World Cup ‘hydration breaks’ risk turning good science into a bad example

Hello Nature readers,
Today we enjoy the month’s most spectacular science images, get to grips with computer chips and hear that World Cup ‘hydration breaks’ could undermine trust in heat-health research.

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The month’s best science images

An invertebrate known as siphonophore swims 552 metres deep in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean — and is one of 31 species discovered during a deep-sea expedition off the coast of Brazil. The researchers explored the ocean’s midwater, an area that stretches from just below the sunlit surface to the sea floor, and forms the largest habitable ecosystem on Earth. With laser-imaging tools, the team captured 3D, millimetre-scale footage of animals in their natural habitat.

See more of the month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

Why humans take long sniffs

Neural activity in the olfactory bulb — the brain area responsible for processing information about smells — follows a steady rhythm that could explain how humans can smell using relatively long sniffs compared to other mammals. Researchers found that a person’s sniff triggered a surge in electrical activity called a theta oscillation, which repeats a few times each second. This neural pattern was only activated when people took a deliberate sniff, which suggests that the intention to smell something is what triggers the surge.

Forever chemicals are lurking in paint

Paint can be full of per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) — widely used, but toxic, ‘forever chemicals’ that don’t degrade naturally. The bad news is that most of the paint used in homes and businesses sticks around for ages, too — first on surfaces, and then in landfills. “So even if PFAS use in paints were reduced or phased out today, substantial future emissions could still occur from the large quantities already present in existing buildings,” notes environmental scientist Patrick Byrne.

Why small chips are a big deal

In The Chip Age, computer engineer Rakesh Kumar explains how semiconductor chips have become the material substrate of contemporary power. Kumar traces the history of computing to detail how institutions, not lone geniuses, drove the development of chips over the years. The book is “miraculous” in its strongest sections, writes science journalist Chris Stokel-Walker in his review, with accessible explanations of the workings of semiconductors and the global markets that surround them. But some parts “feel slapdash and hastily put together” by comparison.

Hydration breaks miss the mark

The hydration breaks at the men’s football World Cup risk undermining trust in heat-health research, argues environmental physiologist Harry Brown. The stoppages are being used regardless of the temperature in stadiums — allowing teams to discuss tactics — and seem to be tied to television schedules and advertising incomes. The breaks “risk becoming another example of good science being lost in translation” if they aren’t used to actually cool players down, Brown writes. “It’s not the pause in play — it’s how it’s used.”

AI-detection software is a mixed bag

In the arms race between universities and chatbot-wielding cheaters, tools that claim to be able to identify AI-written text are proliferating. But the tools vary in quality, and innocent students have been accused of outsourcing their essays to AI. So should detectors be used at all? “Yes, they can work — but the fact that there are so many concerns about false positives means they shouldn’t really be used when it comes to anything that’s sensitive for a student,” says Mike Perkins, who researches the impact of AI on academia.