Summer books: our pick of what to read this season

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Hello Nature readers, I'm off on holiday brushing up my Canadian accent, eh, so today we look back at some of the must-read stories of the year so far. We return to our regular flow on Monday, 12 August. See you then!

Rendering based on electron-microscope data, showing the positions of neurons in a fragment of the brain cortex. Neurons are coloured according to size. (Google Research & Lichtman Lab (Harvard University). Renderings by D. Berger (Harvard University))

A millimetre of brain in spectacular detail Researchers have created an exquisitely detailed atlas of a tiny piece of one woman's brain, which had been removed during surgery to treat her epilepsy. The sample was cut into thousands of nanometre-thick slices and each was imaged with electron microscopes. AI tools then classified different structures and cells, and created a 3D reconstruction of the sample. "I remember this moment, going into the map and looking at one individual synapse from this woman's brain, and then zooming out into these other millions of pixels," says neuroscientist and study co-author Viren Jain. "It felt sort of spiritual." Nature | 4 min read (from May) Reference: Science paper

The fat-gut-cancer link A study in mice and people suggests why there is a link between obesity and some cancers: a high-fat diet increases the number of Desulfovibrio bacteria in the gut. These release leucine, an amino acid, which encourages the proliferation of a kind of cell that suppresses the immune system. With a suppressed immune system, breast cancer tumour growth increases. "It's a provocative finding that will open up new avenues that we should be thinking about," says nutritional biologist Stephen Hursting. Nature | 3 min read (from May) Reference: PNAS paper

Biggest genome ever found A species of fork fern, Tmesipteris oblanceolata, has the biggest genome ever recorded. It contains 160 billion base pairs — 11 billion more than the previous record holder, the flowering plant Paris japonica, and 50 times more than the human genome. It's not known why the plant evolved that way, or how it accesses the relatively small proportion of DNA that is actually useful. "It's like trying to find a few books with the instructions for how to survive in a library of millions of books — it's just ridiculous," says evolutionary biologist Ilia Leitch, who co-discovered the giant genome. Nature | 4 min read Reference: iScience paper

Tmesipteris oblanceolata is native to New Caledonia and neighbouring archipelagos in the South Pacific. (Pol Fernandez)

Summer books

Four must-read science books Our pick of the best science and science-fiction books to read now: Reality "is far more interesting and wonderful" than the simplistic idea that "cells are computers and genes are their code", says science writer Philip Ball in his book, How Life Works. (Nature | 5 min read) Psychologist Jonathan Haidt's blockbuster book The Anxious Generation suggests that digital technologies are rewiring our children's brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness — but its claims are not backed up by science, writes psychologist Candice Odgers. (Nature | 6 min read) The Einsteinian Revolution, a new book by physicist Hanoch Gutfreund and historian of science Jürgen Renn, "is much more than another product of the Einstein industry," writes historian Helge Kragh. It dispels the myth that Einstein "created modern physics from scratch — and by pure thought alone." (Nature | 6 min read) When the top 1% of people hold as much wealth as the bottom 90%, as in the United States today, is it time to take drastic action and place limits on how rich individuals can be? Economist and philosopher Ingrid Robeyns thinks so — and suggests a cap on wealth of 10 million euros or US dollars per person. (Nature | 5 min read)

Summer career refresh (Shotshop GmbH/Alamy) How to fine tune your working life For many academics, it's the summer break — so now might be the time to take a moment to invest in career success. We've gathered some of our most useful and impactful advice for researchers to enjoy while your usual Briefing is on a break. How to manage your time as a researcher Time management shouldn't be about maximizing the amount of work you can cram into your day; instead, it should help you to prioritize your professional goals without sacrificing personal well-being. A postdoc's guide to choosing the right lab One scientists' step-by-step guide to finding a postdoc position that helped prepare her to become a group leader. How I tackled post-PhD imposter syndrome Kelsey Inouye's job search gave her panic attacks and dented her self-esteem. But she learnt to take rejection in her stride. Why four scientists spent a year saying no After tracking their 100th 'no', four scientists say they learnt that the practice requires more than a how-to guide. It involves rethinking priorities and setting boundaries. Ready to find your next job? Browse listings on Nature Careers and set up alerts for the latest roles.

Great science, one minute at a time Science in Shorts is an opportunity for researchers to tell the world about their work in a video of one minute or less. The top 10 (full disclosure: I was one of the judges for the shortlist) premiered at the Curious2024 - Future Insight conference where the 2000-strong crowd voted Microbial Medicine for Plants as the winner — and once you see the costumes, you'll know why. Science in Shorts | 10 1-min videos

A couple of summers ago, Leif Penguinson and four friends created the hardest 'spot the penguin' challenge of all time. Leif, Passepartout, Heidi, Guino the pinguino and Bosworth the Buoyant (I knew that naming poll would come in handy!) hidin Fantasy Canyon, Utah. Can you find the penguins? When you're ready — here's the answer. We'll be back to our regular rhythm on Monday 16 August. I look forward to returning to your feedback in my inbox at briefing@nature.com. Thanks for reading, Flora Graham, senior editor, Nature Briefing

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