A way to determine how partial charges of atoms in a molecule are distributed Summary Researchers report an experimental method that uses electron diffraction to extract atomic partial charges in…
Marsquakes indicate that the inner core of the red planet is solid, not liquid Summary NASA’s InSight mission recorded marsquakes between 2018 and 2022. New analysis (Bi et al.) of…
Flies evolved a shock-absorber tissue used during embryonic development Summary Two new studies, discussed in a News & Views piece by Thibaut Brunet, suggest that the cephalic furrow — a…
Ancient DNA clarifies the early history of the Slavs Summary Steffen Patzold reviews a new Nature paper (Gretzinger et al.) that uses ancient DNA to investigate the emergence and spread…
Compression causes cancer cells to start spreading Summary This research briefing summarises a Nature paper (Hunter et al.) showing that mechanical compression from surrounding tissues can switch melanoma cells from…
Depriving brain tumours of an amino acid could enhance chemotherapy Summary This News & Views piece discusses findings from Scott et al. showing that glioblastoma — an aggressive adult brain…
Ant queens produce sons of two distinct species Summary The News & Views piece by Jessica Purcell summarises a surprising discovery in the Iberian harvester ant (Messor ibericus). New research…
The diversity of microbial enzymes that turn a pollutant into an inert gas Summary Reductase enzymes convert nitrous oxide (N2O) — a powerful greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance — into…
Earth’s capacity to store carbon could max out surprisingly soon Summary A new study finds Earth’s practical capacity to store CO₂ underground is far smaller than commonly cited figures. While…
Damaged bridges flex and twist to prevent collapse Summary Like a spider web that compensates for a broken strand, steel truss bridges can sometimes survive the failure of a load-bearing…
