Daily briefing: science could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Why aren’t governments using it?

Hello _Nature_ readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here. WHY WE’RE NOT SOLVING MORE WITH SCIENCE A _Nature _global survey finds that most

specialists are unhappy with systems that provide science advice to policymakers. Eighty per cent said their country’s science-advice system was either poor or patchy, and 70% said that

governments are not routinely using such advice. _Nature_’s survey — which took place before the US election in November — together with more than 20 interviews, reveals where some of the

biggest obstacles to science advice lie. Eighty per cent of respondents thought policymakers lack sufficient understanding of science — but 73% said that researchers don’t understand how

policy works. “It’s a constant tension between the scientifically illiterate and the politically clueless,” says policy specialist Paul Dufour. Nature | 15 min read OCEANS HAVE NEVER EXISTED

ON VENUS Earth’s neighbour Venus has never had liquid water on its surface. One theory of the rocky planet’s history posited that after being covered by magma, the planet maintained a

temperate climate for billions of years, which allowed oceans of water to form. Researchers used the chemical composition of volcanic gases in Venus’s atmosphere to infer the water content

of its interior — a barometer of whether it ever had such oceans. They found only a 6% water content in the gases, suggesting a very dry planet that has never had liquid water on its

surface. Reuters | 5 min read Reference: _Nature Astronomy_ paper ULTRA-RARE WHALE EXAMINED IN NEW ZEALAND Marine biologists and Māori experts are the first to dissect a specimen of a

spade-toothed whale (_Mesoplodon traversii_), a species so rare that it has never been seen alive. Only six other specimens of the five-metre-long whale have ever been found, leaving

researchers with a laundry list of questions about the enigmatic species. “There may be parasites completely new to science that just live in this whale,” says marine scientist Anton van

Helden. “Who knows what we’ll discover?” Associated Press | 7 min read SIGNS OF INFECTED ANIMALS AT WUHAN MARKET A new analysis of samples from early 2020 seems to add to the evidence that a

market in Wuhan, China was the likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Genomic data from raccoon dogs (_Nyctereutes __procyonoides_) and greater hog badgers (_Arctonyx collaris_) found at

the market seem to show signs of infection with SARS-CoV-2 or other closely related viruses. This supports the theory that animals were infected, which could have led to a ‘spillover’ event

in which the virus infected people. But “it doesn’t substitute for finding the virus in an infected animal” in terms of solid proof, says virologist Stanley Perlman. Meanwhile, a

Republican-led US government committee — notable for its rancour and partisanship — bucked the opinions of many scientists and concluded that SARS-CoV-2 probably leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

Democrats on the panel released their own report flatly contradicting many of their colleagues’ conclusions. Nature | 5 min read & Science | 4 min read Reference: Select committee report

& Democratic members’ rebuttal VIDEO: THIS ROBOT DRONE HAS BIRD LEGS It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s a drone with bird-like legs? Researchers have created a fixed-wing drone with

lightweight legs to try to reproduce birds’ incredible variety of locomotion. Although heavily simplified, these mechanical drumsticks have proven to be very versatile — the drone can walk,

hop and leap into the air in a manner very evocative of the real thing. Nature | 3 min video QUOTE OF THE DAY “JUST LOOK AT THE FOAM IN A GLASS OF BEER, AND YOU’LL KNOW THEY’RE ONTO

SOMETHING.” The first description of a new class of shapes — soft cells — that fill space with curved edges, nonflat faces, and few, if any, sharp corners will transform how we understand

the real world, says mathematician Chaim Goodman-Strauss. (Scientific American | 15 min read)