Fecal transplant linked to the death of the patient

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Prehistoric peasants working around 3500 BC BC built an island the size of a basketball court, as well as a pavement, both pictured above, in Loch Bhorgastail, Scotland. The lakes and inlets of Scotland and Ireland are dotted with hundreds of purpose-built islands, called crannogs, which scientists thought to have been built after 800 BC. Now, the artifacts found in four crannogs in the Outer Hebrides show that they are much older.

Highlights of Nature Research | 4 min read

Reference: antiquity paper

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A new law will restrict the collection and use of genetic resources from people in China – including biological samples producing DNA, such as blood, as well as data obtained through their sequencing. The law formalizes the restrictions put in place in 1998 after an international pharmaceutical company controversially collected the blood of thousands of Chinese for genetic research purposes. Will the new law be an obstacle to international research? It all depends on how it is applied, experts say.

Nature | 3 min reading

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) should radically change the way they fund research as part of their efforts to reduce sexual harassment in the scientific field, said an advisory group. Many of the recommendations of the NIH Task Force aim to reduce the power difference between high-level scientists and junior researchers, including graduate students. The director of the agency, Francis Collins, said he was pleased with the daring recommendations, although some are already controversial.

Nature | 4 min read

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says two people have contracted serious infections – including a life-threatening – following fecal transplants containing drug-resistant bacteria. Both cases involved feces from the same donor, as well as patients with compromised immune systems. The FDA will stop several clinical trials until the researchers who lead them confirm that they have put in place screening measures.

The New York Times | 3 min reading

CHARACTERISTICS AND ADVICE

The latest edition of the World Health Organization's Diagnostic Manual, the International Classification of Diseases, is the first to include a chapter on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Traditional medicine certainly should not be discounted – sometimes it's all that is available, and many life-saving therapies are derived from natural products. Nature editorial. Nevertheless, according to the article, the WHO chapter risks legitimizing an unscientific approach and it is unlikely that it will do anything other than fuel the expanding sales of treatments in Europe. largely unproven.

Nature | 4 min read

Greenhouse gases are the main contributors to the rapid warming of our planet, but airborne particles also play a role. Soot, dust, sulphate and other aerosols can both cool and warm up the atmosphere and remain one of the biggest sources of uncertainty about climate change predictions. Joyce Penner, atmospheric scientist, calls for a coordinated campaign of observations and modeling. Penner also spoke to the Podcast Nature challenges in understanding the effects of aerosols.

Nature | 6 min read

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BOOKS AND ARTS

"Once we accept that the carbon cycle involves rocks as well as water, air and living things, we are considerably expanding its temporal dimension," writes the geoscience writer. , Ted Nield, in his review of Robert Hazen's new book. Hazen leads the Deep Carbon Observatory, a 10-year global multi-disciplinary research project on all aspects of the Earth's carbon budget. His book describes in depth the many aspects of the sixth element.

Nature | 5 min reading

INFOGRAPHY OF THE WEEK

SCIENTIFIC LIFE

Science communicators across India are focused on a work of love: sharing discoveries with 88% of the 1.3 billion citizens of the country who do not speak or write in English. They produce articles, podcasts and lectures in some of the 21 other official languages ​​of the country, including Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil. A challenge: design a lexicon of scientific terms that maintain language-specific rates and sentence structure.

Nature | 6 min read

"Take care of yourself first and foremost," says psychologist Mariam Aly, who shares her own experience of mental health issues during her graduate studies. "The irony is not lost to me," she wrote: "Despite studies in psychology and a great awareness of what thought patterns and inappropriate habits can do to people, I left the thought patterns and unsuitable habits kill me.

Stories in science | 7 min read

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

A spotted seal is returned to sea off Dalian, in China's northeastern Liaoning Province. In February, the authorities discovered that 100 of the protected animals had been abducted by poachers. This lucky seal was one of 61 survivors who were treated before being released into their natural habitat.

See more choices from our photo editors for the best science pictures of the month.