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Hello Nature readers,
Today we explore the influence of US president Donald Trump on science in the United States, and on health and climate globally. Plus, we learn about a microRNA that seems to revitalize old mice and learn how a problem with pig-organ transplants might be made into an opportunity for fighting cancer. |
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| Mice that received the RNA treatments rather than saline lived for about 4.5 months longer, on average. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty) |
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Injecting old mice with an RNA molecule called miR-302b seems to reverse some signs of ageing — helping them to live longer, regrow hair and maintain their physical and mental abilities. The treatment works by targeting one of the hallmarks of the ageing process: a stage called cellular senescence, in which cells lose their ability to replicate. Researchers hope the findings could one day lead to the development of anti-ageing drugs, but more work is needed to determine whether they translate to people. Nature | 4 min read
Reference: Cell Metabolism paper
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Scientists have disguised tumours to ‘look’ similar to pig organs ― tricking the immune system into attacking the cancerous cells. The team caused tumour cells to develop a feature found in transplanted pig organs: sugars on the surface of cells that provoke a fierce antibody attack. This ruse can halt a tumour’s growth and even eliminate it altogether, data from monkeys and humans suggest. But scientists say that further testing is needed before the technique’s true efficacy becomes clear. Nature | 5 min read
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US sneezes, world catches cold |
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 | | Although Michael Kratsios (left) lacked a background in science policy, he was “a bright spot in the first Trump administration”, says science-policy researcher Kenneth Evans. (PBH Images/Alamy) | | News | As he takes office today for the second time, US president Donald Trump has already made nominations for three key science-advisory positions, highlighting a focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Some observers are hopeful that this signals a greater interest in science and technology than during his last term. But there is a lot of uncertainty about how Trump’s advisers will influence his agenda.
- If confirmed by the US Senate, Michael Kratsios, who served as chief technology officer during Trump’s first term, will be the president’s science adviser and lead the office that coordinates science policy across the US government.
- David Sacks, a tech investor, will be the new administration’s ‘AI and crypto czar’, as well as the chair of a key council of external advisors.
- Roboticist Lynne Parker, who directed AI efforts during the first Trump administration, has been tapped for a new role assisting both Kratsios and Sacks.
Nature | 7 min read
| | News | One of Trump’s immediate actions after inauguration might be to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) — a process he attempted during his first presidential term. The US provides about one-fifth of WHO’s budget through around US$110 million in annual dues and millions more in voluntary donations. Leaving could embolden critics of the organization in other countries and weaken the WHO’s ability to contain disease outbreaks. The US joined the body through a 1948 act of Congress, which implies that the legislature could block a departure. Or the Trump administration might prefer to use the threat of leaving to push for reforms. “If he does a deal to make the WHO more resilient, robust, and accountable, he would be doing the US a favor and the world a favor,” says health-law scholar Lawrence Gostin. Science | 7 min read
| | News | The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, a coalition of asset managers that aimed to help achieve climate goals will “suspend activities” after the departure of BlackRock, the world's biggest investor. Several major US and Canadian banks also left the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance in recent weeks. “The political environment has radically changed,” says business scholar Shivaram Rajgopal. “It’s like you have a bull’s-eye on your back.” While sustainable-investment advocates have called the deflating commitments “disappointing”, other observers say that the groups offered mainly empty pledges, or that the momentum towards reducing carbon emissions is strong enough to continue irrespective of these associations. Reuters | 5 min read & The New York Times | 5 min read
| | Review | Cometh the hour, cometh the book — and this is just the right moment to read statistician David Spiegelhalter’s The Art of Uncertainty, writes reviewer Yongyi Min, a statistician and the chief of the SDG Monitoring Section in the United Nations Statistics Division. It’s “a book that emphasizes the importance of humility when dealing with uncertainty and predictions”, says Min. “It equips readers with the tools to think critically about risk and chance, enabling them to make better choices in their lives.” Nature | 5 min read
Learn why probability probably doesn’t exist (but it is useful to act like it does) in this essay by David Spiegelhalter from December. (Nature | 11 min read)
| | Get to grips with science during Trump 2.0 | |
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Social scientist Tetyana Lunyova travelled more than 1,000 kilometres through Ukraine to flee the Russian invasion with her 10-year-old son. If they were separated, she told him, seek out an academic — they could help to track her down. Ultimately, Lunyova’s academic connections did prove crucial: she was able to take up a fellowship at a UK university with the help of the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), a non-governmental organization that supports academics facing threats or danger. Now, says CARA, the majority of people requesting help are from the Middle East. “The Ukraine experience shows what can happen when funding, supportive policy environments and collaborative approaches come together,” says CARA’s Zeid Al-Bayaty. Nature | 8 min read
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Picture a coin on a table, surrounded by a ring of similar coins, pressed together as tightly as possible. The ring can fit six coins at most — this is known as its ‘kissing’ number, named after the ‘kiss’ between two billiard balls. In three dimensions — useful for packing a box of tennis balls, say — the number is 12. And in higher dimensions, things get really fun: a new proof has thrown tradition out the window to understand more about the sphere-packing conundrum. Quanta | 9 min read
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| Oceanographer Andrea Kealoha set up sampling stations in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian island of Maui to monitor the impact of a 2023 wildfire on the neighbouring coral reefs. “The cage holds a sophisticated electronic sensor that measures the water’s temperature, salinity and pressure, as well as its oxygen, pH and chlorophyll levels and turbidity, or clarity, every 10 seconds for months and months,” she says. “Our community and our culture are so heavily connected to the ocean. We really need our ocean to be healthy, to support our community and our culture — and our economy, as well.” (Nature | 3 min read) (Nani Welch Keliihoomalu for Nature) |
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Quote of the day“Until we acknowledge that publish or perish is the natural consequence of the rankings obsession, we’re not going to fix anything.”Ivan Oransky, co-founder of the Retraction Watch website, responds to a survey of more than 1,600 authors of biomedical papers. Nearly three-quarters said there is a reproducibility crisis in science — and the leading cause is the “pressure to publish”. (Nature | 4 min read)
Reference: PLoS Biology paper |
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On Friday, Leif Penguinson was investigating volcanic rocks in a pine forest near Chinyero volcano in Tenerife, Spain. Did you find the penguin? When you’re ready, here’s the answer.
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Thanks for reading,
Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing
With contributions by Jacob Smith |
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