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Nature is the international weekly journal of science: a magazine style journal that publishes full-length research papers in all disciplines of science, as well as News and Views, reviews, news, features, commentaries, web focuses and more, covering all branches of science and how science impacts upon all aspects of society and life.
Updated: 8 years 17 weeks ago

Disease: Plague is an ancient pathogen

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Disease: Plague is an ancient pathogen

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526613a

Plague was plaguing humanity thousands of years earlier than previously thought, but in a less transmissible form.Yersinia pestis bacteria, which are thought to have been behind the Black Death that killed millions in the fourteenth century, have previously been found in burial sites

Categories: Journal Articles

Stem cells: Molecular menu creates neurons

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Stem cells: Molecular menu creates neurons

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526613b

Astrocyte cells in the brain can be reprogrammed into neurons using a precise sequence of molecules. The technique may one day be useful in brain repair.Similar cells have previously been reprogrammed into neurons using viruses, but Gong Chen and Gang-Yi Wu at Pennsylvania State

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Lab tools: Superconducting sensors warm up

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Lab tools: Superconducting sensors warm up

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526613c

An extremely sensitive, superconductor-based magnetic sensor can work at around 77 kelvin, a temperature achievable with liquid nitrogen rather than the expensive liquid helium required by typical existing devices, which operate at just above absolute zero.Superconducting quantum-interference devices (SQUIDs) can sense individual quanta of

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Atmospheric science: Arctic snow is not becoming dirtier

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Atmospheric science: Arctic snow is not becoming dirtier

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526613d

Dust and soot might not be behind the observed darkening of the Greenland ice sheet (pictured).Tiny particles of dirt absorb sunlight that would be reflected into space by ice — contributing to local warming. Satellite measurements suggest that the amount of sunlight

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Super-fast Antarctic drills ready to hunt for oldest ice

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Super-fast Antarctic drills ready to hunt for oldest ice

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/526618a

Author: Alexandra Witze

Next-generation machines can penetrate kilometres below surface in days rather than years.

Categories: Journal Articles

Cancer-fighting viruses win approval

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Cancer-fighting viruses win approval

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/526622a

Author: Heidi Ledford

US regulators clear a viral melanoma therapy, paving the way for a promising field with a chequered past.

Categories: Journal Articles

Before we drown we may die of thirst

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Before we drown we may die of thirst

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/526624a

Author: Kenneth R. Weiss

The island nation of Kiribati is one of the world's most vulnerable to rising sea levels. But residents may have to leave well before the ocean claims their homes.

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How to make the most of carbon dioxide

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

How to make the most of carbon dioxide

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/526628a

Author: XiaoZhi Lim

Researchers hope to show that using the gas as a raw material could make an impact on climate change.

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Photography: Sedition in the stores

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Photography: Sedition in the stores

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526637a

Author: Laura Spinney

Laura Spinney extols Robert Doisneau's haunting images of the Paris natural history museum under occupation.

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Scientific method: Tales of the unexpected

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Scientific method: Tales of the unexpected

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526638a

Author: Stuart Firestein

Stuart Firestein relishes Helga Nowotny's study of uncertainty in science and society.

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Books in brief

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Books in brief

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526639a

Author: Barbara Kiser

Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week's best science picks.

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China: Engage the public to stop bear trafficking

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

China: Engage the public to stop bear trafficking

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526640a

Authors: Zhengrong Yuan, Yingying Han & Qiang Weng

Last month, authorities in China confiscated 100 kilograms of bear paws. Many of the animals had been massacred in Russia, then the paws smuggled into China. Neither country is managing to control this monstrous trade.Bear paws are a coveted delicacy in China, fetching up

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2015 awards: China Nobel stirs up attack on academies

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

2015 awards: China Nobel stirs up attack on academies

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526640b

Author: Xin Miao

The first Nobel prize to be awarded to a researcher in China has sparked heated debate in the country (see Nature526, 174–175;10.1038/nature.2015.185072015). This centres on the public's long-term dissatisfaction with the Chinese academy system, which consistently failed

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Bovine tuberculosis: Badger-cull targets unlikely to reduce TB

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Bovine tuberculosis: Badger-cull targets unlikely to reduce TB

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526640c

Authors: Christl A. Donnelly & Rosie Woodroffe

Two months ago, the government-advice body Natural England approved further licensed badger culls in parts of the United Kingdom in 2015. The aim is to reduce local badger densities by at least 70% to prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB) to cattle (see go.nature.com/iiutvj).

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Genetic gain of function: EU report advises on contentious research

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Genetic gain of function: EU report advises on contentious research

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526640d

Authors: Robin Fears & Volker ter Meulen

The United States has a de facto moratorium on genetic gain-of-function experiments that could increase the transmissibility or pathogenicity of potentially pandemic agents such as the H5N1 avian influenza virus. In Europe, opinion among scientists is divided on the benefits and risks of such research

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Emissions estimates: Make raw emissions data public in China

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Emissions estimates: Make raw emissions data public in China

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526640e

Authors: Dabo Guan, Zhu Liu & Wei Wei

China's carbon emissions need to be estimated more accurately if the country is to meet its climate targets and participate in a nationwide emissions-trading scheme after 2017 (see F.TengNature525, 455;10.1038/525455c2015). Accounting errors will prevail until the nation's

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Networking: Hello, stranger

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Networking: Hello, stranger

Nature (2015). doi:10.1038/nj7575-729a

Author: Emily Sohn

Conferences are great for career development, but miscalculated moves can foil future prospects.

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Turning point: Alaina Levine

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Turning point: Alaina Levine

Nature (2015). doi:10.1038/nj7575-731a

Author: Julie Gould

Friendly mathematician describes scientists' natural advantages for meeting new colleagues.

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Staff meeting, as seen by the spam filter

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Staff meeting, as seen by the spam filter

Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/526734a

Author: Alex Shvartsman

Message intercepted.

Categories: Journal Articles

Batteries

Tue, 10/27/2015 - 23:00

Batteries

Nature. doi:10.1038/526S89a

Author: Brian Owens

Categories: Journal Articles