and cognition arise as animals minimise the mismatch between their expectations and reality. This principle could unify cognitive science with the broader natural sciences, but leave key elements of cognition and behaviour unexplained.