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Scientists have bred the world’s first horses with CRISPR-mediated genomic edits to enhance their muscle power and speed.Credit: Agustin Marcarian/Reuters
The horses pictured above are the first of their species to have been created with the help of the CRISPR–Cas9 gene-editing technique. They are clones of the prize-winning steed Polo Pureza, with a tweak to myostatin — a gene involved in regulating muscle development — that is designed to quicken their pace. Critics say that genetic manipulation has no place among polo’s traditional breeding practices — it has already been banned by some of the sport’s governing bodies. But a zoo of CRISPR-edited animals, from cows to sheep, is gaining acceptance in agriculture.
A newly discovered type of immune cell found in fat tissue seems to contribute to ‘inflammageing’ — the chronic inflammation that develops with ageing — in mice. Researchers found that the new type of cell emerges in the deep fat around internal organs as mice age and produces high levels of inflammatory molecules. Other immune cells in the fatty tissue appear to keep these inflammation-boosters at bay, but their numbers dwindle later in life in females.
Reference: Nature Aging paper
Exposure to air pollution could increase the risk of developing Lewy body dementia (LBD), a term that includes Parkinson’s disease with dementia. An analysis of data from 56 million people suggests there is a clear link between long-term exposure to PM2.5 — particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter — and the development of LBD. These pollutants don’t necessarily induce the dementia, but “accelerates the development” in people who are already genetically predisposed to it, says clinician–neuroscientist Hui Chen.
Features & opinion
“I call it my 24/7, 365 scientific conference,” says psychologist Sharon Obasi of the work-oriented social network LinkedIn. If you find networking awkward, try finding common ground, says oncology researcher Vanesa Ayala-Núñez, who started by reaching out to other Europe-based Latin American women. Key, say users, is to find a balance between being authentic and being professional. “I always say, ‘do what fits you’. I never plan my content,” says research-career consultant Elena Hoffer. “I just need to feel it, you know?”
Physicist Rainer Weiss “measured success not in prizes, but in moments of discovery”, writes Bruce Allen, the director of observational relativity and cosmology at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics and a former student of Weiss. In 2017, he shared the Nobel Prize for his insight that laser interferometers could detect gravitational waves. “This is going to screw up my life for a year,” joked Weiss. A master of quick, back-of-the-envelope calculations, Weiss said he did science “for the satisfaction when something you’ve struggled with finally works” and gave most of his Nobel money to a scholarship fund. He has died, aged 92.
Hoarding of health data is common across Africa, due to well-founded concerns about exploitation and misuse of biomedical information. A ‘social contract’ that commits to responsible data stewardship would help to allay such fears, argues a group of African bioethics and data-science researchers with expertise in bioinformatics, genomics and decolonization of health research. “A social contract frames data sharing not simply as a mandate from funders, but as a moral and social commitment to equity, transparency, shared responsibility and shared benefit,” they write.
Where I work
Amy MacLeod is a conservation biologist at Leipzig University in Germany.Credit: Andrea Varela
Conservation biologist Amy MacLeod runs a programme called Iguanas from Above, which uses drones to study the population of marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) on the Galápagos Islands. Bolstered by 17,000 online volunteers, the project has now surveyed the whole archipelago, some parts of which were previously inaccessible. “I’m proud that the use of drones for wildlife survey is now a tool that other scientists can test in remote places around the world,” she says. (Nature | 3 min read)
On Friday, Leif Penguinson was hiding among the spectacular hexagonal basalt columns and black sand of Reynisfjara Beach, Iceland. Did you find the penguin? When you’re ready, here’s the answer.
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Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing
With contributions by Jacob Smith
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