Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Measles is raging worldwide: are you at risk?

 

at 2/6/26 2:11pm

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00367-5Cases in fully vaccinated people are rare and usually mild, but are likely to become more common as exposure to the virus rises.

— Super-sniffer aeroplane finds oil fields’ hidden emissions

 

at 2/6/26 12:10pm

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00335-zAirborne sensor shows that methane emissions from oil- and gas-producing areas can be five times higher than reported.

— Cheap AI chatbots transform medical diagnoses in places with limited care

 

at 2/6/26 12:10pm

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00345-xStudies in Rwanda and Pakistan reveal real-world utility of chatbots in underfunded clinics, and not just in benchmark tests.

— Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known

 

at 2/6/26 12:10pm

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00388-0Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

— US grant applicants surge at prestigious European research agency

 

at 2/6/26 12:10pm

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00362-wRush for funds to relocate laboratories to Europe is latest hint of a US brain drain.

— Author Correction: Environmentally driven immune imprinting protects against allergy

 

at 2/6/26 11:23am

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10236-wAuthor Correction: Environmentally driven immune imprinting protects against allergy

— Briefing Chat: 'External lungs' keep man alive for 48 hours until transplant

 

at 2/6/26 8:27am

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00397-zNature staff discuss some of the week’s top science news.

— OpenClaw AI chatbots are running amok — these scientists are listening in

 

at 2/6/26 6:03am

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00370-wArtificial-intelligence agents have their own social-media platform and are publishing AI-generated research papers on their own preprint server.

— Daily briefing: Tumours use neurons as hotline to the brain

 

at 2/6/26 6:03am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00400-7Tumours hijack nerve cells to send signals to the brain that disarm nearby immune cells. Plus, China has awarded its first ‘practical PhDs’ and how remote sensors are giving researchers new ways to study cities.

— Universities in exile: displaced scholars count the costs of starting afresh

 

at 2/6/26 3:27am

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04160-8War and political unrest can force staff members and students to uproot their lives, exacting a heavy personal and professional toll.

— ‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’

 

at 2/6/26 3:27am

Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00155-1The academic workplace is getting better at supporting colleagues with anxiety and depression. Why does alcohol remain a taboo topic?

— Not just a chip off the old block: nanoparticles reveal odd traits

 

at 2/5/26 5:50pm

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00323-3Melting point of nanoscale sodium particles differs to that of bulk sodium.

— This bonobo had a pretend tea party — showing make believe isn’t just for humans

 

at 2/5/26 2:04pm

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00357-7In the first demonstration of pretend play in a non-human, the ape favoured a cup filled with imaginary juice over one with its ‘contents’ emptied.

— Beetle is locked in to an eternal dance ― with an ant

 

at 2/5/26 11:56am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00334-0Evolution has trapped a species of beetle in an inescapable symbiosis with the aggressive velvety tree ant.

— Publisher Correction: Colibactin-driven colon cancer requires adhesin-mediated epithelial binding

 

at 2/5/26 10:42am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10213-3Publisher Correction: Colibactin-driven colon cancer requires adhesin-mediated epithelial binding

— Author Correction: PHGDH heterogeneity potentiates cancer cell dissemination and metastasis

 

at 2/5/26 8:36am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10202-6Author Correction: PHGDH heterogeneity potentiates cancer cell dissemination and metastasis

— First ‘practical PhDs’ awarded in China — for products rather than papers

 

at 2/5/26 8:36am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00356-8The programme is designed to train more elite engineers who can help boost the country’s innovation.

— NASA’s latest telescope is a feat of early-career leadership

 

at 2/5/26 8:36am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00253-0The Pandora satellite provides career training grounds while observing exoplanets.

— Is UK science in jeopardy? Huge funding reforms spark chaos and anxiety

 

at 2/5/26 8:36am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00346-wMajor reforms to the United Kingdom’s national research funding agency are aimed at boosting the nation's economy.

— These mysterious ridges could be the secret to younger skin

 

at 2/5/26 6:05am

Nature, Published online: 05 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00364-8Rete ridges could hold the secrets to revitalising skin.

— Author Correction: Cotranslational assembly of protein complexes in eukaryotes revealed by ribosome profiling

 

at 2/4/26 11:06am

Nature, Published online: 04 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10200-8Author Correction: Cotranslational assembly of protein complexes in eukaryotes revealed by ribosome profiling

As of 2/6/26 6:01pm. Last new 2/6/26 2:11pm.