Nature Briefing

How to spot collaborators that are fun to work with, make a fair contribution and share your ambitions. Plus, Australian researchers lament the state of science ahead of the election and four ways to stop future pandemics at the source.

New method keeps retinas from degrading rapidly after death. Plus, ancient DNA maps the ‘dawn of farming’ and why so many missions are going to the Moon.

The first-ever image of Sagittarius A* — the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Plus, how life could have begun in an ‘RNA world’ and all about NASA’s Artemis mission to the Moon.

How academia can support scholars experiencing menopause. Plus, bats mimic angry hornets to scare off predators, and how to sort out measurement mayhem.

Scientists note that variants now seem to emerge roughly every six months — but say we shouldn’t rule out more surprises from SARS-CoV-2. Plus, the hidden chokepoints in global financial systems and childcare crowdfunding campaigns for academic parents.

How a common sunscreen ingredient turns toxic in the sea, how renewable technologies are being developed in one of the northernmost towns in the world and how tree-ring scientists find old growth trees in New York City.

Antibodies from more than 86,000 children in the United States show that reported infections are only the tip of the iceberg. Plus, WHO estimates of COVID deaths are almost triple official figures and how to remedy mental-health care in the United States.

Infection in a genetically edited pig heart could have contributed to the transplant recipient’s death. Plus, meat-free Monday could halve deforestation and graphics illuminate the inconceivable toll of the pandemic.

How to support one of the world’s most ambitious ecological projects. Plus, opera-inspired breathing can help with long COVID and the brightest extra-galactic pulsar ever seen was spotted by radio ‘sunglasses’.

They might be hard to love, but parasites are pivotal parts of the natural world. Plus, how language-generation AIs could transform science and the month’s best science images.

Virtual meetings can limit creative ideas. Plus, a dog’s personality has little to do with its breed and that climate change increases the risk of cross-species viral transmission.

The secret of bismuth subsalicylate — the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol. Plus, Canada will invest in a new innovation agency and the extreme heat wave affecting millions in India.

China focuses on ethics to deter another ‘CRISPR babies’ scandal, a robot that jumps near the mathematical limit for jump height and how to base edit your way to better crops.

UK law recognizes decapods as sentient beings that can feel pain. Plus, what COVID in deer means for the pandemic and how ‘collegiality’ influences researchers’ promotion prospects.

How a Brazilian dinosaur fuelled a movement to decolonize fossil science. Plus, what Macron’s presidential win in France means for science and how to study super-squishy sea creatures.

How the world can act to protect generations from the effects of malnutrition precipitated by the war on Ukraine. Plus, clues to the origins of cancer in a trove of tumour genomes, and the highest resolution image of the Sun’s disc and corona.

The future of the world’s biggest biomedical research funder. Plus, the biodiversity footprint of the University of Oxford shows how to achieve net gain, and a fossil hints at colourful pterosaur feathers.

Interest is surging in brain–computer interfaces that can help paralysed people to move, talk and touch. Plus, why longer-lived animals don’t get more cancer and why NASA should spearhead a mission to Uranus.

The first US open-air study of bioengineered mosquitoes went to plan, says biotech company. Plus, scientists trying to survive Shanghai’s strict lockdown, and a first-hand account of a researcher imprisoned in Iran.

Groups of blind Mexican fish that communicate using clicks appear to be developing cave-specific accents. Plus, the impact of COP26 pledges, and how machine learning is helping mathematicians.