It’s 35°C in the shade, in the middle of Europe’s June heatwave, and Alexander Janas has just emerged from the Hohle Fels cave in southwestern Germany, where the mercury reads 9 or 10°C. “It’s wonderful to be inside,” says Janas, an archaeologist at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and the Paleoenvironment in Tübingen, Germany.
“You didn’t run this morning, did you?” My colleagues know when I don’t exercise: I’m quite irritable. The post-workout endorphins make me focused and efficient in the lab, and more fun. Beyond this direct link, many more skills I have learned during training in high-performance endurance sports are applicable to my work as a scientist.
As artificial intelligence tools accelerate and advance further in science, Nature Opinions were sought on assignments that readers would prefer to keep for themselves. Here’s a snapshot of the responses. Keep asking questions As a student involved in AI and consciousness research, the most exciting part is being curious, noticing unexpected connections, and challenging existing