As a result of the pandemic, workers around the world have become accustomed to meeting colleagues online. To find out if this switch from face-to-face meetings came at a cost to creativity, a team compared the number of ideas generated by workers collaborating either online, or in-person. They showed that people meeting virtually produced fewer creative ideas than those working face-to-face, and suggest that when it comes to idea generation maybe it’s time to turn the camera off.
Research article: Brucks & Levav
News and Views: Virtual collaboration hinders idea generation
Video: Why video calls are bad for brainstorming
Fragments from an ancient pyramid suggest earliest known use of a Maya calendar, and how sweet snacks could damage rare iguanas’ metabolism.
Research Highlight: Deer symbol hints at early adoption of Maya calendar
Research Highlight: Tourists’ sweet treats threaten rare iguanas’ health
Researchers looking at the skin cells of zebrafish have discovered a new type of cell division, which doesn’t require DNA replication. DNA is usually essential for healthy cells, but the researchers think this puzzling finding may be a temporary measure to help the fish produce skin more rapidly during growth spurts.
Research article: Chan et al.
News and Views: Stretched skin cells divide without DNA replication
Video: A new kind of cell division
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how laser-equipped submarines could help analyse gelatinous animals’ anatomy, and a push for a flagship mission to Uranus.
The New Yorker: Shedding Light on Untouchable Sea Creatures
Nature: Next stop, Uranus? Icy planet tops priority list for next big NASA mission
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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
25 April 2019: Tiny earthquakes, the genetics of height, and how US-China politics is affecting research
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