For biologists, a long-standing question has been why some animals live longer than others. This week a team have attempted to answer this, by measuring the rates that different animal species accumulate mutations. They show that longer-lived animals acquire mutations at a slower rate, which helps to explain why cancer risk does not scale with lifespan.
Research article: Cagan et al.
News and Views: Mutational clocks tick differently across species
A clinical trial suggests a change to the treatment of a pregnancy ailment, and astronomers identify the largest known structure produced by a single galaxy.
Research Highlight: Ambitious trial inspires a rethink on a common ailment of pregnancy
Research Highlight: Even among ‘giant’ galaxies this one is record-setting
Many European countries are dependent on Russian fossil fuels for energy production. Following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, these countries are looking to wean themselves off these fuels, which could have short- and long-term impacts on emissions and food production.
Feature: What the war in Ukraine means for energy, climate and food
Editorial: The EU can simultaneously end dependence on Russia and meet climate goals
Editorial: The war in Ukraine is exposing gaps in the world’s food-systems research
Last week, a new estimate of the W boson’s mass caused much excitement among physicists. The result suggests that this particle is heavier than theory predicts, a finding that could be the first major breach in the standard model of particle physics. However, measuring W bosons is notoriously tricky, and further work will be needed to confirm the finding.
News: Particle’s surprise mass threatens to upend the standard model
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08 August 2019: A mindset for success, and mercury in fish
01 August 2019: The placental microbiome, and advances in artificial intelligence
Nature PastCast, July 1942: Secret science in World War 2
25 July 2019: The history of climate change, and making vaccines mandatory
Backchat July 2019: Breaking news, audience-led journalism and human gene editing
18 July 2019: Quantum logic gates in silicon, and moving on from lab disasters
11 July 2019: The moon, past, present, and future
04 July 2019: Machine learning in materials science, and sand’s sustainability
Nature PastCast, June 1876: Gorillas, man-eating monsters?
27 June 2019: Callused feet, and protein-based archaeology
20 June 2019: Non-native species, and a blood-inspired robot battery
13 June 2019: Mighty magnets, and aerosols in the atmosphere
06 June 2019: Microbes modifying medicine and kickstarting plate tectonics
Nature PastCast May 1983: Discovering the ozone layer hole
30 May 2019: Cold fusion, gender parity in universities, and studying wildfires
23 May 2019: Pre-industrial plankton populations, European science, and ancient fungi.
16 May 2019: Recoding genomes, and material from the Moon's far side
09 May 2019: Urban vs Rural BMI, and the health of rivers
02 May 2019: China's growing science network, and talking brain signals
Nature PastCast April 1953: The other DNA papers
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