Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here.
Sea otters in California prey on crabs, thereby inadvertently protecting the vegetation that holds creek banks together.Credit: David Hayes/Alamy
How sea otters became conservationists
Sea otters in Monterey Bay, California are helping to protect salt marshes from erosion by feasting on shore crabs that destabilize these threatened habitats. The crabs eat the roots of the pickleweed plant that helps to hold the sandy banks together. Almost hunted to extinction by the end of the nineteenth century, the sea otters are making a comeback. In areas where otters had returned, erosion slowed from 30 cm a year to 10 cm a year. “It’s remarkable when you think about it,” says community ecologist Jane Watson. “You can have a single animal, the sea otter, come in and through predation actually mitigate the effects of erosion.”
Mother–baby study finds genetic variants
A huge study of mothers and babies in China has uncovered genetic variants that have not been observed in other populations and new links between mothers and their baby’s growth. The study is among the first to look at the genetic profiles of East Asian people, a largely under-represented population in genomic research. Researchers observed a multitude of links between maternal health and fetal development; for example, mothers with higher blood pressure give birth to lighter and shorter babies than do mothers with lower blood pressure.
Get the expert view from genetic epidemiologist Nicholas John Timpson in the Nature News & Views article (4 min read, Nature paywall)
Social-media science finds a way
For nearly half of the world’s population, it’s an election year — and with it come worries about online misinformation. Yet scientists who study social media’s political reach find themselves in the worst position they’ve been in for years. For example, Twitter has stopped providing free research access to its data. Many hope that new legislation in Europe will change that; others are exploring workarounds such as interviewing people who use the platforms. “We have to learn how to get insights from more limited sets of data,” says computer scientist Kate Starbird.
Why measles is making a comeback
Measles cases are rising in Europe because fewer children are protected with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Last year, European nations reported 42,200 measles cases, a dramatic jump from fewer than 1,000 cases in 2022. Health authorities are sounding the alarm and facilitating the most vulnerable — usually young children — to get both doses of the MMR jab. In the United Kingdom, vaccination coverage for children under five is the lowest it has been in 10 years. “It’s considered to be one of the most infectious respiratory infections there is,” says population-health researcher Helen Bedford. “The only thing that you can do to stop measles spreading is get vaccinated.”
Source: WHO
Features & opinion
Scientists are trusted — let’s keep it that way
Good news for public trust in science: according to a new poll, scientists are among those most trusted by 32,000 respondents from 28 countries to tell the truth on innovations. At the same time, people are concerned that governments are interfering in science and lack the competence to regulate emerging technology. A Nature editorial calls on social scientists — economists, ethicists, legal scholars and sociologists — to help develop the evidence-based policies and regulations needed to earn public confidence in the competence of policymakers. And scientists should push back against governments who overly politicize science.
Reference: Edelman Trust Barometer 2024
Why human brain cells grow so slowly
Growing human neurons in the laboratory can be a time-consuming process. Some cortical cells take years to reach maturity — many times slower than the equivalent cells in a mouse. Researchers have been exploring some of the mechanisms that could be behind these very different timescales of growth and have found a kind of epigenetic ‘braking’ effect that slows maturation. Manipulating this ‘brake’ could allow scientists to speed up the study of older brain cells in a dish.
Image of the week
Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna and biologist Phillip Sternes used a drone to film what could be the first-ever sighting of a newborn great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). They spotted the 1.5-metre-long pup shedding its white coating into the water. “I believe it was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer,” says Sternes. (The Guardian | 3 min read) (Carlos Gauna/The Malibu Artist)
