Daily Brief: Authors-for-sale is big business.

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According to an international study of thousands of people, people who live together tend to have the same microbes in their guts and mouths. Mothers give their children a ‘starter kit’ of microbes when they are babies. But that microbiome changes over time to include other family members and unrelated housemates and social interactions. The discovery raises the possibility of diseases linked to microbiome dysregulation — such as cancer, diabetes and obesity — partly transmissible.

nature | Read 3 minutes

Reference: Nature Paper

Research and integrity activists found hundreds of online advertisements selling authorship of papers to be published in reputable journals. This business is big business: A pre-publication analysis of more than 1,000 writer position offers from one website put them at an estimated $6.5 million. Journals are beginning to investigate and retract papers that appear to be related to advertising. Economist Anna Abelkina says the problem is getting worse. The authorship market thrives on the number of papers that researchers in many countries still publish.

nature | Read 5 minutes

Reference: arXiv preprint (not peer-reviewed)

Ethics violations in physics are as prevalent today as they were 20 years ago, according to a survey of more than 4,000 former physicists. In the year In 2020, 7.3% of respondents to a survey by the American Physical Society said they had seen data falsification – in 2003, it was only 3.9%. And 12.5% ​​of respondents felt pressured to violate codes of conduct, compared to 7.7% in 2003.

nature | Read 5 minutes

SafeScience is a website for researchers in the Netherlands to report threats and harassment and provides an emergency phone number. Willemijn Lamet, a criminologist and psychologist who advises Dutch universities on security policy, said the project began after a historian studying migration found a threat taped to her door. The 24-hour hotline will respond with a safety consultant who can help a researcher in an emergency if he needs immediate help, “even if it’s just to help them decide how serious it is and what to do next.” says Lamet.

nature | Read 5 minutes

Features and comments

Assessment tests can help researchers reach thousands or even millions of people from different groups, five behavioral researchers argue. For example, a game in which English-speaking players in the world guess where they learned the language was distributed on social networks, which allowed scientists to find information about 670,000 people. Researchers must sacrifice carefully controlled laboratory environments, but they often find more engaged and naturally behaving participants, including those who do not participate in laboratory-based studies.

nature | Read 13 minutes

He argues that there should be a revolution in organizing and funding PhD training Nature Editorial. Many countries have seen an explosion in doctoral degrees as science becomes more important to national prosperity. Nineteenth-century doctoral students and professors in master-apprentice relationships cannot prepare researchers for the way science works today: in large disciplinary teams.

nature | Read 5 minutes

Bitcoin-mining operations in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo rank among the most expensive and threatened rainforests in the world. The government provides only 1% of the park’s budget, even though it is home to unrivaled biodiversity, including a third of the endangered mountain gorillas ().Gorilla beringei beringei). Bitcoin’s operation – which ‘mines’ the cryptocurrency using computer power – uses hydroelectric power. The hope is that ‘green’ crypto can recoup lost funding after tourism, which accounts for 40% of the park’s revenue. “In 2018, we had to close tourism because of kidnappings [by rebels]. Then in 2019 we had to shut down tourism because of Ebola. And 2020 – the rest is history with Covid,” said Park Director Emmanuel de Merode. “Then the price of Bitcoin went through the roof,” he says. “We were lucky – for once.”

MIT Technology Review | Read 21 minutes

Picture of the week

Astronomers have released images of 21 newly discovered supernova remnants in the Milky Way. By combining the observing power of radio telescopes across Australia, researchers have been able to identify the gas and dust left behind by the explosion of a giant star. “This image was the first test we did, and it worked really well,” said radio astronomer Roland Cotes.

nature | Read 4 minutes

Today I’m reflecting on the struggle of science to create really good decaffeinated coffee. With CRISPR-enhanced efforts, many aficionados want to create a drink without the ‘buzz’, from a coffee plant species that naturally contains half of the caffeine – but is nearly extinct.

As the deadline approaches, I tend to think more about double espressos than calming decaf. Add some spring to my step by sending me your comments on this newsletter – your emails are always welcome at briefing@nature.com.

Thank you for reading

Flora Graham, Senior Editor, Nature Brief

With contributions by Katrina Kramer and Diane Lewis

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