Estimating the size and infection severity of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic is made challenging by inconsistencies in available data. The number of COVID-19 deaths is often used as a key indicator for the epidemic size, but observed deaths represent only a minority of all infections1,2. Additionally, the heterogeneous burden in nursing homes and variable reporting of deaths in elderly individuals can hamper

The directive could make it easier to fire some agency researchers and hire others for political reasons.

Intellectual-property laws imagine creatorship as white, a book argues. By Shobita Parthasarathy

In the eighteenth century, Daniel Bernoulli, Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham proposed that economic choices rely on the computation and comparison of subjective values1. This hypothesis continues to inform modern economic theory2 and research in behavioural economics3, but behavioural measures are ultimately not sufficient to verify the proposal4. Consistent with the hypothesis, when agents make choices

Fossil analysis suggests that the earliest winged reptiles were ungainly aviators. Plus: ancient dog DNA reveals 11,000 years of canine evolution, and how the US election will shape the future of science.

Nature talks to Peter Shor 25 years after he showed how to make quantum computations feasible — and how they could endanger our data.

The identification of artemisinin (ART) in 1971 allowed treatment of malaria resistant to chloroquine, the prevailing drug at the time, and provided hope for a malaria-free world (1). Today, malaria control efforts have been very successful, with 32% fewer deaths over the past 8 years (2). However, the emergence of resistance to ART and other antimalarials threatens to become a major problem in the

Enrico Fermi described Ettore Majorana as having the mind of a genius. The Majorana fermion, born as a testimony to the truthfulness of mathematical aesthetics, has recently returned to the center stage of modern physics. These are particles that are also their own antiparticles. For decades, Majorana's theory was considered a mathematical curiosity that has little to do with reality. However, they

Variation, according to evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, is “nature's only irreducible essence” (1). The variation and diversity of shapes in nature is a central focus of both evolutionary and developmental biologists. Unified under the unlikely roof of “evolutionary developmental biology,” the ultimate goal of these scientists is to understand how variation arises both through natural selection

The chromophores of fluorescent proteins (FPs) form through self-catalyzed posttranslational modifications (1). In the original green FP (GFP) isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, Ser65, Tyr66, and Gly67 residues form the 4-(p-hydroxybenzylidene)-5-imidazolinone (HBI) chromophore that contains a phenolate ring (P-ring), an imidazoline ring (I-ring), and a monomethine bridge (1). The protein

One of the first discoveries of gene expression mediated by controlling messenger RNA (mRNA) stability is autoregulation of tubulin synthesis. In this regulatory process, the concentration of tubulin subunits modulates the stability of the mRNAs from which they are translated (1, 2). In the 1980s it was found that only translated tubulin mRNAs are autoregulated (3) and that translation had to continue

Climate change mitigation will create new natural resource and supply chain opportunities and dilemmas, because substantial amounts of raw materials will be required to build new low-carbon energy devices and infrastructure (1). However, despite attempts at improved governance and better corporate management, procurement of many mineral and metal resources occurs in areas generally acknowledged for

Natural and synthetic nanoparticles composed of fivefold twinned crystal domains have distinct properties. The formation mechanism of these fivefold twinned nanoparticles is poorly understood. We used in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with molecular dynamics simulations to demonstrate that fivefold twinning occurs through repeated oriented attachment of ~3-nanometer

High-throughput chemical screens typically use coarse assays such as cell survival, limiting what can be learned about mechanisms of action, off-target effects, and heterogeneous responses. Here, we introduce “sci-Plex,” which uses “nuclear hashing” to quantify global transcriptional responses to thousands of independent perturbations at single-cell resolution. As a proof of concept, we applied sci-Plex

Artemisinin and its derivatives (ARTs) are the frontline drugs against malaria, but resistance is jeopardizing their effectiveness. ART resistance is mediated by mutations in the parasite’s Kelch13 protein, but Kelch13 function and its role in resistance remain unclear. In this study, we identified proteins located at a Kelch13-defined compartment. Inactivation of eight of these proteins, including

The concept of synthetic dimensions has generated interest in many branches of science, ranging from ultracold atomic physics to photonics, as it provides a versatile platform for realizing effective gauge potentials and topological physics. Previous experiments have augmented the real-space dimensionality by one additional physical synthetic dimension. In this study, we endow a single ring resonator

A quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator coupled to an s-wave superconductor is predicted to harbor chiral Majorana modes. A recent experiment interprets the half-quantized two-terminal conductance plateau as evidence for these modes in a millimeter-size QAH-niobium hybrid device. However, non-Majorana mechanisms can also generate similar signatures, especially in disordered samples. Here, we studied

Single-atom manipulation within doped correlated electron systems could help disentangle the influence of dopants, structural defects, and crystallographic characteristics on local electronic states. Unfortunately, the high diffusion barrier in these materials prevents conventional manipulation techniques. Here, we demonstrate the possibility to reversibly manipulate select sites in the optimally doped

Knots play a fundamental role in the dynamics of biological and physical systems, from DNA to turbulent plasmas, as well as in climbing, weaving, sailing, and surgery. Despite having been studied for centuries, the subtle interplay between topology and mechanics in elastic knots remains poorly understood. Here, we combined optomechanical experiments with theory and simulations to analyze knotted fibers

Rotation around a specific bond after photoexcitation is central to vision and emerging opportunities in optogenetics, super-resolution microscopy, and photoactive molecular devices. Competing roles for steric and electrostatic effects that govern bond-specific photoisomerization have been widely discussed, the latter originating from chromophore charge transfer upon excitation. We systematically altered

Particle accelerators represent an indispensable tool in science and industry. However, the size and cost of conventional radio-frequency accelerators limit the utility and reach of this technology. Dielectric laser accelerators (DLAs) provide a compact and cost-effective solution to this problem by driving accelerator nanostructures with visible or near-infrared pulsed lasers, resulting in a 104 reduction

The active electrical properties of dendrites shape neuronal input and output and are fundamental to brain function. However, our knowledge of active dendrites has been almost entirely acquired from studies of rodents. In this work, we investigated the dendrites of layer 2 and 3 (L2/3) pyramidal neurons of the human cerebral cortex ex vivo. In these neurons, we discovered a class of calcium-mediated

Plant carbohydrates were undoubtedly consumed in antiquity, yet starchy geophytes were seldom preserved archaeologically. We report evidence for geophyte exploitation by early humans from at least 170,000 years ago. Charred rhizomes from Border Cave, South Africa, were identified to the genus Hypoxis L. by comparing the morphology and anatomy of ancient and modern rhizomes. Hypoxis angustifolia Lam

Leaves vary from planar sheets and needle-like structures to elaborate cup-shaped traps. Here, we show that in the carnivorous plant Utricularia gibba, the upper leaf (adaxial) domain is restricted to a small region of the primordium that gives rise to the trap’s inner layer. This restriction is necessary for trap formation, because ectopic adaxial activity at early stages gives radialized leaves and

Changes in both the coding sequence of transcriptional regulators and in the cis-regulatory sequences recognized by these regulators have been implicated in the evolution of transcriptional circuits. However, little is known about how they evolved in concert. We describe an evolutionary pathway in fungi where a new transcriptional circuit (a-specific gene repression by the homeodomain protein Matα2)

Tubulins play crucial roles in cell division, intracellular traffic, and cell shape. Tubulin concentration is autoregulated by feedback control of messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation via an unknown mechanism. We identified tetratricopeptide protein 5 (TTC5) as a tubulin-specific ribosome-associating factor that triggers cotranslational degradation of tubulin mRNAs in response to excess soluble tubulin

The possible realization of Majorana fermions as quasiparticle excitations in condensed-matter physics has created much excitement. Most studies have focused on Majorana bound states; however, propagating Majorana states with linear dispersion have also been predicted. Here, we report scanning tunneling spectroscopic measurements of crystalline domain walls (DWs) in FeSe0.45Te0.55. We located DWs across

In 1904, Richard Semon introduced the term “engram” to describe the neural substrate for storing memories. An experience, Semon proposed, activates a subset of cells that undergo off-line, persistent chemical and/or physical changes to become an engram. Subsequent reactivation of this engram induces memory retrieval. Although Semon’s contributions were largely ignored in his lifetime, new technologies

Molecular shape defines function in both biological and material settings and, as such, chemists have developed an ever-increasing descriptive vernacular to describe these shapes. Non-canonical atropisomers—i.e., shape-defined molecules that are formally topologically trivial, but only interconvertible by complex, non-physical multibond torsions—form a unique subset of atropisomers that differ from

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells have shown efficacy in patients with B cell malignancies. Yet their application for solid tumors has challenges that include limited cancer-specific targets and non-persistence of adoptively transferred CAR-T cells. Here we introduce the developmentally regulated tight junction protein claudin 6 (CLDN6) as a CAR target in solid tumors, and a strategy to overcome

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com

Discover the world’s best science and medicine | Nature.com