news@nature
Inbred royals show traces of natural selection
Study suggests the Spanish Habsburgs evolved to mute the effects of inbreeding, but other geneticists are unconvinced.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12837
Hurricane may have triggered earthquake aftershocks
Ground disturbances from large storms may be strong enough to prompt tremors.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12839
Kepler spies water worlds
Pair of exoplanets sit in habitable zone of star far beyond the Solar System.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12825
Tracking whole colonies shows ants make career moves
Comprehensive tagging reveals workers switch tasks as they age.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12833
US ricin attacks are more scary than harmful
But researchers hope that the incidents will renew development of stalled vaccines.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12834
Cancer researchers revisit 'failed' clinical trials
US institute launches effort to probe exceptional treatment responses.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12835
Seven days: 12–18 April 2013
The week in science: IVF Nobel laureate Bob Edwards dies, Thermo Fisher Scientific buys up Life Technologies for $13.6 billion, and Romania’s national research council resigns en masse.
Nature 496 274 doi: 10.1038/496274a
Austerity-led brain drain is killing Greek science
Lack of funding and recruitment freezes are driving young researchers out of the country, warns Varvara Trachana.
Nature 496 271 doi: 10.1038/496271a
‘Living fossil’ genome unlocked
The genes of an ancient fish, the coelacanth, have much to reveal about our distant past.
Nature 496 283 doi: 10.1038/496283a
Public health: Polio's moving target
Finding and vaccinating Nigerian nomads may be one of the last obstacles to the eradication of polio.
Nature 496 290 doi: 10.1038/496290a
Forest ecology: Splinters of the Amazon
Decades after Thomas Lovejoy isolated fragments of the Brazilian rainforest in a grand experiment, researchers are building on his legacy around the world.
Nature 496 286 doi: 10.1038/496286a
We are still saving British science from Margaret Thatcher
The battle to justify research funding is as important now as it was 30 years ago, says Denis Noble.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12800
The quick facts about ricin
The deadly toxin has been found in a letter addressed to a US senator.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12819
Weaning boosts the risk of HIV transmission
Amount of virus in breast milk spikes when feeding slows down.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12820
Zebrafish genome helps in hunt for treatments
Sequencing boosts research on organism increasingly useful for modelling human diseases.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12821
HIV in breastmilk spikes at weaning
Findings bolster case for maternal drug therapy beyond feeding's end.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12832
A back seat for basic science
Translational research wins in Obama’s budget, but its economic value remains uncertain.
Nature 496 277 doi: 10.1038/496277a
Synthetic biologists and conservationists open talks
But worries persist about unintended consequences of tinkering with nature.
Nature 496 281 doi: 10.1038/496281a
Nano-suit shields bugs in the void
Coating enables electron-microscope imaging of live organisms.
Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2013.12799