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The grassroots organizations continuing the fight for Ukrainian science
University buildings in Kharkiv and elsewhere have been damaged during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Credit: SOPA/Alamy In the weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian policy researcher Yulia Bezvershenko, then at Stanford University in California, took part in a round table to discuss how to preserve science in her native country as the…
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Ancient DNA debunks Rapa Nui ‘ecological suicide’ theory
Download the Nature Podcast 11 September 2024 In this episode: 00:45 What ancient DNA has revealed about Rapa Nui’s past Ancient DNA analysis has further demonstrated that the people of Rapa Nui did not cause their own population collapse, further refuting a controversial but popular claim. Rapa Nui, also known as Easter island, is famous…
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Daily briefing: Meet the recipient of the first whole-eye transplant
Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here. Aaron James now has one blue eye and one brown — the former his own, the latter from an unprecedented whole-eye transplant.Credit: Haley Ricciardi/NYU Langone Health First whole-eye transplant successful Aaron James, an electrical lineman who…
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NASA okays mission to search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa
Technicians prepare to install Europa Clipper’s 3-metre-wide antenna on the spacecraft on 17 June at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett After decades of dreaming of Jupiter’s moon Europa — and the vast ocean that probably lies beneath its icy surface — scientists are now weeks away from sending a spacecraft…
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Back to the future: two books that tried to predict how science would evolve
We are seeking outstanding scientists to lead vigorous independent research programs focusing on all aspects of chemical biology including… Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China School of Life Sciences, Westlake University
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The human costs of the research-assessment culture
The term ‘REF-able’ is now in common usage in UK universities. “Everyone’s constantly thinking of research in terms of ‘REF-able’ outputs, in terms of ‘REF-able’ impact,” says Richard Watermeyer, a sociologist at the University of Bristol, UK. He is referring to the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF), which is meant to happen every seven years…
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New virus-genome website seeks to make sharing sequences easy and fair
Genome sequences of West Nile virus (pictured) are being uploaded and shared on a new online database. Credit: Dr Linda Stannard, UCT/Science Photo Library A new database for researchers to share the genomes of dangerous viruses promises to solve many of the problems that hamper existing alternatives. But first, researchers must be convinced to use…
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Quasicrystal metasurface for optical holography and diffraction
Abstract Quasicrystal metasurfaces, a kind of two-dimensional artificial optical materials with subwavelength meta-atoms arranged in quasi-periodic tiling schemes, have attracted extensive attentions due to their novel optical properties. In a recent work, a dual-functional quasicrystal metasurface, which can be used to simultaneously generate the diffraction pattern and holographic image, is experimentally demonstrated. The proposed method…
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Security at Science and Natural History museums to ballot for strike action
Security guards at two of the UK’s most prestigious museums – the Science and Natural History museums – are balloting for strike action in a dispute over wages. More than 70 guards who, unlike many other museum staff, are not employed in-house but are outsourced to a company called Wilson James, are taking part in…
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In brief: Odyssey; Good Nature; Listen for the Lie
Odyssey Stephen FryMichael Joseph, £25, pp432 The final instalment of Fry’s outstandingly entertaining quartet of books revisiting the Greek myths is every bit as enjoyable as its predecessors. Following Odysseus, Agamemnon, Ajax, Menelaus and Aeneas on their journeys home from Troy, Fry breathes contemporary relevance into these ancient tales. As with his previous titles, he…