Atmosphere found on rocky exoplanet — could it host life?

Hello Nature readers,
Today we discover an exciting exoplanet, learn about synthetic CRISPR proteins and frolic in the mathematical wonderland of footballs and buckyballs.

Ancient Egyptian princesses kicked ass

The remains of some ancient Egyptian princesses of the Late Middle Kingdom, who were buried with beautiful weapons, show signs that they participated in strenuous, dangerous activities such as archery and hunting. “Their bones developed to sustain heavy muscle use, which corresponds directly to the weapons discovered in their tombs,” says archeologist and study co-author Zeinab Hashesh. “These findings challenge the traditional view that elite Egyptian women led passive, sedentary lives.”

A rocky exoplanet with an atmosphere

Astronomers have spotted a rocky exoplanet that looks likely to have an atmosphere — and could be a host for life. The planet, LHS 1140b, appears to have a helium-rich upper atmosphere and sits in the habitable zone around a star, the area in which an orbiting planet could maintain liquid water on its surface. Researchers can’t say for sure whether there is water on the exoplanet, but the findings constitute an “amazing missing piece of the puzzle” as to whether rocky exoplanets can have atmospheres, says astrophysicist Sara Seager.

CRISPR gets an AI-designed upgrade

Scientists have used artificial intelligence to design synthetic CRISPR proteins that can edit the genome more efficiently than their natural counterparts. Many of these proteins differed markedly from the originals, with some differing by roughly 30% of their amino acid sequences. Nevertheless, the synthetic versions were still able to edit genes in bacterial, plant and human cells, a finding that’s “pretty exciting” says biochemist and study co-author Jennifer Doudna, who shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on CRISPR systems.

US pushes to restrict China collaborations

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the United States expressed concerns about China exploiting US research at a hearing on Wednesday. But they differed on how to protect and fund US research. The hearing follows an announcement by the US National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of basic US academic research, that it will ban collaborations with some international institutions, including many leading Chinese universities.

The beautiful ball

From classic 32-panel footballs to buckyballs — the carbon molecule Buckminsterfullerene C₆₀ — truncated icosahedrons are lots of fun. The ball being batted around in the World Cup is a curvy version nicknamed ‘Trionda’, a spherical tetrahedron. Discover more marvellous maths — including some weird and wonderful variations brought to life.

Futures: Relapse

A forgotten stack of postcards is an unwelcome temptation in the latest short story for Nature’s Futures series.

Five best science books this week

Andrew Robinson’s pick of the top five science books to read this week includes the science of pain and an argument against a genetic basis for wrongdoing.

Podcast: the ‘holy grail’ of mole-rat research

Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) queens produce a chemical that alters the production of hormones in other females, which stifles their ability to reproduce. The smell of this chemical alone is enough to maintain the strict social structure of naked mole-rat colonies, even when the queen isn’t physically present, researchers found. Identifying the specific cue that queens use to suppress reproduction in the rest of their colony is “like the holy grail for naked mole-rat research”, behavioural neuroscientist Melissa Holmes tells the Nature Podcast.