- January 31, 2026
This robot hand detaches and walks by itself
Human hands are incredibly dexterous tools — but they have their limits. They are asymmetric, they have only a single thumb and, fundamentally, they’re connected
What were the first animals? The fierce sponge–jelly battle that just won’t end
Which animals came first? For more than a century, most evidence suggested that sponges, immobile filter-feeders that lack muscles, neurons and other specialized tissues, were
Guinea-Bissau suspends US-funded vaccine trial as African scientists question its motives
Guinea-Bissau will implement a universal birth-dose policy for the Hepatitis B vaccine in 2027.Credit: Enrique Lopez-Tapia/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Public-health authorities in Guinea-Bissau say that they
Baby-to-baby strain transmission shapes the developing gut microbiome
Cohort description and recruitment A total of 134 volunteers comprising babies (4–15 months old at nursery start, median 10 months, 18 male, 25 female) about to attend
How do vaccine cutbacks affect public health? Ask Japan
Despite having a strong healthcare system, vaccine hesitancy and mixed messages from government have curtailed some immunization efforts.Credit: Carl Court/Getty When US officials announced earlier
A ‘time capsule for cells’ stores the secret experiences of their past
Ribosomes, pictured here, synthesize proteins by translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into amino acid chains. Credit: Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library Researchers have engineered a time capsule
Ancient ‘snowball’ Earth had frigidly briny seas
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT 12 January 2026 Ocean temperatures well below freezing in Earth’s deep-past glacial phases imply some very salty waters. Source link
Chinese nuclear fusion reactor pushes plasma past crucial limit: what happens next
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak is a nuclear-fusion research reactor in Hefei, China.Credit: Zhang Yazi/China News Service/VCG via Getty Researchers working on China’s ‘artificial sun’
Artificial skin mimics the octopus’s art of disguise
Nature, Published online: 06 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03984-8 A ‘photonic skin’ with controllable colour and texture brings materials science a step closer to the adaptive camouflage
Science in 2026: what to expect this year
Nature, Published online: 01 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04114-0 More refined AI models, advancements in human gene editing and the continuing impact of the Trump Team on
