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| (Kosuke Arakawa, Kilayé Bationo, Cayce Clifford, Samyukta Lakshmi, Anna Lukala, Adriano Machado, Zach Stovall all for Nature; also Chris Taggart courtesy of The Rockefeller University, Eirini Vourloumis and Jim Wilson/The New York Times/Redux/eyevine, Olga Yastremska/Alamy, Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty.) | |||||
Ten people who shaped science in 2023An artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer, an architect of India's Moon mission and the world's first global heat officer are among the ten people (and one non-human) behind this year's big science stories.
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What causes bad 'morning sickness'Sensitivity to GDF15, a hormone released by the growing fetus, might be the reason that some people experience hyperemesis gravidarum — debilitating nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Women who had high levels of the hormone before pregnancy were less likely to develop hyperemesis gravidarum while carrying their baby. People who have low GDF15 levels could be given increasingly high doses of the hormone while trying to conceive, to desensitize them to it, says metabolism researcher and study co-author Stephen O'Rahilly. Nature | 5 min readReference: Nature paper | |||||
Bizarre gut microbes are curiously complexProtists, an overlooked family of microbes that live in the guts of animals such as mice and people, help to shape the gut microbiome and affect their host's immune responses. Protists are often considered "fourth-class citizens amongst microbes, and they shouldn't be", says microbiome researcher Seth Rakoff-Nahoum. In mice, protists kick off a type of immune response in the small intestine. And protists usually win when they compete with gut bacteria. Nature | 4 min readReference: Cell paper | |||||
Why frightened mice sleep poorlyStressed mice experience more blips of wakefulness as certain neurons deep inside the brain become more active. "These neurons are really important for regulating sleep stability, for sleep continuity, so that your sleep is not fragmented," explains neuroscientist and study co-author Shinjae Chung. Short wakefulness spells are a normal part of sleep — but in mice that had been attacked repeatedly by an aggressive cage mate, they occurred more frequently. Nature | 5 min readReference: Current Biology paper | |||||
Biologist loses disability casePaediatric neurologist and RNA biologist Vivian Cheung lost her discrimination case against her former employer, who she alleged had terminated her funding owing to her disability. Cheung's claim was rejected by a jury after just three hours of deliberation. Some researchers are disappointed with the outcome. "I could absolutely see a case like this dissuading other disabled people from bringing their claims forward," says disabled veteran and lab manager Nathan Tilton. Nature | 6 min read | |||||
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Research returns to ChornobylThe exclusion zone surrounding the Chornobyl nuclear power plant had been a science hotspot until it became part of the front line of the Ukraine war. Now, the land is dotted with mines and remains that are partially under military control. Yet some researchers are finding ways to restart their work. Ecologist Bohdan Prots, for example, is working to recreate the zone's lost wetlands and cut the risks of wildfires that spread radioactivity — a project that has drawn fresh interest because swamps could hold off Russian troops. "This could be a big win of this war: to have restored moist wetlands," Prots says. Nature | 11 min read | |||||
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DIY scientists make their own toolsWhen budgets are tight and the right tool does not exist, inventive researchers make their own. Synthetic biologist Erika Debenedictis designed a robot to babysit the evolution of viral proteins. Materials scientist Nick McCormick developed a camera system to check that old railway tunnels remain safe. And analytical scientist Dušan Materić built a machine that analyses microplastics in snow samples. "Inventions come from going out on a limb," says Debenedictis, whose robot prompted the generation of two academic laboratories and a start-up company. Nature | 9 min read | |||||
Video: The rubber that stops cracksA type of rubber that looks like entangled spaghetti on a molecular scale is ten times more durable than normal rubber. Interlinked polymer strands make standard reinforced rubber — the type used in tyres and shock absorbers — rigid but brittle. The new rubber contains much longer, entangled polymer strands, which helps to diffuse the mechanical stress from the edge of a crack. Nature | 3 min videoReference: Nature paper | |||||
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Quote of the day"Unlike most people, scientists and science communicators often tend to think humans are in a sense nothing special."Medical doctor Chris Ellis says that science communicators should consider a more sensitive and anthropological approach rather than focusing on the ultimate meaningless of life. (The Conversation | 5 min read) | |||||
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What matters in science | View this email in your browser Monday 11 December 2023 Hello Nature readers, Today, we gaze at what might be the largest known protein, learn about the first global deal on limiting emissions from food production and discover how publishing pressures create unusually prolific authors. A structure prediction for a massive protein discovered by computational biologist Jacob West-Roberts and his colleagues. (West-Roberts, J. et al./bioRxiv ) Not...
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