Nature Briefing
"Shamonda: First human death linked to new virus sickening cows in Europe."
Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents. Accessed on 24 October 2026, 0230 UTC.
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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencemonitor.blogspot.com).
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Hello Nature readers, | ||
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| Researchers put plants and soil into a 300-metre-long wave flume and hit them with powerful waves up to 2 metres tall. | ||
Podcast: why we put a marsh in a wave poolScientists in the Netherlands dug up 3–6-tonne blocks of a real salt marsh and put them into one of the world's largest wave generators to show how these coastal ecosystems will fare in extreme storms. “We brought the marsh to a facility where we were able to create this kind of superstorm,” coastal engineer Pim Willemsen told the Nature Podcast. They found that salt-marsh plants can protect inland areas against huge waves — but seemingly only up to a point, and big storms cause progressive damage to the vegetation. Nature Podcast | 20 min listenReference: Nature paper | ||
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What we know about Shamonda virusThe first human death has been attributed to a newly discovered type of orthobunyavirus that has been making cows ill in Europe. The man, who was in his 60s and lived in rural France, had a severely weakened immune system because of blood cancer. The virus, Shamonda virus Europe 1 (SHAV-EU1), was detected in Europe for the first time in July 2026 in cattle — around the same time that the man is thought to have been infected. Little is known about the virus or how it affects the body, but experts say that the risk of infections passing between people is low. Nature | 5 min readReference: Eurosurveillance paper | ||
First use of prime editing inside the bodyA powerful gene-editing technique called prime editing has been used to alter DNA directly in a person’s body for the first time. Biotech firm Prime Medicine used the method, which can insert, delete and rewrite segments of DNA, to treat a condition called Wilson disease. The edit targeted a mutation that prevented liver cells from eliminating excess copper. Prime Medicine is one of a slew of companies aiming to engineer cells in the body, which could be cheaper and faster than the conventional method of extracting cells, editing them and reinjecting them. Nature | 5 min readReference: Prime Medicine news release | ||
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Vaccine cuts risk of skin cancer coming backA personalized mRNA vaccine has reduced the risk of skin cancer returning or the recipient dying by 42% when used alongside an immunotherapy drug. The vaccine, called intismeran, is designed to prevent tumours regrowing in people who’ve had surgery to remove them. A more than 40% risk reduction “would send many researchers over the Moon”, says geneticist Seth Cheetham. Researchers from US vaccine-developers Merck and Moderna were set to present the results at the European Society for Medical Oncology tomorrow, but announced them early after the data leaked online. Nature | 5 min read | ||
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Chemists: why you’re drawing liesThe typical chemistry diagrams that we learn to draw in school hide the true nature of some molecules, such as benzene: a six-atom ring in which “electrons dance across all six carbons, not just between pairs”, writes mathematical chemist Guillermo Restrepo. “I’m calling on you to stop drawing lies — sorry, lines!” he jokes. Instead, he suggests hypergraphs, which use coloured regions to depict bonds as shared interactions between groups of atoms. Chemistry World | 9 min read | ||
Futures: science fiction from NatureA parent considers a new kind of schooling for her child in The Bursar and a soldier begins to forget their life before a war in Rebody. Nature | 6 min read & Nature | 6 min read | ||
Five best science books this weekAndrew Robinson’s pick of five science books to read this week includes a crash course in quantum computing and a glimpse into the world of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Nature | 4 min read | ||
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