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Illustration of nerve cells from the cerebral cortex of the brain, shown in blue

Communication between neurons (illustration) in two separate brain regions is patchy in mice that are susceptible to severe stress. Credit: Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library

Joylessness induced by stress leaves a distinct signature in the brains of mice. Researchers found that communication is disrupted between two regions of the brains of mice susceptible to anhedonia, a resistance to enjoyment and pleasure. Injecting the rodents with compounds that caused neurons in the target areas to fire more frequently made their brain activity more similar to that of ‘resilient’ mice, and made them more likely to seek rewards. If these findings are validated in humans, they provide a new avenue for treating anhedonia, which is common in people with depression.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: Nature paper

How AI is powering research

Google DeepMind has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system model called GenCast, the first of its kind to predict the weather more accurately than the best system currently in use. Conventional forecasts are based on mathematical models and use supercomputers to crunch data from weather stations and satellites, which takes several hours. GenCast has been trained on historical data, which enables the system to draw out complex relationships between variables such as air pressure, humidity, temperature and wind. The model can forecast 15 days in advance and takes just minutes.

Nature | 4 min read

Reference: Nature paper

Researchers have created a virtual laboratory staffed by ‘AI scientists’ — large language models (LLMs) with defined scientific roles — that collaborate to achieve goals set by people. The team trained one LLM to be the work’s principal investigator (PI) and a second to act as a ‘scientific critic’. The ‘PI’ then trained three further LLMs to support the research efforts. Each worked independently, but the group came together for short ‘team meetings’ overseen by a human. When tasked with designing antibody fragments that can bind to the virus that causes COVID-19, the AI team proposed 92 structures in a fraction of the time it would have taken an all-human research group.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed)

In a corporate materials-research laboratory employing more than 1,000 researchers, teams randomly assigned to use a custom machine-learning tool discovered 44% more new inorganic materials and filed 39% more patent applications than those who stuck to the standard workflow. However, this improvement was not distributed evenly among the AI-powered teams. Researchers who had been ranked as the company’s top performers saw bigger returns, whereas the low-ranked ones did not seem to get much benefit. Economist Aidan Toner-Rodgers, the study’s author, suggests this is because the top scientists could better identify which of AI’s suggestions were promising.

Nature | 5 min read

Reference: Author preprint (not peer reviewed)

Features & opinion

You just received another job alert, and for once, this one ticks all the boxes. But all of your past applications have fallen into a black hole — how can you succeed this time? A Nature survey of 1,100 hiring managers reveals the key steps, which include studying the job description, customizing your CV and writing a short, personal cover letter. Preparing thoroughly for interviews and being a good listener will also boost your chances. “People like to hire people that they like and feel a connection to,” says talent-acquisition manager Jim Harrington.

Nature | 13 min read

A focus on climate ‘tipping points’ — moments of abrupt and irreversible shifts in the Earth system, such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest — isn’t helpful, argues an interdisciplinary group of ten researchers that includes climate scientists, science communicators and environmental sociologists. The issues involved are important to study, but the framing is too abstract and frightening to trigger useful action, and not rigorous enough to inform policy, they argue. They recommend that scientists avoid using the idea as a scholarly tool and instead consider it “a fuzzy, boundary-spanning concept akin to ‘sustainability’”.

Nature Climate Change | 27 min read

Doggerland — an area between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe that is now beneath the North Sea — was once home to thriving human communities, suggests landscape archaeologist Vincent Gaffney, who has studied the lost region for more than 15 years. Using seismic survey data to re-create its topography and ecological complexity in detailed 3D maps, his work disputes the dominant theory that it was merely a land bridge used as a trade route.

Hakai Magazine | 18 min read

Image of the week

A GIF of a ray spider catapulting its web toward a mosquito to capture it.

A ray spider (Theridiosoma gemmosum) catapults its web to ensnare a mosquito dangled by researchers. These spiders pull webs into cones loaded with elastic energy by tethering them to a nearby object. When auditory cues indicate that prey is near, the spiders release the web, which snaps forward to trap the unlucky individual. (Science | 3 min read) Reference: Journal of Experimental Biology paper (Sarah I. Han et al./J Exp Biol (CC BY 4.0))

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Maria Kamin left the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea in response to rising sea levels. She and others moving to the nearby Bougainville Island have started a ‘green migration’ — taking plant and tree specimens from their native islands with them across the ocean to preserve their biodiversity. (Mongabay | 9 min read)

Today I’m trying to avoid endlessly scrolling on social media to watch poor-quality content, otherwise known as ‘brain rot’, the Oxford Word of the Year 2024. Luckily, I have a whole host of science news to read instead (a Briefing editor’s work is never done!)

Let us know how to improve the quality of our content at briefing@nature.com.

Thanks for reading,

Jacob Smith, associate editor, Nature Briefing

With contributions by Flora Graham and Gemma Conroy

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