Bat genomics could unlock the secrets of longevity and disease resistance

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight, and they have remarkable resistance to viruses, cancer and the effects of ageing. Scientists are now building on those traits through the first phase of the Bat1K project, an ambitious effort to generate chromosome-level genomes for all extant bat species.

New research suggests that bats may have evolved in Europe, challenging previous assumptions that their origins lay in Africa, Asia or North America. “This is a landmark study for bat biology, and comparative genomics more generally,” evolutionary biologist Josephine Stiller writes in an accompanying Nature News & Views article.

Washington Post | 8 min read & Nature News & Views | 8 min read

Reference: Nature paper

AlphaFold database adds virus proteins to support pandemic preparedness

The AlphaFold protein structure database, which contains predicted structures for nearly every known protein on Earth, has been upgraded to better represent viruses. Researchers added more than 8,000 protein dimers — pairs of interacting molecules — from 23 virus families that infect humans.

The update accompanies the launch of a Pandemic Preparedness Portal within the widely used, freely available AlphaFold database. “This is an essential resource for understanding the diversity, evolution and function of viruses,” says virologist Edward Holmes.

Nature | 5 min read

Why some people do not lose weight with GLP-1 drugs

About 10% to 15% of people who take popular GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy, lose little or no weight. Researchers do not yet fully understand why some people do not respond to these treatments.

Solving the mystery could help scientists develop new drugs for people who do not respond to currently available medicines and make it possible to personalize treatments according to which options are most likely to work.

Nature | 5 min read

Features and impressions

A new secret-message technique in Nature Futures

In the latest short story, a criminal organization develops a new way to pass secret messages.

Nature | 6 min read

Five science books to read this week

Andrew Robinson recommends five science books, including works on science journalism and research, cold-water kelp forests and the case for giving alchemy the credit it deserves.

Nature | 4 min read

How financial abuse affects financial independence

Financial abuse — a form of domestic violence involving control over a person’s money and expenses — can leave victim-survivors in debt and undermine their independence. It can also be difficult to document.

By comparing anonymised banking data from British women who had experienced financial abuse with data from women who had not, researchers identified possible warning signs, including lower credit scores and less spending on self-care. The researchers hope the findings will help inform policies to identify victims and survivors and restore financial freedom.

Nature Podcast | Listen for 24 minutes

Subscribe to the Nature Podcast on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify,
YouTube Music or
RSS feed.

Today’s nature photograph

Today, Leaf Penguinson is visiting Plaza Blanca, which artist Georgia O’Keeffe called the “white place”. The geological formations are near Abiquiu, New Mexico.

Can you find the penguin?

The answer will be in Monday’s email. Many thanks to Briefing photo editor and penguin wrangler Tom Horton.