Editorials

A prevalent but trivial systematic error in supplementary tables provides a reminder that genomic and other large data files are most usable when they are readable by both humans and machines. It is best practice to deposit large files in public databases and to provide accession links for peer review rather than to delay data deposition until publication.

The coevolution of staple crops and human society can be traced in the relics of ancient genomes and in population genetic signatures that our interdependence has left on our genomes and those of our crop plants. Patterns of geographical adaptation in the genomes of local crop varieties connect millennia of survival strategies of subsistence farmers with future agricultural improvement in the face of challenges from environmental changes.

A recent recommendation that a large number of professional data stewards be trained and employed in all data-rich research projects raises the exciting prospect they will conduct research on data-intensive research itself. It also focuses us on questions about the role of all scientists in data quality and accessibility as well as how best to measure the value of good data stewardship to science and society.

Precision medicine is a sufficiently imprecise term to cover cohort research in epidemiology as well as evidence-based improvements in clinical delivery and informatics. We think it should continue to build and improve upon the rigorous standards for measurement of genome sequence variation.

The genetics of plant breeding cannot by itself end hunger and malnutrition nor ensure sustainable food production. However, driven by genomics, it provides tools with which to raise the research profile and standards of two related fields that together will do so: agronomy, as it relates to crop ecology and evolution, and nutritional natural products research.

Comparison of evolutionary adaptations and innovations illuminates the genetic basis for the development of animal forms. Gene networks that retain similar wiring diagrams in diverse and distantly related organisms point to the ways in which regulatory regions of the genome evolve. We may be close to being able to use comparative genomics to predict the evolvability of gene networks.

The FAIR data principles are simple guidelines for ensuring that machines can find and use data, supporting data reuse by individuals. More—and better—research can be generated by designing data and algorithms to be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable, together with the tools and workflows that led to these data.

The migration of cancer genomics data to cloud computing is a great encouragement for data reuse and integration by bioinformaticians and other data symbionts. Because the cloud allows rapid, transparent and reproducible research on large data sets, we are keen to consider articles and analyses submitted to the journal that provide peer referee access to their constituent cloud projects.

The journal endorses the principle of transparency in the production of genome-edited crops and livestock as a precondition for the registration of a breed or cultivar, with no further need for regulation or distinction of these goods from the products of traditional breeding.

A large collection of human genomes from Sardinia is reported in three linked papers that implicate new genetic variants in the regulation of height, blood lipids, inflammatory markers and hemoglobin levels. These analyses provide new insight into disease susceptibility and evolution in isolated human populations and illuminate the genetics of complex phenotypes.

Journal requirements for data deposition and encouragement of deposition of preprints in a community preprint server are stated policy. Because many authors put data in a public repository only upon publication and many still ask about the status of preprints, here is a further statement of our position.

The reference human genome assembly is remarkable in its completeness and usefulness in research. However, the range of allelic variation in the human population is not well described by a haploid assembly with a profusion of alternative loci. Homozygous regions and the use of multiple sequencing technologies increasingly have roles in strategies for identifying regulatory and trait-associated variation.

From the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) onward, there has been a desire to get together to talk about using our shared genomic heritage to improve human health and development. We now have all the organizations we need and should collaborate on multiple practical demonstrations of the usefulness of genomic knowledge—be it human, animal or plant—for human health.

A considerable proportion of the usefulness and interest of research publications in our field comes from the data and associated metadata. We therefore insist that data be available for peer reviewers to see and readers to use. Authors should use public permanent repositories designed for appropriately consented data.

We offer to publish Analyses of genomic and phenotypic data that present new concepts and strategies for the improvement of crop plant yield and nutritional value via the introduction, selection and use of genetic variation within the context of changes in markets, climate, water use and agronomic practices.

The largest-ever set of human genomes from a single population and the consequent insights into mutation, evolution, gene function and disease predisposition are reported in four linked papers. These results provide a strategy for the analysis of the full spectrum of genetic variation in any population and raise questions about how society should implement the knowledge gained.

Attention to accurate representation of claims within a research article together with the evidence and method supporting each claim can expedite peer review. Accurate citation of the claims of others is essential to avoid prematurely closing possibly productive research strategies.

Nature and its sister journals start offering anonymity to authors during the peer-review process.