Tag Archives: Microbiome

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – July 18, 2024

Volume 631 Issue 8021

Nature Magazine – July 17, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Long Reach’ – Salamander-like fossil expands geogrpahical range of early tetrapods…

AI tool can pinpoint dementia’s cause — from stroke to Alzheimer’s

Algorithm that distinguishes among a host of underlying causes of dementia could be used for diagnosis in hospitals and clinics.

Most accurate clock in history made by ‘quieting’ atoms

Strontium-based timepiece gains or loses only one second every 40 billion years.

Storm-chasing seabirds served supper by cyclones

The ocean-going Desertas petrel often follows storms for days over thousands of kilometres.

Wine grapes’ sweetness reveals Europe’s climate history

Records on the quality of the grape harvest sheds light on 600 years of weather.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – July 11, 2024

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Nature Magazine – July 10, 2024: The latest issue features Frog Sauna – Sun-warmed refuge helps amphibians fight deadly fungal infection…

The surprising driver of Amazon deforestation

Demand from Brazil itself accounts for more than half of the demand for crops and livestock from the Amazon and the savannah that surrounds it.

Fake jewellery from the Stone Age looks like the real deal

‘Amber’ beads dating to the Neolithic period, lasting from the fifth to the third millennium BC, are actually mollusc shells coated with resin and natural pigments.

Killer immune cells pile on the pressure to slay their foes

Immune-system assassins called killer T cells compress target cells, forming a destructive crater.

Ants amputate their nest-mates’ legs to save lives

The location of an injury determines whether ants bite off or preserve a damaged limb.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 27, 2024

Volume 630 Issue 8018

Nature Magazine – June 26, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Popcorn Planet’ – Tidal heating puffs up exoplanet’s atmosphere…

‘Smart’ fabric protects against heat of city streets

Textile keeps its cool even when surrounded by urban surfaces that absorb and release heat.

How huge black holes sprouted just after the Big Bang

Hubble observations of faint galaxies suggest that such objects could have been the seeds of very early supermassive black holes.

Autoimmune antibodies tied to lower malaria risk in kids

Findings support one idea about why self-directed immune responses are more common in some populations.

A mighty river’s radical shift changed the face of ancient Egypt

Samples taken near a capital of the pharaohs reveal an overhaul of the Nile 4,000 years ago.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 20, 2024

Volume 630 Issue 8017

Nature Magazine – June 19, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Soar Point’ – Air sacs below the wings help soaring birds to glide…

Ancient graves reveal taxes’ sharp bite nearly 3,000 years ago

Buried items show that the poor got poorer as the Assyrian empire and its bureaucracy swelled.

CRISPR improves a crop that feeds billions

The gene-editing system, normally used to disrupt a gene, is applied to improve the function of a gene in rice.

How cutting-edge computer chips are speeding up the AI revolution

Engineers are harnessing the powers of graphics processing units (GPUs) and more, with a bevy of tricks to meet the computational demands of artificial intelligence.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 13, 2024

Volume 630 Issue 8016

Nature Magazine – June 12, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Complex System’ – AlphaFold 3 powers predictions of protein molecule interactions…

Mystery of huge ancient engravings of snakes solved at last

The depictions along South America’s Orinoco River are some of the biggest rock art known.

AI finds huge cache of anti-bacterial peptides hidden in genomic data

Machine-learning technique uncovers nearly 900,000 microbe-fighting peptide sequences in genomes collected from soils and other sources.

‘Sugar world’ sweetens the Solar System’s remote reaches

The icy body Arrokoth has a sugary coating that gives the body its distinctive red appearance.Research Highlight03 Jun 2024

A huge outbreak of butterflies hit three continents — here’s why

Swarms of painted ladies that descended on the Middle East, northern Africa and Europe have been traced to their source.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – May 30, 2024

Volume 629 Issue 8014

Nature Magazine – May 22, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Vision Mixing’ – Image chip combines cognition and action to sense the real world…

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.

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.

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.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – May 23, 2024

Volume 629 Issue 8013

Nature Magazine – May 22, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Moment In The Sun’ – Near-surface instabilities drive the solar magnetic dynamo…

How cheesemaking could cook up an antidote for alcohol excess

A gel made from a milk protein reduces alcohol levels in the blood of intoxicated mice.

Organoids merge to model the blood–brain barrier

Combining a brain organoid with a blood-vessel organoid yields a system similar to a protective mesh in the brain.

Africa’s lush tropical forests face a surprising threat: fire

Climate change and deforestation have increased the frequency of blazes in the humid forests of West and Central Africa.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – May 9, 2024

Volume 629 Issue 8011

Nature Magazine – May 8, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘ Oil Change’ – Plotting a course towards fossil-free refineries…

What China’s mission to collect rocks from the Moon’s far side could reveal

The Chang’e-6 mission aims to land in the Moon’s oldest and largest crater, where it will collect rocks to bring back to Earth.

First fetus-to-fetus transplant demonstrated in rats

The tissue developed into functioning kidneys and produced urine

Superconductivity hunt gets boost from China’s $220 million physics ‘playground’

From extreme cold to strong magnets and high pressures, the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) provides conditions for researching potential wonder materials

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 25, 2024

Volume 628 Issue 8009

Nature Magazine – April 24, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘ Switching Channels’ – Organoids and assembloids offer model way to test potential therapy for Timothy syndrome…

Detectors deep in South Pole ice pin down elusive tau neutrino

Antarctic observatory gathers the first clear evidence of mysterious subatomic particles from space.

A spa session for humpback whales

The gigantic animals have worked out an unusual way to exfoliate — a perfect way to deal with whale lice.

This water bottle purifies your drink with energy from your steps

Static electricity generated by the foot striking the ground can be captured to kill pathogens.

Burnt remains of Maya royalty mark a dramatic power shift

Finds in pyramid at Guatemalan site suggest that remains were disinterred and desecrated in a public ritual.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – April 18, 2024

Volume 628 Issue 8008

Nature Magazine – April 17, 2024: The latest issue cover features ‘Large mammals benefitting from responsible logging through forest certification…

Sea spray carries huge amounts of ‘forever chemicals’ into the air

Long-lived compounds emitted by industry reach the oceans and are then ferried by bubbles into the atmosphere.

An exoplanet is wrapped in glory

Astronomers spot the first planet outside the Solar System to boast a phenomenon reminiscent of a rainbow.

How to supercharge cancer-fighting cells: give them stem-cell skills

The bioengineered immune players called CAR T cells last longer and work better if pumped up with a large dose of a protein that makes them resemble stem cells.