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Image of planet Venus, with blue and grey clouds, against a black background.

Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter captured this image of Venus’s clouds with its ultraviolet imager.Credit: ISAS, JAXA, Akatsuki; Processing: Meli thev

Challenge to phosphine on Venus claim

Two papers have dealt a fresh blow to the idea that Venus’s atmosphere might contain phosphine gas — a potential sign of life. In one study, researchers analysed data from one of the telescopes used to make the phosphine claim and could not detect the gas’s spectral signature. In the other, they calculated how gases would behave in Venus’s atmosphere and concluded that what the original team thought was phosphine is actually sulfur dioxide, a gas that is common on Venus and is not a sign of possible life. Still, the case isn’t closed yet. The new studies argue against the presence of phosphine, but can’t entirely rule it out.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: arXiv preprint 1 & arXiv preprint 2 (Both papers have been accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters)

Shark populations at the brink of collapse

Oceanic shark and ray populations have declined by more than 70% since 1970, mostly because of overfishing and bycatch. A first-of-its-kind global assessment of shark populations warns that extinctions will undermine ecosystems and jeopardize food security. It calls on governments to urgently intervene with evidence-based conservation policies. “There is a very small window to save these iconic creatures,” says marine biologist Nathan Pacoureau.

New York Times | 4 min read

Reference: Nature paper

COVID-19 coronavirus update

News

Novavax vaccine works against variants

The biotech firm Novavax has unveiled that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine is effective against rapidly spreading variants of the coronavirus. But the picture is mixed. The vaccine was more than 85% effective against the variant called B.1.1.7., first identified in the United Kingdom. But it was less than 50% effective against a worrying lineage called 501Y.V2, which was first identified in South Africa and is spreading around the world. “We’re still seeing vaccine efficacy, and that’s incredibly important,” says Glenda Gray, head of the South African Medical Research Council.

Nature | 6 min read

Editorial

Epidemiology and the pandemic

Nature’s third progress report, coming at the end of the pandemic’s first year, highlights key findings from epidemiology — from sounding the early alarm to following the impact of new variants. The pandemic has changed epidemiology, and the field itself is expanding. The US government has announced that it will establish a National Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. “We hope that this will be the epidemiological equivalent of a central meteorological office, an independent body that provides forecasts using advanced computational power, and the best available data,” says the editorial. “Other countries should consider doing the same.”

Nature | 8 min read

Features & opinion

A gold wedding ring with a black plastic propeller on it sits amid other broken propellers

Illustration by Jacey

Futures: The quantum chocolatier

Stories about wish fulfillment often warn the reader to ‘be careful what you wish for’. “But I didn’t want to write a cautionary tale,” says author Sarah Totton about the latest short story for Nature’s Futures series. “I figured the Quantum Chocolatier would be far more useful and interesting if it could predict, not what you want, but what you need (whether you know it yet or not).”

Nature | 4 min read

Seven technologies to watch in 2021

COVID considerations unsurprisingly dominate the tech developments that could have a big impact in the coming year. From advances in vaccines to olfaction, neuroscience to mass spectrometry, researchers describe the tools and techniques generating excitement in their disciplines.

Nature | 11 min read

Stories from the birth of the Solar System

“Meteorites are like cosmic time capsules,” writes planetary scientist Meenakshi Wadhwa in her review of a new book about the stones from outer space. “They carry details of events from the earliest days of the Solar System.” Chemist and geoscientist Tim Gregory’s book weaves a colourful tapestry of historical and scientific stories with an eye towards the latest developments, says Wadhwa.

Nature | 5 min read

Neuroprosthetic for spinal-cord injuries

Researchers have developed a device for people who’ve experienced spinal-cord injury that might restore their ability to maintain blood pressure. This neuroprosthetic system is like “a second skin that slides on top of the spinal cord”, neuroscientist Grégoire Courtinet tells the Nature Podcast. It delivers an electrical stimulus to the spinal cord to activate neurons that ultimately restore normal blood pressure. “People tend to see the spinal cord as one tube with reflexes and simple circuits,” says Courtine. “The spinal cord is a brain in itself.”

Nature Podcast | 28 min listen

Read more: Go deeper into the research in the Nature News & Views article (6 min read).

Reference: Nature paper

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Where I work

Leah Tsang photographed in a warehouse at a desk covered in bird skull samples using callipers to measure a bird skull

Leah Tsang is collection manager of ornithology at the Australian Museum in Sydney.Credit: Doug Gimesy/Nature Picture Library

“On the table in this photograph are the remains of more than 130 wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) — Australia’s largest bird of prey,” writes Leah Tsang, the collection manager of ornithology at the Australian Museum in Sydney. “The birds had been poisoned, and I needed to confirm the species for a criminal case.” She likens the collection to a bird library, where researchers can come in to study irreplaceable specimens. In this case, Tsang’s work contributed to the prosecution of a person who had poisoned hundreds of birds.

Nature | 5 min read

subscriptions

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