Featured
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Article |
SO2, silicate clouds, but no CH4 detected in a warm Neptune
The JWST MIRI transmission spectrum of WASP-107b, a transiting planet with Neptune-like mass and Jupiter-like radius, shows observations of sulfur dioxide and silicate clouds but no methane in its atmosphere, providing evidence of disequilibrium chemistry and active photochemistry.
- Achrène Dyrek
- , Michiel Min
- & Gillian Wright
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Nature Video |
The robot chemist helping to pave the way to settlements on Mars
An AI-assisted robot, could use Martian rock to autonomously generate oxygen on the red planet
- Noah Baker
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News |
This AI robot chemist could make oxygen on Mars
The system uses Martian materials to produce catalysts that release oxygen from water.
- Jonathan O'Callaghan
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Research Highlight |
Citizen scientists find a rarity: an asteroid trying to be a comet
An object that orbits the Sun beyond the main asteroid belt and occasionally sports a tail is spotted in archival images.
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Article |
15NH3 in the atmosphere of a cool brown dwarf
Observations from the JWST MIRI showed the detection of 14NH3 and 15NH3 isotopologues in the atmosphere of a cool brown dwarf, along with a 14N/15N value consistent with star-like formation by gravitational collapse.
- David Barrado
- , Paul Mollière
- & Gillian Wright
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News |
Strange blobs in Earth’s mantle are relics of a massive collision
Impact with a body called Theia 4.5 billion years ago left remnants deep inside Earth — and also created the Moon.
- Anil Oza
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Article |
Moon-forming impactor as a source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies
Computer simulations show that mantle material from Theia, a proto-planet theorized to have struck the proto-Earth in the Moon-forming giant impact, may be the source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies.
- Qian Yuan
- , Mingming Li
- & Paul D. Asimow
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Research Highlight |
The Solar System’s biggest moon is spattered with salt
Dried brine from a subsurface ocean speckles the surface of Ganymede, which orbits Jupiter.
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Nature Podcast |
Martian sounds reveal the secrets of the red planet's core
NASA's InSight mission recorded vibrations of Mars exposing a surprising layer of silicate around the core.
- Geoff Marsh
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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News & Views |
Deep Mars is surprisingly soft
Two analyses of seismic waves that traversed Mars paint the clearest picture yet of the red planet’s core and deep mantle — and rationalize the puzzling implications of a previous interpretation of the seismological data.
- Suzan van der Lee
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for a liquid silicate layer atop the Martian core
Using multiply diffracted P waves and first-principles computations of the thermoelastic properties of liquid iron-rich alloys, we show that the core of Mars is smaller and denser than previously thought.
- A. Khan
- , D. Huang
- & M. Murakami
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Article
| Open AccessGeophysical evidence for an enriched molten silicate layer above Mars’s core
We provide observational evidence that suggests the presence of a molten silicate layer above the core of Mars, which is overlain by a partially molten layer, indicating that the core of Mars is smaller than previously thought.
- Henri Samuel
- , Mélanie Drilleau
- & William B. Banerdt
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News |
Mars has a surprise layer of molten rock inside
Fresh investigations find that the red planet’s liquid-metal core is smaller than scientists thought.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
Grand plan to drought-proof India could reduce rainfall
The major engineering scheme aims to interlink several Indian rivers to support irrigation.
- Rishika Pardikar
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Editorial |
Carl Sagan’s audacious search for life on Earth has lessons for science today
The test 30 years ago of what remote sensing could tell us about our own planet shows the value of looking with unbiased eyes at what we think we already know.
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Essay |
How would we know whether there is life on Earth? This bold experiment found out
Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to turn a passing space probe’s instruments on Earth to look for life — with results that still reverberate today.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
NASA’s Psyche mission is on its way to this huge metal asteroid
The space rock — possibly the exposed core of a planet that didn’t finish forming — could reveal details about the Solar System’s origins.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
‘Incredible’ asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life
Samples of asteroid Bennu delivered by the OSIRIS-REx mission contain carbon, water and other ingredients from the primordial Solar System.
- Alexandra Witze
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Article |
A planetary collision afterglow and transit of the resultant debris cloud
Infrared brightening and luminosity observations from a young, solar-like star suggest a collision between two exoplanets producing a hot, highly extended post-impact remnant and transit of the debris causing the visible light eclipse of the host star.
- Matthew Kenworthy
- , Simon Lock
- & Michael Rizzo Smith
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Article
| Open AccessRock organic carbon oxidation CO2 release offsets silicate weathering sink
Silicate weathering of uplifted rock depletes atmospheric CO2, but oxidation of revealed rock organic carbon supplies CO2, offsetting depletion to a degree dependent on regional geological history.
- Jesse R. Zondervan
- , Robert G. Hilton
- & Mateja Ogrič
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News |
AI predicts how many earthquake aftershocks will strike — and their strength
Models trained on large data sets of seismic events can estimate the number of aftershocks better than conventional models do.
- Alexandra Witze
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Nature Podcast |
This isn’t the Nature Podcast — how deepfakes are distorting reality
The rise of AI-generated fakes, evidence of the earliest-known wooden structure, and how NASA’s OSIRIS-REx brought asteroid samples back to Earth.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Benjamin Thompson
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News |
Flying Mars rocks to Earth could cost an astronomical $11 billion
NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected valuable samples, but a new report says the plan to fetch them is unworkable.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth
Samples collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission excite scientists with their potential to reveal secrets of the Solar System.
- Alexandra Witze
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News |
How worlds are born: JWST reveals exotic chemistry of planetary nurseries
The telescope is delivering a cascade of insights about the ‘protoplanetary’ disks where planets take shape.
- Alexandra Witze
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World View |
Bringing space rocks back to Earth could answer some of life’s biggest questions
Safe delivery of samples from an asteroid on 24 September will be the start of a global scientific journey — but similar missions need support.
- Meenakshi Wadhwa
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News Explainer |
India’s Moon mission: four things Chandrayaan-3 has taught scientists
In just two weeks, the Indian mission has made some surprising discoveries about the composition of the Moon
- T.V. Padma
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Where I Work |
I ski for miles in the wilderness to measure dust atop snow
Snow hydrologist McKenzie Skiles takes to her skis in rural parts of the United States each spring to track dust’s impact on water resources.
- Virginia Gewin
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News Explainer |
India’s first Sun mission will investigate the origins of space weather
Aditya-L1 will join other spacecraft from Europe and the United States in an attempt to understand our stormy star.
- T.V. Padma
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Research Briefing |
Monitoring an active war zone in Ukraine using seismic data
Seismic data have been used to continuously identify individual military explosions in Ukraine. Such conflict monitoring provides unprecedented details of these attacks and an objective data source that is essential for accurate war reporting and for identifying potential breaches of international law.
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Nature Podcast |
Physicists finally observe strange isotope Oxygen 28 – raising fundamental questions
The long-sought finding challenges scientists' understanding of the strong nuclear force, and the AI that can beat human champions at drone racing.
- Dan Fox
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Research Briefing |
A global picture of methane emissions from rivers and streams
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. A global data analysis measuring the large quantities of methane released by rivers and streams shows that emissions depend on their connections to the surrounding landscape.
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Article |
Future emergence of new ecosystems caused by glacial retreat
By 2100, the decline of all glaciers outside the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets will produce new terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems, posing both challenges and opportunities for conservation.
- J. B. Bosson
- , M. Huss
- & F. Arthaud
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Article |
A cool runaway greenhouse without surface magma ocean
It is reported using a consistent climate model that pure steam atmospheres are commonly shaped by radiative layers, making their thermal structure strongly dependent on the stellar spectrum and internal heat flow.
- Franck Selsis
- , Jérémy Leconte
- & Émeline Bolmont
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Nature Index |
How China is capturing attention with landmark research
From ancient sea species to clues on comets, papers by the country’s talented scientists are regularly making headlines.
- Gemma Conroy
- , Pratik Pawar
- & Sian Powell
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News & Views |
Past climate unravels the eastern African paradox
Analyses of sediment from a lake in eastern Africa reveal the relationship between temperature and moisture over the past 75,000 years, and hint at why climate-model projections in the Horn of Africa are at odds with modern trends.
- Rachel L. Lupien
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Article |
Sustained wet–dry cycling on early Mars
Observations by the Curiosity rover at Gale Crater on Mars indicate that high-frequency wet–dry cycling occurred on the early Martian surface, indicating a possible seasonal climate conducive to prebiotic evolution on early Mars.
- W. Rapin
- , G. Dromart
- & N. L. Lanza
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News |
How Beijing’s deadly floods could be avoided
The floods that have swept China in the past week were exacerbated by poor planning for drainage.
- Gemma Conroy
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Research Briefing |
Sources of seismic activity imaged using telecom fibre cables
A telecommunications fibre cable was used to capture signals of seismic activity during a moderate-sized earthquake in California in 2021. The signals revealed sources of high-frequency seismic activity and, together with simulations, suggest that these sources arise from breaks in asperities: patches where friction usually locks two sides of a fault together.
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Article
| Open AccessEarth’s evolving geodynamic regime recorded by titanium isotopes
Titanium isotope measurements for chondrites, ancient terrestrial mantle-derived lavas and modern ocean island basalts imply the preservation of a primordial lower-mantle reservoir for most of Earth’s geologic history.
- Zhengbin Deng
- , Martin Schiller
- & Martin Bizzarro
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Technology Feature |
A pink rover tackles the red planet — and barriers for women in science
An Australian team designed the eye-catching robot to spark conversations about diversity in engineering and robotics.
- Amanda Heidt
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Research Highlight |
How much snow is on Mount Everest? Scientists climbed it to find out
Researchers who summited the world’s tallest peak found much more snow there than expected.
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News |
India’s Moon lander successfully launches — but biggest challenge lies ahead
With Chandrayaan-3, India will attempt to join the exclusive club of countries that have explored the lunar surface.
- T. V. Padma
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Research Briefing |
An in situ search for organic molecules in Mars’s Jezero Crater
Samples from the surface of Jezero Crater on Mars have been analysed by the SHERLOC instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover. Signatures from these samples are consistent with the presence of organic molecules and, together with earlier measurements, could constitute the first in situ detection of organic molecules on another planet.
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Article
| Open AccessDiverse organic-mineral associations in Jezero crater, Mars
Raman and fluorescence spectra, consistent with several species of aromatic organic molecules, are reported in the Crater Floor sequences of Jezero crater, Mars, suggesting multiple mechanisms of organic synthesis, transport, or preservation.
- Sunanda Sharma
- , Ryan D. Roppel
- & Anastasia Yanchilina
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News |
India shoots for the Moon with Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander
The Moon’s south pole is in India’s sights as the nation prepares to launch a robotic lander and explorer.
- T.V. Padma
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Article |
Remote detection of a lunar granitic batholith at Compton–Belkovich
Measurements from the Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 microwave instruments reveal an anomalously hot geothermal source on the Moon that is best explained by a roughly 50-kilometre-diameter granitic system below the geological feature known as Compton–Belkovich.
- Matthew A. Siegler
- , Jianqing Feng
- & Mackenzie N. White
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Article
| Open AccessMartian dunes indicative of wind regime shift in line with end of ice age
Evidence for a stratigraphic sequence involving initial barchan dune formation, with the transition in wind regime consistent with the end of the ice age is found, compatible with the Martian polar stratigraphic record.
- Jianjun Liu
- , Xiaoguang Qin
- & Chunlai Li
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Article |
A close-in giant planet escapes engulfment by its star
The giant planet 8 Ursae Minoris b seems to have avoided engulfment by its giant host star through a stellar merger that either affected the evolution of the host star or produced 8 Ursae Minoris b as a second-generation planet.
- Marc Hon
- , Daniel Huber
- & Lauren M. Weiss
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