Antibiotics save babies' lives but affect their gut, lungs, and ability to fight infection

Antibiotics save newborns every day, but new research shows they also leave a lasting mark on a baby's developing immune system. Medicine scientists found that early antibiotic exposure disrupts babies' natural gut bacterial balance and that the disruption "travels" to the lungs, fundamentally rewiring how lung immune cells are programmed and influencing lung repair and the ability to fight infections.

Early-life antibiotic exposure disrupts the gut microbiome in newborns, leading to long-lasting alterations in lung immune cell programming. These changes shift lung immune cells from a pathogen-responsive state to a tissue-repair-focused state, reducing antiviral defenses and persisting into young adulthood. The findings highlight a gut-lung axis influencing immune development and respiratory health.
Scientists found antibiotic-driven changes shifted newborns' lung immune cells from offense, where they are primed to respond aggressively to foreign threats, to defense, where they are focused on damage control and repair. The changes lasted over time and may help explain why children who got antibiotics as newborns sometimes have more respiratory issues as they grow older.

The research in no way suggests doctors should hesitate to use antibiotics in babies when necessary, as they are one of the most important tools in preventing serious illness and even death, say the scientists. But we're learning more about how disrupting babies' gut bacteria in early life can change immune cells in ways that persist long after infancy, they say.
They hope these findings will ultimately guide new approaches, whether that means protecting the microbiome during antibiotic treatment or developing targeted therapies to support babies whose early immune programming may have been altered.

Madeline Bonfield et al, Single cell atlas of lung-resident innate lymphoid cells shows impact of age and dysbiosis on epigenetic and transcriptomic programming, Mucosal Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.01.004. www.mucosalimmunology.org/arti … (26)00004-8/fulltext

Why Fires In Space Are So Dangerous

It isn't just water: The hidden force inside tsunamis can enhance the danger they pose

Mud-rich coastlines could face a greater tsunami risk, at least that may have been the case for the 2011 Tōhoku-oki tsunami that killed more than 19,000 people and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. According to a new study published in the Journal of the Geological Society, mud may have made the catastrophic ocean waves more destructive than they might otherwise have been.

On 11 March 2011, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, triggered a massive tsunami. A wall of water swept away boats, cars, and buildings as it surged inland.

As the tsunami moved across the land, it picked up large amounts of clay and silt and became much denser, forming what researchers call a debritic head (a mud-rich front that behaves more like slurry than clear water). Mud is heavier than water, and when this sediment-rich moving mass hit buildings, the force was far greater than standard flood models (that assume clear water) predict.

The researchers also found that this fast-moving tide of debris was eroding the ground for at least 2 kilometers inland, meaning it was continually picking up sediment.

"This evidence shows that a highly cohesive flow with a dense debritic head formed in the mid-shore region, transforming from an initially turbulent flow through the entrainment of cohesive material," wrote the study authors in their paper.

The team shows how the mud-carrying wave likely exerted more powerful destructive forces. As a result, they think debritic heads should be taken into account when developing tsunami hazard assessments.

"The altered hydrodynamics and the greater force exerted by a dense debritic head highlight the need to incorporate debritic heads into tsunami hazard assessments on mud-rich coastlines, where the hazard will be enhanced."

Patrick D. Sharrocks et al, Debritic head formation during the Tōhoku-oki 2011 tsunami reveals enhanced risk in mud-rich coastlines, Journal of the Geological Society (2026). DOI: 10.1144/jgs2025-161

Anemia in adults 60 and older linked to 66% higher dementia risk

A new study has found that the effects of anemia—a condition caused by a lack of hemoglobin needed to carry oxygen to organs and tissues—may stretch beyond fatigue, shortness of breath, and pale skin. They reach into the brain, raising the risk of dementia and linking to higher levels of biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neurodegeneration.

Researchers  set up a long-term study tracking 2,282 dementia-free adults aged 60 and above who live in Stockholm, Sweden. At the start of the study, the team measured hemoglobin levels and biomarkers associated with neurodegenerative disorders in all participants. Over the years, the team followed up with the group, checking in every 3 to 6 years to see how their health evolved.
When researchers dug into more than ten years of data, they found that people who had anemia at the start were 66% more likely to develop dementia over time. Within the follow-up of 9.3 years, 362 participants had developed dementia. The numbers also pointed to a strong link between low hemoglobin and higher levels of blood biomarkers tied to Alzheimer's disease, including proteins linked to brain cell damage and inflammation. This association was stronger in men than in women.

Martina Valletta et al, Anemia and Blood Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease in Dementia Development, JAMA Network Open (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.4029

Monkeys in Gibraltar self-medicate with soil to help them digest tourists' junk food

Monkeys in a tourism hotspot have learned that swallowing dirt can quell the upset stomachs caused by overconsumption of sweet and salty snacks fed to them by holidaymakers, a new study suggests. Troops of macaques living on Gibraltar—the only free-ranging monkey population in Europe—have been scientifically observed for the first time regularly engaging in geophagy, the practice of intentionally ingesting soil. The work appears in Scientific Reports.

Researchers monitoring monkey groups across the Rock of Gibraltar have tracked instances of geophagy, and found that animals in frequent contact with tourists eat far more dirt, and that dirt-eating rates are higher during peak holiday season. The scientists think that the chocolate, chips and ice cream offered by or stolen from tourists—a substantial part of some Gibraltar macaques' diets—are disrupting gut microbiome composition in the animals and leading to changes in their culture.

Eating soil may help rebalance monkey stomachs by providing bacteria and minerals absent from junk food, say researchers, and it is likely to help line the gut and soothe or prevent irritation caused by too much sugar and fat.

Scientists think this behavior is transmitted socially, as different troops have preferences for certain types of soil, and say it is an example of an emerging animal culture and "tradition" created by living in a human-dominated environment.

J. Frater et al, Geophagy in Gibraltar Barbary macaques is a primate tradition anthropogenically induced, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-44607-0

Why does life prefer one 'hand' over the other? New study points to electron spin

A team of scientists has identified a new physical mechanism that could help explain one of the most persistent mysteries in science: why life consistently uses one "handed" version of its molecules and not the other. 

The researchers show that electron spin, a fundamental quantum property, can cause mirror-image molecules to behave differently during dynamic processes, even though they are otherwise identical. The work appears in Science Advances.

Many molecules essential to life come in two mirror-image forms, known as enantiomers. Chemically, these forms are nearly indistinguishable. Yet in living systems, only one version is typically used: amino acids are almost exclusively one type, while sugars follow the opposite pattern.

This phenomenon, known as homochirality, has puzzled scientists for more than a century.

The new study suggests that the answer may lie not in the molecules themselves, but in how they behave when electrons move through them. The researchers found that when electrons pass through chiral molecules, their spin interacts with the molecular structure in a way that is not perfectly symmetric between mirror images.
As a result:
The two forms can produce different levels of spin polarization
These differences can influence how efficiently each form participates in physical and chemical processes
This breaks a long-standing assumption that mirror-image molecules should behave identically in magnitude, differing only in sign.

The study combines theoretical analysis, experiments, and advanced calculations to show that this asymmetry arises from how electron spin aligns within each molecular structure.

Although the two enantiomers have the same energy, their spin-related properties during motion are not exact mirror images, leading to measurable differences in behavior. Importantly, these differences appear in dynamic processes, such as electron transport and interactions with magnetic environments, rather than in static properties.

These findings offer a possible route toward understanding how one molecular "hand" came to dominate in biology. If one enantiomer consistently interacts more efficiently with its environment under spin-dependent conditions, even small differences could accumulate over time, leading to a global preference. This provides a new perspective on how physical processes, rather than purely chemical ones, may have influenced the earliest stages of biological development.

The work opens new directions for research at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and biology:
Exploring how spin-dependent effects influence chemical reactions
Designing materials that exploit chirality and electron spin
Investigating how quantum properties shape biological systems
More broadly, the study suggests that symmetry in chemistry may be more subtle—and more easily broken—than previously thought.

Yossi Paltiel et al, Dynamic Breaking of Mirror Symmetry in Spin-Dependent Electron Transport through Chiral Media Causes Enantiomeric Excesses, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aec9325. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec9325

Microbes contribute a surprisingly large array of proteins in fermented foods
Microbial proteins constitute up to 11% of total protein content and up to 60% of identified proteins in fermented foods, often surpassing substrate-derived proteins. This substantial microbial contribution alters the nutritional and functional profiles of fermented foods and may influence host immune responses or gut microbiota interactions.
A new study examining the proteins found in fermented foods like yogurt, cheese and bread found that a surprisingly large number, and percentage, of microbial proteins contribute to their overall protein content. These microbes have long been used in traditional fermentation processes and are widely associated with the beneficial or probiotic nature of these fermented foods.
The findings highlight the role of microbial proteins in shaping the nutritional and potential health impacts of fermented foods and could also help pave the way to engineering fermented foods with specific microbial profiles that enhance their beneficial effects.
Using a metaproteomics approach, the researchers combined high-resolution liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify all the food- and microbial-derived proteins in 17 fermented and three non-fermented foods. Dairy milk, tofu and wheat bread comprised the non-fermented foods, while the fermented foods included the fermented derivatives of these substrates such as yogurt, brie cheese, sour cream, plain yeast bread, sourdough bread, tempeh, miso and soy sauce.
The striking results showed that microbial proteins contributed up to 11% of the total protein content and up to 60% of the total number of identified proteins in fermented foods.
This shows that microorganisms not only contribute to the fermentation process itself but also to the overall nutritional and functional profile of fermented food by converting substrate proteins into microbial proteins.

Laura Winkler et al, Assessing the diversity and functional profile of the "microbial proteome" in fermented foods, Food & Function (2026). DOI: 10.1039/d5fo05039a

Plants can sense the sound of rain, new study finds

Exposure to rain-like sound vibrations accelerates rice seed germination by 30–40% compared to controls, likely through the dislodgement of statoliths—gravity-sensing organelles—within seed cells. Acoustic vibrations from raindrops are sufficient to stimulate this response, suggesting seeds can sense and respond to natural sounds, potentially conferring an adaptive advantage for optimal growth conditions.
Some seeds may come alive to the sound of rain. In experiments with rice seeds, researchers found that the sound of falling droplets effectively shook the seeds out of a dormant state, stimulating them to germinate at a faster rate compared with seeds that were not exposed to the same sound vibrations.
The team's findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, are the first direct evidence that plant seeds and seedlings can sense sounds in nature. Their experiments involved submerging rice seeds in shallow water. Rice can germinate in both soil and shallow water. The researchers suspect that many similar seed types may also respond to the sound of rain.

The team worked out a hypothesis to explain how the seeds might be doing this. They found that when a raindrop hits the surface of a puddle or the ground, it generates a sound wave that makes the surroundings vibrate, including any shallowly submerged seeds. These vibrations can be strong enough to dislodge a seed's statoliths, which are tiny gravity-sensing organelles within certain cells of a seed. When these statoliths are jostled, their movement is a signal for seeds and seedlings to grow and sprout.
What this study is saying is that seeds can sense sound in ways that can help them survive. The energy of the rain sound is enough to accelerate a seed's growth.

"Seeds accelerate germination at beneficial planting depths by sensing the sound of rain", Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-44444-1

How cells turn mechanical forces into biochemical signals

Cells constantly probe their environments, searching for physical cues that guide their behavior. And yet a cell's response to its environment is always biochemical, mediated by the chemistry of its internal protein machinery. So how does a cell convert mechanical information into a molecular process?

 Researchers have been investigating this riddle for more than a decade. A few years ago, for example, they discovered that when physical forces change the shape of a cell's internal architecture, called the cytoskeleton, it generates chemical signals that instruct the cell how to behave. But the steps between the physical force and the chemical response remained unclear.

Now, thanks to technological advances they developed researchers have shown for the first time that when a motor protein called myosin compresses actin filaments within the cytoskeleton, it squishes the filaments into coils. This deformation is detected by protein sensors associated with cell adhesion, which congregate at specific sites on the cell interior.

Forces generated by myosin are critically important for cells to receive mechanical signals. 

The cytoskeleton helps the cell transmit, receive, and process physical and biochemical information—a dynamic responsiveness that allows cells to interact with the world around them.

A key building material of the cytoskeleton is the actin filament, which powers cellular movement thanks to motor proteins like myosin, which tug, twist, and compress actin.

Tugging on actin filaments with myosin actually helped the actin to bind better to a protein sensor, called alpha-catenin, which builds physical connections between cells. 

If you get rid of myosin, cells can't stick together efficiently or transmit forces or information between them. Everything just falls apart.

Researchers found that compression was the key. This squeezing caused the filaments to turn into spirals—and it was this shape in particular that set off the alpha-catenin sensors, and it was happening in a localized way.

Even if the entire network of myosin is generating tension—or tugging on the filaments—little segments of the network will actually be generating compression based on the random operation of the motors and how they happen to be positioned and firing asynchronously. That's interesting, because it means these subpopulations could have a sort of signaling function."

They also investigated how these coils might form using computer simulations. She ran simulations testing the three forces at play—tension, torsion, and compression—at various magnitudes and in different directions.

No matter the level of force or direction of action, they found the same result: Compression was the key.

Myosin dysfunction is connected to a number of diseases and that myosin inhibitors are in clinical trials for different conditions, including cancers such as glioblastoma.

Myosin forces remodel F-actin for mechanosensitive protein recognition, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10398-7

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Engineered soil bacterial protein kills colorectal cancer cells by targeting their mitochondria
An engineered protein derived from soil bacteria, combined with a fatty acid to form the NheA-O complex, selectively induces ferroptosis in colorectal cancer cells by targeting and disrupting mitochondrial energy production. This approach bypasses typical tumor cell survival mechanisms, leading to efficient cancer cell death in cell culture models and suggesting a potential new therapeutic strategy.

Naeem Ullah et al, Bacterial protein-oleate complexes induce ferroptosis-like cell death in colorectal cancer cells by disrupting cell membranes and inhibiting the β-catenin-GPX4 axis, Cell Death Discovery (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41420-026-03097-9

How does imagination really work in the brain? New explanation upends what we knew
Imagination operates by modulating and suppressing ongoing spontaneous neural activity in the brain, rather than generating new activity. Visual imagery emerges when feedback signals selectively dampen competing neural patterns, allowing specific mental images to stabilize amid background activity. This mechanism explains why imagined images are typically weaker and more distinct from real perception.

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-53139-001.html

HEPA air purifiers may boost brain power in adults over 40
One month of in-home HEPA air purifier use led to a 12% improvement in mental flexibility and executive function among adults aged 40 and older, compared to a sham purifier. The cognitive benefit was similar to that seen with increased exercise. The findings suggest HEPA purifiers may help mitigate cognitive impacts of air pollution, particularly for those living near major roadways.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-48063-8

More than 600,000 seabirds killed in single marine heat wave

A marine heat wave off Australia in 2023–2024 caused the deaths of over 629,000 seabirds, with short-tailed shearwaters comprising 96% of casualties, representing more than 5% of their population. Increasing frequency and intensity of marine heat waves, driven by rising ocean temperatures, are placing unprecedented pressure on seabird populations and threatening their long-term survival.
While it's not unusual for some birds to die at sea, this wasn't just a handful of unlucky individuals. Thousands of shearwaters were washing up across the country's east coast, stretching thousands of kilometers from Queensland down to Tasmania.

With the help of concerned local residents-turned-community scientists from across Australia, a team of scientists from the Adrift Lab has managed to piece together the full picture. They linked the deaths to a marine heat wave in the middle of the shearwater breeding season when the birds are at their most vulnerable.

Their research suggests that the shearwaters washing up on the beaches were only a tiny fraction of the overall number that died during the heat wave. In total, the researchers estimate more than 629,000 seabirds died, with the short-tailed shearwater making up 96% of the casualties.
These events are happening more frequently, and while seabirds have some ability to bounce back from them, their resilience is being exhausted, say the scientists.
Before, these events happened once in a generation. Now, they're happening faster and faster, and they won't slow down. They come on top of everything else seabirds have to deal with, from pollution to persecution, and they can't cope with it.

Jennifer L. Lavers et al, Estimating the total mortality of seabirds following a marine heat wave, Conservation Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70273

Tinnitus Is Linked to a Crucial Brain Chemical

The so-called ‘happy’ chemical, serotonin, has a curious connection to tinnitus.

Over the years, numerous studies have linked phantom noises, which ring, hiss, buzz, or throb in the ear, to a change in how the brain modulates serotonin.

In mice, neuroscientists have mapped a neural pathway between a serotonin-producing part of the brainstem and the auditory region.

When researchers artificially activated this pathway, mice behaved as if they were experiencing a sound only they could hear.

It's producing symptoms that we would expect to be experienced as tinnitus in humans.

The findings suggest that targeting this serotonin pathway may be a useful approach for treating tinnitus.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2509692123

Mechanical forces from the beating heart may help prevent cancer cell growth

Scientists may have discovered another way the human body tries to protect itself from cancer. New research on mice suggests that the heart's constant beating may prevent tumor growth in cardiac tissue. Most organs are vulnerable to cancer, but the heart is something of an anomaly. While cancer can spread from other parts of the body to the heart, tumors rarely start there. It's a medical mystery that has puzzled scientists for years.

Researchers at the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) suspected that it may have something to do with mechanical load and physical forces of the heartbeat, so they decided to investigate. That is, the physical stress the heart muscle is under as it constantly contracts and relaxes to pump blood could be what helps protect the heart from cancer growth.

The study is published in the journal Science, as well as a Perspective.

The team first transplanted a donor mouse heart into the neck of another mouse. This second heart had a blood supply but was not mechanically pumping blood around the body. Then they injected cancer cells into both hearts to compare tumor behavior. While tumor cells spread aggressively in the transplanted heart, cancer cells replaced only about 20% of the tissue in the original beating heart.

To understand what could be happening at the cellular level, the scientists created engineered heart tissue (EHT) in the lab. They varied the mechanical load on the tissue by stretching and altering pressure to monitor its effect on the growth of human lung cancer cells. The more pressure they put on the EHT, the slower the cancer cells grew.

"Mechanical forces in the beating heart protect it from cancer by halting cancer cell proliferation," they wrote in their paper.

The research team also analyzed cell samples of patients whose cancer had spread to the heart and compared them with tumors in other parts of the body. According to the study's findings, mechanical forces alter how cells organize their DNA by interacting with the protein Nesprin-2.
When the heart squeezes, Nesprin-2 senses the pressure and helps transmit that mechanical signal to the cell's nucleus. In response, the packaging of DNA in a structure called chromatin changes. It becomes less compact, which makes it easier for the cell to access and activate genes that slow cancer cell growth.

When researchers silenced the Nesprin-2 protein in those cancer cells, they couldn't sense the mechanical pressure and began to grow and multiply. "Nesprin-2 is a key molecule sensing these forces and translating them into reduced cell proliferation."

If scientists could mimic these mechanical forces with drugs or technology, they could potentially stop cancer cells in their tracks.

Giulio Ciucci et al, Mechanical load inhibits cancer growth in mouse and human hearts, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.ads9412

Wyatt G. Paltzer et al, The heart puts pressure on cancer growth, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aeg8798

Consuming legumes and soy-based foods may help improve symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by reducing inflammation and irritation

Consuming legumes and soy-based foods may help improve symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by reducing inflammation and irritation, according to a new study published in the March 2026 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation.

COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is a progressive, inflammatory lung disease that affects  millions and is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Previous research has identified diet and nutrition as modifiable risk factors for chronic lung disease, including COPD.

This new study examined how increased isoflavone consumption impacted participants' breathing symptoms, cough, and overall lung health. Isoflavones are a natural substance commonly found in legumes and soy-based foods.

Study results showed people with higher isoflavone consumption experienced fewer breathing-related symptoms, including reduced coughing and less difficulty clearing mucus, and improved lung health.

Daniel C. Belz et al, Isoflavone Intake is Associated With Decreased Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Morbidity, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation (2026). DOI: 10.15326/jcopdf.2025.0695

Ultra-processed foods damage your focus even if you eat healthily
Higher intake of ultra-processed foods is associated with reduced attention span and lower scores on cognitive tests measuring visual attention and processing speed, independent of overall diet quality. The degree of food processing, rather than just nutrient content, plays a critical role in cognitive decline and increases risk factors for dementia, such as hypertension and obesity.
New research shows that a diet high in heavily processed foods can negatively impact the brain's ability to focus and increases the risk of developing dementia.
The findings demonstrate that a slight daily increase in a person's intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is linked to a measurable drop in attention span—even if someone otherwise eats healthily.
Because the negative effects of UPFs take place regardless of a person's overall diet quality, even for people following a healthy Mediterranean diet, researchers say the degree of food processing plays a critical role in the damage.
Food ultra-processing often destroys the natural structure of food and introduces potentially harmful substances like artificial additives or processing chemicals.
These additives suggest the link between diet and cognitive function extends beyond just missing out on foods known as healthy, pointing to mechanisms linked to the degree of food processing itself.
Eating more UPFs was linked to an increase in dementia risk factors, which include health conditions such as high blood pressure or obesity that can actively be managed to protect the brain.

Barbara R. Cardoso et al, Ultra‐processed food intake, cognitive function, and dementia risk: A cross‐sectional study of middle‐aged and older Australian adults, Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring (2026). DOI: 10.1002/dad2.70335

Millions of US birth records uncover an autism risk surge tied to common drugs taken during pregnancy
Prenatal exposure to medications that inhibit sterol biosynthesis, including certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, beta-blockers, and statins, is associated with a significantly increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring, with risk rising in a dose-dependent manner. The proportion of pregnancies with such exposure increased from 4.3% in 2014 to 16.8% in 2023.
A landmark study by researchers and published in Molecular Psychiatry has identified a significant association between prenatal prescription of commonly utilized medications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children
Analyzing 6.14 million maternal-child health records from the Epic Cosmos database—representing nearly one-third of all U.S. births between 2014 and 2023—the team found that prescription of medications known to inhibit the cholesterol synthesis pathway were consistently associated with higher rates of ASD in offspring.
These sterol biosynthesis–inhibiting medications (SBIMs) include certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, beta-blockers and statins. These are the generic names of the 14 medications studied: aripiprazole, atorvastatin, bupropion, buspirone, fluoxetine, haloperidol, metoprolol, nebivolol, pravastatin, propranolol, rosuvastatin, sertraline, simvastatin and trazodone. Many of these are among the most commonly prescribed medications.
Cholesterol is essential for fetal development, especially for the brain, the most cholesterol-rich organ. The fetal brain begins producing its own sterols around 19–20 weeks of gestation. Genetic disruptions in this pathway are known to cause severe developmental syndromes such as Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), in which up to 75% of children meet criteria for ASD. Many widely used medications can unintentionally interfere with this pathway.
The study authors stress that no pregnant patient should discontinue or alter medication without medical supervision, as many SBIMs are essential, often life-saving treatments. Instead, the study calls for a re-evaluation of prescribing practices and for developing safer alternatives for use during pregnancy.
.

Eric S. Peeples et al, Sterol pathway disruption in pregnancy: a link to autism, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-026-03610-7

The brain replays past emotional experiences during sleep

Neuroscientists have been trying for several years to uncover the neural processes that allow humans and various other animals to recall emotional experiences of past events. Past studies have identified a network of brain regions that support the encoding and consolidation of these memories. These regions include the hippocampus and the amygdala, as well as the para-hippocampal, perirhinal, prefrontal, parietal and retrosplenial cortices.

Researchers at Neuroscience NeuroSU and the Institute of Biology Paris-Seine- IBPS carried out a study on rats aimed at better understanding how the dorsal and ventral hippocampus, two segments of the hippocampus known to have different functions, contribute to the consolidation of emotional memories of past events.

Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that these two regions coordinate during sleep to consolidate memories of past experiences and the emotions associated with them.

We already knew a lot about the role of sleep-dependent reactivation in the dorsal hippocampus, but comparatively much less is known about the ventral part of the hippocampus.

 It was previously shown that the dorsal part of the hippocampus communicates during sleep with other structures related to emotions, like the amygdala. However, the anatomy shows that the dorsal hippocampus is not connected to these structures.

Earlier neuroscience studies found that the dorsal hippocampus is not connected to other brain regions associated with the processing of emotions. This suggests that it communicates with these regions via an intermediate brain region when consolidating emotional memories of past events.

Researchers now hypothesized that this intermediate region is the ventral hippocampus, the other segment of the hippocampus. Contrarily to the dorsal hippocampus, this region is known to communicate with emotion-processing brain regions.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers carried out a series of experiments involving freely moving rats. These rats had tiny electrodes implanted in their brains, which recorded the activity of many neurons simultaneously both in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus.

They collected electrophysiological recordings while the rats were undergoing an emotional experience, and then sleeping.

Part 1

They then used computational methods to analyze the activity of these neurons and examine how they coordinate/dialogue during sleep, and how accurately this coordination reflects the preceding emotional experience."

While they were awake, some rats experienced a small electric shock, while others received a reward. The researchers looked at the activity of neurons in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus both during these experiences and after them, while the rats were sleeping.
The researchers observed neural reactivation (a phenomenon known to support sleep-dependent memory-processing) during sleep that spans the entire axis of the hippocampus following an emotional positive or negative experience.
The recordings collected by this research team confirmed that while rats are sleeping, their brain consolidates memories of emotional experiences they had while awake. The consolidation of both aversive and pleasurable experiences appears to be supported by coordinated activity between the dorsal and ventral hippocampus.
They also found that reactivation is more faithful to the original experience when the experience was negative.
This might explain the bias towards better memories of negative compared to positive events. More broadly, it identifies a mechanism that allows us to form memories combining context and emotions, positive or negative.

If validated in humans, the results of this recent study could help to shed more light on the intricate neural processes that support the consolidation of traumatic memories and could play a role in trauma-related mental health conditions. For instance, they might improve the understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders that are linked to intrusive and sometimes debilitating memories of traumatic events.

Juan Facundo Morici et al, Dorsoventral hippocampus neural assemblies reactivate during sleep following an aversive experience, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02252-w.

Part 2

Why dolphins swim so fast: The secrets of hidden whirlpools

Large-scale numerical simulations show that dolphins generate strong, large vortex rings with their tail movements, which are primarily responsible for propulsion. Smaller vortices produced in the resulting turbulent flow contribute minimally to forward motion. The findings highlight the dominant role of large vortices in efficient dolphin swimming across various speeds.

Yutaro Motoori et al, Swimming mechanism of a dolphin on the basis of the hierarchy of vortices, Physical Review Fluids (2026). DOI: 10.1103/tnxb-ckr5

A host of positive 'tipping points' can regenerate nature

Positive tipping points—critical thresholds where small changes trigger rapid, self-reinforcing recovery—can accelerate large-scale ecosystem regeneration and nature-positive behaviours. Key mechanisms include ecosystem restoration, improved resource management, social diffusion of conservation initiatives, and shifts in consumption patterns. Leveraging collective learning, economic valuation of nature, and ecocentric worldviews may enable widespread positive tipping points.

Positive tipping points for nature., Nature Sustainability (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-026-01803-0

Microplastics have been found to interact with the gut microbiome. Here's what health effects they might have
Microplastics are widely present in the environment and are ingested by humans, where they can interact with the gut microbiome. Evidence, primarily from animal studies, indicates that microplastics may disrupt beneficial gut bacteria, reduce production of protective metabolites like butyrate, and increase susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease. The precise health effects in humans remain unclear due to measurement challenges and limited direct evidence.

Here's what we know about the climate cost of white trails aircraft leave in the sky
Contrails, formed by aircraft at high altitudes in cold, humid conditions, contribute to climate warming primarily through the formation of contrail cirrus, which trap outgoing infrared radiation. While individual contrails can have either a warming or cooling effect, the net global impact is warming, often comparable to or exceeding the short-term warming from emitted CO2. Reducing contrail formation, especially by optimizing flight routes to avoid susceptible atmospheric regions, could mitigate aviation's climate impact, though improved humidity forecasting and further research are needed for effective implementation.

original article.

An interplanetary shortcut can speed up trips to Mars
Analysis indicates that using early orbital data from asteroids can identify more direct transfer opportunities between Earth and Mars, potentially reducing round-trip mission durations to as little as 153 days. This approach offers a methodological tool for screening rapid interplanetary transfer routes that may be overlooked by conventional planning methods.

To identify optimal routes and calculate fuel needs, planners of interplanetary missions use precise planetary data. Sending missions to other worlds rarely involves early orbital data from asteroids.

When it comes to Mars missions, a key planning consideration is a phenomenon known as Mars opposition. This occurs roughly every 26 months when Earth passes directly between the sun and Mars. During this alignment, the two planets are on the same side of the sun, bringing Mars to its closest point to Earth.
Researchers wondered whether early asteroid data (an approximation of an asteroid's path based on a short observation window) could be used to find hidden shortcuts in space.
For their study, they focused on an asteroid called 2001 CA21 because its early predicted path crossed the orbits of both Earth and Mars, even though its official orbital details were later updated. They looked for paths to Mars that stayed within five degrees of the asteroid's tilt. Staying close to this angle allows a spacecraft to take a more direct path through space.

Then they tested Mars oppositions from 2027, 2029, and 2031 to see which one offered the best conditions for a shorter trip.

The analysis revealed that 2031 was the only year the Earth-Mars geometry aligned favourably with the asteroid's orbital plane. As researchers note in their paper, "The 2031 Mars opposition supports two complete sub-year round-trip missions consistent with the CA21-anchored plane, illustrating how early small-body orbital data may contribute to the early identification of rapid interplanetary transfer opportunities."
The paper does not suggest that future missions must follow this specific asteroid. Instead, it demonstrates a possible way to identify faster flight paths that traditional methods might miss.

Marcelo de Oliveira Souza, Using asteroid early orbital data for rapid mars missions, Acta Astronautica (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2026.04.018

Aligned cells may explain why some wounds heal faster than others
A mathematical model demonstrates that the alignment and organization of epithelial cells surrounding a wound significantly influence wound closure dynamics. Forces generated by these aligned cells can alter wound shape and affect healing speed, with inward-pulling tissue accelerating closure and outward-pushing tissue slowing it. Temporary disruptions in cell alignment occur during healing but resolve as closure completes.
Understanding how wounds heal after injury could be a step closer thanks to a new mathematical model developed by researchers . The study, published in Physical Review Letters, builds on previous work in fruit flies, where the researchers observed how skin-like epithelial cells move to cover a wound.
A crucial part of wound repair is re-epithelialization, the process where skin cells spread across a wound to rebuild the body's outer protective barrier. When this process breaks down, wounds can remain open and vulnerable to infection and so it's important to understand what physical mechanisms and forces contribute to effective closure.

To explore how this healing step works at the level of individual cells, the research team studied wound repair in fruit flies. Using advanced deep-learning tools to analyze thousands of cells, they discovered that the cells in the fly's wing are arranged in a highly organized pattern; each cell has head-to-tail symmetry and tends to align along the long axis of the wing.

The new mathematical model developed aimed to understand how these cell alignment patterns influence the way a wound closes. The model treated the tissue like a fluid composed of many elongated, aligned cell-shaped particles. This approach allowed the researchers to estimate how previously overlooked forces, acting within the tissue around the wound, affect closure.

The model predicted that these surrounding, or "bulk," forces could cause a wound that starts out round to become stretched or squashed as it closes, aligning with the natural direction of the surrounding tissue. When the researchers checked their predictions against experimental data, they found exactly this pattern: the shape of the wound changed in line with the tissue's own orientation.

Henry Andralojc et al, Dynamics of Wound Closure in Living Nematic Epithelia, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/8871-8m6c

Crows look plain black to us, but their feathers contain a secret visual code that changes with age
American crow feathers lack UV-reflective patches and show no sex-based differences in coloration, but subtle age-related changes in hue occur, detectable in both human and UV ranges as birds mature. The forehead feathers are ultra-black and may reduce glare during ground foraging. Crows distinguish individuals primarily through vocalizations, body size, bill shape, and possibly flight patterns.
Research has shown that some bird species have feather patches that reflect UV light, perhaps to signal health status or biological sex; these include blue tits, a British species related to chickadees, as well as budgerigars, the small parakeets .
It turns out that crows lack UV-reflective patches, and that the sexes really do look the same, plumage-wise. However, new research unearthed subtle changes that indicate age: On the sides, back and even under the tail, feathers changed in hue, both in the human visual range and in the UV or violet range as the birds reached the age of 3.

There are many possible mechanisms. There may be a greater concentration of melanin, or changes in the feather structure.

The reasons behind the changing hue could be reproductive in nature. Under the age of 3, crows are typically unable to find mates or defend territory.

Attractive feathers may indicate the birds' prime of life, health status, and resources to potential mates.

Some age-linked differences are apparent to the naked eye. Yearling birds have poor-quality feathers that tend to take on a brownish cast until they experience their first molt. 

 Elderly birds—18 or 19 years old—tend to look their age, so to speak, when it comes to the condition of their feathers.

There's a sense that perhaps feathers get better and better, and then that falls off as they age. Unfortunately, this should be familiar to most people; it gets harder to look great.

The experiment showed something else: Crows' foreheads are even blacker than the rest of their plumage and don't reflect the light. Crows are ground foragers, and these ultra-black feathers above their eyes may reduce glare in strong sunlight, essentially functioning like a baseball cap.

It may help augment their vision and cut down on hyper-reflections from the ground. That's all hypothesis, but it runs across all of the crow species researchers have looked at.

Part 1

With the same black plumage, how do crows tell one another apart? Earlier research has shown that their calls are individually specific, functioning in the same way as human voices. Female crows tend to have higher voices than males, partly due to body size.

Crows also vary in body size and shape and have similarly diverse bills; the tips grow continuously, but the bill shape is stable nearer the base.
Crows may also be able to recognize individuals by how they move—in their case, fly.

Jessica L. Yorzinski et al, Inter- and intra-individual variation in the feather coloration of American crows, Journal of Avian Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1002/jav.03604

Part 2

Half of AI health answers are wrong even though they sound convincing—new study
AI chatbots provided problematic or highly problematic health information in up to 58% of responses, with none reliably generating accurate reference lists. Performance was better for well-researched topics like cancer and vaccines, but accuracy dropped for open-ended questions and areas with less robust evidence. Users often misinterpret or misuse chatbot answers, and chatbots can fabricate references or repeat misinformation. These findings indicate current AI chatbots should not be relied upon as stand-alone medical authorities.

original article.

Six ways your smartwatch is lying to you, according to science
Smartwatches and fitness trackers often provide inaccurate estimates for calories burned, step counts, heart rate, sleep stages, recovery scores, and VO₂max due to reliance on indirect measurements and sensor limitations. These inaccuracies can mislead users about their health and fitness status, especially when used to guide diet, training intensity, or recovery. While useful for tracking general trends, individual metrics should be interpreted cautiously.

original article.

Why do we unconsciously imitate one another 

How two men smashed through a marathon barrier long thought unbreakable
Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha completed the marathon in under two hours, breaking the previous world record by significant margins. Key factors included exceptionally high training volumes, optimized carbohydrate intake, advanced lightweight "supershoes" improving running economy, and favorable weather. These performances resulted from the convergence of physiological, biomechanical, nutritional, and technological advancements.

original article.

Excessive cholesterol in astrocytes linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to progressive memory loss and a decline in mental functions. Several past studies have linked this disease to the accumulation of the protein amyloid-β into sticky plaques that disrupt the function of neurons.

More recently, neuroscientists have uncovered the existence of the glymphatic system, a brain-wide system that facilitates the clearance of metabolic waste, including amyloid-β in excess, from brain tissue via the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.

Astrocytes, the most abundant type of glial cells in the CNS, play a central role in this waste clearance process. These cells are known to regulate cerebrospinal fluid movement via a protein called AQP4 (aquaporin-4), supporting the clearance of waste from brain tissue.

Researchers  set out to better understand how anomalous calcium activity in astrocytes impacts the glymphatic system. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that elevated calcium activity in astrocytes mediates an increase in cholesterol levels, which in turn impairs the function of the glymphatic system in a genetically engineered model of AD.

Overall, the team's observations suggest that an accumulation of amyloid-β increases calcium activity in astrocytes, which in turn disrupts the brain's waste clearance system. It also offers hints about how these processes might contribute to the cognitive decline and memory loss observed in patients with AD.

If they are validated in humans, the results of this study could have key implications for the early treatment of AD. Specifically, they could help to identify or design pharmaceutical drugs that might prevent or reverse cognitive decline in the early stages of the disease or slow down its progression.

Zhan Zhang et al, Amyloid-β-driven glymphatic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease model mice is driven by Ca²⁺-mediated increases in astrocytic cholesterol, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02261-9.

Microplastics turn up in nearly every human brain sample, including healthy tissue

Tiny micro- and nanoplastic fragments seem to be turning up everywhere, including one of the most well-protected parts of the human body—the brain. In a recent study conducted by researchers, they found microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in nearly all the brain samples they tested, both healthy and diseased human brains.

As per the findings published in Nature Health, the microplastic levels were the highest recorded in the study, reaching 129 micrograms per gram in tumor-affected brain tissue. The healthy brain and spinal cord tissue had considerably lower levels, with a median of 50.3 micrograms per gram. 

Studies have found that microplastics can enter the human body through breathing, eating, and skin contact. The brain is protected by an exceptionally selective filter called the blood-brain barrier, designed to keep harmful substances out of our most vital organ. Yet previous studies have found that microplastics can somehow bypass this defense and enter the brain. This is particularly concerning because very little is known about what these foreign particles do once inside, where they go and settle, or what concentrations they can reach.

The study authors realized that MNPs were present in almost all samples: 99.4% of diseased tissue samples and 100% of healthy tissue samples. Nanoplastics, which are smaller in size, were more abundant than microplastics. The team was even able to identify the type of plastic the tiny bits came from: PET, often used to make beverage bottles; polyethylene, commonly used in plastic bags; polyamide that makes up textiles like nylon and PVC found in plumbing and industrial equipment.

In diseased brains, levels were not uniform across the tissue, with higher concentrations near tumors, possibly due to weakened natural protection. They detected these particles in operating room environments, raising the possibility of exposure during medical procedures.
Their analysis also found that the larger the surface area of microplastics, the faster the tumor cell growth. While this doesn't mean microplastics cause cancer, it does raise questions about the role MNPS may play in how quickly the disease progresses, an area the researchers noted requires further exploration.

Tackling MNP pollution calls for joint action from policymakers, manufacturers, and consumers. Findings from this study, along with future research, can strengthen public awareness and drive demand for change, helping to push policies grounded in evidence.

Runting Li et al, Microplastics and nanoplastics in brain tumours and the healthy human brain, Nature Health (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44360-026-00091-4

Neanderthal brains were not very different from human brains!

We appear to have more in common with our Neanderthal cousins than outward appearances would suggest. New research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the differences between Neanderthal brains and the brains of early modern humans (Homo sapiens) were no greater than the differences we see between various groups of people living today. The findings could challenge the long-held theory about why Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago.

The popular narrative suggests that Neanderthals were not as smart as the early humans who colonized their territory in Eurasia and ultimately replaced them.

The stock image of Neanderthals as brutish, cognitively inferior cavemen largely stems from differences in the shape of their skulls. Because theirs were more elongated and less round than ours, scientists assumed their brain organization was less advanced. Consequently, it was thought they lacked the memory and language skills that would have been necessary to compete with us. But this may not be correct.
A team of scientists took brain scans (MRIs) from two large modern groups of people: one made up of ethnic Han Chinese individuals and the other composed of Americans with European ancestry. They measured the volumes of 13 different brain regions in these groups and compared them with previously reported differences between Neanderthals and early modern humans who lived alongside them. These measurements were taken from endocasts, 3D models of the inside of Neanderthal skulls used to estimate brain shape and size.

They found that in 9 of the 13 brain regions, the volume differences between the modern Chinese and modern US samples were larger than those between Neanderthals and early humans. "The differences between modern human and Neanderthal brains, as estimated from endocranial reconstructions, do not meaningfully exceed those among different modern human populations," explained the study authors in their paper.

Part 1

The researchers estimate that any cognitive differences would be very small at only 0.14 standard deviations. This is based on the weak links between brain anatomy and cognitive performance seen in modern humans. That suggests that the mental abilities of the two groups living in Eurasia were similar on average.

Therefore, according to the team, the range of intelligence in Neanderthals and in humans would have overlapped heavily. So some Neanderthals could have been more capable than some early humans.

"If cognitive differences between modern human populations are not considered significant, Neanderthal differences from their contemporaries should not be either," said the researchers.

In other words, we shouldn't treat Neanderthal differences as especially meaningful if similar differences among humans aren't.

P. Thomas Schoenemann et al, Neanderthal brain and cognition reconsidered, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2426638123

Part 2

Invisible fertility crisis: Chemicals and climate change threaten reproduction across species

The rise in infertility is not limited to humans, as environmental stressors are quietly undermining the reproductive potential of different forms of life. A recent review published in npj Emerging Contaminants investigated how today's environmental challenges are shaping the reproductive capacity of both humans and animals.

From the analysis emerged two major forces—synthetic chemicals and warming climate—that are not acting in isolation but as a unit, placing growing pressure on fertility and fecundity (biological capacity of an organism to reproduce) across a wide spectrum of species.

The effects range from skewed sex ratios and poorer egg and sperm quality to developmental abnormalities and falling population numbers. The impact is not limited to a single generation; it carries its mark into future generations and tends to worsen when chemical exposure and climatic changes hit together.

Susanne M. Brander et al, Impacts of environmental stressors on fertility and fecundity across taxa, with implications for planetary health, npj Emerging Contaminants (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44454-026-00032-6

Your 'recycled polyester' leggings are not as sustainable as you think
Most recycled polyester in fashion is made from PET drink bottles, not textile waste, diverting material from an effective bottle-to-bottle recycling system into a less recyclable form. Once converted to clothing, polyester is typically downcycled, with limited recycling options, leading to landfill or incineration. Recycled polyester garments may shed more microplastics than virgin polyester, increasing environmental pollution. The most sustainable use for PET bottles remains within closed-loop bottle recycling rather than conversion to textiles.

original article.

Urban birds fear women more than men!

An international team of researchers have made the surprising discovery that urban birds—such as great tits, house sparrows and blackbirds—flee sooner when approached by women compared to men. But they don't yet understand why. Conducted across five European countries, the study involved male and female participants (matched for height and clothing) walking in a straight line towards birds in urban parks and green spaces.

The researchers found that compared to women, men were able to get an average of one meter closer to birds before they fled (termed flight initiation distance). The results, published in the journal, People and Nature, were consistent across all five countries: Czechia, France, Germany, Poland and Spain.

This finding was also consistent across the 37 bird species studied, from species that typically flee early, like magpies, to species that flee late, like pigeons.

From the results, the researchers conclude that urban birds can recognize the sex of the humans approaching them. But what traits the birds are picking up on or why they are more fearful of women remain a mystery.

The researchers have a few hypotheses for what birds are detecting, such as pheromones, body shape or gait, but say these are speculative and that more research is needed.

Federico Morelli et al, Sex matters: European urban birds flee approaching women sooner than approaching men, People and Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.70226

Light pollution alters food webs along riverbanks, finds study
Artificial light at night significantly disrupts energy and nutrient exchange between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems along riverbanks, altering food web dynamics more than invasive species. Light pollution changes the diet composition of predatory spiders and increases predation by invasive crayfish, reducing insect emergence and impacting terrestrial predators. These effects highlight the underestimated ecological consequences of artificial lighting.

Collins Ogbeide et al, Artificial light at night and invasive signal crayfish alter aquatic‐terrestrial food webs, Functional Ecology (2026). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.70335

Fruit and nuts fight non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Eating fruit and nuts can help protect against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—but a popular fiber supplement can make the condition worse, new research has found. The paper, "Ellagic Acid Reduces Inulin's Adverse Effects: A Combined Approach to Enhance Therapeutic Potential in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis," was published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

Caused by factors such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, NAFLD become the most prevalent liver disease globally, affecting 38% of the population. And there is no way to treat it.

Scientists at ECU have been investigating dietary preventions and found that a certain compound found in some fruits and nuts, could stop and potentially reverse the damage caused by NAFLD.

They found that ellagic acid (EA), which is found in a variety of foods such as pomegranates, berries, grapes and walnuts, helped to protect the liver from disease.

Ellagic acid is a natural antioxidant known for its potential anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties and holds great promise in treating various chronic diseases.

The study, which was conducted on mice, also warns that a commonly used fiber supplement  readily available at pharmacies, health stores and online, could make NAFLD worse if taken on its own without EA.

Inulin is a type of soluble fiber often used as a prebiotic to improve gut health, but the research showed it led to an unexpected increase in body weight and blood glucose levels and worsened liver damage, possibly because of the imbalance of microbes in the gut associated with NASH.

This research reinforces the idea that diet matters—not just what we eat, but how different nutrients interact in the body.

Tharani Senavirathna et al, Ellagic Acid Reduces Inulin's Adverse Effects: A Combined Approach to Enhance Therapeutic Potential in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (2026). DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.70456

Physicists reveal universal speed limit on quantum information scrambling

Theoretical physicists have discovered a "speed limit" on the time taken for quantum information to spread through larger systems. Publishing their results in Physical Review Letters, they have proved for the first time that this minimum time is closely linked with a system's entropy and temperature, perhaps paving the way for a deeper understanding of quantum information across a wide range of physical settings.

In 1974, Stephen Hawking proposed for the first time that black holes aren't entirely black. As well as emitting thermal radiation (now known as "Hawking radiation"), they also exhibit thermodynamic properties including temperature and an entropy proportional to their surface area.
Since entropy is a measure of the information carried by a system, this means a black hole's surface effectively stores a finite number of "qubits": the quantum equivalent of classical bits, each capable of storing quantum information as a superposition of two states simultaneously. In this way, the black hole's temperature as described by Hawking governs how these qubits interact and evolve over time.

In 2008, theoretical physicists Yasuhiro Sekino and Leonard Susskind took this idea a step beyond the abstract black hole picture. In the duo's conjecture, "systems of qubits at a certain temperature may take a minimum amount of time to share information with each other, which depends on the number of qubits and the temperature". This sharing of information is called 'scrambling,' and it effectively 'spreads' the information in each particle across the full system.

In their latest study, Vikram and Galitski expanded their theory further with insights from mathematician Laura Shou. Through their analysis, the trio concluded a clear relationship between the final entropy, the initial temperature, and the time taken to scramble a given number of units of quantum information.
They show that this kind of exact entropy- and temperature-dependent speed limit exists in every quantum system, where the previous expectation was that such speed limits only exist for systems in which each interaction only involves a few particles talking to each other.
With a deeper understanding of this speed limit, theorists could be far better placed to understand the emergence of thermal behavior in large-scale quantum systems, including emerging architectures for quantum computing and information processing. Even further, the result could be used to explore concepts from the origins of some forms of chaos, to the possibility of practical technologies for quantum teleportation, alongside more concrete theories of black hole radiation.

Amit Vikram et al, Proof of a Universal Speed Limit on Fast Scrambling in Quantum Systems, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/y9z4-v641. On arXiv: DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2404.15403

Part 2

A routine virus can slow breast cancer spread to the lungs, offering hidden protective power

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mostly infects the lungs, nose, throat, and respiratory tract, and can cause illness ranging from mild cold and fever-like symptoms to severe pneumonia and bronchitis. A recent study has found that having a respiratory infection can act as a shield against the spread of cancer cells.
A natural antiviral chemical called type I interferons is produced by our body as one of the earliest responders in the fight against RSV infections. These molecules can also help prevent breast cancer from spreading to the lungs by changing the lung environment in a way that makes it difficult for cancer cells to survive or thrive. The findings are published in PNAS.

Ana Farias et al, Type I interferons induced upon respiratory viral infection impair lung metastatic initiation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2412919123

No brain required: This is how the single-celled Stentor learns
Stentor coeruleus, a single-celled organism lacking a nervous system, exhibits habituation by reducing its contraction response to repeated stimuli. This learning process relies on calcium influx and CaMKII-mediated protein modification rather than new protein synthesis. The acquired response can be inherited by daughter cells, indicating a non-neuronal molecular basis for memory storage.
Scientists have known for more than a century that a single-celled organism with no nerve cells—much less a brain—can behave in ways that resemble learning.
Now, scientists can explain how this simple organism, called Stentor coeruleus, learns: It uses molecular machinery that resembles what neurons have in the human brain. The results suggest that learning may be a fundamental feature of life.

In findings published in Current Biology, the researchers used modern neuroscience tools to study the pond-dwelling "Stentor," which is shaped like a trumpet and is large enough to be seen with the naked eye. These organisms contract when perturbed but stop after repeated jolts—a form of learning called habituation.
These single cells can perform behaviours that are normally associated with cognition and brains.
The results suggest that Stentors reacted to the jolts by allowing calcium to flow into their cells, which triggered an enzyme called CaMKII to add chemical tags to certain proteins. With each jolt, the Stentors became less likely to respond—suggesting the chemical tags had changed how the organisms sensed the jolts. The Stentors also passed this knowledge to their daughter cells when they divided.
Scientists are still trying to understand how Stentors store this knowledge, but it may involve mechanoreceptors, which respond to touch. Animal neurons do something similar using CaMKII to change the sensitivity of receptors on their surface. It's a tantalizing clue that learning may rely on molecular systems that existed long before the evolution of brains.

Deepa H. Rajan et al, Molecular pathways for learning in the single-cell Stentor coeruleus, Current Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.080

A good yawn might do more than you think, say researchers

A simple yawn may feel like the most ordinary of human acts—a reflex triggered by tiredness, boredom, or seeing someone else's mouth stretch wide.

Yawning induces simultaneous outflow of cerebrospinal fluid and venous blood from the skull, a pattern distinct from deep breathing, which causes CSF inflow. This fluid movement may contribute to brain waste clearance and thermoregulation, suggesting a physiological role for yawning beyond social or behavioural triggers. Individual tongue motion during yawning is unique and consistent, resembling a biometric signature.

Now, a new imaging study suggests that yawning may play a subtle but intriguing role in moving fluids in and out of the brain. Although the researchers acknowledge the idea is speculative, they say their work introduces an interesting avenue for understanding the physiological functions of yawning.

Using real-time MRI scans, the team was able to see what happens inside the head and neck when people yawn, and compare it to the effect of normal and deep breathing.

The results, based on a small-scale group of 22 participants and published in Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, showed that yawning triggered a specific maneuver in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and venous blood moved out of the skull together, whereas during deep breathing cerebrospinal fluid flowed into the skull.
Cerebrospinal fluid is a clear liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, filling the space around them like water around a floating object. It is important because it cushions and protects the brain and spinal cord from injury and also helps carry nutrients in and waste products out.

The fact that CSF and venous blood flows away from the skull during yawning, but CSF flows in the opposite direction when deep breathing, was a big surprise to the researchers.

They observed that yawning is a body movement that can influence the flow of fluids around the brain.
There has been speculation that yawning can help clear waste from the brain, but so far there has not been solid proof.

This new research suggests that yawning can play a role in cleaning brain fluid, which would most likely happen close to bedtime.
This finding could be important for further studies into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia—all of which have been potentially linked to the build-up of waste products in and around the brain that can be a result of impaired CSF flows.
Part 1

The research team also says the evidence suggests yawning is a way for the body to regulate the temperature in and around the brain.

In humans, the brain tissue can be up to 1°C warmer than the rest of the body, and venous blood leaving the brain is typically about 0.2–0.3°C warmer than the arterial blood entering it.
So when someone yawns, we can now see an increase in the cooler arterial blood flow into the skull, compensating for the coupled outflow of CSF and venous blood, and therefore we can surmise there may be a thermoregulatory process happening there.

"We could speculate that perhaps yawning is a way that the brain helps to cool itself down, but again we would need to do more research to state that with certainty.

"We do know that a hot brain is not a good thing because there is a risk of cell damage, seizures and cerebral swelling. And there is actually a very narrow band temperature-wise where the brain is steady and balanced, what is known as homeostasis.

"That's likely the reason why there are so many mechanisms—such as blood flow and sweating—that help regulate temperatures in the brain.

"We don't fully know what the level of contribution yawning may play in that, but this research opens up some interesting avenues for further investigation in that area as well."
The researchers also say they have identified for the first time that people appear to have a unique signature to their individual yawn, which can be identified by the complex way their tongue moves during the action.

Another interesting thing they found is that each person yawns in a unique way—so the tongue motion during the yawn is different between people, but very consistent for each person.
And it's not a simple motion. It's a very complex movement of the tongue during a yawn. It's almost like a fingerprint, so you could possibly identify someone just based on how they yawn.

Adam D. Martinac et al, Biomechanics of contagious yawning: Insights into cranio-cervical fluid dynamics and kinematic consistency, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2026.104575

Part 2

Evolution has reused the same genes for 120 million years, study shows

Scientists have shown that evolution has been using the same genetic "cheat sheet" for over 120 million years, suggesting that life on Earth may be more predictable than first imagined. The international team, studied several distantly related South American rainforest butterfly and moth species that sport similar wing colour patterns that warn away predators, a phenomenon known as mimicry.

The aim of the study was to discover the genes controlling these similar mimicry color patterns among seven distantly related species.

The scientists, including researchers from a number of South American countries, found that despite being very distantly related to each other, the various butterfly and moth species reused the same two genes—ivory and optix—to evolve near identical color patterns.

The genetic changes in the different butterfly species did not happen in the genes themselves, but in similar "switches" that turn the genes on or off. The moth species surprisingly used an inversion mechanism—a large chunk of DNA flipped backwards—a near identical genetic trick used by one of the butterflies.

Convergent evolution, where many unrelated species independently evolve the same trait, is common across the tree of life. But we rarely have the opportunity to investigate the genetic basis of this phenomenon.

Investigating seven butterfly lineages and a day-flying moth,  researchers show that evolution can be surprisingly predictable, and that butterflies and moths have been using the exact same genetic tricks repeatedly to achieve similar colour patterns since the age of the dinosaurs.

The research, published in the journal PLOS Biology, shows that evolution isn't always a roll-of-the-dice, but can be more predictable than previously thought.

PLOS Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742

Diabetes flips immune cells from repair to inflammation in peripheral artery disease, study finds

Type 2 diabetes can turn immune cells that help with tissue repair and anti-inflammatory responses into triggers of chronic inflammation. A recent study investigated why people with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of severe complications from peripheral artery disease (PAD).

PAD is a common circulatory condition in which plaque buildup narrows the arteries, reducing blood flow, usually in the legs. This can lead to lower extremity infections and the formation of non-healing ulcers in people with diabetes.

Using RNA-sequencing and gene mapping, researchers discovered that diabetes causes certain immune cells called macrophages that express the protein TREM2 to reprogram their behaviour from helping cells repair to causing harmful inflammation and preventing blood vessels from healing.

In this study, the researchers decided to intercept cell-to-cell communication within the blood vessels to make sense of how diabetes changes it, particularly the interactions between endothelial cells (ECs) and macrophages (MPs).

To do so, they studied human arteries from donors with and without type 2 diabetes. They used single-cell RNA sequencing to zoom in on individual cell types and identify which genes were switched on or off in each. To pinpoint exactly where this activity occurred, they turned to spatial transcriptomics, which helped them create a map of genetic activity within cells of the arterial structure.

In arteries from donors with type2 diabetes, MPs and ECs exhibit elevated expression of the TREM2 receptor. The genetic testing revealed a two-way signalling loop between ECs and MPs, in which both cell types continuously activate one another. This sustained cross-talk promoted the transition of TREM2+ macrophages, a subpopulation of the immune cells, from a protective, anti-inflammatory state to proinflammatory foam-like cells, thereby increasing inflammation.

As these MPs shifted, they began to influence ECs, changing their behaviour and prompting them to release chemicals that make blood vessel walls more sticky, which not only draws inflammatory cells into the vessels but also hinders healing.

Naseeb Kaur Malhi et al, Diabetes-induced TREM2–endothelial cell signaling impairs ischemic vascular repair, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adu3761

Michael D. Chang et al, Programming peripheral artery disease in diabetes, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aef8756

Report links biodiversity collapse to risks for financial systems and food security
Biodiversity loss, climate shocks, and geopolitical conflicts are destabilizing food systems, increasing food prices, and threatening long-term food security and financial stability. Chronic pressures such as soil degradation, water scarcity, and pollinator decline reduce crop yields, while acute shocks like trade disruptions and extreme weather exacerbate volatility. Urgent integration of nature-related risks into financial and policy decisions is recommended to prevent systemic crises.

Planetary Solvency: Tipping into the wild unknown. actuaries.org.uk/planetary-sol … nto-the-wild-unknown