Nature Briefing in Pictures 12/4/2017 Selection from the week of Dec. 1st,

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Artist"s concept of the Hampiterus pterosaur with its young. (Zhao Chuang)

Human-evolution study may have used stolen bone

Archaeologists say that three papers claiming evidence for one of the earliest human occupations in Europe may have included material of questionable provenance, including at least one stolen bone. Deepening the mystery, rocks and bones that were sent anonymously to a museum may be those described in the papers, and have lead other researchers to call the findings into question. There is no suggestion that the authors of the papers were involved in theft.

Image of the week

Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times/eyevine

Cheap LED lighting is feeding light pollution

Patches of white light show where Calgary, Canada has swapped its orange sodium lights for cheaper LEDs, but the data indicates that the swap tends to increase light emissions instead of saving energy as hoped.

A child is tested for malaria at a clinic in western Thailand. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)

Malaria rise sparks fear of resurgence

The World Health Organization estimates that there were 5 million additional malaria infections in 2016 than in 2015, signalling that progress against the disease has stalled. The agency blames flat funding for anti-malaria programmes, saying donors and governments may have become complacent given deaths from the disease have more than halved since 2000.

Quote of the week

“If you gave us a rat, we could tell whether it came from the West Village or the East Village.”

Biologist Matthew Combs has created a vast genetic rat-map of New York City that reveals most of the animals are descended from Western European rats that came over when New York was still a British colony, but variations between them can be tracked to individual neighbourhoods. (The Atlantic)

The ARA San Juan. (AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Nuke-detector tracks Argentina"s lost submarine

A global explosion-sensing network that was designed to support the nuclear-test-ban treaty has been put to work finding the ARA San Juan, which has been missing since 15 November. Nature spoke to hydroacoustic engineer Mario Zampolli about the signal the network picked up near the vessel"s last-known location.

Bacterial cells used their expanded genetic code to make a modified version of a green fluorescent protein.. (William B. Kiosses)

‘Alien’ DNA makes first protein in living cell

Two synthetic chemical base ‘letters’ have been added to DNA and used to create a modified protein in a living cell for the first time. All DNA contains just four natural DNA bases — A, C, G and T. Researchers created the unnatural base pair, which they called X and Y, from two chemicals and then stuck it to normal E. coli DNA to create completely new amino acids.

Click here & read: A semi-synthetic organism that stores and retrieves increased genetic information（Chinese Translation）

Protesters at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. (AFP/Getty)

Zimbabwe’s scientists dare to dream after Mugabe

With the end of Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian regime, scientists in Zimbabwe are hoping that research funding will benefit from economic growth and an end to international sanctions. Political change is also inspiring Zimbabwean scientists who live abroad to consider returning home.

Infographic of the week

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