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What's the best way to become a professor? The answer depends on where you are
A huge analysis of hiring practices has revealed that criteria to get a promotion to full professorship is hugely variable around the world. The authors suggest that this variability results in researchers from countries that value one type of metric being locked out of professor positions in others. They hope that the database of hiring practices created in this study could help institutions adjust their hiring policies to create a more diverse science workforce.
Research Article: Lim et al.
News: Want to become a professor? Here’s how hiring criteria differ by country
Lasers reveal hidden tattoos on ancient mummified-skin, and a new pill that cuts flu symptoms and viral levels in the body.
Research Highlight: Hidden tattoos on mummy skin emerge under a laser’s light
Research Highlight: Got flu? Promising drug shortens symptoms
Researchers have shown that cancer cells can slip their dysfunctional mitochondria into T cells, limiting the immune system’s cancer-fighting capabilities. Cancer cells are known to steal healthy mitochondria from immune cells to help tumours survive and thrive. Now, researchers have shown mitochondria can move in the opposite direction too, with the donor T cells showing signs of various stress responses that make them less effective when inside a tumour. The team showed that blocking this transfer limited this effect, and hopes that this mechanism could offer a new avenue for boosting the immune system’s response to cancer.
Research Article: Ikeda et al.
News & Views: Mitochondrial swap from cancer to immune cells thwarts anti-tumour defences
Noah Baker and Ehsan Masood turn to the war in Gaza, and discuss what comes next for science as a ceasefire comes into force.
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This fish shouldn’t exist — the weird genetics of clonal vertebrates
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Briefing chat: What Galileo’s scribbled margin notes reveal about his scientific journey
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Briefing chat: Pokémon turns 30 — how Pikachu and pals inspired generations of researchers
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19:35|High-speed footage reveals shoe squeaks can start with a tiny bolt of lightning — plus, evidence that a debated brain phenomenon exists in humans.00:44 The science of squeaky shoesResearch Article : Djellouli et al.Basketball sound effects via Bradley Kanaris/Getty.09:05 Research HighlightsNature: Runaway black hole leaves a trail of starsNature: Super-sticky feet help a robot to climb the walls11:31 Evidence of hippocampal neurogenesisResearch Article: Disouky et al.Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
Briefing chat: How hovering bumblebees keep their cool
13:59|00:25 How brains differ by sex and ageNature: Brain differences between sexes get more pronounced from puberty07:14 Bumblebees ‘fan themselves’ during flight to keep coolScience: How do busy bees avoid overheating from flying?Video: Birds gliding through bubbles reveal aerodynamic trickSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.This chunk of glass could store two million books for 10,000 years
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