Daily briefing: the longest-known earthquake lasted 32 years

Hello _Nature_ readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here CORAL SCARS SHOW 32-YEAR-LONG EARTHQUAKE A devastating earthquake in Indonesia in 1861

was the crescendo of a 32-year-long clash between the tectonic plates below the island. It is the longest such ‘slow slip event’ ever recorded, and it left its mark in the bodies of the

long-lived corals that inhabit the seas above. Researchers analysed growth patterns in corals on Simeulue Island, which were periodically exposed to the air as the land rose up and down. The

corals record decades of vertical movement at the fault, from 1738 to the moment they died when thrust up by the 1861 quake. The findings will help seismologists to better understand some

of the most dangerous quakes on Earth: the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people were preceded by a slow slip. Scientific American | 4 min read Go

deeper with geoscientist Daniel Melnick in the _Nature Geoscience_ News & Views article. Reference: _Nature Geoscience_ paper 120—150 YEARS The maximum lifespan for humans, according to

an analysis of blood cell counts and physical activity among ageing people. (Scientific American | 6 min read) Reference: _Nature Communications_ paper COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS UPDATE THE

SCIENCE OF MASK MANDATES With COVID-19 rates dropping and vaccinations on the rise, some regions, such as places in the United States, are lifting mask mandates. Others, such as Germany, are

doubling-down on a public-health strategy that has been proven to protect. Both approaches have contributed to evidence — gained from the current pandemic and from public-health responses

to diseases such as HIV — that effective messaging and role models can be as important as official regulations. “Like any human behaviour, it’s more complex than saying, ‘Thou shalt do

this,’” says epidemiologist Ronald Valdiserri. Nature | 13 min read SOUTHEAST ASIA’S MRNA-VACCINE PIONEER The designer of Thailand’s ChulaCov19 vaccine talks to _Nature_ about his aim to

make the nation into an mRNA-vaccine hub, and the challenge of competing with bigger rivals. Human trials of ChulaCov19 are about to launch. If they are successful, Thailand could emerge as

an important supplier of mRNA vaccines in Asia, making it a small but significant player in the dash to adopt the new technology. Homegrown mRNA vaccines are already undergoing trials in

China, India and Japan. Thailand is a relative newcomer in the region, but its efforts have increased in urgency as it and its neighbours suffer both vaccine shortages and renewed COVID-19

surges. Nature | 5 min read FEATURES & OPINION ALL ABOUT AI Two books offer complementary insights into how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping society. In _The Alignment Problem_,

writer Brian Christian gives an intimate view of the people making AI technology — their aims, expectations, hopes, challenges and desolations. In _Atlas of AI_, scholar Kate Crawford deals

with how, practically, AI gets into and plays out in our lives. “Meticulously researched and superbly written, these books… show that the responsible — ethical, legal and beneficial —

development and use of AI is not about technology,” writes reviewer Virginia Dignum. “It is about us.” Nature | 6 min read ONE COW TO FEED THEM ALL Even laboratory-grown meat is made from

cows — or from one cow, at least. Researchers must start with conventional meat cells, which someday might serve as the seed for huge bioreactors churning out more environmentally sound,

ethical flesh. This means scientists must get their hands on reliable cell lines to study — but in the secretive world of cultured meat, no one wants to share. “There’s basically nowhere to

start yet. If anyone wants to get into this field, it takes a significant amount of resources and time to acquire and characterize a cell line in-house,” says cultivated-meat researcher

Elliot Swartz. Wired | 15 min read QUOTE OF THE DAY “THERE’S NO WAY THE INDIVIDUAL WHO SAVED THESE SAMPLES IN 1918 HAD ANY IDEA OF WHAT COULD BE DONE TO THEM… TO MY MIND, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL

EXAMPLE OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.” Influenza researcher Andrew Mehle lauds the farsighted pathologist who preserved lung samples that have offered insight into the 1918 flu epidemic. (The

Atlantic | 6 min read)