Researchers are exploring whether “precision psychiatry” can make mental-health treatment more personalized, while other stories examine neural activity linked to consciousness, the risks of gene-editing therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and declining public trust in science. This week’s briefing also features conservation efforts for endangered frogs, changes to scientific publishing, NASA’s Swift Observatory and the sale of a dinosaur fossil.
Illustration: Muhammad Fatulofi
News
Precision psychiatry aims to reduce trial and error
Researchers hope that an approach known as precision psychiatry could reduce the trial and error involved in finding the right treatment and dosage for people with mental-health conditions. The idea is to use data-driven methods to divide broad, imprecise diagnoses into more useful subgroups and apply personalized treatments.
Some psychiatrists are investigating how genetics, biometric data and socioeconomic factors could be combined to create individualized treatment plans. Others caution that the benefits of this approach have not yet been demonstrated.
Nature | 11 minute read
Brain activity in macaques flickers between two patterns
In visual-perception tests, researchers showed macaque monkeys two images, each visible to only one eye, that produced known patterns of neural activity. The animals’ brain activity alternated between the two patterns 15 times per second.
One pattern corresponded to an image the macaque was consciously processing, while the other corresponded to an image it did not recognize. The researchers say the findings could represent a small step towards understanding how the brain generates consciousness, or the subjective experience of awareness.
Nature | 5 minute read
Reference: bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed)
Gene-editing trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy reports death
Researchers have announced results from the first human clinical trial of an experimental gene-editing therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A young boy died after developing a devastating immune response.
The therapy used an adeno-associated virus to deliver a base editor, a type of CRISPR gene-editing technology, into muscle cells. The aim was to correct the mutations that cause DMD. The study results indicate that the therapy edited some of the targeted genes, but its therapeutic effect was limited. The boy who died was one of four participants in the trial.
Nature | 6 minute read
Reference: Cell paper
European funders back more transparent publishing
European scientific funders and research institutions are joining the European Commission’s efforts to expand open-access publishing and make peer-review processes more transparent.
The programme will run on an expanded version of the Open Research Europe (ORE) platform, which the Commission plans to roll out in early November. The platform uses a model in which preprints are openly reviewed by identifiable reviewers.
“This is a collaborative effort to build a more transparent and sustainable publishing system that serves the research community and society at large,” said Karla Anaya-Carlsson, chair of the ORE Funders Group.
Nature | 4 minute read
This week’s infographic
This year’s results from the largest public survey of trust in science show that confidence in research has declined since the coronavirus pandemic. The survey examines attitudes towards science and health, including vaccines, pandemic preparedness, clean energy and, for the first time, artificial intelligence.
Despite the decline, scientists were still considered more trustworthy than government officials and neighbouring countries.
Nature | 3 minute read
Reference: Wellcome Global Monitor 2026 Survey
Features and impressions
Finding safe ground for endangered frogs
In Southern California, researchers are racing to save the wood frog. Invasive species, habitat loss and infectious fungi drove the once-thriving frog population close to extinction in the 2000s.
A captive-breeding programme has since enabled thousands of yellow-footed frogs to be released into the wild. But wildfires in the region are becoming more intense. Scientists have repeatedly had to search for new places to house the amphibians safely, and viable options could be running out.
Do student ratings matter?
Marketing communications specialist Lan Nguyen Chaplin asks whether people are comfortable no longer worrying about student ratings. “The important thing is that I challenge them, not whether they like me or not,” she says of her students.
A panel of Nature readers has made its own judgments. Continue reading to see whether you agree.
Nature | 5 minute read
Quote of the day
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is scheduled to plunge into Earth’s atmosphere and disappear next week, after spending nearly 22 years in orbit. Caryl Gronwall, who led Swift’s science operations team, said astronomers are mourning the loss of the spacecraft but are grateful for the vast archive of data it leaves for scientists to explore.
Nature | 4 minute read
And finally
What could you do with £35.5 million (US$47.3 million)? One option would be to buy a model approximately 67 million years old: a Nanotyrannus skeleton. Because it is a fossil, that option is available only to someone willing to make a multimillion-dollar purchase. The skeleton sold for that amount at auction on 26 October.
If you made a multimillion-pound purchase this week, or have feedback about this newsletter, please contact [email protected].
Thank you for reading,
Jacob Smith, Associate Editor, Nature Briefing
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Source: www.nature.com