The fruiting body of Aspergillus niger (artificially coloured), a fungus that can mop up contaminants in tainted soil. Credit: Eye Of Science/SPL
Research Highlights
Selections from the scientific literature by Nature's news team
An inventory lists the aviation emissions of all 197 nations that are signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Credit: Getty
The now-extinct salmon species Oncorhynchus rastrosus had ‘tusks’ protruding from its snout (right top and bottom, artist’s illustration; top left, scan of skull with illustration of the originally proposed position of the teeth; bottom left, skull). Credit: K. M. Claeson et al./PLoS One (CC-BY 4.0)
Palaeontology
This giant extinct salmon had tusks like a warthog
Among the genes that cause post-traumatic stress disorder are some that affect brain neurons (pictured, artificially coloured). Credit: Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR/SPL
Data collected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica has yielded the first verified detection of tau neutrinos. Credit: Jeff Warneck/Alamy
Particle physics
Detectors deep in South Pole ice pin down elusive tau neutrino
A stone pendant was among the thousands of beads and other ornaments found in a Maya pyramid. Credit: C. Halperin
Electrostatic charge harvested from the skin of the person holding a newly devised water bottle is used to disinfect the bottle’s contents. Credit: Young-Jun Kim
Humpback whales fill their ribbed oral pouches with water to feed — and sometimes, scientists report, to rub off parasites. Credit: Doug Perrine/Alamy
Animal behaviour
A spa session for humpback whales
Along with fearsome teeth, the mouths of hammerhead sharks have receptors that equip the animals to sense bitter tastes. Credit: Getty
Sensory systems
Bitter taste receptors are even older than scientists thought
The rainbow-like phenomenon called a glory (artist’s illustration) appears at the boundary between the day and night sides of the exoplanet WASP-76b. Credit: ESA (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
Exoplanets
An exoplanet is wrapped in glory
An X-ray shows growths (white) in the pelvic lymph glands of a child with the blood cancer called lymphoma. Credit: Zephyr/SPL
A hailstone collected on 30 August 2022, in Spain’s Girona province, with a one-euro coin for comparison. Global warming fuelled the storm that generated the hail. Credit: M. L. Martín et al./Geophys. Res. Lett.
Climate sciences
Baseball-sized hail in Spain began with a heatwave at sea
Industrial chemicals that find their way to the ocean are lofted into the atmosphere by sea spray. Credit: Getty
Atmospheric science
Sea spray carries huge amounts of ‘forever chemicals’ into the air
A molecular tool called a base editor makes a precise change to DNA (yellow, artist’s impression). Credit: Ramon Andrade 3dciencia/SPL
Starquakes detected on the star ε Indi (left; artist’s impression) could help astronomers to understand its internal structure. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Lomberg J. (CC BY 4.0)
Astronomy and astrophysics
Smallest known starquakes are detected with a subtle shift of colour
Proximity to urban green space (pictured, Primrose Hill in London) has been linked to good mental health. Credit: Chris Harris/UCG/UIG/Getty
Psychiatric disorders
Green space near home has an antidepressant effect
A soap bubble (top row) can be levitated for more than 15 minutes without bursting; a pure water bubble (bottom row) can remain intact for more than 7 minutes. Credit: X. Ji et al./Droplet (CC-BY 4.0 DEED)
An X-ray image of a fish is captured with the use of a glass that has an unusual internal structure. Credit: Chunwei Dong, Mehmet Bayindir, Osman Bakr/KAUST
Materials science
A glowing glass transmits X-rays with ease
The brain (artificially coloured) of a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: Living Art Enterprises/Science Photo Library
Alzheimer's disease
A test for Alzheimer’s-disease stage predicts dementia risk
A white charger carries Richard III into battle in this illustration from the 1860s. A horse graveyard in London was active around the time of his reign, which began in 1483. Credit: Heritage Images/Getty
