Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here.
Researchers found that the group that contains the Fiji crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) split from the North American group around 31 million years ago. (Getty/ Education Images)
American iguanas rode rafts to Fiji
Around 31 million years ago, intrepid iguanas might have made the longest-known ocean voyage of a land vertebrate. Researchers traced the genetic ancestry of Fiji iguanas (Brachylophus) and found that they are most closely related to North American desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus). That suggests the lizards made an epic 8,000-kilometre journey across the Pacific Ocean on a raft of vegetation. Iguanas are well-suited to such an odyssey, says herpetologist Simon Scarpetta, because they’re resistant to dehydration and could have snacked on the materials keeping them afloat.
Reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper
Engineered bacteria produce ‘nylon’
For the first time, researchers have genetically engineered microbes to produce a strong, flexible plastic similar to one of the most widely used fossil-fuel-based plastics: nylon. No natural enzymes produce this type of polymer, so researchers tweaked enzyme-encoding genes from various bacteria and inserted them into Escherichia coli to make the bioplastic, called poly(ester amide), or PEA. There are many hurdles to overcome before this laboratory experiment can be translated into a product: the PEA polymers have to be purified before they can be used, and the process is currently more expensive than the fossil-fuel route.
Reference: Nature Chemical Biology paper
Catchy, concise and better-cited
Using catchy, three-part phrases in the titles of research papers can boost their citations. In an analysis, researchers found that medical and life-sciences papers that used ‘tripartite’ phrases attracted 32 extra citations on average than papers that didn’t. The researchers suggest that the phrases make titles clearer by breaking down complex ideas into interconnected parts and creating concise, memorable patterns.
Reference: SSRN preprint (not peer reviewed)
US science in chaos
News
US government shutdown averted
The US government averted a shutdown late last week after lawmakers agreed to a spending plan that probably locks in modest cuts to science funding this year. It’s not clear whether the Trump administration will actually spend the money laid out in the agreement: it has ignored previous spending laws passed by Congress by freezing and terminating federal grants. “We are in a different era right now where nothing is normal,” says public-affairs officer Jennifer Zeitzer. And a larger crisis for science still looms as the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress continue to seek massive cuts to the federal budget for 2025 and beyond.
News
EPA moves to kill science department
The US Environmental Protection Agency will dissolve its largest department, the Office of Research and Development, as part of cuts demanded by the Trump administration, reports The New York Times. As many as 1,155 scientists could lose their jobs if the plan goes ahead. More than 40 former EPA officials have written a letter calling the move “the dismantling of EPA” and saying it will stop the agency from fulfilling its mission of protecting people and the environment.
The New York Times | 5 min read
News
Don’t mention mRNA, warns NIH
US National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials have warned researchers not to mention mRNA vaccines in their grant applications, reports KFF Health News. Despite messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against COVID-19 having been safely administered billions of times, and saving millions of lives, the Nobel-prizewinning technology has been the subject of conspiracy theories that have gained traction among the Trump administration and its supporters. “There is a real climate of fear in academia about this now, especially among vaccine scientists,” says an anonymous senior scientist, who says that he was told by an NIH official to avoid even mentioning the term.
Infographic
A 2022 modelling study found that countries that received above-average levels of funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had, on average, roughly 500 fewer deaths per day than countries that didn’t receive this level of funding. Other studies found that USAID funding has helped save the lives of nearly three million children under age five and at least one million women of reproductive age in recent decades. Sudden, extreme cuts made by the Trump administration have put USAID into turmoil, and will lead to these benefits disappearing, say observers. “This is like trying to pause an airplane in midflight and then subsequently firing the crew,” says Atul Gawande, former head of global health at USAID. (Scientific American | 8 min read) (Amanda Montañez; Sources: Weiss, W. et al. Popul. Health Metr. 20, 2 (2022) (USAID funding effects data); World Bank (US estimate))
Features & opinion
What goes up, must come down
Around the world, the sky is falling — objects once launched into low Earth orbit are crashing back down to Earth uncontrolled. These unpredictable projectiles are a danger to everyone, say physicists Richard Ocaya and Thembinkosi Malevu, and, if the density of junk reaches a certain point, debris generated by collisions could cause cascades of further collisions. Space-faring countries and companies must urgently address this threat by enforcing policies that demand accountability for debris and investing in active technologies to remove space debris. “Only through a coordinated global effort can we ensure that space remains a safe and viable domain for generations to come,” the authors write.
Stay safe from online hate with these five tips
In this era of anti-science activism, it‘s wise to take steps to protect your research and reputation in the digital realm. As well as checking out your institution’s resources and a wealth of online guides, you can:
• Scrub your online profile: search for yourself and request that anything you don’t want to be in the public domain is removed; or pay for a service that will do it for you.
• Practise good cybersecurity hygiene: don’t get slack about your passwords, use two-factor authentication, ensure your browsing is private and don’t use the same address for work and personal e-mail.
• Use an encrypted system, such as Signal, for particularly sensitive communications.
• Protect your data: encrypt them if you want to keep them private; or make them available with an open licence if you want to ensure they stay widely available to others.
Whatever you do, include your colleagues in the conversation. “This is absolutely vital,” says Thorin Klosowski, a security and privacy activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “If everyone is not on board for the security steps you’re taking, it’s going to be less secure.”
Where I work
Alba Graciela Ávila Bernal is a multidisciplinary researcher and electrical engineer at the University of the Andes in Bogotá.Credit: Nathalia Angarita for Nature
Electrical engineer Alba Graciela Ávila Bernal manages an open science project that makes custom-designed probes to measure water quality across Colombia. “We recently heard that the US government will increase export taxes on electronic components, which will affect humanitarian technologies including ours,” she says. “This worries some students on the project, but I tell them that history shows us that creativity comes from challenges. We must innovate to ensure that this technology continues to be tailored to our communities and is affordable and sustainable.” (Nature | 3 min read) (Nathalia Angarita for Nature)
