‘Flash droughts’ fuelled devastating Canadian wildfires

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Last month, Brazil broke ground on the first maximum-security biosciences laboratory in Latin America. Many researchers are excited at the prospect of a biosafety-level-4 (BSL-4) facility where they can safely study the most dangerous pathogens in the region. However, some wonder about the cost of maintaining such a lab and are concerned about the pushback they might receive from the public over housing deadly organisms there.

Nature | 6 min read

Hotter than average temperatures, earlier than average snowmelt and lower than average rainfall, all spurred by climate change, led to last summer’s devastating wildfires in Canada. In 2023, fires burned 150,000 square kilometres — seven times the historical average and roughly 4% of Canada’s forest. More than 200 communities were evacuated and hazardous smoke travelled as far as Europe. Fires in the west were worsened by years of drought, while eastern Canada experienced a sudden ‘flash drought’: “an emerging phenomenon that we are only beginning to understand”, write researchers.

CTV News | 4 min read

Reference: Nature Communications paper or read the Nature Research Highlight (2 min read, Nature paywall)

Orb-weaving spiders (Araneus ventricosus) make trapped male Absocondita terminalis fireflies flash like females to tempt more insects into their web. The spiders bite and wrap a flashing male firefly using a different technique than the one used on other prey. This method seems to change the repeating light sequence of the male firefly — which can still flash after being bitten — to one that resembles a female’s single pulse. The signal seems to tempt more males to their demise.

Science | 5 min read

Reference: Current Biology paper or read the Nature Research Highlight (2 min read, Nature paywall)

Features & opinion

People developing artificial-intelligence (AI) systems for use in medical settings aim to save lives — but the testing required to verify that these systems are working isn’t always happening. Only a small proportion of devices — those that might pose a high risk to patients — require clinical-trial data for approval, and few such trials have been published. Researchers know what an ideal clinical trial for an AI-based intervention should look like, but in practice, testing these technologies is challenging — it’s not even clear how to best inform patients and ask for their consent.

Nature | 11 min read

Terry Jo Bichell became a PhD student in her fifties to train as a neuroscientist. Her goal: investigate treatments for Angelman syndrome, a rare developmental disorder that affects her son. It wasn’t her first career pivot — she was working as a documentary film-maker when she witnessed the tragic end to a difficult birth; the experience inspired her to become a midwife. After her PhD, Bichell took another less-trodden path: she founded COMBINEDBrain, a non-profit that connects patient advocates with scientists. “She’s a bridge-builder,” says her former supervisor, neuroscientist Aaron Bowman.

Nature | 9 min read

Image of the week

This little frog and the mushroom it sits on are both naturally luminous. The frog’s blue eyes are an example of biofluorescence — when an organism has a chemical surface that absorbs light at one wavelength and re-emits it at another. By contrast, the mushroom’s green glow is generated by a reaction in its cells. The scene, captured by photographer Toby Schrapel, is a finalist in the Beaker Street Science Photography Prize.

See more of last month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

Today I’m taking a break from the stress of adulting by making like a sea walnut (a type of comb jelly) and reverting back to my youth. For me that means listening to mid-1990s Canadian folk rock, but for Mnemiopsis leidyi it means reverting back to its tentacled larval form. It’s only the third creature known to be able to reverse-age in this way, alongside the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) and a tapeworm called Echinococcus granulosus.

I’ll feel rejuvenated if you send me your feedback on this newsletter. Your e-mails are always welcome at [email protected].

Thanks for reading,

Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing

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