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‘The world has never seen anything like this’: WHO chief on battling Ebola in a war zone ‘The world has never seen anything like this’: WHO chief on battling Ebola in a war zone, Published online: 02 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01432-y Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talks about fighting the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo…

How a particle racing through a vacuum leaves a trail of blue light How a particle racing through a vacuum leaves a trail of blue light, Published online: 02 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01430-0 Blue-tinged Cherenkov radiation could help to illuminate quantum interactions between light and matter. Press Release Distribution Service

A photodetector converts light into an electrical signal, causing the light to be lost. Researchers have now built a quantum sensor that can measure light particles non-destructively. It can be used to further investigate the quantum properties of light. Press Release Distribution Service

A newly identified epigenetic hotspot for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may give scientists a fresh path forward for devising more effective treatments and biomarker-based screening strategies. More than 100 million people worldwide have either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, which are characterized by periods of hallucinations, delusions and irregular thought processes. They are both associated with…

The drug eculizumab, a synthetic antibody that inhibits the inflammatory response, significantly reduced the risk of relapse with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). This rare but severe autoimmune inflammatory disorder can cause blindness, paralysis and death. Press Release Distribution Service

NGC 2903 is located about 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo (the Lion), and was studied as part of a Hubble survey of the central regions of roughly 145 nearby disk galaxies. Press Release Distribution Service

Scientists have developed a new approach for solving atomic-scale 3-D protein structures from tiny crystals. The advance will open up this structural biology technique to a wide range of hard-to-crystallize proteins in bacteria, viruses, plants, and humans. Press Release Distribution Service

Men and women with high mental well-being at the age of 42 were more physically active at the age of 50 compared to those who got lower scores in mental well-being at age 42. Different exercise activities are related to the different dimensions of well-being in midlife. Press Release Distribution Service

Robo-dino helps to pinpoint the origins of dinosaur flight Robo-dino helps to pinpoint the origins of dinosaur flight, Published online: 02 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01399-w The spontaneous flaps of a running dinosaur’s ‘wings’ might have paved the way for true powered flapping. Press Release Distribution Service

Chinese hospitals set to sell experimental cell therapies Chinese hospitals set to sell experimental cell therapies, Published online: 02 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01161-2 Under a draft proposal, patients would be able to buy some therapies without regulatory approval. Press Release Distribution Service

Pinpointing a spatial address for RNA profiles in tissues Pinpointing a spatial address for RNA profiles in tissues, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01405-1 Knowing the gene-expression pattern of individual cells can unlock their identity. A refined method for generating cellular RNA profiles offers a way to obtain such data at a high level of…

Hippos, haloes and black holes — April’s best science images Hippos, haloes and black holes — April’s best science images, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01356-7 The month’s sharpest science shots — selected by Nature’s photo team. Press Release Distribution Service

A new study shows how seagrass can help to protect shorelines against erosion and help to mitigate damage from rising sea level, potentially providing useful guidance for seagrass restoration efforts. Press Release Distribution Service

Researchers propose a possible therapeutic target to treat fatty liver, a disease for which there is currently no treatment. Press Release Distribution Service

What medicine can teach academia about preventing burnout What medicine can teach academia about preventing burnout, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01451-9 The medical programmes we see in our training as physician-scientists are becoming more progressive and supportive of students. Here’s what academia can learn from them, say Yoo Jung Kim and Erik Faber. Press…

Facebook gives social scientists unprecedented access to its user data Facebook gives social scientists unprecedented access to its user data, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01447-5 Projects from around the world will delve into questions including how misinformation spreads on social media platforms and who distributes it. Press Release Distribution Service

First they mapped the genome of wheat; now they have reconstructed its breeding history. Scientists have examined the genetic diversity of wheat varieties in the WHEALBI study. By doing so, they discovered which cereals our ancestors cultivated, where today’s wheat comes from, and what the Cold War has to do with it all. Press Release…

Graphene is an extraordinary material consisting of pure carbon just a single atomic layer thick. It is extremely stable, strong and conductive. In electronics, however, graphene has crucial disadvantages. It cannot be used as a semiconductor, since it has no bandgap. Now researchers have produced an ”atomic scale movie” showing how hydrogen atoms can chemically…

UK medical chief: ‘We are in an arms race against microbes’ UK medical chief: ‘We are in an arms race against microbes’, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01409-x Britain’s outgoing chief medical officer, Sally Davies, says there are still clear gaps in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Press Release Distribution Service

Pay rises for US faculty members remain low for third year in a row Pay rises for US faculty members remain low for third year in a row, Published online: 03 May 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01411-3 Vast salary gaps exist between US university presidents and faculty members, and men continue to earn more than women. Press Release…

Artistic sketches can be used to capture details of a scene in a simpler image. Researchers are now bringing that concept to computational biology, with a novel method that extracts comprehensive samples — called ‘sketches’ — of massive cell datasets that are easier to analyze for biological and medical studies. Press Release Distribution Service

Ranch managers’ placement of cattle corrals away from Jackson’s hartebeest likely would allow the antelope species to increase, with lions focused on the zebras that congregate at the resulting glades in central Kenya. Press Release Distribution Service