Mouse-to-mouse resuscitation: mice give unconscious friends first aid

Hello Nature readers,
Today we explore how Israeli and Palestinian scientists are continuing to work together under difficult conditions, learn that ‘microlightning’ might have sparked life on Earth and discover that mice give their friends first aid.

Collaborations continue amidst conflict

Scientists from Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighbouring countries are continuing to work together, even after 15 months of war. For example, in January, 60 Palestinian, Jordanian and Israeli experts met in Athens to discuss how to solve the region’s water issues and other environmental problems. But the weight of conflict weighs heavy on the region’s scientific community: for example, scholars and universities in Israel grapple with formal and informal boycotts, while researchers and administrators in Gaza face the wholesale destruction of their institutions. “I’m hoping that following the ceasefire, and when things calm down, collaborations across the Middle East will grow,” says quantum physicist Roee Ozeri. “In general, I think science is a great bridge between people, and between nations.”

Microlightning might have sparked life

The energy from ‘microlightning’ might have powered chemical reactions that formed the building blocks for life on Earth. When water sprays as a fine mist — after the crash of a wave, for example — it forms minute, charged droplets. The proximity of oppositely-charged droplets to one another generates an electrical discharge and a tiny flash of light. Researchers found that in the presence of gases including nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide, microlightning caused the synthesis of molecules such as the amino acid glycine and uracil, a key component of RNA.

Mouse-to-mouse resuscitation

Mice that find another mouse unconscious will attempt to resuscitate it in a similar manner to people giving first aid. Researchers found that if a mouse encountered an anaesthetized friend, it would begin a grooming routine focused on the head. If that didn’t rouse their companion, the rescuer began to bite around the mouth and pull at their tongue. This behaviour was more forceful in mice that had spent more time with the unconscious individual, and resulted in a quicker recovery time.

Truth is more important than tech

In A Climate of Truth, climate scientist Mike Berners-Lee argues that technological advances will never be enough to tackle the ‘polycrisis’ of global climate, food and energy issues. Instead, he sets out a radical manifesto for truth, writes conservation scientist Julia Jones in her review. Berners-Lee posits that if people received - from politicians, businesses and media - an honest view of the catastrophic state of the planet and the radical change required, they would vote for leaders who can deliver what's needed. “Whether greater honesty from our politicians really is the panacea Berners-Lee implies needed to solve the polycrisis, we certainly need more of it,” writes Jones.

Marking out the level of the ever-shifting sea

Sea level, far from being a natural constant, is a human construct, writes historian Wilko Graf von Hardenberg. What started as a hodge-podge marking of local variations evolved into a standardized global benchmark by way of colonial powers’ love of maps, René Descartes’s theories about the tides, and a growing fascination with the achievements of mountaineers.