Mariana Lenharo
marilenharo.bsky.social
Mariana Lenharo
@marilenharo.bsky.social
Life sciences reporter at Nature.
Reposted by Mariana Lenharo
US govt abandoned the fight against climate change. So these nations will determine whether the world avoids catastrophic global warming www.nature.com/articles/d41... Great work @castelvecchi.bsky.social @marilenharo.bsky.social @jeff-tollefson.bsky.social @mohanabasu.bsky.social and Xiaoying You
How to fight climate change without the US: a guide to global action
With the US government absent from the COP30 global climate summit, it will be up to others to avert catastrophe.
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:56 AM
It turns out female mosquitoes are in charge during sex. A study found they give a subtle signal when they accept a mate, a overturing decades of assumptions about mosquito behavior.

I wrote about this fascinating work by @leahhouri.bsky.social, @leslievosshall.bsky.social et al for @nature.com:
Glowing sperm helps to reveal secrets of mosquito sex
Female Aedes mosquitoes signal that copulation can proceed by subtly extending their genitalia.
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Maria Branyas Morera lived to the age of 117 with a bit of genetic luck and a healthy diet that included daily yogurts, according to a study published today. I wrote about the findings, and what they can tell us about longevity, for @nature.com #longevity #aging #genomics
She lived to 117: what her genes and lifestyle tell us about longevity
Maria Branyas Morera was the oldest person in the world when she died. Scientists analysed her genes, metabolism and more.
www.nature.com
September 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Great feature out today by Lucila Pinto in @nature.com about how Brazil is fighting dengue with special mosquitoes and the promise of a new vaccine #dengue #vaccine #mosquitoes www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How billions of hacked mosquitoes and a vaccine could beat the deadly dengue virus
Outbreaks of dengue are killing thousands of people in South America each year and getting worse. Brazil hopes to turn the tide with a home-grown vaccine and an army of mosquitoes infected with Wolbac...
www.nature.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Mariana Lenharo
Ever heard of a mosquito factory?

Fighting mosquito-borne diseases... with more mosquitoes!

Loved working on this vid with @marilenharo.bsky.social for @nature.com 🧪

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Nc...
Inside a mosquito factory
YouTube video by nature video
www.youtube.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:09 PM
🦟 In late June, I visited the largest mosquito factory in the world in Curitiba, Brazil, where I learned about the challenges of mass-producing these disease-fighting insects. Here's my story for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This is the world’s largest ‘mosquito factory’: its goal is to stop dengue
Raising millions upon millions of disease-fighting mosquitoes per week is no easy task, Nature learnt during its visit to the facility.
www.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:51 PM
The chance encounter of an economist, a pathologist and physicist resulted in a highly multidisciplinary study that used an epidemiological model to trace the spread of rumors in the early days of the French Revolution. I had the chance to cover this fascinating research for @nature.com
An abiding mystery of the French Revolution is solved — by epidemiology
The period of panic and unrest called the Great Fear was triggered by deliberately spread rumours, according to methods borrowed from pandemic playbooks.
www.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 10:01 PM
One of the biggest advances in #consciousness science is using brain scans to detect awareness in unresponsive people, researchers say. I wrote for @nature.com about these techniques and the growing efforts to test animals and AI for signs of an inner life.
The quest to detect consciousness — in all its possible forms
Insights from human brains might inform how scientists search for awareness in other animals and AI.
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 8:50 PM
🐁 Scientists have created a high-speed imaging system that maps the peripheral nervous system of a mouse in incredible detail, tracing how nerves connect the brain to the rest of the body. It takes just 40 hours. My latest story for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Giant map details nerves across a mouse's body: see stunning pics
High-resolution imaging method could lead to wiring diagram for the whole body.
www.nature.com
July 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Can weight-loss drugs treat migraines?

A small pilot study suggests that liraglutide, a GLP-1 drug, might halve migraine frequency in people with obesity. The results are preliminary, but experts say they’re promising.

I wrote about it for @nature.com:

#Migraine #ObesityDrugs #GLP-1
Obesity drugs show promise for treating a new ailment: migraine
Liraglutide, a member of the family of blockbuster weight-loss drugs, reduces headaches by half in a small study.
www.nature.com
June 27, 2025 at 2:03 PM
From July 1, NIH-funded researchers must make their papers freely available as soon as they’re published. In this piece for @nature.com, I explain what researchers need to know about the new public access policy www.nature.com/articles/d41...
NIH-funded science must now be free to read instantly: what you should know
US biomedical agency’s public-access policy kicks in on 1 July. Nature talks to specialists about how to comply.
www.nature.com
June 26, 2025 at 10:47 PM
The US pulled funding for the world’s most-cited global health survey, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Now the UN, Gates Foundation & others are racing to save it. My story for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Will Gates and other funders save massive public health database at risk from Trump cuts?
UN in talks with governments and funding bodies to save highly cited, 40-year health data set used by researchers in more than 90 countries.
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Hospitals across the US are embracing AI tools for diagnosis and care. But experts warn that current regulations aren’t enough to keep patients safe. I spoke with researchers calling for oversight beyond the FDA. My latest story for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Medicine's rapid adoption of AI has researchers concerned
Hospitals and universities must step up to fill gaps in regulation, experts say.
www.nature.com
June 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Mariana Lenharo
Researcher Amita Gupta has spent more than a decade planning and running a $70-million trial to study a new tuberculosis drug, enrolling ~6,000 participants in 13 countries. It might all have been for nothing.

That's because a new NIH policy has abruptly cut off billions to trials abroad. 🧪
NIH grant cuts will axe clinical trials abroad — and could leave thousands without care
US agency’s new policy could abruptly end studies of infectious diseases and cancer, leaving researchers scrambling for funds.
www.nature.com
June 2, 2025 at 3:12 PM
A massive study published today in @nature.com shows that scientists who switch to a new research field receive fewer citations. The bigger the shift, the steeper the 'pivot penalty'. I spoke with the study’s authors and with science policy researchers about the implications of the findings.
The ‘pivot penalty’: scientists get cited less after switching fields, analysis finds
Massive study of nearly 26 million research papers measures the consequences of striking out in another research area.
www.nature.com
May 28, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Postpartum depression affects around 17% of new parents worldwide, yet often goes undetected until symptoms are severe. For @nature.com, I wrote about a machine-learning model that aims to identify who’s most at risk before symptoms start, helping target preventive care more effectively.
AI tool flags people at high risk of post-partum depression
Model could be used by hospitals to identify people who would benefit from preventive measures.
www.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Mariana Lenharo
A minority of researchers - under 30% - have used AI to edit or write their papers, according to a Nature survey published today.

Those that have used AI, more often than not didn't disclose it.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
@nature.com
May 14, 2025 at 11:44 AM
As someone whose first language isn’t English, I relate to @tatsuya-amano.bsky.social’s mission to make science more inclusive for non-fluent English speakers. I interviewed him for @nature.com's Changemakers Q&A series. The piece was published in Feb, while I was on maternity leave. Enjoy the read!
Breaking language barriers: ‘Not being fluent in English is often viewed as being an inferior scientist’
Biologist Tatsuya Amano works to make science a fairer place for non-fluent speakers.
www.nature.com
May 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Google's experimental medical chatbot can now diagnose skin rashes based on smartphone photos. A glimpse into the potential role of large language models in the future of medicine. My latest story for @nature.com #medicalAI #AI #healthcareAI #LLM
Google AI better than human doctors at diagnosing rashes from pictures
Chatbot can analyse health-care imagery, such as PDFs of test results, to accurately diagnose a range of medical conditions.
www.nature.com
May 12, 2025 at 8:43 PM