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An X-ray diffraction image of part of a molecule of DNA. The new, 8-letter version, is similarly stable. Credit: Science Source/Science Photo Library
Four new DNA letters double life’s alphabet
Researchers have created a synthetic, eight-letter genetic language that seems to store and transcribe information just like natural DNA. The study implies that there is nothing particularly special about the four chemicals that make up the DNA of all life on Earth — guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine, commonly referred to as G, C, A and T. The expanded genetic alphabet formed a stable double helix and maybe, in theory, could also support life.
Hayabusa2 touches down on asteroid Ryugu
Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft has made a brief but historic tap on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu in a bid to collect a sample from its surface. The probe fired a projectile into the rock to dislodge some bits that it will return to Earth in 2020 — assuming the plan worked, which is still to be confirmed. It was even trickier than anticipated because researchers found big boulders strewn almost uniformly across the asteroid.
Top Moldovan mathematician runs for office
Several researchers are running for seats in Moldova’s parliament on Sunday, including top mathematician Serghei Cataranciuc. He hopes to depoliticize science, improve education and address high levels of brain drain in the small, former Soviet nation. “A scientist’s job is to do science,” says Cataranciuc. “But when things go terribly wrong in politics, it’s worth trying to change them for the better.”
Why grapes really spark in the microwave
Two nearly severed halves of a grape popped into a microwave create a brilliant light show because they focus the radiation into a hotspot, ionizing atoms in the skin into plasma. The finding debunks a popular theory that the parlour trick and YouTube fad relies on the conductivity of the grape’s skin.
Nature Research Highlights | 1 min read
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How to count a trillion viruses
Earth probably harbours trillions of viruses — but we’ve only formally described 4,958 of them. To potentially harness the power of viruses for good, we need to get to work on classifying the rest, argues virologist Jens Kuhn. “It’s daunting of course. It sounds crazy at the moment,” but we have the technology, he says in this week’s Nature podcast. Also in this episode, we hear that researchers are making atlases of every cell in mouse embryos.
Nature Podcast | 25 min listen
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BOOKS & ARTS
Left to right: Sarah Champion, Stephen Gadd, Jeni Bern and Mark Le Brocq in Anthropocene.Credit: James Glossop
Arias for the Anthropocene
In a new opera inspired by environmental catastrophe, the Anthropocene is not just the geological epoch that bears our grubby fingerprints; it is also the name of an Arctic research ship that becomes trapped in ice and uncovers a mystery. Reviewer Patrick Goymer, chief editor of Nature Ecology & Evolution, lauds the music but questions the depth of enquiry offered by the tale.
Darwinian solutions to society’s problems
In his new book, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson advocates passionately for multilevel selection: the idea that natural selection can work on group-level, as well as individual-level, traits. Wilson argues that human groups as superorganisms, with multilevel selection as the invisible hand causing local actions to benefit the common good. Evolutionary anthropologist Monique Borgerhoff Mulder explores “an utterly fascinating and beautifully written book” that envisions solutions to twenty-first-century challenges.
The group that shaped Cambridge science
The list of ground-breaking discoveries revealed at meetings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society runs from J. J. Thomson’s electron experiments to Charles Darwin’s letters from the HMS Beagle. In a new book, historian Susannah Gibson argues that the group should get much of the credit for making the University of Cambridge into the powerhouse of science it is today.
Five best science books this week
Barbara Kiser’s pick of the top five science books to read this week includes the adventures of a bathynaut, art goes algorithmic, and CRISPR encapsulated.
SCIENTIFIC LIFE
The ten commandments for learning to code
Programming is an exercise in learning how to learn, says bioinformatics researcher Atma Ivancevic. She advises aspiring coders to start small, practise often and not be afraid to make mistakes — and shares some excellent resources to get you started today.
Astronomy society pushes for diversity
An American Astronomical Society (AAS) task force has offered a suite of recommendations that it hopes will boost participation by under-represented groups in astronomy PhD programmes. “The argument for diversity is not controversial any more,” says AAS board member Marcel Agüeros. “We have to figure out how to make it happen.”
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
This ghostly squid was captured on camera by Jeff Milisen during a night dive in Hawaii, winning him first prize in the macro category of the Underwater Photography Guide’s ocean art competition 2018. Milisen spotted the 8-centimetre-long sharpear enope squid (Ancistrocheirus lesueurii) just under the surface of the water, following it as it dived 27 metres down through the dark ocean.(Jeff Milisen)
