Medicine
CureVac COVID Vaccine Let-down Spotlights mRNA Design Challenges
Scientists are searching for explanations to disappointing final-stage trial results. These insights could help guide the future development of mRNA vaccines
Stories by Nature magazine
Space
Why the Supergiant Star Betelgeuse Went Mysteriously Dim Last Year
High-resolution images suggest the star spewed out so much dust that its brightness dropped by two thirds in 2020
Behavior & Society
How COVID Is Changing the Study of Human Behavior
The pandemic is teaching us key lessons about how people respond to crisis and misinformation, and it is spurring changes in the way scientists study public health questions
Public Health
The COVID Lab-Leak Hypothesis: What Scientists Do and Do Not Know
An examination of the arguments that SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab in China and the science behind them
Space
Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Come in Two Distinct Flavors
A trove of new detections suggests that the bursts could be the result of at least two separate astrophysical phenomena
Medicine
Landmark Alzheimer's Drug Approval Confounds Research Community
Many scientists say there is not enough evidence that Biogen’s aducanumab is an effective therapy for the disease
Policy & Ethics
Biden’s New Science Adviser Talks COVID, Spying, and More
A conversation with Eric Lander during his first day as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Policy & Ethics
Limit on Lab-Grown Human Embryos Dropped by Stem Cell Body
The International Society for Stem Cell Research relaxed the famous 14-day rule on culturing human embryos in its latest research guidelines
Public Health
Divisive COVID ‘Lab Leak’ Debate Prompts Dire Warnings from Researchers
Allegations that COVID escaped from a Chinese lab make it harder for nations to collaborate on ending the pandemic—and fuel online bullying—some scientists say
Public Health
How Dangerous Are New, Fast-Spreading Coronavirus Variants?
Key questions remain about how quickly B.1.617 variants can spread, their potential to evade immunity and how they might affect the course of the pandemic
Medicine
Mix-and-Match COVID Vaccines Trigger Potent Immune Response
Preliminary results from a trial of more than 600 people are the first to show the benefits of combining different vaccines
Physics
First Nuclear Detonation Created ‘Impossible’ Quasicrystals
Their structures were once controversial. Now researchers have discovered quasicrystals in the aftermath of a 1945 bomb test
Medicine
Delaying a COVID Vaccine’s Second Dose Boosts Immune Response in the Elderly
People older than 80 who waited 11 to 12 weeks for their second jab had higher peak antibody levels than did those who waited only three weeks
Public Health
Will COVID Force Public Health to Confront America’s Epic Inequality?
In California’s San Joaquin Valley, some researchers are turning political to address the social determinants of health
Medicine
Genetic Therapies for Brain Diseases
Hopes are high for a class of drug that could treat neurodegenerative conditions—but a recent clinical trial has brought the field up short
Medicine
Failure of Genetic Therapies for Huntington’s Devastates Community
Hopes were high for drugs designed to lower levels of a mutant protein, but development has stalled
Policy & Ethics
In Shocking Move, U.S. Backs Waiving Patents on COVID Vaccines
The development from the Biden administration draws cheers from public health researchers and ire from drugmakers
Public Health
The First Billion COVID Vaccinations Have Been Given
It took just four months to reach this global milestone, and hitting the two-billion mark could happen even faster, say scientists
Physics
Muon Results Throw Physicists’ Best Theories into Confusion
Experimental anomalies have sent researchers scrambling to concoct new explanations
Medicine
Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise—Now Come Tougher Trials
Preliminary results suggest the vaccine is up to 77 percent effective in young children, but researchers await larger studies
