Changemakers ? Nature ’s new series celebrates champions of inclusion in science All around the world, people are pushing back against racism, gender bias and other forms of discrimination to make a positive difference. Our series will tell their stories and highlight their achievements. Editorial 28 May 2024
Nature ’s message to South Africa’s next government: talk to your researchers The young nation faces some deep-rooted challenges. Solutions informed by science could make a difference. Editorial 29 May 2024
Monsoons are changing in India ? here’s how to climate-proof the economy Global warming is shifting rainfall patterns across South Asia, and each area will be affected differently ? local approaches are needed to track and respond to these changes. Shravan Prabhu World View 28 May 2024
A tiny killer is making an entire region’s sea urchins disintegrate A single-celled organism is destroying up to 100% of urchins in parts of the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean. Research Highlight 23 May 2024
Two receptors are better than one for AI-designed obesity drugs Compounds predicted by machine learning attach to two receptors involved in appetite and weight. Research Highlight 23 May 2024
Is that a giant sandwich? No, it’s the biggest protoplanetary disk in the sky A colossal object called Dracula’s Chivito, referring to an well-stuffed sandwich popular in Uruguay, is the chunkiest planetary nursery known. Research Highlight 23 May 2024
Greek soldiers prove that ancient armour was combat-worthy A Mycenean bronze suit did not hamper movement of modern-day warriors performing fighting manoeuvres. Research Highlight 22 May 2024
China’s ChatGPT: why China is building its own AI chatbots ChatGLM is one of hundreds of AI language models being developed for the Chinese language. It comes close to ChatGPT on many measures, say its creators. Celeste Biever News 22 May 2024
Found at last: long-lost branch of the Nile that ran by the pyramids Geological survey reveals the remains of a major waterway that ancient Egyptian builders could have used to transport materials. Freda Kreier News 16 May 2024
Pig-organ transplants: what three human recipients have taught scientists As researchers mark the loss of the first living recipient of a pig kidney, they share what they’ve learnt about xenotransplantation. Max Kozlov News 17 May 2024
First ‘bilingual’ brain-reading device decodes Spanish and English words Artificial-intelligence system allows a man who cannot speak coherently to have a conversation in the language of his choice. Amanda Heidt News 21 May 2024
US halts funding to controversial virus-hunting group: what researchers think Some scientists think the decision regarding EcoHealth Alliance is fair; others say it might negatively affect virus surveillance. Mariana Lenharo News 16 May 2024
The origin of the cockroach: how a notorious pest conquered the world Genomic analysis suggests the common kitchen vermin spread from Europe to the world. But it wasn’t originally found in Europe. Bianca Nogrady News 20 May 2024
Lab-grown sperm and eggs: ‘epigenetic’ reset in human cells paves the way Technique wipes away tags on DNA that must be reprogrammed during development of reproductive cells. Heidi Ledford News 21 May 2024
How does ChatGPT ‘think’? Psychology and neuroscience crack open AI large language models Researchers are striving to reverse-engineer artificial intelligence and scan the ‘brains’ of LLMs to see what they are doing, how and why. Matthew Hutson News Feature 14 May 2024
A myopia epidemic is sweeping the globe. Here’s how to stop it Time spent outdoors is the best defence against rising rates of short-sightedness, but scientists are searching for other ways to reverse the troubling trend. Elie Dolgin News Feature 29 May 2024
The global economy’s 200-year growth spurt ? and what comes next Can an unlimited supply of innovations and ideas maintain growth without costing the Earth? Yes, a wide-ranging book contends. Rutger Hoekstra Book Review 24 May 2024
Tackling ‘wicked’ problems calls for engineers with social responsibility Many technologies are high-risk, and their problems cannot be fixed by policy alone; engineers must embrace social responsibility. Susan Krumdieck Book Review 27 May 2024
Daniel Dennett obituary: ‘New atheism’ philosopher who sparked debate on consciousness Cognitive scientist who boldly explored free will, the human mind and AI, and rejected the existence of God. Liad Mudrik Obituary 17 May 2024
Heed lessons from past studies involving transgender people: first, do no harm Decades of neuroscientific work have focused on exploring a biological basis for transgender identity ? but researchers must take societal factors into account. Mathilde Kennis Robin Staicu Felix Duecker Comment 28 May 2024
Risks of bridge collapses are real and set to rise ? here’s why Hundreds of millions of people cross deficient bridges each day. With damage to these structures likely to intensify because of climate change and ageing, technicians and policymakers must act to make them safer. Jose M. Adam Nirvan Makoond Manuel Buitrago Comment 28 May 2024
Anglo-American bias could make generative AI an invisible intellectual cage Queenie Luo Michael Puett Correspondence 28 May 2024
Adopt stricter regulation to stop ‘critical mineral’ greenwashing Andrea Arratia-Solar David Fleming-Munoz Correspondence 28 May 2024
Keep an open mind on faster-than-light ‘tachyons’ as the source of quantum entanglement Ian Crawford Correspondence 28 May 2024
How researchers in remote regions handle the isolation Recruitment challenges and limited resources are among the challenges faced by scientists who live and work off the beaten track. Chris Woolston Career Feature 24 May 2024
I had my white colleagues walk in a Black student’s shoes for a day Freeman Hrabowski learnt the power of bold actions when he marched for civil rights in his youth. Since then, he has encouraged others to question the status quo ? and affirm Black student success in the sciences. Virginia Gewin Career Q&A 28 May 2024
I study artefacts left in prehistoric caves Basran Burhan helped to date the oldest piece of figurative art discovered so far. James Mitchell Crow Where I Work 27 May 2024
Seed-stashing chickadees overturn ideas about location memory Certain neurons encode memories of events that occurred in specific physical locations known as place fields. Chickadees show patterns of neuronal activity that are specific to locations of hidden food but independent of place fields. Margaret M. Donahue Laura Lee Colgin News & Views 23 May 2024
Parental-care puzzle in mice solved by thinking outside the brain Both parents of oldfield mice care for offspring, whereas in deer mice, mothers usually care for pups. The discovery of a type of adrenal-gland cell that is present in oldfield mice but not in deer mice helps to explain the difference. Jessica Tollkuhn News & Views 15 May 2024
Combined cement and steel recycling could cut CO 2 emissions Cement can be reused by including it as a component of steel recycling. This opens the way to an industrial partnership that improves the use of materials and lowers carbon emissions ? but only if waste resources are well managed. Sabbie A. Miller News & Views 22 May 2024
AI networks reveal how flies find a mate Artificial neural networks that model the visual system of a male fruit fly can accurately predict the insect’s behaviour in response to seeing a potential mate ? paving the way for the building of more complex models of brain circuits. Pavan Ramdya News & Views 22 May 2024
Dual-action obesity drug rewires brain circuits for appetite A two-in-one drug that modulates neural pathways involved in appetite and reward might prove to be more effective and longer lasting than current weight-loss drugs on the market. Tyler M. Cook Darleen Sandoval News & Views 15 May 2024
Pollen problems: May brings dismay to a hay-fever sufferer in 1874 A book on everyday biology that appeals to non-specialists and specialists alike, and a trek through hay fields causes one Nature reader to experience relentless ‘sneezings’, in the weekly dip into Nature ’s archive. News & Views 28 May 2024
Why snow is crucial for water supply ? and what will happen when it becomes scarce Analysis of 70 years of snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere reveals that snow buffers the effect of varying precipitation levels on streamflow. The link highlights the need to rethink water-resource management as snow levels decline. Karen R. Ryberg News & Views 29 May 2024
A contact binary satellite of the asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh Observations from the Lucy spacecraft of the small main-belt asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh reveals unexpected complexity, with a longitudinal trough and equatorial ridge, as well as the discovery of the first contact binary satellite. Harold F. Levison Simone Marchi Yifan Zhao Article Open Access 29 May 2024
Suppressed thermal transport in silicon nanoribbons by inhomogeneous strain We report on a method for inducing uncontaminated and precise inhomogeneous strain in nanoscale silicon ribbons and its use for determining physical effects in these strained materials, in particular, an increase in the range and control of thermal conductivity. Lin Yang Shengying Yue Peng Gao Article 15 May 2024
A vision chip with complementary pathways for open-world sensing Inspired by the human visual system, a vision chip with primitive-based complementary pathways is developed to overcome the power and bandwidth wall of vision systems, achieving fast, precise, robust and high-dynamic-range sensing efficiently in the open world. Zheyu Yang Taoyi Wang Luping Shi Article 29 May 2024
Low-latency automotive vision with event cameras Use of a 20 frames per second (fps) RGB camera plus an event camera can achieve the same latency as a 5,000-fps camera with the bandwidth of a 45-fps camera without compromising accuracy. Daniel Gehrig Davide Scaramuzza Article Open Access 29 May 2024
Self-oscillating polymeric refrigerator with high energy efficiency We report on a near-zero-power flexible heat pump that uses both electrocaloric and electrostrictive properties of a tailored polymer to create a chip-scale refrigerator device. Donglin Han Yingjing Zhang Xiaoshi Qian Article 08 May 2024
Strain-invariant stretchable radio-frequency electronics Stretchable radio-frequency electronics based on a dielectro-elastic elastomer is demonstrated to be capable of completely maintaining operating frequencies unaffected by strain and shows superior electrical, mechanical and thermal properties compared with conventional stretchable substrate materials. Sun Hong Kim Abdul Basir Yei Hwan Jung Article 22 May 2024
Electric recycling of Portland cement at scale Recovered cement paste can be reclinkered if used as a partial substitute for the lime?dolomite flux used in steel recycling, which can reduce waste and carbon emissions. Cyrille F. Dunant Shiju Joseph Julian M. Allwood Article Open Access 22 May 2024
Label-free detection and profiling of individual solution-phase molecules Enhanced light?molecule interactions in high-finesse fibre-based Fabry?Perot microcavities are used to detect and profile individual unlabelled solution-phase biomolecules, leading to potential applications in the life and chemical sciences. Lisa-Maria Needham Carlos Saavedra Randall H. Goldsmith Article 08 May 2024
A renewably sourced, circular photopolymer resin for additive manufacturing A photopolymer platform derived from renewable lipoates can be 3D-printed into high-resolution parts, which possess properties comparable to some commercial acrylic resins, and then recycled to produce a re-printable resin. Thiago O. Machado Connor J. Stubbs Andrew P. Dove Collection: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals Article Open Access 15 May 2024
Streamflow seasonality in a snow-dwindling world Analysis of streamflow measurements from 1950 to 2020 across 3,049 snow-affected catchments over the Northern Hemisphere shows that seasonal streamflow occurs earlier in snow-heavy catchments but later in less snowy regions. Juntai Han Ziwei Liu Yuting Yang Article 29 May 2024
Evolution of a novel adrenal cell type that promotes parental care The adrenal gland of the oldfield mouse ( Peromyscus polionotus ) has a recently evolved cell type that promotes monogamous-typical parenting behaviour and is not present in closely related species. Natalie Niepoth Jennifer R. Merritt Andres Bendesky Article 15 May 2024
The rise of baobab trees in Madagascar We carried out genomic and ecological analyses of all eight extant baobab species, providing insights into their evolutionary history and recommendations for conservation efforts. Jun-Nan Wan Sheng-Wei Wang Qing-Feng Wang Article Open Access 15 May 2024
Mapping model units to visual neurons reveals population code for social behaviour A deep neural network with ‘knockout training’ is used to model sensorimotor transformations and neural perturbations of male Drosophila melanogaster during visually guided social behaviour and provides predictions and insights into relationships between stimuli, neurons and behaviour. Benjamin R. Cowley Adam J. Calhoun Mala Murthy Article Open Access 22 May 2024
Volatile working memory representations crystallize with practice Delay- and choice-related activities that are essential for working-memory performance drift during learning and stabilize only after several days of expert performance. Arash Bellafard Ghazal Namvar Peyman Golshani Article Open Access 15 May 2024
Osmosensor-mediated control of Ca 2+ spiking in pollen germination Screening in Escherichia coli and biochemical experiments show that in Arabidopsis thaliana , OSCA2.1 and OSCA2.2 function as plant sensors of hypo-osmolarity, utilize Ca 2+ oscillations as second messengers and have crucial roles in pollen germination. Songyu Pei Qi Tao Fang Yuan Article Open Access 22 May 2024
The temperature sensor TWA1 is required for thermotolerance in Arabidopsis TWA1 is a temperature-sensing transcriptional co-regulator that is needed for basal and acquired thermotolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Lisa Bohn Jin Huang Erwin Grill Article Open Access 15 May 2024
GLP-1-directed NMDA receptor antagonism for obesity treatment Unimolecular integration of NMDA receptor antagonism with GLP-1 receptor agonism effectively reverses obesity, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia in rodent models of metabolic disease. Jonas Petersen Mette Q. Ludwig Christoffer Clemmensen Article Open Access 15 May 2024
The PARTNER trial of neoadjuvant olaparib with chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer A study details the results of the PARTNER trial, a prospective, randomized controlled trial of the use of neoadjuvant olaparib with carboplatin?paclitaxel chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer who were germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 wild type. Jean E. Abraham Karen Pinilla Helena M. Earl Article Open Access 08 Apr 2024
Mapping genotypes to chromatin accessibility profiles in single cells The JAK2 V617F mutation leads to epigenetic rewiring in a cell-intrinsic and cell-type-specific manner, influencing inflammation states and differentiation trajectories in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Franco Izzo Robert M. Myers Dan A. Landau Article 08 May 2024
Release of a ubiquitin brake activates OsCERK1-triggered immunity in rice The ubiquitin E3 ligase OsCIE1 acts as a brake to inhibit OsCERK1 during homeostasis; this brake is released after chitin stimulation. Gang Wang Xi Chen Ertao Wang Article 15 May 2024
Genome organization around nuclear speckles drives mRNA splicing efficiency Nuclear speckles are shown to have a functional role in mRNA splicing, whereby dynamic three-dimensional organization of DNA around these structures mediates splicing efficiency. Prashant Bhat Amy Chow Mitchell Guttman Article 08 May 2024
The intrinsic substrate specificity of the human tyrosine kinome An atlas of the substrate specificities for the human tyrosine kinome reveals diversity of motif specificities and enables identification of kinase?substrate relationships and kinase regulation in phosphoproteomics experiments. Tomer M. Yaron-Barir Brian A. Joughin Jared L. Johnson Article Open Access 08 May 2024
Time-resolved cryo-EM of G-protein activation by a GPCR Time-resolved cryo-EM is used to capture structural transitions during G-protein activation stimulated by a G-protein-coupled receptor. Makaia M. Papasergi-Scott Guillermo Perez-Hernandez Georgios Skiniotis Article 13 Mar 2024
Author Correction: Magneto-optics in a van der Waals magnet tuned by self-hybridized polaritons Florian Dirnberger Jiamin Quan Vinod M. Menon Author Correction 14 May 2024
Publisher Correction: Network-level encoding of local neurotransmitters in cortical astrocytes Michelle K. Cahill Max Collard Kira E. Poskanzer Publisher Correction Open Access 13 May 2024
Publisher Correction: Ultra-compact quasi-true time delay for boosting wireless channel capacity Bala Govind Thomas Tapen Alyssa Apsel Publisher Correction 13 May 2024
Publisher Correction: Ghost roads and the destruction of Asia-Pacific tropical forests Jayden E. Engert Mason J. Campbell William F. Laurance Publisher Correction 15 May 2024
Cancer treatment A diagnosis of cancer still strikes fear into many people. Nature Outlook 29 May 2024