Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here
A detector of the LHCb experiment under construction.Credit: Brice, Maximilien; CERN
Hint of new physics vanishes under scrutiny
An intriguing anomaly in data gathered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that raised hopes of a new elementary particle has turned out to be a fluke. In 2014, LHC scientists at CERN, Europe’s particle-physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, discovered that some massive particles decay more often into electron–positron pairs than into muon–antimuon pairs. This imbalance defied the standard model of physics, which predicts both pairs to occur with roughly the same frequency. The latest measurements and an investigation of confounding factors revealed that the discrepancy was partly the result of misidentifying other particles as electrons.
Plastic ‘nurdles’ hurt sea urchins
Tiny plastic pellets called nurdles that serve as the raw material for much of the modern world cause fatal developmental abnormalities in sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). High concentrations of zinc, which leaches from the nurdles and contaminates the water, is likely to be the cause, say scientists. “Even if plastic is not killing animals by ingestion or entanglement, it can also kill animals by the chemicals in it or on it,” says developmental biologist Eva Jimenez-Guri.
Reference: Science of The Total Environment paper
Oppenheimer cleared by US government
US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm has overturned the 1954 decision revoking the security clearance of one of the most influential physicists of the twentieth century, Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the first atomic bomb. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) decision ended Oppenheimer’s government career. “Historical evidence suggests that the decision to review Dr. Oppenheimer’s clearance had less to do with a bona fide concern for the security of restricted data and more to do with a desire on the part of the political leadership of the AEC to discredit Dr. Oppenheimer in public debates over nuclear weapons policy,” said Granholm in a statement.
Reference: US Department of Energy secretarial order
Features & opinion
How Twitter turmoil is affecting researchers
Scientists on Twitter are facing a difficult decision: should they stay or go? Many are concerned that new owner Elon Musk’s erratic and confrontational management could see abuse and misinformation rise on the site. The platform has become a way for an estimated half a million researchers to communicate their findings, debate issues and connect with people. Some researchers have left for open-source alternative Mastodon. Others feel duty-bound to keep providing their expertise to Twitter users.
Why NASA’s science lead is leaving
“Leading NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has been the job I’ve loved most,” says Thomas Zurbuchen. Now, he has made the decision to step down after more than six years. Knowing when to leave is an important but underappreciated skill, he says. “Every leader has weaknesses. Over time, their weaknesses weigh more heavily on an organization and it becomes time for someone with fresh ideas to step in.”
Time to recover dwindling vaccination rates
Global vaccination rates are at their lowest since 2008. As the pandemic disrupted health services and cancelled vaccination campaigns, many children missed out on the shots meant to protect them from serious diseases such as measles and polio. And even before 2020, vaccination rates had been stagnating. This is partly due to safety concerns, mistrust in public-health institutions and politicized perceptions of vaccines — issues that the pandemic exacerbated. And a preliminary assessment finds another important factor: many people simply don’t see the importance of vaccinations for diseases that they’re not worried about.
This article is part of Nature Outlook: Children’s health, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of Sanofi.
Science should not be a diplomatic pawn
From China–US tensions to continued COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and Russia’s war halting many research collaborations, 2022 saw a trend of science being used as leverage in international politics. A Nature Editorial argues that political objectives must not be allowed to stop researchers from different countries working together to solve global problems.
