Nature

NEWS ROUND-UP 29 September 2021 Moon ice, research imbalance and a new science minister The latest science news, in brief. Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share via E-Mail Share via E-Mail Download PDF Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, test a model of VIPER on

That time in hurricane season when atmospheric scientists like to notice a sign of improvement is here. But the truth is that it’s not yet close enough – actually, this year it’s not anywhere close. (Photo : Getty Images) Hurricane Names  Dennis Feltgen, National Hurricane Center meteorologist said: “We still have two months to go in

EDITORIAL 28 September 2021 Concrete needs to lose its colossal carbon footprint Concrete will be crucial for much-needed climate-resilient construction. But the cement industry must set out its plan for decarbonization. Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share via E-Mail Share via E-Mail Cement manufacturing (such as that at

Described as the ‘ancestor’ of Mediterranean mosaics, an assembly of over 3,000 stones was discovered in the remains of a 15th century BC Hittite temple, 700 years before the oldest known mosaics of ancient Greece. The 3,500-year-old paving stones, in natural shades of beige, red and black, are arranged in triangles and curves, shedding light

In early 2020, scorching temperatures and prolonged droughts were fuelling bush fires across Australia. The blazes eventually killed an estimated 400 people and more than one billion animals — and prompted fire scientist David Bowman and his colleagues to write an article in Nature urging the Australian government to create a national wildfire-monitoring agency. Compiling

BOOK REVIEW 28 September 2021 From gold to Bitcoin and beyond An economist envisions a mostly cashless future, which could make finance more inclusive. Paola Subacchi 0 Paola Subacchi Paola Subacchi is professor of international economics and chair of the advisory board at the Global Policy Institute at Queen Mary, University of London. View author

The Largest utility in California has been taken to court for involuntary manslaughter and other crimes due to the deaths of four people caused by Northern California wildfire in 2021. (Photo : Getty Images) Zogg Fire casualties On Friday, prosecutors publicized they had filed a 31-count complaint claiming Pacific Gas and Electric Co. are to

Download PDF My job here at Apeel, a food-systems technology company in Goleta, California, is to unlock how genes and metabolites, or products of food breakdown, control the degradation of fruits such as mango and avocado. The company uses plant-based coatings to double the shelf life of produce and reduce waste from a range of

People living in Anchorage, Alaska have gotten used to living near moose and bear, but they are are now dealing with the threat from a smaller creature which is the humble river otter. (Photo : Getty Images) River Otter  The Alaska department of fish and game notified residents Friday of a pack of hostile otters

NEWS 27 September 2021 Climate change to loom large in talks to form new German government Strong results for green and liberal parties mean climate and energy policies are expected to feature heavily in upcoming coalition talks. Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share via E-Mail Share via E-Mail

NATURE INDEX 24 September 2021 Coral conservation strikes a balance Australia–Fiji collaboration matches community needs with reef protection. Clare Watson 0 Clare Watson Clare Watson is a freelance writer in Wollongong, Australia. View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook

The Atlantic churned another Subtropical Storm named Teresa on Friday afternoon, just 155 miles north-northwest of Bermuda, sustaining maximum winds of 45 mph. It has since weakened to a subtropical depression of 35 mph winds as of 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday, spinning 140 miles north of Bermuda. The latest storm did not impose long-lived

Some of the natural gas that leaks from oil and gas wells can stay trapped underground, where it dissolves in groundwater and can affect water quality1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year 199,00 € only 3,90 € per issue Subscribe

When David Bustos initially traveled to White Sands National Park in New Mexico to work as a wildlife biologist in 2005, he heard about the “ghost trails.” The phantom footsteps would emerge on the otherwise blank soil when the ground was wet enough at certain periods of the year, only to vanish when it dried

COMMENT 26 September 2021 Mental health: build predictive models to steer policy Combine economic, social and medical data to forecast need and design services to address the growing crisis. Jo-An Occhipinti 0 , Adam Skinner 1 , P. Murali Doraiswamy 2 , Cameron Fox 3 , Helen Herrman 4 , Shekhar Saxena 5 , Elisha

Download PDF Another slip. A tiny one. Another lurch, a huge one. Another — Her teeth sunk into her lips, drawing blood. She was not going to scream. She was not. She was not going to give anyone that satisfaction. Assuming anyone was even listening. Probably not. But she could not — would not —

Germany faces a climate crisis that creeps up on its lush landscapes, including the Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The once green field in Reinhardswald nature park has turned bare and dry when viewed up close. The ground is almost empty, with only white trunks and brittle sticks that stretches over some 50 acres. As weather conditions

NATURE INDEX 24 September 2021 Tracking 20 leading cities’ Sustainable Development Goals research Local challenges help to explain why some goals are prioritized over others. Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share via E-Mail Share via E-Mail Download PDF Leading science cities’ output related to the United Nations’ 17

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, has given a grave warning to world leaders on climate change, stating that Cop26 must be a “turning point for mankind” since global temperature rises are now unavoidable. Only 40 days before the global meeting in Glasgow, Mr. Johnson used his speech to the United Nations General Assembly to

A catalyst containing nickel and iron can degrade the main waste product from urine to generate electricity and harmless by-products1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year 199,00 € only 3,90 € per issue Subscribe Tax calculation will be finalised during

An array of 30 lasers that acts as a single light source represents a key step towards the development of large-scale, high-powered lasers on a microchip1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year 199,00 € only 3,90 € per issue Subscribe

Recent reports have emerged that severe COVID-19 effects include ‘unusually persistent delirium’, an acutely disturbed state of mind that can be caused by several disorders. It turns out that being severely infected by COVID-19 virus also triggers similar traits to the sickest hospitalized patients, up to 80% of ICU patients, according to initial investigations. Loss

NEWS 24 September 2021 Seed-inspired vehicles and a deadly lake — the week in infographics Nature highlights three key infographics from the week in science and research. Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share via E-Mail Share via E-Mail North–south divide Research on economic issues relating to developing countries

Researchers are developing artificial intelligence to evaluate climate change tipping points. The deep learning program might serve as an early warning system for climate change that has gotten out of hand. (Photo : Pixabay) Chris Bauch, an applied mathematics professor at the University of Waterloo, co-authors a recent research paper detailing the new deep-learning algorithm’s

NATURE INDEX 24 September 2021 Sustainable Development Goals research speaks to city strengths and priorities Collaboration between coastal communities and sprawling metropolises helps the drive to meet UN targets. Bec Crew 0 Bec Crew Senior editor View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share on Twitter Share on

NEWS 24 September 2021 Closest known relatives of virus behind COVID-19 found in Laos Studies of bats in China and Laos show southeast Asia is a hotspot for potentially dangerous viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2. Smriti Mallapaty Smriti Mallapaty View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share on Twitter

Residents are wondering how climate change is generating increasingly devastating tropical storms after another record hurricane season. The people living along America’s coastlines have undoubtedly felt the effects of a hectic and devastating hurricane season, and experts believe climate change is a role in how intense hurricane seasons have grown in recent years. 2021 Atlantic

An experimental COVID-19 vaccine that uses an atypical ingredient to stimulate an immune response shows promise against several variants of the coronavirus — at least in monkeys. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1 year 199,00 € only 3,90 € per issue

miteAn international scientific team has proved for the first time that animals can survive for very long periods (perhaps millions of years) without sex by studying a species of beetle mite. (Photo : Wikimedia Commons) A team of scientists has proved for the first time that asexual reproduction can be successful in the long run

BOOK REVIEW 23 September 2021 Ocean politics, DNA history and the climate experiment: Books in brief Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks. Andrew Robinson 0 Andrew Robinson Andrew Robinson’s many books include Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World’s Undeciphered Scripts and Einstein on the Run: How Britain Saved the World’s

arising from T. Takahashi et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2700-3 (2020) The sex disparity in COVID-19 mortality varies widely and is of uncertain origin. In their recent Article, Takahashi et al.1 assess immune phenotype in a sample of patients with COVID-19 and conclude that the “immune landscape in COVID-19 patients is considerably different between the sexes”, warranting

As new strains of the Covid-19 variants virus emerge, California now has the lowest coronavirus transmission rate of the United States, followed by a dramatic drop in cases and the admissions in hospitals. Lowest Coronavirus Transmission Rate Declared in California   (Photo : Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)Chelsea Perry, left, and husband Garrick

NATURE PODCAST 22 September 2021 The floating sensors inspired by seeds How tiny seed-like sensors could monitor the environment, and the latest from the Nature Briefing. Benjamin Thompson & Noah Baker Benjamin Thompson View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Noah Baker View author publications You can also

North Florida harbors unique animals that could be difficult to find in any other part of the United States. Those in search of strange creatures should be highly cautioned because some of these animals could cause actual harm. Researchers have been able to track some of North Florida’s most dangerous animals. Here are some of them.

Nature Video 22 September 2021 Seed-inspired spinners ride the wind and monitor the atmosphere Thousands of electronic sensors with wings could be dispersed over huge areas. Shamini Bundell Shamini Bundell View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on

Around the world, night is marked by the male crickets’ chirps, sounds they make by rubbing raspy modified forewings together in an effort to attract females. But artificial lights can disrupt these melodies, experiments show1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal Get full journal access for 1

In recent weeks, strange deer that have strips of flesh and blood dribbling from their antlers have been spotted wandering around Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  (Photo : Getty Images) The Bizarre Deer The park uploaded a picture of one on Facebook, revealing it looks as terrifying as it sounds. In the shared photo, a deer

In 2006, school kids in New Zealand discovered the fossilized remains of a penguin the size of a ten-year-old child. The giant bird turns out to be a new species of penguin that, thanks to its long legs, was taller than any of its modern relatives1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy

Firefighters wrap aluminum blankets all over ancient trees, including the 275-foot Earth’s biggest tree by volume – General Sherman, as fires engulf world-famous Sequoia National Park in California. (Photo : Getty Images) Wildfire in Sequoia National Park  Firefighters have been making a lot of effort to protect California’s prominent groves of giant sequoias as numerous

Stunning reliefs of camels in a rock formation in Saudi Arabia are far older than was first thought: they were carved more than 7,000 years ago, when the climate of Arabian Peninsula was markedly cooler and wetter than it is today1. Access options Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Subscribe to Journal

CAREER NEWS 20 September 2021 Cash boost looms for historically Black US colleges and universities Legal wins and federal budget proposals could address years of underfunding. Chris Woolston 0 Chris Woolston Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in Billings, Montana. View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share

The Biden administration aims to protect workers and communities from severe heat following an extremely hot summer that incited an aggressive wildfire aggravated by drought which led to hundreds of deaths from the Pacific Northwest to hurricane-impacted Louisiana. (Photo : Getty Images) The Silent Killer  Under a plan publicized on Monday, the departments of Labor,

BOOK REVIEW 20 September 2021 A meander around many circulatory systems Of hearts, and myriad other ways natural selection has hit on to sustain multicellular life. Henry Nicholls 0 Henry Nicholls Henry Nicholls is a science journalist based in London. View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share

It is already general knowledge that the deadly Ebola could lie dormant in survivor’s tissues, but a new study suggests that these ‘virus reservoirs’ are capable of reawakening and triggering an outbreak even 5 years after infection. The new case that began in a town named Gouéké, reported in January 2021, sparked Guinea’s second outbreak

Download PDF Here at the Natural History Museum at Tring, UK, I’m in our nest collection, which numbers just over 4,000. Behind me are 67 metal cabinets with nests arranged in taxonomic order. Each nest is labelled with the date and place of collection, and the collector’s name. Next to me is a 1928 mud

NEWS 20 September 2021 Australian funder backflips on controversial preprint ban Scientists welcome the move, but say the funder should have gone further by also reconsidering grant applications previously ruled ineligible. Clare Watson Clare Watson View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar Share on Twitter Share on Twitter

OceanTherm, a Norwegian company, has devised an ambitious strategy to prevent one of nature’s most destructive forces, and it intends to accomplish so using nothing more than bubbles. The company intends to lower ocean surface temperatures by floating pockets of air up from deep beneath the waves, depriving storms of the energy they require to

NATURE BRIEFING 16 September 2021 Daily briefing: How blue food can help feed the world How aquatic foods such as fish, shellfish and seaweed can help build healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems. Plus, preliminary evidence that SARS-CoV-2 might have spilled from animals to people multiple times. Flora Graham Flora Graham View author publications You