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‘The nerds strike back’ in US mid-terms

The US mid-term elections won the Democratic party power in both chambers of the US Congress, raising hopes that lawmakers will now push back against disruptions to science introduced by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump. Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate will give the party the power to craft legislation that counteracts Trump’s science agenda. But the President could still veto these bills, since Democrats don’t hold more than two-thirds of seats in either chamber. The results have also brought a wave of scientists and medical professionals into political office. “The nerds strike back,” says Shaughnessy Naughton, president of the political fundraising group 314 Action.

Toothbrush zaps bacteria to clear plaque

A new manual toothbrush can destroy bacteria by generating its own electrical charge, rather than relying on friction alone. The brush’s bristles are made from a polymer that researchers stretched and heated to obtain its piezoelectric form — meaning it generates a charge when deformed. During brushing, the bending bristles release charges that create highly reactive forms of oxygen in nearby saliva. These damage bacteria cell membranes, the team says. When the bristles relax, the material reabsorbs the charges, ready to go again.

Ancient DNA hints at spread of languages

Two new studies analysing more than 4,700 ancient human genomes have identified the possible origins of Celtic and Germanic languages and found migrations that might have dispersed their speakers around Europe. The findings could explain why Germanic languages such as English and Dutch are so widespread, whereas Celtic languages such as Welsh and Gaelic are concentrated to a few million people in northern Europe.

Reference: Nature paper 1 & paper 2

Small epilepsy trial shows big results

Three people with drug-resistant epilepsy saw the number of seizures they had per month fall by more than 90%, after gene-laden viruses were infused into their brains as part of an early-stage clinical trial. The treatment was targeted to the small patch of brain tissue responsible for each participants’ seizures. The virus carried a gene that made neurons in that area sensitive to clozapine, a drug that activates the gene therapy, which in turn helps to suppress the abnormal electrical activity associated with seizures. The participants didn’t experience any serious side effects, but long-term use of clozapine might bring cardiovascular risks and other problems, say researchers.

Reference: New England Journal of Medicine paper

AI takes the wheel in ‘self-driving’ DNA lab

A genetics lab in Shanghai has handed almost all control over to a team of robots guided by artificial-intelligence agents. The robotic arms in the ‘self-driving’ lab can operate more than 20 types of instrument, complete thousands of operations in a single project and see through experiments that involve synthesizing and sequencing DNA, among other tasks. The system, called ‘AutoDNA’, uses a simple human prompt to design and execute experiments. While it’s running, human hands are required only to refresh reagents and service hardware.

Infographic of the week

Health information distributed as part of a randomized clinical trial can unintentionally reshape social relationships, as demonstrated by a trial in rural Honduras. Researchers found that the intervention — which involved being provided with information about child and maternal health — affected people’s friendships, financial relationships and whom they went to for health advice. In villages where only a few people received the information, overall connectivity decreased, whereas it increased in places where the intervention covered the majority of households. (Nature News & Views | 6 min read)

Who gets to go to space

When NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins launched on a SpaceX capsule to the International Space Station last month, she became the first Black woman to command a crewed space mission. Sian Proctor, the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft (on a private SpaceX mission in 2021) reflects on how commercial spaceflight is increasing access and how Watkins’s accomplishment might help lead us to a future in space that reflects the people on Earth.

Space.com | 11 min read (free registration required)

Video: Parkinson’s isn’t all about the brain

Research into Parkinson’s disease has historically focussed on the brain, and the processes that lead to the death of dopamine neurons the disorder causes. But this research hasn’t yet pinpointed a genetic component of the disease in most people, leaving its underlying trigger unknown. Now, some researchers are investigating environmental factors that could contribute to disease onset, and others have found evidence that changes to proteins in the gut could precede symptoms in the brain.

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Parkinson’s disease, a supplement produced with financial support from Aspen Neuroscience, Inc.