Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Scientists typically look at the skies or take to the laboratory to probe the neutrino’s properties. But neutrinos produced in Earth’s atmosphere could reveal this long-sought information — and the experiments are already well under way.
The risk of catching COVID-19 as calculated by a smartphone app scales with the probability of subsequently testing positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, showing that digital contact tracing is a useful tool for fighting future pandemics.
Automation of chemistry research has focused on developing robots to execute jobs. Artificial-intelligence technology has now been used not only to control robots, but also to plan their tasks on the basis of simple human prompts.
Neurons with a role in navigation fire sequentially in mice, forming patterns that repeat every minute or so — but which are neither spatially organized, nor related to any visible behaviour.
Bacteria use diverse defences against viral predators called bacteriophages. A method to identify antibacterial counter-defences in viral genomes has revealed striking modes of defence inhibition.
A suppressive type of immune cell called a regulatory T cell has a key role in helping muscles to adapt to exercise — guarding muscle mitochondrial organelles against damage mediated by proinflammatory factors generated during physical activity.
Researchers have made a key breakthrough in how light is used to control time signals from the world’s most precise clocks. The technique marks a crucial step in bringing this technology into everyday life.
Modified components of messenger RNA can cause the protein-production machinery to stall during the process of translation. This might change the protein being made, a finding with implications for vaccines or therapies.
Maternal sensitivity to a hormone produced by the fetus might underlie the risk of severe nausea and vomiting in human pregnancy — a finding that could open up strategies for the treatment of this debilitating condition.
Diverse genomic sequences might boost equity in areas such as health care. Genomic data from Indigenous Australians, shared through a community-consultation framework, aids efforts to boost genetic representation.
Ultrathin semiconductor materials that mimic twisted layers of atoms have been used to build synchronized arrays of nanometre-scale lasers. The systems can be configured — and easily reconfigured — to form intricate patterns.
Current injectable COVID-19 vaccines are unable to induce robust immunity in the mucosal tissues lining the airways. A protein-based vaccine delivered to the lungs in the form of an inhaled dry powder shows promise as a way forward.
A tool that tags individual cells in a tissue with a unique barcode means that the gene-expression profile of each cell can be plotted in its original location. This allows spatial information to be captured at single-cell resolution.
