Daily briefing: How long can we hold off more controversial ‘CRISPR babies’?

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A functional magnetic resonance imaging scan (artificially coloured) of a human brain. Researchers used data from such scans to measure an aspect of brain ageing.Credit: Mark and Mary

Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute/Science Photo Library

“The way your brain ages, it’s not just about years. It’s about where you live, what you do,” says neuroscientist Agustín Ibáñez. He is co-author on a new study that looked at ‘brain-age

gaps’ — whether a person’s brain is ageing faster than their chronological age would suggest. The researchers assessed a complex form of functional connectivity, a measure of the extent to

which brain regions are interacting with one another, which generally declines with age. Structural socioeconomic inequality, exposure to air pollution and health disparities were linked to

larger brain-age gaps, especially in people from Latin America.

Once confined to the Amazon region, the virus that causes the disease called Oropouche fever has been expanding its range since late 2023, spurring international concern. In July,

authorities in Brazil reported the deaths of two adults from the disease — the first since the virus was identified almost 70 years ago. Brazilian officials are also investigating cases of

fetal deaths and malformations that might have been caused by the virus, which has been shown to spread from a pregnant person to their fetus.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will not carry astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home from the International Space Station (ISS) — meaning that their trip that was meant to last a few

days will now stretch to more than eight months. Currently docked at the ISS and beset by teething troubles, the Starliner will attempt to return to Earth empty on autopilot in September.

Wilmore and Williams catch a lift on a SpaceX capsule in February.

Many biomedical researchers partner with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to transform their scientific ideas into products, working outside the typical biotechnology or pharmaceutical

drug-development process. For these NGOs, collaborating with academics means that the products and technologies can reach the people who need them most. In return, academics get to develop

their idea without having to spin off a company or sell it to a big pharmaceutical firm. Academics with experience of partnering with NGOs tell Nature their tips on how to collaborate

successfully.

Geologists have rejected the idea of formally designating our epoch as ‘the Anthropocene’. But “an understanding of the Anthropocene as the result of a mid-twentieth-century planetary

transformation remains broadly useful across disciplines”, argue five researchers representing the Anthropocene Working Group, which came up with the rejected definition. “It highlights

geology’s role in addressing problems of societal concern and is also applicable in the social sciences and humanities with respect to the enormous societal upheavals, changes in energy

production and globalization of trade that have taken place.”

In 2018, biophysicist He Jiankui kicked off a firestorm of controversy when he announced that he had edited the genomes of three embryos, resulting in the birth of the ‘CRISPR babies’ — an

act that ultimately landed him in prison for three years. Nevertheless, some scientists are planning for a future in which gene editing babies eliminates certain diseases. Most scientists

think it is unethical — at least for now — to introduce genetic mutations that can be passed to future generations. But the general public might be more sanguine: a survey showed that 30% of

people would edit their children’s genomes to improve the child’s chances of attending a top university.

Jakub Cech is an entrepreneur in Prague.Credit: Giacomo d’Orlando for Nature

Engineer Jakub Cech creates digital versions of materials for use in the virtual world. “To build a material virtually, I’ve rigged a camera together with 18 spotlights to create what I’ve

named a Total Material Appearance Capture (TMAC) device,” he says. “It works by scanning a sample of material in many lighting scenarios to collect data on all the elements of the surface.

Software then processes these photographs into a complete digital version, or twin, of the material, for use in renderings. This is one of the first automated tools on the market for

digitizing 3D surfaces.” (Nature | 3 min read)

Science writer Ferris Jabr pays tribute to plankton in an extract from his new book, Becoming Earth. (The Guardian | 13 min read)

Today I’m taking the advice of biologist Kathy Willis and putting a vase of pink roses on my desk. There’s evidence that the flowers have an immediately calming effect — one of a slew of

mental health benefits we can get from nature, according to her new book, Good Nature.

Let me know how you maintain your chill at work, plus any other feedback on this newsletter, at briefing@nature.com.

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