Shells were coated with resin to make these imitation amber beads, which were found in a tomb in what is now Portugal. Credit: C. P. Odriozola et al./J. Archaeol. Sci.
Research Highlights
Selections from the scientific literature by Nature's news team
T cells (small, rounded objects; artificially coloured) attack a cancer cell. Killer T cells break the inner structure of target cells. Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/SPL
A Florida carpenter ant cares for the stump of a nest-mate’s missing leg. Credit: Bart Zijlstra, UNIL
Animal behaviour
Ants amputate their nest-mates’ legs to save lives
Only one-fourth of Amazon deforestation, which is driven mainly by demand for cattle grazing, stems from international demand. Credit: Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty
Sustainability
The surprising driver of Amazon deforestation
A cell-laden gel was used to make the ‘skin’ of a grinning robotic face and the ‘ligaments’ that anchor the skin. Credit: M. Kawai et al./Cell Rep. Phys. Sci.
Biomaterials
Smile! Living skin helps robot make a happy face
Three comb jellies are attached to the stalk of a deep-sea sponge on the sea floor at a depth of nearly 4,000 metres. Researchers have identified fats that help comb jellies to thrive at these depths. Credit: MBARI 2021
The protein TERT helps to shield the telomeres (white, artist’s impression) on the end of chromosomes (blue). Credit: Artur Plawgo/SPL
Children born into low-income households received more toys and books if their families were given monthly income supplements. Credit: Getty
The growth of the malaria parasite (artificially coloured) in red blood cells falters in the presence of certain self-directed antibodies. Credit: Dr. Gopal Murti/Science Photo Library
Supermassive black holes (artist’s impression of one such object) in the early Universe might have formed from the collision of small galaxies. Credit: Mark Garlick/SPL
Astronomy and astrophysics
How huge black holes sprouted just after the Big Bang
Changes in the Nile River during the time of the pharaohs are likely to have affected the lives of ancient Egyptians. Credit: Getty
Heat that radiates from pavements and buildings is not absorbed by a three-layer textile that can be crafted into cooling garments. Credit: Jesus Merida/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty
Materials science
‘Smart’ fabric protects against heat of city streets
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile recorded the signal of a mysterious object that astronomers cannot identify. Credit: John Moore/Getty
Astronomy and astrophysics
An object in space is emitting microwaves — and baffling scientists
Prisoners pay tribute to Assyrian king Ashurbanipal and his queen in this relief. Taxes levied during the later centuries of the Assyrian empire deepened inequality. Credit: DEA/G. Nimatallah/De Agostini/Getty
Green grains on a rice plant. CRISPR has been used to make rice more water-efficient to grow. Credit: RIPE Project
CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing
CRISPR improves a crop that feeds billions
Ozone high in Earth’s atmosphere is recovering from destruction as certain industrial chemicals that destroy it are phased out. Credit: Detlev van Ravenswaay/SPL
Environmental sciences
A win for global action: harm from some ozone-eroding gases starts to fall
A painted lady butterfly. Abundant vegetation in 2018 and 2019 kicked off an outbreak of these butterflies across three continents. Credit: Loic Poidevin/Nature Picture Library
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (green and orange; artificially coloured) were among those killed by one of the peptides identified by a machine-learning approach. Credit: Science Source/Science Photo Library
A gigantic mythical snake looms over the Orinoco River (artist’s illustration). Rocks along the river are engraved with snake images that stretch up to 42 metres. Credit: Dr. Philip Riris
The icy body Arrokoth (artificially coloured) might be sugar coated, according to laboratory experiments on the types of ice found on its surface. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Roman Tkachenko
Planetary science
