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Hello _Nature_ readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here . DOLPHIN ATTACKS MIGHT BE PLAY GONE WRONG A rise in dolphin attacks at beaches in

Fukui Prefecture, Japan could be down to just one male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin ( _Tursiops aduncus_ ) — who might be trying to play . “Gentle biting is a behaviour that we see often

among male bottlenose dolphins in the wild,” says dolphin ecologist Tadamichi Morisaka. “They do this to maintain the relationship — in this dolphin’s mind, he might have already built a

friendly relationship with humans.” Local authorities have tried to dissuade dolphins by playing a mishmash of disconcerting underwater sounds near the beaches, but Morisaka would like to

see an echolocation-detection system that warns people to get out of the water so that the dolphin gets bored and doesn’t return. Nature | 4 min read THE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT MPOX When the

World Health Organization declared a public-health emergency over mpox earlier this month, it was because a concerning form of the virus that causes the disease had spread to multiple

African countries where it had never been seen before. Now two non-African countries — Sweden and Thailand — have detected cases of the disease in returning travellers. Clade Ib seems to

spread largely through human contact, including through sex — a new development in a virus that parts of Africa have grappled with for decades. _Nature_ spoke to researchers about how clade

Ib compares to clade II, the version that triggered an international 2022 outbreak, and what the future might hold. Nature | 8 min read RETRACTED STUDIES REFUSE TO DIE Do you know how many

of the references you’ve cited might now be retracted, or come from discredited researchers? A _Nature_ analysis of data from a tool created by computer scientist Guillaume Cabanac shows

that, in the most extreme cases identified, the proportion of retracted references is a staggering 65% . “We are not accusing anybody of doing something wrong. We are just observing that in

some bibliographies, the references have been retracted or withdrawn, meaning that the paper may be unreliable,” Cabanac says. His ‘ Feet of Clay Detector ’ is one of several efforts,

including those led by Retraction Watch, to clean up the scientific record. “Regardless of how erroneous results found their way into a published paper, it is important that they are not

propagated,” writes Cabanac in an accompanying opinion piece . He calls on journals to update the ways they check papers for problems and to speed up the glacial pace of investigations,

corrections and retractions. Nature News | 10 min read & Nature Comment | 10 min read FEATURES & OPINION CUTTING-EDGE WAYS TO KEEP CITIES COOL There are plenty of low-tech cooling

features that can help protect people in rising temperatures, but there are also breakthrough innovations on the horizon. Advances range from high-efficiency air conditioners to special

materials that keep surfaces colder than their surroundings without using electricity . Key will be deciding which potential solutions work well in the real world — and how to best motivate

cities to use them. Nature | 11 min read Read more: Low-tech cooling features to keep cities safe (Nature | 8 min read) CHINA’S RACE TO BE FIRST IN FUSION Efforts towards building the

world’s first viable fusion reactor are escalating in China , with the goal of providing limitless, clean energy for an increasingly energy-intensive country. “We need innovations that

reduce carbon — that’s our dream. Nuclear fusion energy can do this,” says plasma physicist Yuntao Song. China aims to have a functioning prototype in the 2030s, when the high-profile

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France will still be running tests. Nature | 13 min read TAKE THE PLUNGE INTO LOCAL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Researchers and engineers have

the skills, and often the desire, to get involved with local policymaking efforts — but often don’t know where to start, notes physicist Arti Garg, who founded a non-profit organization

dedicated to increasing local civic engagement. “My advice is to ‘show up’ and participate actively,” she writes. Attend local government meetings that are open to the public, seek volunteer

opportunities that fit your availability and consider how your participation meshes with the values of scientific objectivity, she advises. Nature | 5 min read INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK The

placebo effect — in which the mere expectation of a biological effect can produce that effect — is one of the most effective medical interventions, but we still know little about how it

happens. To find out, researchers set up an apparatus with two visually distinct chambers — one warm (30 °C) and one uncomfortably hot (48 °C). After three days, both chambers were heated to

48 °C. Conditioned mice spent more time in the chamber that was previously at 30 °C and showed fewer signs of being in pain than did mice that were not conditioned. By tracing the neural

circuits that are active when mice anticipate pain relief, neuroscientists show that the placebo effect is mediated by the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) in the brain’s limbic

system, a system well established to be involved in pain. Unexpectedly, however, these neurons send signals to the pontine nuclei (Pn) of the brainstem and the cerebellum. This is a big

surprise, given that these regions are usually associated with more-basic functions, such as coordinating movement. ( Nature News & Views | 7 min read or read the accompanying Nature

News story, 5 min read — both _Nature_ paywall) Reference: _Nature_ paper QUOTE OF THE DAY “MY DREAM HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO ACHIEVE A CRITICAL MASS OF SCIENTISTS TO START A CHAIN REACTION FOR

PEACE.” In her new memoir _Human Rights and Peace_ , Israeli-American chemist Zafra Lerman explains why she founded the Malta Conferences, which bring together scientists from all over the

Middle East. ( Nature Reviews Materials | 4 min read )