Brain tumours in mice grow more slowly when starved of key amino acid Summary Researchers report that many glioblastomas rely on taking the amino acid serine from their surroundings rather…
Flies evolved a shock-absorber tissue used during embryonic development Summary Two new Nature studies resolve a long-standing question about the cephalic furrow, a prominent fold that separates the head from…
Marsquakes indicate that the inner core of the red planet is solid, not liquid Summary Analysis of four years of seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander reveals evidence that Mars…
How academics and ‘big tech’ can learn from one another Summary Steven C. Currall (executive director for academic–corporate initiatives at Harvard) argues that collaborations between academia and large technology firms…
Ancient DNA clarifies the early history of the Slavs Key Points • Ancient DNA evidence (Gretzinger et al.) provides new data on the emergence of the Slavs in the sixth…
This is the world’s largest ‘mosquito factory’: its goal is to stop dengue Summary The Wolbito do Brasil facility in Curitiba has been built to breed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that…
Depriving brain tumours of an amino acid could enhance chemotherapy Summary Researchers report that glioblastoma — the most aggressive adult brain cancer — rewires cortical glucose metabolism and scavenges the…
Compression causes cancer cells to start spreading Summary A zebrafish model of melanoma shows that mechanical compression from surrounding tissues can switch cancer cells from a proliferative ‘grow’ state to…
Damaged bridges flex and twist to prevent collapse Summary Steel truss bridges — built from connected elements in a framework — can sometimes survive the sudden failure of a load-bearing…
The diversity of microbial enzymes that turn a pollutant into an inert gas Summary Researchers report a previously unknown family of bacterial proteins that catalyse the reduction of nitrous oxide…
