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A thin slice of rock from oceanic crust at Atlantis Bank in the Indian Ocean, where slow-living bacteria have been found.Credit: Frieder Klein/WHOI
Earth’s deepest life scavenges carbon
In one of the deepest layers of Earth’s crust ever explored, researchers are finding life. An analysis of rock samples from the bottom of the Indian Ocean has revealed microbes adapted to life within nutrient-poor hairline fractures in the Earth. Researchers found several species of bacteria, fungi and archaea that live in the rocks and feed on carbon from fragments of amino acids and other organic molecules carried in deep ocean currents.
Europe’s Mars rover delayed by two years
The European and Russian space agencies have pushed back the launch of a rover that will search for signs of life on Mars. The Rosalind Franklin probe was meant to launch in July but will now depart in 2022 to allow key tests to take place. The space agencies also cited the global coronavirus pandemic as a reason for the delay. The epidemiological situation in Europe has “left our experts practically no possibility to proceed with travels to partner industries”, said Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Roscosmos.
Scientists closes in on vaccine for swine fever
Researchers in China have developed an experimental vaccine that can protect pigs for life from a lethal virus that has wiped out 40% of the country’s 440 million pigs. Virologists say the vaccine still requires clinical trials and large-scale vaccine production. The country has suffered huge economic losses as a result of the virus since it appeared in 2018, although it is mostly under control now.
Why locusts, why now and how to stop them
Heavy rains, war and a lack of funding have been hampering efforts to control the biggest locust outbreak in more than a quarter of a century. Locust monitoring in Africa is severely underfunded, with many countries facing unpaid bills to the organization that provides a locust early-warning system and helps to control outbreaks. In Yemen, the ongoing war and the humanitarian crisis it has caused put the country in no position to deal with the pests. The United Nations has appealed for urgent funding as scientists scramble to model outbreaks and find safe countermeasures.
COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak
China's Long March 5 rocket will carry its Mars probe into space.Credit: AFP/Getty
How China is staying on track for Mars
• China’s first journey to Mars is on track for a July launch, say researchers. But with parts of the country in some form of lockdown because of the coronavirus, the mission teams have had to find creative ways to continue their work. Instead of risking the team members getting infected on a plane or high-speed train, 3 people drove 6 payloads in a car from Beijing to Shanghai — a journey that took more than 12 hours. (Nature | 4 min read)
• Although the symptoms of COVID-19 are mostly respiratory, some patients suffer severe cardiovascular damage. Four cardiologists explore the effects and the underlying mechanisms, in hopes of improving treatment for people with underlying cardiovascular diseases. (Nature Reviews Cardiology | 7 min read)
• Scientists working on mathematical models for COVID-19 are still in the early stages of characterizing the outbreak, says epidemiologist John Edmunds. Next will come forward-looking ‘scenario planning’ models — but we need better surveillance and testing data to make those calculations more accurate. (The Scientist | 7 min read)
Read the latest coronavirus news, continuously updated on Nature
Features & opinion
Rosamund Pike plays Marie Curie in Radioactive.Credit: StudioCanal and Amazon Content Services
Radioactive fails to get under Curie’s skin
Who was Marie Skłodowska Curie, and how did she become the only person ever to win Nobel prizes in two scientific disciplines? A new biopic, Radioactive, gives only a partial answer, writes reviewer Georgina Ferry. By falling into the ‘lone heroes’ trap, the film gives little insight into Curie’s own motivations or her respected place in the international scientific community.
Podcast: Tiny dinosaur skull preserved in amber
A skull found perfectly preserved in amber might belong to the world’s smallest dinosaur — and reveal a whole new lineage of birds. Hear more in this week’s Nature Podcast.
Nature Podcast | 27 min listen
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Where I work
Rose A. Marks is a postdoctoral researcher in molecular and cell biology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.Credit: Jennie Lyn Pretorius for Nature
Biologist Rose Marks scales a 100-metre quartzite cliff in South Africa to measure and take samples of the ‘resurrection’ plant (Myrothamnus flabellifolia), which can survive for years in a completely desiccated state. “Understanding what makes these plants so resilient could help us to develop crops that will survive drought,” says Marks. (Nature | 3 min read)
