Hello Nature readers,
Today we feel for the VIPER Moon rover, which is all dressed up with nowhere to go. Plus, we discover a signalling molecule that could play a key role in long COVID and learn how to spot a predatory conference before you end up at one.

For sale: Moon rover, never used

NASA has cancelled a mission to drill for ice on the Moon — even though the rover has already been completed. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) has already cost US$450 million and would have required millions more — threatening funding for other launches. If you’re in the market for a Moon rover, NASA is looking for someone to take it on — otherwise it will be dismantled and its components used for other projects.

Immune protein linked to long COVID

A signalling molecule that helps to kick-start inflammation in the lungs could play a key part in aggravating some long COVID symptoms. Previous research has shown that people with long COVID have elevated levels of the molecule, called interferon gamma (IFN-γ). By inhibiting IFN-γ in mice with COVID-19, “we were able to dampen the chronic conditions after infection”, says immunology researcher and study co-author Jie Sun. “In the future, we could target this pathway for potential treatment of long COVID.”

A roadmap for affordable genetic medicines

Nineteen genetic therapies have been approved in the United States, including the breakthrough CRISPR genome-editing therapy for sickle cell disease, Casgevy. But most people will never be able to afford them — Casgevy, for example, costs US$2.2 million per patient. A task force of genomic-therapy luminaries shares its suggestions to increase affordability and access, including a pricing structure that could reduce per-patient cost tenfold.

Watch out for predatory conferences

The signs of a predatory conference can be hard to spot — until you walk into an empty room. “I just remember the feeling of my heart starting to pound, like ‘Oh my God, there’s nothing here’,” recalls communications researcher Vicki Mayer, who travelled from the US to the UK for a conference that never materialized. But not every scientist involved is getting suckered — some are seizing an opportunity, no matter how dubious, to further their careers. “When I started my research, I assumed that most academics were unwittingly attending,” says business-administration scholar James McCrostie. “Most, but certainly not all, either know the conference has no value or they want to pretend to themselves they don’t know.”

Futures: Threading the needle

A precocious rule-breaker is seen for who he really is in the latest short story for Nature’s Futures series.

Podcast: throw this plastic in your compost

Researchers have enhanced a biodegradable plastic with an enzyme so that it doesn’t need a special high-temperature facility to break down. They isolated a new enzyme — dubbed PAM (protease from Actinomadura) — from a bacterium and beefed it up so that it could survive the high temperatures required to make plastic in the first place. Then they came up with a process to produce PAM-packed plastic that would biodegrade in home compost and soil — while still being robust enough to use as packaging.