Global sea surface temperatures in 2023–24 exceeded the previous record by an unprecedented margin. Observation-based statistical models and climate models suggest that such jumps in ocean temperatures are unlikely to occur even with global warming but are almost impossible without it. In climate models, temperatures revert to the long-term warming trend in the years after such jumps.

Most communication between neurons is mediated by the neurotransmitter glutamate. The finding that temperature influences how glutamate binds to neuronal receptor proteins to initiate signal transduction reveals the mechanics of one of the brain’s most important processes.

Vaccines containing peptides called antigens are bad at stimulating key immune cells called killer T cells. A molecule now enables antigens to encounter these T cells.

Mapping the density, molecular features and energy-transformation capacity of cell organelles called mitochondria in the brain reveals region- and cell-type-specific variability that tracks with evolutionary patterns. Correlations between mitochondrial and brain-imaging metrics could enable future non-invasive explorations of mitochondrial bioenergetics in the brain in health and disease.