News & Views |
Featured
-
-
Obituary |
Daniel Kahneman obituary: psychologist who revolutionized the way we think about thinking
Nobel prizewinner whose insights into the foibles of human decision-making launched the field of behavioural economics and sent ripples through all social sciences.
- Eldar Shafir
-
Book Review |
Smarty plants? Controversial plant-intelligence studies explored in new book
A deep dive into plant behaviour and consciousness asks why the topic has been taboo for so long, and whether botanists are changing their minds about plants’ cognitive abilities.
- Beronda L. Montgomery
-
Research Briefing |
Changing rainforest to plantations shifts tropical food webs
A study provides insights into how energy flows in the food webs that connect soil- and canopy-dwelling organisms in tropical ecosystems with high biodiversity. When rainforest is converted to plantations, food webs are simplified and restructured, leading to profound changes in tropical-ecosystem functioning.
-
News |
Who’s making chips for AI? Chinese manufacturers lag behind US tech giants
Researchers in China say they are finding themselves five to ten years behind their US counterparts as export restrictions bite.
- Jonathan O'Callaghan
-
News |
UTIs make life miserable — scientists are finding new ways to tackle them
Researchers are developing vaccines and fresh drug approaches to prevent and treat recurring infections without antibiotics.
- Carissa Wong
-
News |
‘Orangutan, heal thyself’: First wild animal seen using medicinal plant
The Sumatran orangutan used a plant known to humans for its medicinal qualities.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
-
Nature Podcast |
Dad’s microbiome can affect offspring’s health — in mice
Disrupting gut microbes increases risk of growth issues in the next generation, and understanding geographic variations in cancer rates.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
-
Article |
A body–brain circuit that regulates body inflammatory responses
- Hao Jin
- , Mengtong Li
- & Charles S. Zuker
-
Nature Podcast |
Sex and gender discussions don't need to be toxic
The science of sex and gender is too often misinterpreted and weaponized. Now, three experts cut through the misinformation in search of a positive future for this long-neglected area of research
- Lucy Odling-Smee
- , Florence Ashley
- & Noah Baker
-
Research Highlight |
Pandemic lockdowns were less of a shock for people with fewer ties
During periods of enforced isolation, life satisfaction for older adults took less of a hit in those who were already socially isolated.
-
News |
Scientists tried to give people COVID — and failed
Researchers deliberately infect participants with SARS-CoV-2 in ‘challenge’ trials — but high levels of immunity complicate efforts to test vaccines and treatments.
- Ewen Callaway
-
News & Views |
Cells destroy donated mitochondria to build blood vessels
Organelles called mitochondria are transferred to blood-vessel-forming cells by support cells. Unexpectedly, these mitochondria are degraded, kick-starting the production of new ones and boosting vessel formation.
- Chantell S. Evans
-
News Feature |
Why is exercise good for you? Scientists are finding answers in our cells
Decades of evidence shows that exercise leads to healthier, longer lives. Researchers are just starting to work out what it does to cells to reap this reward.
- Gemma Conroy
-
Spotlight |
How I’m supporting other researchers who have moved to Lithuania
Biochemist Stephen Knox Jones chose a role in the Baltic country over other faculty positions in Denmark and the United States. He explains why.
- Jacqui Thornton
-
Spotlight |
I fell out of love with the lab, and in love with business
The COVID-19 pandemic changed Karolina Makovskytė’s career ambitions, propelling her to a business development role in her home nation of Lithuania.
- Jacqui Thornton
-
Spotlight |
How bioinformatics led one scientist home to Lithuania
Juozas Gordevičius founded a data-science company in the United States before returning to Vilnius.
- Jacqui Thornton
-
-
Research Briefing |
Endurance exercise causes a multi-organ full-body molecular reaction
A study of male and female rats has examined the biomolecular changes induced in many of their organs by eight weeks of endurance treadmill training. The findings offer insights into the many benefits to our immune, metabolic and stress-response pathways as we adapt to exercise.
-
News & Views |
Genomics reveal unknown mutation-promoting agents at global sites
Genetic sequencing of human kidney cancers worldwide has revealed associations between geographical locations and specific mutation patterns, indicating exposure to known and unknown mutation-promoting agents.
- Irene Franco
- & Fran Supek
-
News & Views Forum |
Dad’s gut microbes matter for pregnancy health and baby’s growth
Altering gut bacteria in male mice revealed that microorganisms are needed for normal sperm development and offspring health. Scientists discuss the implications in terms of understanding microbes, male fertility and pregnancy.
- Liisa Veerus
- , Martin J. Blaser
- & Eldin Jašarević
-
News |
Chinese virologist who was first to share COVID-19 genome sleeps on street after lab shuts
Zhang Yongzhen shared the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the world, speeding up the development of vaccines.
- Smriti Mallapaty
-
News |
Found: the dial in the brain that controls the immune system
Scientists identify the brain cells that regulate inflammation, and pinpoint how they keep tabs on the immune response.
- Giorgia Guglielmi
-
Comment |
Male–female comparisons are powerful in biomedical research — don’t abandon them
Binary sex studies have been denounced as too simplistic, but dropping them altogether would impede progress in a long-neglected area of biomedicine.
- Arthur P. Arnold
- , Sabra L. Klein
- & Jeffrey S. Mogil
-
Article
| Open AccessPaternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness
Disturbances in the gut microbiota of male mice manifest as fitness defects in their offspring by affecting plancenta function, revealing a paternal gut–germline axis.
- Ayele Argaw-Denboba
- , Thomas S. B. Schmidt
- & Jamie A. Hackett
-
Article |
Mechanics of human embryo compaction
Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.
- Julie Firmin
- , Nicolas Ecker
- & Jean-Léon Maître
-
Article
| Open AccessTemporal dynamics of the multi-omic response to endurance exercise training
Temporal multi-omic analysis of tissues from rats undergoing up to eight weeks of endurance exercise training reveals widespread shared, tissue-specific and sex-specific changes, including immune, metabolic, stress response and mitochondrial pathways.
- David Amar
- , Nicole R. Gay
- & Elena Volpi
-
Obituary |
Allen J. Bard obituary: electrochemist whose techniques underpin clinical diagnostics, materials discovery and more
Innovator who pioneered scanning electrochemical microscopy, bioassays and solar fuels.
- Michael Rose
- & Henry S. White
-
Spotlight |
A snapshot of Lithuania’s life-sciences landscape
Nature examines the Baltic country’s research ambitions as it marks 20 years of European Union membership.
- Jacqui Thornton
-
News & Views |
Resilience lessons from ancient societies are still relevant today
What lessons can we learn from the factors that govern the resilience of human populations? A large-scale analysis examining ancient societies around the world provides a detailed look at what drives sustainability.
- John Haldon
-
Article |
Airway hillocks are injury-resistant reservoirs of unique plastic stem cells
In the lungs, recently identified epithelial structures known as hillocks can act as injury-resistant reservoirs of stem cells.
- Brian Lin
- , Viral S. Shah
- & Jayaraj Rajagopal
-
Article |
Structural and molecular basis of choline uptake into the brain by FLVCR2
FLVCR2 is expressed in the blood–brain barrier of mouse and human, and is the major mediator of choline uptake into the brain.
- Rosemary J. Cater
- , Dibyanti Mukherjee
- & Filippo Mancia
-
News |
Controversial virus-hunting scientist skewered at US COVID-origins hearing
Lawmakers interrogated Peter Daszak over his ties to China and whether his organization, EcoHealth Alliance, has been a good steward of taxpayer dollars.
- Mariana Lenharo
- & Lauren Wolf
-
-
Article
| Open AccessSleep pressure modulates single-neuron synapse number in zebrafish
Synapses are gained during spontaneous or forced periods of wake and lost during sleep in a neuron-subtype-dependent manner in zebrafish.
- Anya Suppermpool
- , Declan G. Lyons
- & Jason Rihel
-
Article |
Structural basis of lipid head group entry to the Kennedy pathway by FLVCR1
A structural, biochemical and metabolomic analysis reveals the mechanistic basis for transport of extracellular choline and ethanolamine into cells by the human transport protein FLVCR1.
- Yeeun Son
- , Timothy C. Kenny
- & Richard K. Hite
-
Article
| Open AccessGeographic variation of mutagenic exposures in kidney cancer genomes
Whole-genome sequencing of 962 clear cell renal cell carcinomas from 11 countries shows geographic variations in somatic mutation profiles, including a mutational signature of unknown cause in 70% of cases from Japan.
- Sergey Senkin
- , Sarah Moody
- & Paul Brennan
-
Article |
3D genomic mapping reveals multifocality of human pancreatic precancers
Quantitative multimodal 3D reconstruction of human pancreatic tissue at single-cell resolution reveals a high burden of multifocal, genetically heterogeneous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias in the normal adult pancreas.
- Alicia M. Braxton
- , Ashley L. Kiemen
- & Laura D. Wood
-
Article
| Open AccessChromatin accessibility during human first-trimester neurodevelopment
A study describes chromatin accessibility and paired gene expression across the entire developing human brain during the first trimester in the context of gene regulation and neurodevelopmental disease.
- Camiel C. A. Mannens
- , Lijuan Hu
- & Sten Linnarsson
-
Article |
Mitochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy
Under stressful conditions, mesenchymal stromal cells transfer mitochondria to endothelial cells through tunnelling nanotubes, and artificially transplanting mitochondria into endothelial cells improves the ability of these cells to engraft and to revascularize ischaemic tissues.
- Ruei-Zeng Lin
- , Gwang-Bum Im
- & Juan M. Melero-Martin
-
Article
| Open AccessFrequent disturbances enhanced the resilience of past human populations
Analysis of population decline shows that frequent disturbances enhance a population’s capacity to resist and recover from downturns and that trade-offs exist when adopting new or alternative land-use strategies.
- Philip Riris
- , Fabio Silva
- & Xiaolin Ren
-
Correspondence |
Zoos should focus on animal welfare before claiming to champion conservation
- Donald Broom
- , Hsiao Mei Yeh
- & Shawn Peng
-
Research Highlight |
Not just truffles: dogs can sniff out surpassingly rare native fungus
Daisy, a member of a breed used to find fungal delicacies, detected a critically endangered Australian fungus faster than a trained human could.
-
News |
First fetus-to-fetus transplant demonstrated in rats
The tissue developed into functioning kidneys and produced urine.
- Smriti Mallapaty
-
News Feature |
Do cutting-edge CAR-T-cell therapies cause cancer? What the data say
Regulators have identified around 30 cases of cancer linked to this blockbuster treatment. But is CAR T to blame? The hunt is on for answers.
- Cassandra Willyard
-
Where I Work |
I strive to make the Great Barrier Reef more resilient to heat stress
Matthew Nitschke grows coral symbionts in a slowly warming tank to prepare reef life for climate change.
- James Mitchell Crow
-
Technology Feature |
85 million cells — and counting — at your fingertips
Chan Zuckerberg CELL by GENE Discover aims to be a one-stop shop for single-cell RNA sequencing data storage, access and analysis.
- Jeffrey M. Perkel
-
News |
‘ChatGPT for CRISPR’ creates new gene-editing tools
Some of the AI-designed gene editors could be more versatile than those found in nature.
- Ewen Callaway
-
Research Briefing |
Elephant-nose fish ‘see’ farther by electric sensing when in groups
The elephant-nose fish senses its environment by emitting electrical pulses. A multi-pronged investigation suggests that this remarkable sensing ability is amplified in social groups by individuals ‘listening in’ on the pulses of their neighbours.
-
News |
Epic blazes threaten Arctic permafrost. Can firefighters save it?
Some scientists argue that it’s time to rethink the blanket policy of letting blazes burn themselves out in northern wildernesses.
- Jeff Tollefson
Browse narrower subjects
- Biochemistry
- Biological techniques
- Biophysics
- Biotechnology
- Cancer
- Cell biology
- Chemical biology
- Computational biology and bioinformatics
- Developmental biology
- Drug discovery
- Ecology
- Evolution
- Genetics
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Molecular biology
- Neuroscience
- Physiology
- Plant sciences
- Psychology
- Stem cells
- Structural biology
- Systems biology
- Zoology