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Composite image showing bioluminescence of the kitefin shark

Researchers think some sharks’ glow probably provides camouflage that protects them from attacks from beneath.Mallefet et al., Front. Mar. Sci., 2021

Glow-in-the-dark sharks

Scientists have found three species of sharks living in the deep waters off the east coast of New Zealand that glow in the dark. Many marine animals can produce light through a process known as bioluminesce, but this is the first time that the phenomenon has been observed in the kitefin shark (Dalatias licha), the blackbelly lanternshark (Etmopterus lucifer) and the southern lanternshark (Etmopterus granulosus). At a length of up to 180 centimetres, the kitefin the biggest luminous vertebrate known. The glowing underbellies could camouflage the sharks from predators from below, disguise them when approaching prey or help to illuminate the dark ocean floor.

The Guardian | 3 min read

Reference: Frontiers in Marine Science paper

‘Elite’ researchers dominate citation space

Just 1% of scientists capture more than one-fifth of all citations globally — and the inequality is growing. Researchers assessed more than 26 million scientific studies in the Web of Science database, published by more than 4 million international researchers between 2000 and 2015. The increasing number of collaborations might explain some of the effect. “It highlights that teams are nearly ubiquitous,” says informatics researcher Cassidy Sugimoto.

Nature | 6 min read

Scientists call for mother’s release

Some 90 of Australia's leading scientists and doctors, including two medicine Nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling for the pardon of a woman convicted of killing her 4 infant children. The petition points to new evidence that two of the children inherited a mutation in a gene called CALM2, which can cause sudden cardiac death. Kathleen Folbigg has been in prison since 2003.

ABC News | 6 min read

Reference: EP Europace paper

COVID-19 coronavirus update

Plan now to pool data on COVID vaccines

As more COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out around the world, many questions still remain about how long protection lasts, how it varies by age and how well vaccines will work against variants. Researchers should start sharing protocols, pooling data and designing compatible studies to ensure that they get the most reliable answers, writes biostatistician Natalie Dean. “There is rarely a cure for messy data.”

Nature | 5 min read

Funders must consider pandemic’s unequal toll

The pandemic has showcased the stunning gains that science and scientists can achieve for society. At the same time, it has thrust some of academic research’s uncomfortable truths into the spotlight — notably, the continuing, and now seemingly widening, gender gap and the potential neglect of a generation of researchers. As the pandemic’s toll becomes clear, funders, especially those that run national research-evaluation systems, must take care not to penalize those whose work has suffered, argues a Nature editorial.

Nature | 5 min read

Features & opinion

Fieldwork at your fingertips

With face-to-face interviews on hold, social scientists are turning to digital diaries and deep dives into YouTube audience interactions instead. Four members of a social-science laboratory in Australia explain how they quickly redesigned their methods and started experimenting with creative digital techniques.

Nature | 7 min read

Are we breaking the planet’s heat pump?

In a gorgeous (but somewhat processor-intensive) visual feature, The New York Times explores the Gulf Stream and the evidence that climate change is slowing the deep Atlantic currents that power it. Last week, research revealed that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation — a current that underpins much of the world’s weather — is now at its weakest state in 1,000 years. The results could be storms and heatwaves in Europe and sea-level rises on the east coast of the United States. “We’re all wishing it’s not true,” says palaeoceanographer Peter de Menocal. “Because if that happens, it’s just a monstrous change.”

The New York Times | 14 min read

Tech firms give DNA data storage a boost

A small but growing group of researchers advocates for DNA as a sustainable, stable replacement for energy-hungry data centres. These efforts got a lift last November, when a coalition of computing and biotech firms, including Microsoft and Western Digital, announced that they were forming the DNA Data Storage Alliance (DDSA). The low-hanging fruit for DNA data storage is data that are written once and read rarely, if ever. That’s because DNA remains stable for a long time, but data access — through sequencing and data analysis — is slow.

Nature | 4 min read

Infographic of the week

Top choices for science code: 1,872 respondents to a Nature poll said that the Fortran complier had impacted their work.

DON’T MISS IT: THE WEEK’S MOST-READ STORIES

• Following a month-long fact-finding mission in China, a World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic concluded that the virus probably originated in bats and passed to people through an intermediate animal. But fundamental questions remain about when, where and how SARS-CoV-2 first infected people. Nature speaks to four of the WHO investigators about five questions they still want answered. (Nature | 7 min read)

• Researchers have built the fastest random-number generator ever made, using a simple laser. It exploits fluctuations in the intensity of light to generate randomness and could lead to devices that are small enough to fit on a single computer chip. True randomness is a coveted resource in applications such as data encryption and scientific simulations, but it is surprisingly difficult to come by. (Nature | 3 min read)

• Researchers from Brazil, India, Vietnam and New Zealand are among those contributing perspectives on their countries’ COVID responses in a Nature Immunology special issue. (Nature Immunology | Read the whole collection)

Quote of the day

“Regardless of where you are in navigating your identities and their intersections, know that you are not alone.”

Computational biologist Robin Aguilar, who came out as queer and non-binary at the start of their PhD programme, offers advice to institutions and encouragement to other queer and trans scientists. (Nature | 6 min read)