Two scientist parents who often help their children with homework deal with acceptable — and unacceptable — errors in course materials.

The spatio-temporal evolution of inflammatory bowel disease across the world follows four epidemiological stages: emergence, acceleration in incidence, compounding prevalence and prevalence equilibrium. Classifying regions by epidemiological stage enables health-care systems to prepare for the evolving global burden.

A new class of organometallic compound has been made that has a distinctive geometry and electronic structure — with potential for catalysis and materials science.

Ancient and present-day genomes from members of the Indigenous American tribe Picuris Pueblo in the US Southwest show genetic continuity with Ancestral Pueblo individuals from the Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. These results confirm traditional knowledge and contest previous accounts that suggested that the population in the region collapsed before European colonization.

Some types of cell are more likely than others to give rise to tumours. A rapid cell cycle is a newly identified predictor of cancer susceptibility.

Greater insights into what makes people happy, secure and hopeful will make for a better world.

Contingency plans are needed to shore up important information.

A diet rich in diverse carbohydrates outperforms faecal transplants in mice at restoring microbial diversity, which has been linked to a range of health conditions.

DNA from ancient and present-day members of Picuris Pueblo confirm oral histories linking the tribe to the famed Chaco Canyon centre.

The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

The US administration should clear up the confusion over the future of a widely admired AIDS fund and push for Congress to reauthorize it.

An ambitious plan to stop the global threat of AIDS has been derailed. But many are hopeful that progress can be salvaged.

In turbulent economic times, the prime minister’s Liberal party has promised funding to attract research talent to Canada.

Global agreement on a pandemic preparedness plan came against all the odds. Now all parties must follow good intentions with concrete actions.

Mechanism involving neurons that stimulate fear, and ones that suppress it, could help to explain conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Quick immune responses could be key to establishing herd immunity in future pandemics.