Jason Arday, professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge, resigned on 5 August after facing allegations of research misconduct and what he described as relentless public attack going beyond normal academic criticism. Nine days later, following sustained media coverage of his professional and personal life, he died. Nature's editorial calls for reflection on how universities handle misconduct investigations and how the press covers such cases, particularly given the racism present in much of the coverage.
Researchers publishing in Nature on September 2 found that older female mice given a GLP-1 obesity drug lived longer than untreated mice and showed slower onset of several biological markers linked to aging. The finding builds on earlier mouse studies suggesting GLP-1 medications, typically used for obesity and type 2 diabetes, may have broader anti-aging effects beyond weight loss.
Researchers analyzed genetic data from more than a million people and identified roughly 1,200 common genetic variants associated with the Big Five personality traits: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness. Published in Nature and led in part by Michel Nivard at the University of Bristol, the work is the largest genetic analysis of personality to date, though each variant explains only a small share of trait variation.
Scientists analyzed ice cores extracted from a glacier in Peru, finding trapped air bubbles that preserve a historical record of atmospheric methane concentrations. The ice-locked data allows researchers to track methane trends across an extended timeline, offering a rare Southern Hemisphere perspective on the greenhouse gas's history.
Scientists are accelerating efforts to understand why some infections trigger lasting illnesses such as long COVID and ME/CFS. A 2024 estimate put the global number of long COVID cases at 400 million, costing roughly $1 trillion annually, spurring governments including the US and Germany to commit over $1.7 billion combined toward research into post-infection diseases.
Nature's Futures section ran a piece of short science fiction depicting a community living on the fringes of AI-controlled cities that have become dysfunctional and unpredictable, with one city literally rearranging itself and threatening two scavengers, Kyle and Emma, who rely on a hand-drawn map to survive. The story imagines a world where humans ceded urban management to AI systems that have since decayed into unstable, self-altering environments.
Researchers report that shellfish, insects and other aquatic invertebrates supply a significant share of essential nutrients like omega-3s, iron and vitamin B12 to human diets worldwide. The findings draw on global data comparing nutrient contributions from invertebrates against fish and other food sources.
Researchers testing a GLP-1 receptor agonist, the class of drug behind popular weight-loss treatments, observed that female mice given the compound showed slower markers of biological ageing compared to untreated mice. The effect was notably more pronounced in females than in males in the study.
Researchers report that as the human brain ages, its resident immune cells known as microglia are increasingly replaced by cells originating from the bloodstream. This shift in the brain's immune population appears to be a natural part of aging rather than a result of disease.
Researchers expressed and purified key proteins from the monkeypox virus using Expi293F cells, including the viral polymerase complex components. The proteins were cloned, transfected, and isolated through standard cell lysis and affinity purification methods. This work enables detailed analysis of the virus's replication machinery.
A survey of recent research consolidates evidence on how electrical double layers at charged interfaces behave when driven away from equilibrium, drawing on decades of double-layer theory alongside newer studies of cation effects in CO2 reduction and fuel-cell electrocatalysis. The compiled literature spans classic Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Grahame models through modern spectroscopic and computational probes of interfacial water and ion behavior under applied current.
Researchers analyzed post-mortem retinal and brain tissue from multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and other molecular techniques. They identified an intracellular form of complement factor H within neurons that appears to protect these cells from damage during central nervous system inflammation, a mechanism distinct from the protein's known extracellular immune role.
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