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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.
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.
Features & opinion
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).”
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.
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.
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).
Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify.
Where I work
“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.