Every day briefing: Pigeons would possibly discover their approach by following their liver

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Iron-loaded immune cells within the livers of homing pigeons might assist the birds navigate utilizing Earth’s magnetic discipline. Researchers discovered that macrophages in pigeon liver tissue are full of a magnetic form of iron called ferritin. When the workforce depleted these cells in a gaggle of homing pigeons and launched them in overcast situations, the birds obtained misplaced alongside a route they’d nailed within the sunshine. The outcomes are “intriguing”, however don’t verify that ferritin is behind the pigeons’ knack for navigation, says sensory ecologist Catherine Lohmann.

Science | 6 min read

Reference: Science paper

The first scientific trial aimed toward utilizing gene remedy to develop new heart-muscle cells is now below approach — certainly one of a brand new wave of such therapies to regenerate the center. Some scientists are cautiously optimistic that these therapies might at some point be used to deal with situations reminiscent of coronary heart failure. But others stay sceptical, partially as a result of the sphere’s previous is mired in controversy. In the early 2000s, a flurry of papers reported that the center has stem cells that may regenerate coronary heart muscle — however a number of the outcomes have since been retracted.

Nature | 7 min learn

A ‘New Glenn’ rocket made by billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space-tech agency Blue Origin exploded throughout a routine engine check on 28 May, damaging a lot of the encompassing Space Launch Complex 36 (LC-36). The accident, throughout which nobody was injured, puts a question mark over the timeline of NASA’s Moon Base 1 mission, scheduled to launch this autumn. The mission is slated to make use of Blue Origin’s Endurance lander, flown on a New Glenn rocket, to ship scientific devices to the Moon. But LC-36 is the one facility on this planet that may launch a New Glenn, and rebuilding it might take months, specialists say.

BBC | 5 min read

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Features & opinion

Around a decade in the past, biologist Alex Bentley stumbled upon an uncommon museum in a small Ecuadorian city. Inside was farmer Manuel Genaro Peñafiel’s assortment of snake specimens he’d been amassing since 1958. The assortment was huge, however had by no means been formally documented. In 2023, Bentley and Peñafiel, with the assistance of greater than 100 different townspeople, set to work cataloguing the specimens within. Some species within the assortment hadn’t been seen within the surrounding habitat for many years and one western ribbon coral snake (Micrurus helleri) was the most important ever registered.

The New York Times | 11 min read

At any second, a mass of slow-moving bedrock might collapse and plunge into Portage Lake in Alaska, triggering a tsunami that would wipe out a customer centre, capsize tour boats and threaten cruise ships. The trigger? Destabilization of the bedrock due partially to a retreating glacier and melting permafrost, each accelerated by local weather change. Independent geologist Bretwood Higman has made it his life’s work to sound the alarm about such tsunamis-in-waiting. Government paperwork and an unwillingness to resist the issue imply progress is gradual. “The most likely scenario is something really, really bad is going to happen before we are on top of any of it,” says Higman.

National Geographic | 27 min read (intermittent paywall)

A jaded explorer decides to strike out on their very own in Scraping and your swimsuit is designed to maintain you alive in any respect prices in Sarcophagus.

Nature | 5 min learn & Nature | 5 min learn

Theoretical physicist Stephon Alexander credit his saxophone for making him the scientist he’s. As a jazz musician, the power to improvise has made him “more fluid and flexible mentally in terms of approaching and attacking physics problems”, he tells Nature’s Working Scientist Podcast. And taking part in alongside others has taught Alexander the right way to collaborate successfully. “You have to be able to coexist and play with them in service of the music,” he says. Similarly, “it’s important to be able to be in dialogue with other physicists from different schools of thought”.

Nature Working Scientist Podcast | 20 min hear

Today, Leif Penguinson is exploring the luxurious greens of the rice terraces in Bali, Indonesia. Can you find the penguin?

The reply can be in Monday’s e-mail, all due to Briefing picture editor and penguin wrangler Tom Houghton.

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Jacob Smith, affiliate editor, Nature Briefing

With contributions by Celeste Biever

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