Nature Briefing

"Inflammatory bowel disease, mpox public health emergency, 'bug bounties' are coming to science."

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 19 August 2024, 2030 UTC.

Content and Source:  https://www.nature.com/nature/articles/type=nature-briefing.

Please check link or scroll down to read your selections.  Thanks for joining us today.

Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

View this email in your browser Monday 19 August 2024

Hello Nature readers, Today we explore the causes of inflammatory bowel disease, look back at the beginnings of the mpox public health emergency and learn how ‘bug bounties’ are coming to science.

Crohn’s disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, often affects the intestines (artist’s illustration). (Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library)

Hope for inflammatory bowel disease Several recent studies offer insights into the murky and complex causes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Changes in the activity of a gene called ETS2 that is important to immune activity could contribute to some cases of the disease by promoting inflammation. Some people with IBD make antibodies that disable a protein called IL-10, which has anti-inflammatory effects in the gut. An analysis of how populations of gut bacteria adapt to living in inflamed tissue could lead to ways to predict how bad a case of IBD might get, monitor its progression and identify which therapies might help. “Not every inflammatory bowel disease patient who walks in the door is the same,” says immunologist David Artis. “If we can map that difference to some extent, I think we’re going to be able to better treat those people.” Nature | 6 min read References: Nature paper, The New England Journal of Medicine paper & Cell Host & Microbe paper

91 million bases The size of the genome of South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa) — twice as many as the previous animal record holder (a different lungfish) and 30 times as many as human DNA. (Science | 4 min read)

Mpox outbreak

Antiviral disappoints against monkeypox The drug tecovirimat did not accelerate healing for people in a clinical trial that looked at a concerning strain of the monkeypox virus. The strain, called clade I, has been spreading across Africa and prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern on 14 August — its highest level of alarm. Nature | 5 min read How we lost control of mpox Science investigates the early history of mpox, the disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It has now infected nearly 100,000 people in 116 countries, particularly men who have sex with men. In 2017, infectious disease specialist Dimie Ogoina was the first to suspect that a series of mysterious cases in Nigeria indicated an emerging sexually transmitted infection (STI), but his work was discouraged by some in the scientific community. Stigma around STIs and homosexuality — Nigeria criminalizes same-sex sexual activity — and indifference from the Global North seem to be factors that helped the outbreak to grow. Science | 19 min read

Features & opinion

Cash for catching scientific errors The Estimating the Reliability and Robustness of Research (ERROR) project offers researchers a bounty for spotting mistakes in published papers — a strategy borrowed from the software industry. Psychologist Malte Elson and his colleagues launched the project after deciding that the system we rely on now — in which scientists stumble upon errors in others’ research when trying to replicate it — was too haphazard. ERROR’s first review is out, and it offers a promising start: the authors went above and beyond to help spot mistakes in their own work. But few authors have responded to requests to review their papers. Nature | 6 min read

Safeguard research against earthquakes Earlier this month, a warning from Japan’s Meteorological Agency of the risk of a ‘megaquake’ was a timely reminder to scientists to protect their research. Organic chemist Masahiro Terada lost ten years’ worth of synthesized compounds to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake — he now stores reagents in cushioned mesh containers. One of the main concerns for neurobiologist Kentaro Noma is the more than 600 unique strains of nematode worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) that he has produced over the course of his career. He maintains two backup collections — one in a freezer with a petrol-powered generator and another stored in liquid nitrogen in case fuel supplies run out. Nature | 6 min read

Where I work

A 37-day voyage to document microbes in a low-oxygen region of the Pacific Ocean changed the career trajectory of geophysicist Natalia Cisternas. “I fell in love with fieldwork, and now I want to pursue a career as a marine technician,” she says. “Seeing how team members from different parts of the world worked together and supported one another was a magical experience. It showed me a beautiful way to do science.” (Nature | 3 min read) (Alex Ingle/Schmidt Ocean Institute)

Quote of the day “What is now happening to virology is a stark demonstration of what is happening to all of science. It will come to affect every aspect of science in a negative and possibly a dangerous way, as has already happened with climate science.” Those who have seized upon the ‘lab leak’ hypothesis about the origins of COVID-19 in order to undermine trust in science have contributed to a hostile environment for virologists and put pandemic preparedness at risk, argue 41 scientists in the Journal of Virology. (12 min read)

In Friday’s penguin-seeking puzzle, Leif Penguinson was hiding in the Alcantara Gorge in Sicily. Did you find the penguin? When you're ready, here's the answer. Thanks for reading, Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing

Want more? Update your preferences to sign up to our other free Nature Briefing newsletters: Nature Briefing: Microbiology — the most abundant living entities on our planet – microorganisms – and the role they play in health, the environment and food systems. Nature Briefing: Anthropocene — climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and geoengineering Nature Briefing: AI & Robotics — 100% written by humans, of course Nature Briefing: Cancer — a weekly newsletter written with cancer researchers in mind Nature Briefing: Translational Research — covers biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma Please visit your preferences page to choose which Nature Briefing newsletters to receive (or to unsubscribe).

Access Nature and 54 other Nature journals Nature+ is our most affordable 30-day subscription, giving you online access to a wide range of specialist Nature Portfolio journals, including Nature. Learn more about Nature+

Join our community

You received this newsletter because you subscribed with the email address: kh6jrm@gmail.com Please add briefing@nature.com to your address book. Enjoying this newsletter? You can use this form to recommend it to a friend or colleague — thank you! Had enough? To unsubscribe from this Briefing, but keep receiving your other Nature Briefing newsletters, please update your subscription preferences. To stop all Nature Briefing emails forever, click here to remove your personal data from our system. Fancy a bit of a read? View our privacy policy. Forwarded by a friend? Get the Briefing straight to your inbox: subscribe for free. Want to master time management, protect your mental health and brush up on your skills? Sign up for our free short e-mail series for working scientists, Back to the lab. Get more from Nature: Register for free on nature.com to sign up for other newsletters specific to your field and email alerts from Nature Portfolio journals. Would you like to read the Briefing in other languages? Sign up for the weekly round-up e-mail in Arabic, curated and translated by the editors of Nature Arabic Edition. هل تود أن تقرأ هذا الموجز باللغة العربية؟ سَجِّل الآن لتصلك نشرة العلوم الموجزة أسبوعيًّا، التي يختار محتواها ويترجمه فريق محرري "نيتشر الطبعة العربية". Follow Nature Portfolio on WeChat for a weekly round-up post in Chinese, curated and translated by our team in China. 关注Nature Portfolio官方微信订阅号，每周二为您推送Nature Briefing精选中文内容——自然每周简报。 Nature Portfolio | The Springer Nature Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom Nature Portfolio, part of Springer Nature. © 2024 Springer Nature Limited. All rights reserved.