Archives: Nature News

NASA’s Perseverance rover begins key search for life on Mars
Rolling up an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater, the rover starts crucial rock sampling.

Guardians of the brain: how a special immune system protects our grey matter
The nervous and immune systems are tightly intertwined. Deciphering their chatter might help address many brain disorders and diseases.

‘Mind blowing’ ancient settlements uncovered in the Amazon
The urban centres are the first to be discovered in the region, challenging archaeological dogma.

Monkeypox goes global: why scientists are on alert
Scientists are trying to understand why the virus, a less lethal relative of smallpox, has cropped up in so many populations around the world.

Ancient DNA maps ‘dawn of farming’
Huge collection of genomes charts how hunter-gatherers turned into some of the world’s first farmers in Turkey.

The $93-billion plan to put astronauts back on the Moon
The world’s most powerful rocket will make a trip around the Moon in 2022 — a step towards landing people there in 2025, and part of the US Artemis programme.

A common sunscreen ingredient turns toxic in the sea — anemones suggest why
Oxybenzone — a chemical linked to coral bleaching — transforms from a UV-blocking agent into one that damages cells when exposed to light.

A ‘galaxy’ is unmasked as a pulsar — the brightest outside the Milky Way
Using a technique to block certain wavelengths of light, researchers hope to discover many more hidden pulsars.

Base edit your way to better crops
Plant scientists are turning to genome-editing techniques to precisely tailor the productivity and consumer appeal of important crops.

The brain-reading devices helping paralysed people to move, talk and touch
Implants are becoming more sophisticated — and are attracting commercial interest.