Journal Articles
Zoology: How the sponge got its skeleton
Zoology: How the sponge got its skeleton
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428b
Sponges build their skeletons using specialized cells that transport and assemble structural beams like construction workers — a novel way of producing a skeleton compared to other animals.Sponge skeletons are made of rod-like silica structures called spicules that are cemented to rocks and to
Neuroscience: Sound switches on worm cells
Neuroscience: Sound switches on worm cells
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428c
Ultrasound has been used to stimulate individual brain cells in a worm. If the technique works in mice, it could be a less invasive way of studying specific neurons.Neuroscientists currently implant probes into animal brains to stimulate cells that have been engineered to become
Neuroscience: Electric zaps help spinal-cord rehab
Neuroscience: Electric zaps help spinal-cord rehab
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428d
Electrically stimulating a damaged spinal cord as part of rehabilitation therapy may enhance improvements in movement.Steve Perlmutter at the University of Washington in Seattle and his team bruised the spinal cords of rats to partially paralyse the animals' forelimbs. They then used a neural–computer
Evolution: Ancient lung parts found in fish
Evolution: Ancient lung parts found in fish
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428e
A fish species found in the Indian Ocean has a vestigial lung, suggesting that its ancestors had working lungs before they shifted to life in deep waters.The coelacanth fish Latimeria chalumnae is descended from ancient coelacanths that lived in shallow waters. Paulo Brito
Planetary science: A balmy climate on exoplanets?
Planetary science: A balmy climate on exoplanets?
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525429a
Certain planets outside our Solar System could have wind patterns that produce habitable climates.Ludmila Carone at the University of Leuven in Belgium and her team used climate models to investigate atmospheric temperatures and wind patterns on planets with Earth-like atmospheres. The chosen planets closely
Plant ecology: Orchid shapes trick male insects
Plant ecology: Orchid shapes trick male insects
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525429b
Orchids have adapted the shape of their flowers to attract pollinating wasps.These flowering plants lure male insect pollinators by producing chemicals that mimic the pheromones of their female counterparts, but the effect of flower shape on pollinators has been unclear. To look at this,
Agriculture: Ecological impact of crops drops
Agriculture: Ecological impact of crops drops
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525429c
The environmental impact of maize (corn) and cotton crops on US freshwater ecosystems has been decreasing over the past decade, mainly because of the use of genetically modified plants that require less added pesticide.Sangwon Suh and Yi Yang at the University of California, Santa
Genetics: How Inuit genomes have adapted
Genetics: How Inuit genomes have adapted
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525429d
The genomes of indigenous people in Greenland (pictured) show how they have adapted to thousands of years of frigid temperatures and a diet that is rich in fatty seafood.Rasmus Nielsen at the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues analysed the genomes
The week in science: 18–24 September 2015
The week in science: 18–24 September 2015
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/525430a
Volkswagen caught up in emissions scandal; crowdfunding to sequence the beaver; and Australia gets new science minister.
Lost generation looms as refugees miss university
Lost generation looms as refugees miss university
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/525433a
Author: Declan Butler
Educational void risks hampering reconstruction in Middle East.
Brain stimulation in children spurs hope — and concern
Brain stimulation in children spurs hope — and concern
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/525436a
Author: Linda Geddes
Treatment of developing brains offers greater scope for improvement but also intensifies risks.
The hidden risks for ‘three-person’ babies
The hidden risks for ‘three-person’ babies
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/525444a
Author: Garry Hamilton
The powerhouses of the cell may have more roles than expected. Could that generate problems for mitochondrial replacement therapies?
Energy: Reimagine fuel cells
Energy: Reimagine fuel cells
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525447a
Author: John P. Lemmon
Combine energy generation and storage to ensure that networks remain robust as more renewable technologies are adopted, urge John P. Lemmon.
Military science: Inventions of war
Military science: Inventions of war
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525451a
Author: Ann Finkbeiner
Ann Finkbeiner assesses a study of DARPA, the agency that readies US technologies for coming conflicts.
Space travel: When Soviets ruled the great beyond
Space travel: When Soviets ruled the great beyond
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525452a
Author: Tim Radford
Tim Radford is thrilled by an unprecedented exhibition marking the USSR's cold war feats in space.
Theatre: Lab's labour's lost
Theatre: Lab's labour's lost
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525454a
Author: Philip Ball
Philip Ball appraises Nicole Kidman's stage turn as crystallographer Rosalind Franklin.
Middle East: Popular uprising spreads science
Middle East: Popular uprising spreads science
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525455a
Authors: Muath Alduhishy & Mouhannad Malek
Hundreds of young Arab people are establishing initiatives to promote science in Arabic and raise scientific literacy across the Middle East, free of the censorship and bureaucracy of government and religious authorities (see Nature Middle Easthttp://doi.org/7p8; 2015).They are publishing and translating
Amateur scientists: Citizen projects can minimize conflicts
Amateur scientists: Citizen projects can minimize conflicts
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525455b
Author: James W. Pearce-Higgins
Well-structured schemes for citizen scientists can minimize the potential for conflicts of interest (Nature524, 265;10.1038/524265a2015).Projects such as the UK Breeding Bird Survey (go.nature.com/keyvpu), run by the British Trust for Ornithology, use volunteer-friendly protocols and specify
Carbon: Resolve ambiguities in China's emissions
Carbon: Resolve ambiguities in China's emissions
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525455c
Author: Fei Teng
As the former chair of the Consultative Group of Experts organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to help developing countries to produce carbon-emission inventories, I question the claim that China's emissions from coal have been overestimated (see Nature524,
China: Overhaul rules for hazardous chemicals
China: Overhaul rules for hazardous chemicals
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525455d
Authors: Zhenwu Tang, Qifei Huang & Yufei Yang
The huge chemical explosion at the Chinese port of Tianjin on 12 August is another in the country's long list of industrial accidents involving chemicals. In 2010–14, more than 2,000 people were killed in 326 such accidents (J. Ren and Y. Mu Chem. Enterp.