Great apes are dying from our colds

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View this email in your browser Tuesday 16 January 2024

Hello Nature readers, Today, we learn about an AI system that makes better diagnoses than do human doctors, meet a new tyrannosaur species and find out why human pathogens are killing Africa's great apes.

The volcanic eruptions in Iceland's southwest are the fifth such event since 2021 and many researchers think that the region is entering a new phase of volcanic activity that could last for decades or centuries. (Icelandic Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management/AFP via Getty)

Lava pours into Icelandic town Lava flows have incinerated at least three buildings in the Icelandic port town of Grindavík. The volcano has been threatening the town for weeks and barriers built by emergency officials were initially successful in redirecting the lava. But a new fissure that opened a few days ago sent lava directly into the town. Grindavík's about 4,000 residents had been evacuated and no one has been hurt. Nature | 4 min read

AI has better bedside manner than doctors A Google AI system outperformed human physicians in diagnosing certain medical conditions. It was also rated more caring by the 20 people who tested it without knowing whether they were texting a human or a machine. The researchers point out that the chatbot hasn't yet been evaluated for biases or trialled on people with real health problems. "We want the results to be interpreted with caution and humility," says clinical research scientist and study co-author Alan Karthikesalingam. Nature | 5 min read Reference: arXiv preprint (not peer reviewed)

Mysterious skull could be new tyrannosaur Researchers say they discovered a new tyrannosaur species that could be the closest relative of Tyrannosaurus rex. The partial skull of this Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis was discovered in 1983 and initially identified as T. rex. The dinosaur was about the same size as T. rex but its skull was longer and more slender, suggesting that it ate different foods. Other scientists point out that T. rex fossils can be very diverse so these differences don't necessarily indicate that it is a new species. If the identification holds up, it could help to solve the debate over whether giant tyrannosaurs originated in Asia or the Americas. Scientific American | 4 min read Reference: Scientific Reports paper

Features & opinion

What the NIH chief has planned for 2024 With a US presidential election looming, the new head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Monica Bertagnolli, might only have one year to accomplish her goals. Her main goals are to transform how scientists use and share data, and ensure clinical research reaches populations that have been left out. The NIH, she suggests, needs to make faster progress towards better supporting postdocs, although "in a time when you have a flat budget, [it] means you have to make cuts in other places". Nature | 6 min read

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How to reorganize your lab freezer Taking time to organize your –80 °C freezer can reduce time spent looking for reagents, avoid duplicate purchases and prevent frozen fingertips. Biologist Kelsey Woodruff and biomedical researcher Christina Termini have some tips on how to create an effective freezer-organization system: Assess what materials you need, whether grouping items would help and how much space is required. Choose a way to organize items, for example in different coloured boxes. Create a detailed inventory spreadsheet (for example using Organizō) that can be accessed and edited by team members. Before you start reorganizing, remember that freeze–thaw cycles can destroy some materials. Nature | 6 min read

Chimpanzees are dying from our colds For some of Africa's great-ape populations, human diseases are an even bigger threat than habitat loss or poaching. Even pathogens that cause only mild symptoms in people can be deadly for endangered chimpanzees and gorillas. Researchers are now starting to unravel where these reverse zoonoses come from: tourists who don't follow biosafety guidelines and workers who inadvertently carry their children's germs into the forest. Tourism is a key source of revenue for several African countries and necessary for conservation, "but it needs to be done carefully, otherwise we won't have these animals around", says veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. Nature | 16 min read

Where I work

Chemist Richmond Sarpong was inspired by his father's work in Ghana, using a naturally derived drug called ivermectin to treat people with river blindness. "Once I heard about this natural-product derivative — which could cure hundreds of thousands of people, many more than any individual doctor could — I was sold." Now, he works to find greener, more efficient ways to make medicines that originally came from nature. In this photo, he's pictured with the glove box that his team uses to isolate catalysts that are not stable in oxygen or water. "I love the glove box, but not everyone has access to one. We want to adapt our reactions to work in open air, so that anyone can carry them out." (Nature | 3 min read) (Angela DeCenzo for Nature)

Quote of the day "If you are meddling in the life and freedom of someone else you ought to do so very cautiously and make sure that you're entitled to do so and that they'll be better off for your having been there." Trans psychiatrist Jeanne Hoff says that she would like others to follow the general principle of 'mind your own business'. Hoff documented her gender transition on film in part to encourage her patients, many of whom were also transgender. She died in December, aged 85. (From the 1979 documentary 'Becoming Jeanne'. Read more: The New York Times | 5 min read)

Today, I'm enjoying beautiful images of tiny animals, plants and fungi captured by the winners of the Close-up Photographer of the Year. Help to keep this newsletter focused by sending your feedback to briefing@nature.com. Thanks for reading, Katrina Krämer, associate editor, Nature Briefing With contributions by Flora Graham and Gemma Conroy

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