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Stunning trial shows twice-yearly shots can prevent HIV infection
Injections of the drug lenacapavir protected sexually active women and girls in Africa from the virus.
Black holes made from light? Impossible, say physicists
Long-theorized ‘ball lightning’ black holes formed from light would require much too much energy.
How neurons make a memory
Loosely packaged DNA might make these nerve cells better able to encode memories.
The future of Mars Colony Two
Mission improbable.
US postdoc support from NIH could be capped at five years — sparking criticism
A working group’s recommendation, meant to help to advance the careers of postdoctoral researchers, could discourage people from staying in academia, some researchers say.
The world’s most expensive dinosaur and more — July’s best science images
The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature ’s photo team.
- Helena Kudiabor
The pathogens that could spark the next pandemic
The World Health Organization has updated its list of most dangerous viruses and bacteria.
- Smriti Mallapaty
Maxine Singer obituary: biologist who shaped genetic engineering and fought discrimination
Biochemist who helped to draw up guidelines for recombinant-DNA technology and championed women in science.
- Georgina Ferry
Chromosome components central to cell division evolve rapidly
Regions of chromosomal DNA called centromeres are crucial to dividing cells. Centromere sequences from a human genome have been fully characterized and compared with those from other humans and non-human primates, revealing dynamic and rapid patterns of mutational change that will improve understanding of centromere evolution and function.
How a space physicist is shaking up China’s research funding
As president of the country’s natural science foundation, Dou Xiankang has prioritized support for young scientists and plans to boost investment in basic science.
- Gemma Conroy
Author Correction: Human SARS-CoV-2 challenge uncovers local and systemic response dynamics
- Rik G. H. Lindeboom
- Kaylee B. Worlock
- Sarah A. Teichmann
Is that a durian? No, it’s a weird ancient mollusc
A 510-million-year-old creature that looked like the famously smelly fruit suggests that the earliest molluscs were covered in hollow spines.
- Ewen Callaway
These AI firms publish the world’s most highly cited work
US and Chinese firms dominate the list of companies that are producing the most research and patents in artificial intelligence.
- Elizabeth Gibney
I’m a Palestinian scientist building a more inclusive future
Molecular biologist Rana Dajani works to support the careers and education of women and minority groups in the Arab world and beyond.
- Christina Szalinski
‘Publish or Perish’ is now a card game — not just an academic’s life
A player wins by racking up more citations than the competition, even if that means engaging in a little light plagiarism.
Fish can tell the direction of sounds — here’s how
New research finally unravels the mystery of how fish can hear directionally.
- Emily Bates
The catalytic asymmetric polyene cyclization of homofarnesol to ambrox
The catalytic asymmetric polyene cyclization of homofarnesol to ambrox is achieved using a highly Brønsted-acidic and confined imidodiphosphorimidate catalyst.
- Mathias Turberg
- Benjamin List
Transport and inhibition mechanisms of the human noradrenaline transporter
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the noradrenaline transporter (NET) reveal binding modes of adrenaline, coordination of sodium and chloride ion binding and the binding sites and mechanisms of inhibition by conotoxin, bupropion and ziprasidone.
Dopamine biases decisions by limiting temporal integration
In Drosophila , dopamine sets motivational state during mating by regulating the integration of competing drives in copulation decision neurons, potentially indicative of a more general role for control over neuronal integration time in the regulation of behavioural decisions.
- Aditya K. Gautham
- Lauren E. Miner
- Michael A. Crickmore
Histone serotonylation regulates ependymoma tumorigenesis
Serotonin has a role in ependymoma tumorigenesis through modifying histones and thereby regulating key transcription factors and activating specific oncogenic transcriptional networks in brain cells.
- Hsiao-Chi Chen
- Benjamin Deneen
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A Blood Test Accurately Diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the Time, Study Finds
It was much more accurate than primary care doctors using cognitive tests and CT scans. The findings could speed the quest for an affordable and accessible way to diagnose patients with memory problems.
By Pam Belluck
Scientists have made another major stride toward the long-sought goal of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease with a simple blood test . On Sunday, a team of researchers reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling the condition.
The study , published Sunday in the journal JAMA, found that about 90 percent of the time the blood test correctly identified whether patients with memory problems had Alzheimer’s. Dementia specialists using standard methods that did not include expensive PET scans or invasive spinal taps were accurate 73 percent of the time, while primary care doctors using those methods got it right only 61 percent of the time.
“Not too long ago measuring pathology in the brain of a living human was considered just impossible,” said Dr. Jason Karlawish, a co-director of the Penn Memory Center at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the research. “This study adds to the revolution that has occurred in our ability to measure what’s going on in the brain of living humans.”
The results, presented Sunday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia, are the latest milestone in the search for affordable and accessible ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s, a disease that afflicts nearly seven million Americans and over 32 million people worldwide. Medical experts say the findings bring the field closer to a day when people might receive routine blood tests for cognitive impairment as part of primary care checkups, similar to the way they receive cholesterol tests.
“Now, we screen people with mammograms and PSA or prostate exams and other things to look for very early signs of cancer,” said Dr. Adam Boxer, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study. “And I think we’re going to be doing the same thing for Alzheimer’s disease and hopefully other forms of neurodegeneration.”
In recent years, several blood tests have been developed for Alzheimer’s. They are currently used mostly to screen participants in clinical trials and by some specialists like Dr. Boxer to help pinpoint if a patient’s dementia is caused by Alzheimer’s or another condition.
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New blood tests that help detect Alzheimer's disease are opening up a new era in diagnosis and treatment, doctors say. Marcus Brandt/picture alliance/Getty Images hide caption
Shots - Health News
New blood tests can help diagnose alzheimer's. are doctors ready for what's next.
August 2, 2024 • A new generation of blood tests can help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But many doctors don’t yet know how to use them.
Alzheimer's blood tests
Some researchers say the African coral tree has a racial slur embedded in its name. This month, scientists at an international meeting voted to have that epithet removed. tree-species/Flickr hide caption
Some plant names can be racist. Scientists are looking to rename them
July 31, 2024 • An international group of researchers has voted to modify the scientific names of more than 200 plant species whose names carry a derogatory word.
Researchers are revising botanical names to address troubling connotations
A key protein called Reelin may help stave off Alzheimer's disease, according to a growing body of research. GSO Images/The Image Bank/Getty Images hide caption
A protein called Reelin keeps popping up in brains that resist aging and Alzheimer’s
July 29, 2024 • Early in life, the protein Reelin helps assemble the brain. Later on, it appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer’s and other threats to memory and thinking.
Alzheimer's resilience
There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial. Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images hide caption
We hate to tell you this, but there are leeches that can jump
July 29, 2024 • Generally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit that leeches are already the stuff of nightmares. They lurk in water. They drink blood. There are over 800 different species of them. And now, as scientists have confirmed ... at least some of them can jump!
Two chimpanzees groom each other — a behavior that can involve several gestures. Anup Shah/Getty Images hide caption
What chimpanzee gestures reveal about human communication
July 26, 2024 • Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles ours? According to a new study published earlier this week in the journal Current Biology , chimpanzees gesture back-and-forth in a similar way to how humans take turns speaking. The research presents an intriguing possibility that this style of communication may have evolved before humans split off from great apes, and tells researchers more about how turn-taking evolved.
Project RattleCam lets people observe rattlesnakes with a live webcam. Scott Boback hide caption
Watch a livestream of Colorado’s ‘mega den’ of pregnant rattlesnakes
July 24, 2024 • On a rocky hillside in Colorado is a “mega den” of hundreds of rattlesnakes — along with cameras livestreaming the whole thing.
Pregnant Rattlesnakes Webcam
Glyptodonts were giant, armadillo-like shelled mammals that went extinct about 10,000 years ago. A study reveals that cut marks on a glyptodont fossil in South America could have been made by humans a little over 20,000 years ago. Daniel Eskridge/Stocktrek Images/Science Source hide caption
When did humans get to South America? This giant shelled mammal fossil may hold clues
July 23, 2024 • A fossil of an armadillo-like mammal appears to bear cut marks from butchering by humans, suggesting people were living in South America at least 20,000 years ago, even earlier than once thought.
Ancient Armadillos
Once completed, India's National River Linking Project will transfer an estimated 200 billion cubic meters of water around the country each year. STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images hide caption
India's plan to reroute rivers could have unintended consequences on rainfall
July 19, 2024 • More than a hundred years ago, a British engineer proposed linking two rivers in India to better irrigate the area and cheaply move goods. The link never happened, but the idea survived. Today, due to extreme flooding in some parts of the country mirrored by debilitating drought in others, India's National Water Development Agency plans to dig thirty links between rivers across the country. It's the largest project of its kind and will take decades to complete. But scientists are worried what moving that much water could do to the land, the people — and even the weather. Host Emily Kwong talks to journalist Sushmita Pathak about her recent story on the project.
In 2022, a large, unexpected rogue wave struck the Viking Polaris, breaking windows. One passenger died and others were injured. Alexis Delisi/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Rogue waves can strike without warning. These scientists found a way to predict them
July 18, 2024 • Scientists have created a new tool that can give 5 minutes advance warning of a dangerous rogue wave in the ocean.
A study finds that psilocybin can desynchronize networks in the brain, potentially enhancing its plasticity. Sara Moser/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hide caption
A scientist took a psychedelic drug — and watched his own brain 'fall apart'
July 18, 2024 • Scientists scanned the brains of people who took psilocybin, including a member of the research team. The scans showed how the drug disrupts key networks, potentially enhancing brain plasticity.
A prominent brain scientist took psilocybin as part of his own brain study
Crows can be trained to count out loud much in the way that human toddlers do, a study finds. Andreas Nieder/Universal Images Group Editorial hide caption
Crows can count out loud like human toddlers — when they aren't cheating the test
July 18, 2024 • A study finds that carrion crows can be taught to count and make vocalizations that indicate the number counted, much in the same way that human toddlers do.
Crows can count vocally like toddlers, research shows
An image released by the FDA shows bottles containing tianeptine and other compounds. Authorities have urged gas station store owners and others not to sell the products, with names like Neptune's Fix, Za Za and Tianaa, citing serious health risks. FDA hide caption
8 things to know about the drug known as 'gas station heroin'
July 14, 2024 • For decades, tianeptine was used to treat depression, even though no one knew how it worked. But it turns out it's a type of opioid, and the U.S. is facing a spike in abuse of "gas station heroin."
Researchers found that AI could increase the creativity of individual writers, but it also led to many similar stories. Moor Studio/Getty Images hide caption
Research shows AI can boost creativity for some, but at a cost
July 12, 2024 • Amateur writers using AI tools produced stories that were deemed more creative, but the research suggests the creativity of the group overall went down.
The star cluster Omega Centauri contains millions of stars. The movement of some stars suggests that an intermediate-sized black hole lies at its center. NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA hide caption
Astronomers spot a mysterious black hole nestled in a cluster of stars
July 10, 2024 • A report from Nature shows that astronomers may have found a medium-sized black hole, a kind they've long looked for.
Astronomers spot a mysterious black hole nestled in a cluster of stars.
Some ants, like the Florida carpenter ant, treat the injured legs of comrades, and will even perform medical amputations when necessary. Zen Rial/Getty Images hide caption
Like humans, these ants can perform leg amputations to save lives
July 10, 2024 • Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures its leg, it sometimes will turn to a buddy to perform a lifesaving limb amputation. Not only that — some ants have probably been amputating limbs longer than humans! Today, thanks to the reporting of ant enthusiast and science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce, we behold the medical prowess of the ant.
A generic drug that's used to treat transplant patients has been shown to extend the life span of some animals. Guido Mieth/Getty Images hide caption
Rapamycin may slow aging. Here's one way the drug will be tested
July 1, 2024 • Longevity researchers are taking a generic drug they think may help extend people's lives. Now a dentist is testing if rapamycin stops gum disease — a canary in the coal mine for age-related diseases.
Anti-aging drug Rapamycin to prevent gum disease
Paleontologist Dany Azar holds up one of his treasures that he discovered in Lebanon in a piece of amber from the early Cretaceous: The oldest mosquito ever found. Ari Daniel/For NPR hide caption
In Lebanon, the 'Amber Man' digs up golden time capsules from the age of the dinosaurs
June 28, 2024 • When dinosaurs reigned some 130 million years ago, flowering plants were taking over the world. That change is sealed in ancient amber specimens on the slopes of Lebanon that Danny Azar knows so well.
Reconstruction of a Lokiceratops rangiformis being surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps that would have existed in what is now northern Montana. Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution hide caption
Named after the Norse god Loki, meet Lokiceratops, a new horned dinosaur species
June 28, 2024 • A brand new species of ceratops, or horned dinosaur, was recently discovered in northern Montana. The dinosaur is called Lokiceratops rangiformis , after the Norse god Loki, and is believed to have lived roughly eighty million years ago. The bones of the plant-eating dinosaur were found on private land in an area well known for its large amount of fossils, and at first, researchers thought the bones belonged to another species of dinosaur!
Joro spider sits in the middle of a spider web. GummyBone/Getty Images hide caption
Why you shouldn't worry about invasive Joro spiders
June 14, 2024 • Joro spiders are spreading across the east coast. They are an invasive species that most likely arrived in shipping containers from eastern Asia. Today, we look into why some people find them scary, why to not panic about them and what their trajectory illustrates about the wider issue of invasive species.
Later this year, the FDA plans to decide whether MDMA can be used to treat PTSD Eva Almqvist/Getty Images hide caption
Misconduct claims may derail MDMA psychedelic treatment for PTSD
June 3, 2024 • People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may soon have a new treatment option: MDMA, the chemical found in ecstasy. In August, the Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD will be approved for market based on years of research. But serious allegations of research misconduct may derail the approval timeline.
Former President Donald Trump holds a press conference following the verdict in his hush-money trial at Trump Tower on May 31 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Trump repeats claims — without evidence — that his trial was rigged
May 31, 2024 • Former President Donald Trump reiterated many of claims — without evidence — that his criminal trial was rigged, a day after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Researchers have detected microplastics in human testicles. Volodymyr Zakharov/Getty Images hide caption
Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men's testicles
May 22, 2024 • The new study has scientists concerned that microplastics may be contributing to reproductive health issues.
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