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Two astronauts replace gyroscopes on the Hubble telescope during an EVA in 1999. The Earth looms brightly below them.

Astronauts work on the Hubble Space Telescope during a 1999 mission to service its gyroscopes.Credit: JSC/NASA

NEWS

Hubble on hold after gyroscope failure

The Hubble Space Telescope has been temporarily hobbled after one of its gyroscopes stopped working. Hubble has six gyroscopes, which help to orient the observatory to celestial targets. Two of these instruments had already failed before the third malfunctioned last week. But Hubble’s operators don’t seem too worried. They say the observatory can work with only one gyroscope, and that the telescope has many years of science ahead of it.

Nature | 1 min read

Uproar over peer-reviewed homeopathy study

A study in rats that showed a homeopathic extract from Toxicodendron pubescens (Atlantic poison oak) to be as effective as a prescription pain drug has prompted an uproar in Italy. Homeopathy advocates have embraced the results, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, as long-awaited evidence that the practice works. Critics have pointed out that only eight rats were used in the trial, and that the paper contained errors such as duplicated images and repeated data. The researchers say the errors do “not change the scientific conclusions in any way”.

Nature | 6 min read

Reference: Scientific Reports paper

(Nature’s news team is editorially independent of its publisher Springer Nature, which also publishes Scientific Reports).

Fleet of tiny CO2-monitoring satellites

European researchers are building tiny sensors that can measure carbon dioxide coming from cities and power plants. If it works, the devices could fly aboard a constellation of small satellites starting in the late 2020s, helping to monitor daily fluctuations in greenhouse gases — especially from human sources such as industry. This kind of tracking system will be needed to ensure that nations are abiding by their pledges to cut carbon emissions.

Nature | 3 min read

Ghost authorship haunts industry-funded trials

An analysis of industry-funded clinical trials has found that drug companies are often heavily involved in research — but are not always transparent about it. In a survey of 200 recent late-stage trials, fewer than half had academics involved in data analysis, whereas 73% had funders involved.

Nature | 4 min read

Reference: BMJ paper

Source: K. Rasmussen et al. Br. Med. J. 363, k3654 (2018).

FEATURES & OPINION

Fortresses of mud

After a century of human development destroyed most wetlands in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, the regional government became a leader in marsh restoration. With sea levels there set to rise by as much as 2.1 metres by 2100, there is a new urgency behind the city’s plans to restore the wetlands, which would protect nearby electricity plants, transportation infrastructure and drinking-water facilities.

Nature | 12 min read

A checklist to becoming a great peer reviewer

A group of journal editors, including Mathew Stiller-Reeve at Geoscience Communication, have devised a simple, 13-point plan for writing a top-drawer peer review. Stiller-Reeve outlines the process and the golden rule: be helpful, not harmful.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: A Peer Review Process Guide (PDF)

How to beat the academic job odds

A dramatic rise in the number of PhDs awarded each year has significantly reduced a researcher’s chances of landing a permanent academic contract. The usual advice for making yourself stand out is now the bare minimum. Nature spoke to six early-career researchers for their tips on scoring a permanent research position.

Nature | 9 min read

The impact of each extra degree

A damning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report says we must act now to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. This interactive feature shows us why, with hard numbers from dozens of peer-reviewed climate studies about the regional, economic and environmental effects.

Nature | 12 min read

Read more: The most effective individual steps you can take to tackle climate change

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I was never thinking of graduation, because my goal was never graduation.”

Computer scientist Urmila Mahadev spent eight years in graduate school solving one of the most fundamental questions of quantum computing — how do you know if a quantum computer has done what it is supposed to do? (Quanta)