Hello Nature readers,
Today we learn that an AI has beaten pros at six-player Texas hold’em poker, discover a solar-panel skin for urban buildings and consider the best books about the Moon.
Multiplayer poker has fallen to the machines.
(Alexandre Rotenberg/Alamy)
AI beats the pros in six-player poker
An artificial intelligence (AI) system called Pluribus has beaten top human professionals at six-player no-limit Texas hold’em poker, the most popular variant of the game. It is the first time that an AI program has won against elite human players at a game with more than two players.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/latest-news
Reference: Science paper
Controversial telescope kicks off in Hawaii
Construction of the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is set to resume in Hawaii next week after a four-year delay. The project has faced legal challenges and protests over its site on Mauna Kea, a mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians that is already home to 13 astronomical observatories.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/latest-news
Solar panel facade keeps buildings cool
A ‘smart’ building facade equipped with movable solar panels could substantially improve buildings’ energy efficiency. A prototype that automatically adjusted the panel orientation to optimize electricity generation, passive heating, shading and daylight penetration generated up to 50% more energy than a static system.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/nature/articles?type=research-highlight
Reference: Nature Energy paper
INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK
A 210,000-year-old skull found in a Greek cave seems to be the oldest Homo sapiens fossil found outside Africa by 30,000 years. The finding, along with other discoveries of which a selection is shown here, sheds light on the dispersals out of Africa of modern humans and other human relatives, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. (‘kyr’ stands for a 1,000 years old.)
FEATURES & OPINION
Peer support to help PhDs
After experiencing anxiety during her PhD, occupational therapist Sarah Masefield discovered how helpful a vibrant and supportive postgraduate research community can be. She explains how PhD students’ knowledge can and should be harnessed to help others who are beginning their postgraduate journey.
Nature | Read more at nature.com/nature/articles?type=career-column
The Moon: past, present, and future
On this week’s Nature Podcast, planetary-science reporter Alex Witze explores the latest US plans to land people on the Moon by 2024, the history of the Apollo missions and what’s next for lunar exploration.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/nature/articles?type=nature-podcast
BOOKS & Arts
Buzz Aldrin steps off the Lunar Module to become the second person on the Moon on 20 July 1969.
(NASA/JSC)
Propulsive reading: books on the Moon
From delightfully nerdy histories of engineering to surveys of social issues back on Earth, Alexandra Witze savours seven books commemorating the 50th anniversary of the lunar landings.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/nature/articles?type=books-and-arts
Five best science books this week
Barbara Kiser’s pick of the top five science books to read this week includes America’s first rocket man, the rise of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence reconsidered.
Nature | Read this article at nature.com/nature/articles?type=books-and-arts
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Residents in the drought-stricken city of Chennai in India draw water from a community well. A delayed monsoon in June saw the country’s sixth-largest city struggle through a water crisis, with reservoirs drying up and residents queuing for hours to get water from government tankers.
See more of the most spectacular images of the month, as selected by Nature’s photo team.
(Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty)
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Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing
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