Ancient DNA clarifies the early history of the Slavs Summary This News & Views piece summarises new ancient-DNA research (Gretzinger et al., Nature) that provides crucial genetic evidence about the…
Flies evolved a shock-absorber tissue used during embryonic development Summary Two new studies, reported in Nature, explain the long-mysterious role of the cephalic furrow in Drosophila embryos. The fold of…
A way to determine how partial charges of atoms in a molecule are distributed Summary Researchers have demonstrated an experimental method that uses electron diffraction to determine how partial charges…
Ant queens produce sons of two distinct species Summary Researchers report an extraordinary reproductive system in the Iberian harvester ant (Messor ibericus). Queens of this species produce two genetically distinct…
Depriving brain tumours of an amino acid could enhance chemotherapy Summary Glioblastoma — the most aggressive adult brain cancer with a five-year survival under 5% — shows a surprising metabolic…
Compression causes cancer cells to start spreading Summary A zebrafish model of skin melanoma shows that mechanical compression from surrounding tissues can trigger cancer cells to switch from a proliferative…
Damaged bridges flex and twist to prevent collapse Summary Steel truss bridges — built from connected elements — can sometimes avoid catastrophic collapse after a key member fails by activating…
Earth’s capacity to store carbon could max out surprisingly soon Summary A new study estimates Earth’s practical geological storage for CO₂ at about 1,460 gigatonnes — far lower than frequently…
The diversity of microbial enzymes that turn a pollutant into an inert gas Summary Reductase enzymes convert the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) into harmless dinitrogen (N2). A new…
Ancient DNA connects large-scale migration with the spread of Slavs Content summary This Nature study reports genome-wide ancient DNA from 1,243 ancient samples (including 555 newly generated genomes) across three…
