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Cats aren't always so eager to engage with their owners.Credit: Shutterstock

At least some pet cats can distinguish their names from similar-sounding words, although they register recognition with the merest twitch of the head or ear. “Cats are just as good as dogs at learning — they’re just not as keen to show their owners what they’ve learnt,” says human–animal interaction researcher John Bradshaw.

Nature | 4 min read

A group of researchers has outlined a plan to translate the latest findings in climate science into practical information, such as improved flood maps and building codes. The goal is to help the United States cope with climate change. “It’s really about making science accessible in a mainstream way,” says the panel’s leader, climate scientist Richard Moss. The group had originally come together under the auspices of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, before being disbanded by President Donald Trump two years ago. It later restarted with funding from New York state, universities and others, and some experts see it as providing the leadership that the federal government won’t.

Nature | 3 min read

For the past year, Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 has pelted the asteroid Ryugu with bouncing probes, shot a bullet at it and taken a bite from it — all for science. But now, the mission has performed its most daring manoeuvre yet: it has dropped an explosive on the surface of the asteroid to create a small crater. If the explosion went as planned — the mission team are yet to confirm the detonation — it will expose some of the asteroid’s subsurface layers, which the probe will sample during a later touchdown.

Nature | 3 min read

Gold, gems and the bones of a sacrificed baby llama found in an Andean lake reveal the rituals of the 1,500-year-old Tiwanaku civilization. The sumptuous offerings would have advertised leaders’ authority and promoted the binding ties of religion across the expanding Tiwanaku empire.

Nature Research Highlights | 1 min read

Reference: PNAS paper

Get more of Nature’s Research Highlights: short picks from the latest papers.

FEATURES & OPINION

Yoshua Bengio, winner of the prestigious Turing award for his work on deep learning, is establishing international guidelines for the ethical use of AI. “Self-regulation is not going to work,” he says. “Do you think that voluntary taxation works? It doesn’t.”

Nature | 5 min read

Nobel-prizewinning geneticist Sydney Brenner, who has died aged 92, sparked a new field of research when he turned the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode worm into a model system for research into human disease. Brenner also co-discovered messenger RNA, contributed to the understanding of the genetic code of DNA and spearheaded medical research in Singapore. “I believe that a scientist should be judged by the quality of the people he has helped to produce and not by prizes or other honours bestowed on him,” said Brenner in his Nobel Prize essay.

Nature | 2 min read

Youthful skin is replenished by a healthy pool of stem cells that lies beneath the surface — and now we know how the stem cells stay in tip-top condition. “There’s a quality control mechanism,” says biologist James DeGregori in this week’s Nature Podcast. “It’s not that they die, they just lose their ability to maintain themselves as stem cells and instead they become the functional outer layer of our skin”, destined to one day be shed and join the dust bunnies.

Nature Podcast | 30 min listen

Read what the experts think in the related News & Views article

Reference: Nature paper

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BOOKS & ARTS

Isaac Newton (left) and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz each independently invented calculus.Credit: Left, DeAgostini/Getty; Right, Lombard/ullstein bild via Getty

Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz both “died in excruciating pain while suffering from calculi — a bladder stone for Newton, a kidney stone for Leibniz”. It was a cruelly ironic end for the scientists who independently invented calculus: the word comes from the Latin for ‘small stone’, in reference to pebbles once used for counting. Such fascinating anecdotes abound in Infinite Powers, a new book by mathematician Steven Strogatz.

Nature | 5 min read

A new book about the software makers who are quietly building modern society is bang up to date in a fast-moving world, says reviewer Li Gong. “As a computer scientist and former coder, I found that many passages elicited a quiet smile and a moment of self-recognition,” says Gong. “I can imagine chief executives ordering bundles of this book for employees.”

Nature | 6 min read

Barbara Kiser’s pick of the top five science books to read this week includes the climate revolution that almost was, the science of magic and sleep disorders examined.

Nature | 2 min read

INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK

SCIENTIFIC LIFE

TED talks offer the opportunity to hone your message and reach an audience of millions. Three scientists who have stood on the big stage share their advice on how to craft an engaging talk, wherever you’re speaking.

Nature | 8 min read

When bioscientist Jessica Sagers had to do a three-month internship as part of her PhD, she was worried it would just be a distraction from her research. It “turned out to be one of the most enlightening and valuable experiences of my graduate training,” she says — and led to an enticing job offer. Sagers shares five ways that mixing things up with an internship can boost your career and rekindle your spark for learning.

Nature | 6 min read

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Credit: Michael Light/Hosfelt Gallery

See more of our picture editors’ picks for best science photos of the month.