Nature Briefing

Hello Nature readers, Today we thrill to hints of dark matter from the world’s most sensitive detector, explore the mathematical pitfall that plagues antibody tests and discover a power struggle in the social sciences.

The XENON1T detector. Visible is the bottom array of photomultiplier tubes, and the copper structure that creates the electric drift field. (Xenon Collaboration)

Hint of dark matter dazzles physicists The world’s most sensitive dark-matter experiment might have found a hint of the stuff — although the data it has collected so far could be a statistical fluctuation or a spurious signal. The data collected in 2017-18 by the underground XENON1T experiment have revealed an excess in the number of particles hitting its liquid xenon, with a relatively low energy. The finding suggests the possible existence of a hypothetical particle called the axion. “You cannot overstate the importance of the discovery, if this is real,” says particle physicist Adam Falkowski. But another possible explanation is the presence of radioactive impurities. An upgraded version of the detector called XENONnT could solve the riddle next year. Quanta | 6 min read Source: XENON collaboration preprint

Mathematical pitfall plagues antibody tests Even if a screening test is very accurate, if it is not 100% perfect then it will deliver some false positives and some false negatives. And the lower the infection rate, the more likely it is that a positive result is wrong. An imperfect antibody test for COVID-19, for example, could leave a lot of people thinking that they are possibly immune to the disease, when they have never even had it. Scientific American explains, with a very handy graphic, how this mind-bending fact arises. Scientific American | 3 min read

In this Nature video, we test a home testing kit that is being sent out across the United Kingdom as part of the government’s testing programme for coronavirus antibodies. And we speak to public-health researcher Christina Atchinson about the REACT (real-time assessment of community transmission) study, run by Imperial College London. (Nature | 4 min video)

Emissions surge back to bad old days In early April, the international response to the coronavirus pandemic slashed daily global carbon emissions from fossil fuels by roughly 17%. Now emissions are rebounding, with China almost back to pre-pandemic levels. The European Union is leading the way to a green recovery with a proposed US$826-billion recovery package aimed at expanding renewable-power generation, retrofitting old buildings and investing in cleaner fuels. Experts estimate that 2020’s global emissions will be down around 5% compared with last year’s — the biggest drop since the Second World War, but still not nearly enough. The New York Times | 5 min read Read more: How the coronavirus pandemic slashed carbon emissions — in five graphs (Nature, from May) Reference: Nature Climate Change paper & latest update to the supplementary data

Features & opinion

Big data revolutionizes social sciences The masses of user data collected by technology companies are providing social scientists with tools to do studies they have been dreaming about for more than a century: from the psychology of morality, to how misinformation spreads, to the factors that make some artists more successful than others. The goldmine of information has produced controversies and raised privacy concerns. And part of the community is resisting the flood in “a power struggle within the social-science camp”, says analytical sociologist Marc Keuschnigg. “Who in the end succeeds will claim the label of the social sciences.” Nature | 11 min read

Seeking the immune system’s sweet spot Many of the drugs under scrutiny for fighting COVID-19 are anti-inflammatory agents. Researchers hope that these could keep in check the runaway immune responses — called cytokine storms — that seem to cause dangerous respiratory problems in some people. But a growing number of frontline critical-care physicians are advocating a more nuanced approach. They say the goal should be to nudge people towards a ‘Goldilocks’ level of immune activity: not so hot as to cause organ failure, and not so cold that the virus can run amok. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery | 14 min read

Boosting research without supporting universities is wrong-headed By failing to support their universities, countries are undermining their own plans to boost research, argues a Nature editorial. It calls for students and universities to be eligible for the same kinds of temporary emergency funding as other industries are asking for. In the meantime, senior academics need to speak up for staff on short-term contracts. And everyone should look out for students, who are the ‘guinea pigs’ for the new normal. Nature | 5 min read

A ten-year journey to publish about inequality Mass violence and unjust laws have affected the productivity of African American inventors, found economist Lisa Cook when she analysed patents filed between 1870 and 1940. But Cook came away baffled when reviewers showed no understanding of the history of Black people in the United States, or how their experiences could be meaningful to other people. The experience revealed how economics’ lack of Black representation and disdain for research about racism is inhibiting the field. The Indicator podcast | 10 min listen Reference: Journal of Economic Growth paper

Quote of the day “I ate lunch 31,000ft below the surface of the ocean on Sunday. That's crazy.” Astronaut and oceanographer Kathy Sullivan, who on 7 June became the first woman to reach the deepest known spot in the ocean, pays tribute to the ingenuity and skills of the engineers who helped to make it happen. Sullivan has a heap of other firsts to her name, including being the first American woman to walk in space. (BBC | 9 min read)

This newsletter is always evolving — tell us what you think! Please send your feedback to briefing@nature.com. Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing With contributions by Davide Castelvecchi