Bats are the first mammals found to reproduce through non-penetrative sex

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View this email in your browser Tuesday 21 November 2023

Hello Nature readers, Today, we learn about the first recorded instances of non-penetrative reproductive sex in mammals and hear that SpaceX's mega-rocket has briefly reached space for the first time.

Male serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) have a penis that, when erect, is around 22% of their body length. (Joel Sartore/Photo Ark via NaturePL)

Bats mate more like birds than mammals Scientists have filmed what seem to be the first known instances of non-penetrative reproductive sex in mammals. In most mammals, fertilization happens internally, with penises thought to have evolved to deliver sperm close to eggs. Male serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) seem to use their enormous penis more like an arm to press against their partner's vulva. This resembles mating between songbirds, which transfer sperm by touching together specialized openings called cloacas. Nature | 4 min read Reference: Current Biology paper

SpaceX Starship touches space SpaceX's enormous Starship vehicle and its booster took their furthest trip yet on Saturday, reaching an altitude of nearly 150 kilometres before self-destructing for unknown reasons about 8 minutes after launch. It's the first time that the most powerful rocket ever has technically reached 'space'. Other milestones: all of the booster's 33 engines lit successfully; the rocket's two stages made it past separation; and no severe damage occurred to the launch pad or the surrounding environment. Starship is intended to ferry astronauts to the Moon and, one day, to Mars. It could also launch heavy scientific payloads, such as telescopes. Nature | 4 min read

Genetic link to cannabis addiction found An analysis of more than one million people's genomes has identified stretches of DNA that could be linked to cannabis addiction, which affects around one-third of people who use the drug. Overlapping regions of the genome were also found to be associated with other health conditions, such as lung cancer and schizophrenia. The findings are evidence that cannabis addiction "could have substantial public-health risks if the usage increases", says medical neuroscientist Daniel Levey. Nature | 4 min read Reference: Nature Genetics paper

Progress on plastic-pollution treaty too slow Progress towards a global treaty to eliminate plastic pollution is disappointing, say observers. Negotiations last week at the United Nations Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi "failed to deliver on their promise", says plastics-policy analyst Ana Rocha. Representatives of 175 nations agreed last year to forge the legally binding treaty, with a goal of finalizing it in 2024. "We now only have about a year left in this process and are nowhere near where we need to be," says ecologist Douglas McCauley. Nature | 6 min read

Argentina's new anti-science president Scientists in Argentina are worried about the future of their country's research after libertarian Javier Milei was elected president. Milei, who has called climate change a hoax and has said that companies should be allowed to pollute rivers "as much as they want to", has pledged to shut down key science agencies and eliminate the ministries of health, science and environment. His win "is not good news for science, public education, universities, culture, the environment and human rights in Argentina", says molecular biologist Alberto Kornblihtt. Nature | 5 min read

Features & opinion

AI could find research 'blind spots' Artificial intelligence (AI) can propose undiscovered links between existing findings — a routine process in areas such as drug discovery. Scientists want to push this further to automatically generate broad, clear hypotheses even when a field's underlying principles remain poorly understood. Large language models, for example, are known to 'hallucinate' statements that might not be correct, but 'look true'. "That's exactly what a hypothesis is," says economist Sendhil Mullainathan. Nature | 7 min read

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Tiny specks with enormous power From desert minerals that feed Atlantic Ocean algae to deadly particulate pollution, dust is a powerful force in the world. For her book Dust, Jay Owens travelled the globe to explore how microscopic particles — both natural and human-made — affect health and the environment. Often, dust affects people differently in a way that reflects societal inequalities, Owens explains. "Is there always going to be dust in the world? Absolutely. But do we have to accept the state of pollution at the moment? Absolutely not." Nature hits the books podcast | 27 min listen

Where I work

When plant biologist Amie Fornah Sankoh started her research in plant-cell communication, she felt it was the perfect field for her. "I've also had to find ways to communicate to survive," she explains. Fornah Sankoh became deaf after a high malarial fever when she was three, and relied on gestures and advocates before learning American Sign Language at the age of 15. In May 2023, she became, she thinks, the first Black Deaf woman to receive a PhD in any scientific, technical, engineering or maths discipline in the United States. (Nature | 3 min read) (Whitney Curtis for Nature)

Quote of the day "You don't sign up as an academic to become a media star. Most of us are super-uncomfortable, and have been very keen to get back to our normal lives." Physicist Shaun Hendy experienced abuse related to his high-profile work on infectious-disease modelling during the COVID-19 pandemic. He and microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles sued their university for failing to keep them safe from harassment, but Hendy settled when he left for a new role. (Nature | 6 min read)

Today, I'm enjoying these historic photos of female astronomers at a US observatory in the early twentieth century. "Despite their accomplishments, they are little known today, even among astronomers and historians," writes science historian Kristine Palmieri. This newsletter is always evolving — let us know what you think. Your e-mails are always welcome at briefing@nature.com. Thanks for reading, Katrina Krämer, associate editor, Nature Briefing With contributions by Flora Graham and Gemma Conroy Want more? Update your preferences to sign up to our other free Nature Briefing newsletters: Nature Briefing: Cancer — a weekly newsletter written with cancer researchers in mind Nature Briefing: Translational Research covers biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma Nature Briefing: Anthropocene — the footprint of humanity on Earth, including climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and geoengineering Launching today: Nature Briefing: AI & Robotics — the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in science, and their impact on how science is done — 100% written by humans, of course Please visit your preferences page to choose which Nature Briefing newsletters to receive (or to unsubscribe).

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