Featured
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News & Views |
The neural circuit that makes maternal mice respond to pups’ cries
All newborn mammals cry. The neural circuit that stimulates mothers to look after crying offspring has been identified in mice — along with a mechanism that promotes maternal behaviour only after prolonged calls from pups.
- Flavia Ricciardi
- & Cristina Márquez
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Nature Podcast |
Why does cancer spread to the spine? Newly discovered stem cells might be the key
A stem cell vital for vertebral growth also drives spine metastases, and the use of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Article
| Open AccessThe oldest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocranium
Computed tomography reveals that the cranial anatomy of Ordovician stem-group gnathostome Eriptychius americanus from the Harding Sandstone of Colorado, USA, is distinct among vertebrates.
- Richard P. Dearden
- , Agnese Lanzetti
- & Ivan J. Sansom
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News |
Tasmanian tiger RNA is first to be recovered from an extinct animal
Genetic sequences from a museum specimen offer fresh clues about the physiology of thylacines, which went extinct in the 1930s.
- Miryam Naddaf
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Research Highlight |
This parrot taps out beats — and it custom-builds its instruments
Male palm cockatoos prefer certain types of percussion tool, which they create themselves from branches and seed pods.
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News |
Octopuses used in research could receive same protections as monkeys
For the first time in the United States, research with cephalopods might require approval by an ethics committee.
- Sara Reardon
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Nature Podcast |
Our ancestors lost nearly 99% of their population, 900,000 years ago
A roundup of stories from the Nature Briefing, including how human ancestors came close to extinction, historic pollution in Antarctica, and the AI that predicts smell from a compound's structure.
- Benjamin Thompson
- , Dan Fox
- & Shamini Bundell
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News |
‘Weird’ dinosaur prompts rethink of bird evolution
The fossil is as old as the ‘first bird’, Archaeopteryx, and might have specialized in running or wading instead of flying.
- Jude Coleman
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News Feature |
These animals are racing towards extinction. A new home might be their last chance
Some of the most threatened animals might not survive in their current habitat because of climate change. Researchers are testing a controversial strategy to relocate them before it’s too late — starting with Australia’s rarest reptile.
- Clare Watson
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Research Briefing |
Peering into bats’ brains as the animals fly and feed together
Many animals, including humans, live together and move in coordination with others, but little is known about how neurons represent or govern such complex behaviours. By studying free-flying bats, we found that neural activity in a region of the brain called the hippocampus contains a rich representation of the spatial and social environment that could support collective behaviour.
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News |
Most rare kākāpō parrots have had their genome sequenced
DNA from more than 100 of the critically endangered birds could help to save the species from extinction.
- Katharine Sanderson
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Nature Podcast |
Brain-reading implants turn thoughts into speech
Two studies demonstrate how brain-computer interfaces could help people to communicate, and working out how hot it can get before tropical leaves start to die.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Article
| Open AccessReef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts
Long-term experiments show that corals acquire dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus by feeding on symbiont cells, which provide essential nutrients enabling their success in nutrient-poor waters.
- Jörg Wiedenmann
- , Cecilia D’Angelo
- & Amatzia Genin
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News & Views |
From the archive: Copernicus’s legacy, and a hungry pigeon
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Research Briefing |
Neural basis of why mammals eat more in the cold
Feeding and the maintenance of internal body temperature are tightly linked in warm-blooded animals, and mammals eat more in the cold to maintain their body heat. Experiments reveal that a small nucleus in the brain’s thalamus controls feeding behaviour specifically in cold conditions by directly activating a reward centre in the brain.
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Nature Podcast |
Fruit flies’ ability to sense magnetic fields thrown into doubt
Study fails to replicate two key papers on fruit flies’ magnetic sense, and what the closing of the Arecibo observatory means for science.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
From the archive: a prize for the design of a helicopter, and a venomous caterpillar
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News & Views |
Replication study casts doubt on magnetic sensing in flies
It has long been thought that the fly Drosophila melanogaster can detect Earth’s magnetic field and offers an ideal system in which to examine this enigmatic sense. However, a rigorous replication of key studies fails to support this idea.
- Eric J. Warrant
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Nature Podcast |
How welcome are refugees in Europe? A giant study has some answers
A survey of 33,000 Europeans suggests overall support towards refugees has slightly increased, and how to get shapes to roll down wiggly paths using mathematics.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
From the archive: the tenacity of eels, and weatherproofing St Paul’s
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Article |
A heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of vertebrate morphology
Perucetus colossus, a basilosaurid whale from the middle Eocene epoch of Peru with an extremely pachyosteosclerotic postcranium, is estimated to have a greater skeletal mass than any known mammal or aquatic vertebrate.
- Giovanni Bianucci
- , Olivier Lambert
- & Eli Amson
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News & Views |
From the archive: the problem with physics, and a stealthy attack
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Research Highlight |
An enigmatic little whale’s habits, from its own mouth
The pygmy right whale does not migrate to feed in cold waters as its larger relatives do, baleen analysis suggests.
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News & Views |
From the archive: pollination, and Charles Darwin ponders scared ants
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News |
Short arms and lanky legs: the genetic basis of walking on two legs
Genome-wide map reveals regions associated with skeletal changes that enabled humans to walk upright.
- Dyani Lewis
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Book Review |
To save bears, we must learn to live alongside them
With urban areas expanding and climate change shrinking bears’ habitats, the animals’ interactions with humans will make — or break — efforts to preserve their populations.
- Henry Nicholls
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Nature Video |
First glimpses inside octopus’s sleeping brains reveals human-like patterns
Neural activity show an ‘active’ sleep stage similar to REM sleep in mammals.
- Shamini Bundell
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News |
Tasmanian devil cancer vaccine approved for testing
The vaccine was inspired by COVID jabs, but if it is approved, it will be delivered in edible bait.
- Gemma Conroy
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Nature Podcast |
Do octopuses dream? Neural activity resembles human sleep stages
Brain probes reveal complexities of octopus sleep, and a hormone that could help make calorie-restricted diets more effective.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
From the archive: chemical symbols and an octopus baby boom
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Research Highlight |
Dolphin mums whistle ‘baby talk’ with their calves
The calls of dolphin mothers had a higher pitch when they were accompanied by their young.
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Book Review |
Is ‘speciesism’ as bad as racism or sexism?
We are all complicit in a global farming industry that puts profit before animal welfare — but establishing what moral principles we should be applying isn’t easy, an update of a classic book shows.
- Jonathan Birch
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Research Highlight |
Glow-worms’ ‘come-hither’ signals are lost in the glare of human lights
Artificial lighting could make some populations of these insects wink out.
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Where I Work |
How I use science to protect my people’s birthright
Jean-Luc Kanapé combines the ancestral knowledge of his Indigenous Canadian community, the Innu, with technology to protect the region’s caribou from predators and environmental damage.
- Patricia Maia Noronha
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News |
Deaths of African cheetahs in India shine spotlight on controversial conservation project
Scientists fear that an Indian park is not enough space for the planned population — and that not enough work has been done with locals on how they will respond to the animals.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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Research Briefing |
A battle between neural circuits for infanticide and maternal-care behaviours
A previously unknown neural circuit in the brains of female mice is activated during infanticidal behaviour, and reciprocally inhibits another circuit that promotes maternal-care behaviour. These circuits show opposing changes in excitability when female mice become mothers, explaining the switch in young-directed behaviours that occurs with motherhood.
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Nature Podcast |
A brain circuit for infanticide, in mice
Research reveals system underlying behaviour change towards young, and identifying the source of fast solar wind.
- Noah Baker
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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News |
Biggest ever study of primate genomes has surprises for humanity
Genomes of humans’ closest relatives provide insight for conservation, human disease and the origins of social structures.
- Dyani Lewis
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Research Highlight |
These hardy ants build their own landmarks in the desert
Ants living on the sprawling salt pans of Tunisia use DIY markers to find their way home.
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News & Views |
From the archive: aggressive anemones, and Louis Pasteur’s birthday
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News |
Does the roar of rocket launches harm wildlife? These scientists seek answers
With rocket lift-offs set to increase drastically, a team will monitor the effects of noise pollution at a California spaceport.
- Nicola Jones
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Research Highlight |
How can mosquitoes find you? All you have to do is exhale
Free-flying mosquitoes gravitate toward pads that emit carbon dioxide, which is found in human breath.
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News & Views |
From the archive: a history of climate, and the scent of sitting pheasants
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News |
Hammerhead sharks are first fish found to ‘hold their breath’
It pays to be an warm hunter in the cold ocean depths, so the animals shut down oxygen intake to conserve heat.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Research Highlight |
Your favourite soap might turn you into a mosquito magnet
Mosquitoes tend to prefer the scent of Dawn and Dial over the odour of an unwashed person.
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News & Views |
From the archive: sunshine statistics, and the hues and habits of aquarium fish
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Research Highlight |
What drives a scavenger’s diet? Vulture culture
Griffon vultures in northern Spain fill up at landfills, but their southern brethren prefer the carcasses of wild animals.
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Nature Careers Podcast |
How trauma’s effects can pass from generation to generation
Neuroepigenetics researcher Isabelle Mansuy investigates how life life experiences and environmental factors can shape not only us, but also our descendants.
- Dom Byrne
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News & Views |
An evolutionary route to warning coloration
Bright colours that signal toxicity can deter predators, but how such colours initially evolve without first endangering conspicuous organisms is a contentious issue. Analysis of amphibians offers an answer to the puzzle.
- Tim Caro