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This virtual-reality arena for flies tests the insects’ reaction times.Credit: Matthew Isaacson
Remouldable hardware speeds up science
Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) consist of hundreds or even millions of unconfigured logic elements on a silicon chip that, like clay, can be ‘moulded’ — and even re-moulded. They can accelerate applications ranging from genomic alignment to image processing to deep learning. FPGA technology dates to the mid-1980s, but improvements in design software have made it increasingly accessible.
Omicron likely to weaken vaccine protection
Early data hint that two shots of the Pfizer—BioNTech vaccine might offer less protection against the Omicron coronavirus variant than against other strains. Laboratory experiments showed that a booster dose could restore protection against Omicron, said the companies in a press release that has not been peer reviewed.
“What else do you expect? This is a very mutated variant. We cannot expect it does nothing,” says virologist Alex Sigal. A small preprint study by Sigal and his colleagues at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa also found a drop in virus-fighting antibodies against Omicron in serum samples from people who had received two doses of vaccine. Two other studies released in the past day have found similar results. “The positive message is that existing tools can actually deal with it,” Sigal adds.
References: Pfizer–BioNTech press release & medRxiv preprint 1, preprint 2 & preprint 3
Research highlights: 1-minute reads
The growing demand for plastic is being fed by coal-fired plastic production, especially in Asian countries.Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty
Surging plastic use is fed by toxic coal power
Coal-fired power plants are satisfying the world’s voracious appetite for plastic, but their emissions are causing a wave of disease and deaths.
This enormous eagle could have killed you, probably
The extinct Haast’s eagle — known from fossils found in New Zealand — hunted like its modern relatives, but also had habits of a scavenger.
Shutting ‘super-polluters’ reaps big rewards
Early retirement for climate-damaging power plants would also cut emissions of air pollution that endanger human health.
A species of swift lives up to its name as it migrates from southern Europe to central Africa.
Neutron beam probes ancient amulet
Hidden inside a leaden artefact, researchers find words of magic and Christian creed side by side.
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Get more of Nature’s research highlights: short picks from the scientific literature (For Nature subscribers)
Features & opinion
‘Brazil’s water crisis is a world crisis’
Brazil has the largest amount of fresh water in the world. About 20% of all global inland water flowing to the oceans is generated in Brazilian territory. Yet much of the nation now faces drought. Climate researchers Augusto Getirana, Renata Libonati and Marcio Cataldi explain the complex processes that have created the crisis and describe a plan for how the country can avoid the worst outcomes.
How to master scientific presentations
Science communicator Bruce Kirchoff outlines three ways to ensure that your presentations are engaging and convey the importance of your research to a wide audience. State your main finding in your title, use repeated problems and solutions to create a story, and use the word ‘but’ for dramatic effect, he says.
Image of the week
Credit: NASA
This is among the first images collected by Landsat 9, an orbiting satellite run jointly by NASA and the US Geological Survey that launched in September. It shows part of the northwest coast of Australia, including clusters of dark-green mangrove swamps in protected inlets and bays. Fluffy cumulus clouds and wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds hover above.
See more of the month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.
