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A man’s ability to produce sperm has been restored after a transplant of tissue samples that were removed from one of his testicles and frozen 16 years earlier, when he was ten years old. The samples were taken shortly before she received chemotherapy treatments that put her fertility at risk. It remains to be seen whether sperm extracted from transplanted tissue can successfully fertilize an egg and produce a healthy baby. But the achievement could usher in a new wave of fertility treatments, scientists say.

Nature | 5 minutes of reading

Reference: medRxiv preprint (not peer-reviewed)

Earlier this month, the U.S. government approved a plan to put a giant mirror into orbit to reflect sunlight on shadowed parts of Earth — the first of a planned 50,000 mirror satellites. Reflect Orbital, the startup behind the plan, says this “manufactured daylight” could increase agricultural productivity, aid in natural disaster relief efforts and allow solar panels to generate electricity at night. But many astronomers are concerned that the mirrors’ beams will interfere with sensitive telescopes and increase light pollution.

Nature | 5 minutes of reading

The UK government has finally revealed how it will cut foreign development funding by 40% in 2027 to increase national defense spending. Programs in some of the poorest countries, including Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania, will be hardest hit. “Some of the UK’s longest-standing development partnerships are taking cuts of up to 92%,” said lawmaker Sarah Champion in her role as chair of the cross-party committee that oversees international development. “It is chilling to consider the consequences of these decisions.”

Science | 7 minutes of reading

Features and opinion

A postdoc looking for a job in the industry tells us Nature who are lost amid the opaque multi-stage interview processes of large scientific companies. Career advisors and hiring managers offer a dose of clarity. The key is to understand who you’ll be speaking to at each stage (information you can glean from an initial conversation with a recruiter) and tailor your responses to meet their expectations, they say. And above all, make sure you are well prepared: research the company you are interviewing with in advance and collect anecdotes that demonstrate your skills.

Nature | 9 minutes of reading

At a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia, a mysterious illness killed 182 people, of whom 29 died. The culprit was eventually described as Legionella pneumophilaa bacteria that can cause a type of pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease, of which there is currently a deadly outbreak in New York City. “Legionnaires’ disease is a disease of the built environment,” writes environmental journalist Brett Walton. “Any fog will do: a rooftop cooling tower, a shower, a hot tub, a decorative fountain,” he says, which makes it devilishly difficult to prevent.

Blue circle | 8-Minute Read and The New York Times | 3 minutes of reading

Image of the week

The researchers took a real photo of an epaulette oriole (Jaundice cayanensis) (center) and asked the Google Gemini AI tool to “make this look better.” The result: a convincing red-winged blackbird (Agelayo phoenician) (good). The tool also conjured a fully AI-generated red-winged blackbird (left). The images illustrate how easy it is to generate photographs of birds, including those accidentally made to look like a different species, which are flooding citizen science platforms with AI debris. (The Guardian | 7 minute read)

Reference: Nature, Ecology and Evolution correspondence (see a larger version of the image here) (Alexander C. Lees et al./Nature, ecology and evolution (Photograph: David Theobald))

On Friday, Leif Penguinson was hiding amid the stunning beauty of Paratiisikuru (Paratiisikuru – Paradise Gorge) in Finland. Did you find the penguin? When you’re ready, here’s the answer.

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Flora Graham, Editor-in-Chief, Nature Briefing

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