Two butterflies, one of which is feeding on pollen

Evolution of learning and memory centres in the brains of butterflies

A. Couto, F. Young et al. describe rapid expansion of an integration brain center, associated with increased visual processing, long-term memory and behavioral evolution, in Heliconiini butterflies.

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Latest Research articles

  • Nanoresonator is proven to be an excellent platform for molecular detection, yet a set of them is necessary to identify a molecule fingerprint. Here, the authors utilise low quality resonators with large radiative losses, despite its lower quality factor, to identify molecular absorption spectrum between 5 and 10 μm.

    • Laura Paggi
    • Alice Fabas
    • Patrick Bouchon
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Indole alkaloids are one of the largest alkaloid classes, proving valuable structural moiety in pharmaceuticals but the direct single-step synthesis with broad structural diversity remains challenging. Herein, the authors report a modular assembly of tetrahydrocarboline type of indole alkaloids from simple building blocks in a single step while showing broad compatibility with medicinally relevant functionality

    • Jiaming Li
    • Zhencheng Lai
    • Sunliang Cui
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Manipulation of nano-sized extracellular vesicles are of significant interest for disease detection, monitoring, and therapeutics, yet it is still challenging to expedite the process. Here, the authors presented geometry-induced electrohydrodynamic tweezers, which enable fast parallel transport and trapping of single vesicle within seconds.

    • Chuchuan Hong
    • Justus C. Ndukaife
    ArticleOpen Access

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Subjects within Earth and environmental sciences

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Subjects within Health sciences

  • Corporate procurement initiatives, such as RE100, can increase their impact on the energy transition by formulating ambitious interim targets and sourcing requirements, and by orchestrating corporate interests in countries with less ambitious renewable energy targets.

    • Florian Egli
    • Rui Zhang
    • Bjarne Steffen
    ArticleOpen Access
  • This work quantifies the climate benefits of efficiently utilizing concrete through improved material and structural design, and it shows that over 75% of CO2 emissions from global concrete production could be cut with already implementable measures

    • Josefine A. Olsson
    • Sabbie A. Miller
    • Mark G. Alexander
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Measurement error in polygenic indices attenuates their power to predict complex traits. Here, the authors compare two approaches addressing this attenuation bias and provide guidance on which approach to apply in various scenarios.

    • Hans van Kippersluis
    • Pietro Biroli
    • Cornelius A. Rietveld
    ArticleOpen Access
  • The increase of intermittent energy sources and renewable energy penetration generally results in reduced overall inertia, making power systems susceptible to disturbances. Here, authors develop an AI-based method to estimate inertia in real-time and test its performance on a heterogeneous power network.

    • Daniele Linaro
    • Federico Bizzarri
    • Angelo M. Brambilla
    ArticleOpen Access
  • This study shows that 716 million of the world’s lowest income people live in areas with unsafe levels of air pollution, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. With limited access to healthcare, they are especially vulnerable.

    • Jun Rentschler
    • Nadezda Leonova
    ArticleOpen Access

Subjects within Scientific community and society

  • One Health refers to the interconnectedness of the health of humans, animals, and the environment. It recognises that coordination across sectors is needed for effective prevention, detection, and management of infectious disease threats. Although the concept of One Health is not new, it has gained increased prominence following the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting national and international institutions to adopt One Health policies aimed at preventing disease spillover14. At Nature Communications, we have launched a Collection and call for papers in recognition of the need for better scientific evidence to support One Health policy ambitions.

    EditorialOpen Access
  • Urea, a crucial nitrogen fertilizer, plays a vital role in meeting global food demand. However, its current production method is energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly. In this commentary article, the authors propose strategies to address and overcome these challenges.

    • Jie Ding
    • Runping Ye
    • Maohong Fan
    CommentOpen Access
  • Resveratrol (REV) is a natural polyphenol with anti-obesity effects. However, the mechanisms remain unclear due to its low bioavailability and the lack of defined membrane-bound or nuclear receptors. Pang and colleagues reported that REV intervention (REV-I) alters gut microbiota and bile acid profile, leading to the inhibition of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and attenuation of scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-B1)-mediated chylomicron secretion. This highlights a therapeutic potential of targeting gut microbiome and intestinal SR-B1 for obesity and diabetes treatment.

    • Eryun Zhang
    • Alon Agua
    • Wendong Huang
    CommentOpen Access
  • Medicinal chemistry is a fast-evolving interdisciplinary research area which aims to improve human life by developing drugs to combat diseases. Nature Communications interviewed three scientists, Daniele Castagnolo (Associate Professor at University College London), Paramita Sarkar (postdoctoral researcher at University of Würzburg) and Dani Schulz (Director, Discovery Process Chemistry at Merck), about their careers and the past and future in medicinal chemistry research. We asked the researchers what medicinal chemistry means to them, and their opinions on the current relevance of the Rule of Five and new chemical modalities beyond the Rule of Five. We also discuss the differences between academic and industry research in medicinal chemistry and how Open Science can support collaborations for drug development.

    Q&AOpen Access
  • Protein lysine methylation plays important biological roles but its experimental characterization is limited by the lack of suitable mimetics of methylated and unmethylated lysine among the natural amino acids. Here, we summarize the consequent challenges and discuss alternative approaches for biochemical and cellular lysine methylation studies.

    • Sara Weirich
    • Albert Jeltsch
    CommentOpen Access
  • Terrestrial freshwater environments are both affected by and contribute to climate change, with highly complex feedback mechanisms. We must look to the records these environments preserve of past periods of climactic upheaval to be able to prepare for an uncertain future.

    EditorialOpen Access
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Translational and clinical research

This page highlights the most compelling studies recently published in Nature Communications with a significant translational potential and immediate impact in the medical field. In particular, we primarily cover studies concerning metabolism, cardiovascular research, organ and tissue biology, and ageing.
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