Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03079-6

Two logical qubits are encoded in ensembles of four physical qubits through the surface code, then entangled by lattice surgery, which is a protocol for carrying out fault-tolerant operations.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03121-7

Long-distance V(D)J recombination is facilitated by contraction of the Igh locus and linear RAG scanning along chromatin, both driven by cohesin-mediated loop extrusion, which allows recombination of widely separated gene segments to occur.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03124-4

Electron cryomicroscopy and cryotomography studies reveal that rotaviruses attach to a target cell through the outer-layer protein VP4, which—following cleavage—rearranges to enable perforation of the membrane and delivery of the viral genome into the host cell.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03077-8

Observations of a giant flare associated with the starburst galaxy NGC 253 suggest that the flare is probably associated with relativistic plasma in the magnetic field of a magnetar.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03129-z

Haematopoietic stem cells show progressive functional decline with age that can be reversed by stimulation of chaperone-mediated autophagy in old mice and aged humans.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03134-2

Electrophysiology combined with correlated light and electron microscopy confirms the long-standing assumption that the size of a synapse is proportional to its strength, and reveals that neocortical synapses may have greater computational capacity than thought.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x

Dire wolves split from living canids around 5.7 million years ago and originated in the New World isolated from the ancestors of grey wolves and coyotes, which evolved in Eurasia and colonized North America only relatively recently.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03094-7

Iceberg-trajectory models along with multi-proxy evidence from sediment cores from the Indian Ocean show that northward shifts in Antarctic iceberg melt redistributed freshwater in the Southern Ocean during the Pleistocene.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03118-2

In mice, oral tolerance to food antigens can break down after enteric infection, and this leads to food-induced pain resembling irritable bowel syndrome in humans.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03078-7

A bioinformatics pipeline to identify tandem repeat mutations is developed and used to characterize precise changes in repeat copy number associated with autism spectrum disorder.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03151-1

Studies using mouse and non-human primate models identify the innate immune regulator STING—acting via type I interferons—as a key regulator of nociception, suggesting new targets for the treatment of chronic pain.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00089-w

Waitressing, bartending and tutoring stole time from my academic studies, but I picked up transferable skills that still serve me well, says Cassie Sims.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00044-9

COVAX is key to both immunizing the world’s poorest people and ending the pandemic.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03658-7

A link has been found between repetitive stretches of DNA called tandem repeats and autism spectrum disorder. The discovery might inform approaches to studying tandem repeats in a wide range of other human disorders.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00021-2

Improve materials and architectures to shrink microscopic devices.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00061-8

A date to remember.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03659-6

In some materials, the absorption of a single photon can trigger a chain reaction that produces a large burst of light. The discovery of these photon avalanches in nanostructures opens the way to imaging and sensing applications.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03661-y

Debilitating gut pain is common, but the underlying cause is often unclear. It emerges that gut infection triggers localized immune responses that cause normally innocuous foods to be perceived as harmful, leading to persistent pain.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03657-8

Celestial eruptions known as giant magnetar flares have been seen in our cosmic backyard, but were so bright they blinded observational instruments. The discovery of a more distant flare finally reveals details of these emissions.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00018-x

Scientists are getting to grips with the role of mechanical forces in the body, from embryo to adult.