Vagus nerve stimulation may quiet pain through newly mapped brainstem pathway

Physical pain is essential for survival, as it allows animals to detect when they are injured or unwell, seek shelter and address their ailments. Yet when it becomes chronic, pain can also become highly distressing and debilitating.

While there are now several therapeutic strategies for managing chronic pain, an emerging one that has been found to be particularly promising is vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). VNS entails the delivery of mild electrical pulses to the nerve that connects the brain to organs throughout the body.

Past studies suggest that VNS based therapy can reduce the pain associated with various medical conditions, including chronic headaches, fibromyalgia and joint inflammation. The neural processes by which it can ease pain, however, are still poorly understood.

Researchers  carried out a study aimed at better understanding how VNS acts on pain, specifically focusing on neurons in the brainstem, a stalk-like structure at the base of the brain. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that VNS-based therapy acts on a previously unknown neural pathway involved in the processing of pain.

VNS has been used clinically for several neurological and psychiatric conditions, and growing evidence suggests that it can also help relieve pain

The main objective of this study was to identify specific populations of neurons and neural pathways that play a role in the effects of VNS on the sensory perception and emotional processing of pain. To achieve this, the researchers carried out a series of experiments involving adult mice.

Initially, the team examined the roles of different groups of neurons in a part of the brainstem known as the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS). This allowed them to identify a specific set of neurons that appeared to play a role in pain-related perceptions and behaviours.

The neurons they identified had axons (i.e., long fiber-like extensions) that reached the periaqueductal gray (PAG). The PAG is a small, almond-shaped segment of the midbrain known to play a role in intense emotional experiences, pain modulation and fight-or-flight responses.

Part 1

The researchers then focused on these neurons, selectively activating or inhibiting them while measuring pain-related behaviours.
They also recorded their neural activity while the animals experienced painful stimuli or received VNS. Finally, we traced the anatomical connections linking the spinal cord, the nucleus of the solitary tract, the periaqueductal gray, and downstream dopamine circuits.
Using various techniques to activate specific neurons, trace their connections and record neural activity, they were able to identify neurons that responded most strongly to pain. When they then exposed the mice to VNS, they could determine whether this intervention acted on these neurons and modified their activity.

They identified a specific brainstem pathway, from the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract to the periaqueductal gray, that converts pain signals into behavioural and emotional responses," Deng said.

Activating this pathway produced pain-like behaviours, while inhibiting it reduced pain behaviour. They also found that this pathway influences dopamine signals in the nucleus accumbens, suggesting a circuit mechanism through which VNS may affect both the sensory and emotional components of pain.
The results of this study offer valuable new insight into the neural processes by which VNS eases chronic pain.

Yuan Tang et al, A brainstem pathway underlying vagal modulation of somatic pain and affective states, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-026-02313-0.

Part 2

Manakins' dazzling dances may owe their origins to an ancient diet shift

Few animals put on a show quite like manakins. In the rainforests of Central and South America, males of these small tropical birds, with strikingly bright plumage, often gather at communal display sites (leks), where they clear their own dance courts and spend much of their lives performing high-speed backflips, snapping their wings like firecrackers, and running through choreographed routines with other males, all to attract a mate.

Behind these seemingly effortless performances is far more than meets the eye: years of practice, females who raise the young alone, and—it turns out—a change in diet that began with their distant ancestors. A new paper on this topic appears in Current Biology.

Over millions of years, the relentless competition for mates is thought to have driven manakin plumage and dances to ever greater extremes through sexual selection, the evolutionary force behind extravagant features such as the peacock's tail and the stag's antlers. Only a small number of the most attractive males are usually chosen as mates, and across the generations, that intense selection by females pushes favored traits further.

In manakins, diet may also play a role in the evolution of these dazzling displays.
Researchers now uncovered a link between the birds' diet and changes in display behaviour.
The researchers sequenced the genomes of lek-mating manakins and observed genetic fingerprints of strong sexual selection as well as changes in taste and digestion. Through reconstruction of dietary patterns, genome-wide surveys, and lab experiments, they examined the order of those changes in the birds' evolutionary history to work out their timing.
Part 1

Male manakins are not only showmen, but extraordinary athletes. In some species, their wing muscles are among the fastest-contracting in nature. A displaying male's heart can race from rest to near its limit in seconds, and males may spend up to 90% of the daylight hours performing, almost year-round. Such effort burns a lot of energy, and manakins draw it substantially from their fruit-based diets. But eating fruit is not necessarily straightforward for a bird: Many plants protect their unripe fruit with toxic compounds, making them tough to digest, and many birds cannot even taste sweetness, having lost the necessary receptor far back in their evolutionary history.

Remarkably, some bird species have found a way around these problems through independent evolutionary innovations.
Earlier research led by scientists has shown that hummingbirds, songbirds and woodpeckers re-evolved a sense of sweetness by chance modifications to the receptor for savory taste that happened to make it sugar responsive. The new study adds manakins to that list, confirmed by tests in lab-grown cells.
Manakins re-evolved a sweet sense of their own—and did it their own way, by altering a different part of the receptor than songbirds use.
Evolution kept arriving at the same answer along different paths. And taste sits within something larger: fruit in tropical forests is conspicuous and abundant year-round, likely providing the energy needed for females to raise the young alone and for males to put on their incredible displays.
A second key change was in digestion: The enzyme lactase—which in mammals breaks down milk sugar—has lost much of its activity in manakins. When active, lactase also breaks down certain plant compounds found in unripe fruit, releasing products that block sugar absorption. With reduced lactase activity, the manakins may pass these compounds through harmlessly and absorb more energy from the fruit.

The change traces back to when the manakins' lineage first turned to fruit. Mapping these changes onto a family tree of more than 1,300 related bird species revealed a clear order: The dietary changes came first, deep in the manakins' ancestry, and the elaborate mating system and displays followed much later.

Genomic and physiological changes in a sexually selected and frugivorous bird radiation, Current Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.05.021

Part 2

How you can stop your cat from bringing home unwelcome pathogens
Outdoor-roaming pet cats have 3–5 times higher odds of carrying zoonotic pathogens than indoor-only cats and similar odds to feral cats, with ~100 zoonoses detected, including rabies, Toxoplasma and Salmonella. Free-roaming cats transmit pathogens via hunting and fecal contamination of shared spaces. Restricting unsupervised roaming, using enclosures or leashes, and maintaining vaccination and parasite control reduce risks to humans, wildlife and cats.

original article.

Cooling ingredients in e-cigarettes may cause irregular heartbeat or cardiac arrest
Synthetic cooling agents WS-3 and WS-23 in nicotine e-cigarette aerosols altered heart rate variability and increased premature beats in mice, with WS-23 tripling arrhythmias versus nicotine alone. In human cardiomyocytes, coolants modified rhythm only under hormonal stress. Nicotine absorption was unchanged. Findings indicate coolant-dependent pro-arrhythmic cardiac effects, with uncertain long-term and human impacts.

Influence of Cooling Agents on the Arrhythmogenic and Autonomic Effects of Electronic Cigarettes in an in vivo Model, Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology (2026). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCEP.125.014253

Alpha-gal syndrome, the life-threatening meat allergy caused by tick bites

It's common knowledge that ticks can spread infections that cause serious illnesses, including Lyme disease. Now health officials are trying to raise awareness of a lesser-known problem: a life-threatening allergy to meat triggered by tick bites.

The problem, known as alpha-gal syndrome, was first linked to a particular species of ticks about 15 years ago. But cases are on the rise as more people report symptoms such as hives, diarrhea and itchiness after eating as little as a mouthful of meat and—in some cases—dairy. The allergy doesn't impact consumption of seafood or poultry. Chicken, turkey and eggs are all OK to eat.

For years, the standard treatment has involved avoiding foods that come from cows, pigs and lambs while carrying an epinephrine injector in case of medical emergency. But regulators recently approved the first drug for the condition, and more therapies may be on the way.

Unlike other tick-borne illnesses, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, alpha-gal syndrome isn't caused by a bacteria or a virus. Instead, it occurs when the human immune system triggers an allergic response to a type of sugar, known as alpha-gal.

Alpha-gal is found in the meat of most mammals, but not in humans or other primates. It's also found in the saliva of certain ticks.

When eaten, the sugar is normally harmless. But when ticks bite through the skin, they can introduce the sugar directly into the bloodstream. That triggers the development of antibodies—immune system proteins that fight off foreign invaders—that quickly learn to identify and attack alpha-gal sugar molecules.

It turns out that the skin is a fantastic way to make an allergic response.

If this all happened orally, and we were eating alpha-gal like we do with steaks or barbecue, then we wouldn't become allergic. People that develop the antibodies will often experience a strong allergic reaction a few hours after consuming meat or dairy. But it can take weeks or months for the problem to develop, with the severity of symptoms often increasing over time.

 Rising cases also reflect the expanding habitat range of the lone star tick, the primary source of the condition in the U.S. Moreover people are now more aware of the disease and symptoms.

Part 1

People usually seek medical attention after experiencing worrisome symptoms, including hives, dizziness, difficulty breathing and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eyelids. Some people may only experience digestive issues, including diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting and nausea.

Doctors diagnose the allergy based on results from a blood test, symptoms and other details reported by the patient, including whether they recall any recent bug bites.
The blood test detects the presence of alpha-gal antibodies, but not all patients with a positive result develop the condition. Sometimes the test can also be wrong.
Doctors generally advise patients to avoid beef, pork, lamb and other meats from mammals. Some people are still be able to consume dairy products from these animals, including milk, cheese and butter. Those with particularly severe reactions may need to avoid foods made with other animal byproducts such as gelatin, which is found in marshmallows and gummy bears.

One rare exception: meat from a small number of pigs that have been genetically modified to not produce alpha-gal. Approved for consumption by the Food and Drug Administration in 2020, the pigs are bred as part of an experimental effort to harvest animal organs for transplantation into humans. Deactivating the alpha-gal gene was a critical first step to make sure the human immune system wouldn't immediately reject the foreign organs. Meat from these so-called "GalSafe" pigs is available from a company called Amaroo Hills.

People with the syndrome may also have to avoid certain medical products and implants. For instance, many heart valves are made from cow or pig parts.

The allergy can fade away in some people after several years. Commins has seen that happen in about 15% to 20% of his patients. But it's critical to avoid new tick bites.
In 2024, the FDA approved an injectable drug called Xolair for a variety of food allergies, including alpha-gal syndrome. The drug doesn't reverse the condition but helps reduce severe allergic reactions after accidental exposure to meat.

Source: News agencies - AP

Part 2

**

New research suggests maternal asthma may heighten risk of retinopathy of prematurity
Maternal asthma was associated with approximately a twofold increase in risk of treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of 2,237 screened premature infants. The association appeared independent of established risk factors such as gestational age and birth weight. Findings support maternal asthma control during pregnancy as a potential strategy to reduce severe ROP risk.

Dallin Milner et al, The Clinical Association of Maternal Asthma and the Development of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Preterm Infants, Journal of VitreoRetinal Diseases (2026). DOI: 10.1177/24741264261421789

Killing cancer requires immune cells to infiltrate tumors' hostile microenvironment—sugar shields can help them break in

Tumors create a hostile microenvironment that impairs immune and CAR-T cell function, partly via altered surface glycans and inhibitory molecules such as galectin-3. Glycoengineering CAR-T cells to express a modified glycan “sugar coat” reduces galectin-3 binding, enhances T-cell survival and communication in tumors, and prolongs antitumor activity, emphasizing resilience and microenvironment adaptation over increased cytotoxic potency.

original article.

The mysterious tooth condition affecting millions of children
Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a common developmental enamel defect affecting first permanent molars and often incisors, leading to weak, discolored, sensitive teeth unrelated to oral hygiene. Suspected contributors include early-life illness, antibiotics, perinatal complications, environmental factors, and genetic susceptibility. MIH cannot currently be prevented, so management focuses on fluoride, sealants, fillings, crowns, or extractions, plus aesthetic treatments in older patients. Improved diagnostic consistency and etiological research are needed to refine prevention and care.

original article.

Powerful UFO spotted blasting from a distant black hole

Astronomers have detected one of the most powerful ultra-fast outflows ever seen from a distant supermassive black hole. Using XMM-Newton and NuSTAR, a team studied a hyper-luminous quasar at cosmic noon and found two distinct wind components blasting away from the black hole, details of which are outlined in a paper submitted to the arXiv preprint server on June 3. The study has been submitted to the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and is currently under minor revision.
Black holes consuming large amounts of material tend to lash out, driving powerful winds of gas outward from the vicinity of the accretion disk. These winds are known as ultra-fast outflows, or UFOs, when they exceed 10% of the speed of light. They are thought to be a key mechanism by which black holes regulate both their own growth and that of their host galaxies. By depositing energy into the surrounding gas, they heat it, slow star formation and can eventually quench the galaxy entirely. This kind of regulation is thought to typically take place during cosmic noon—roughly 1.6 to 3.5 billion years after the Big Bang—when both black holes and galaxies are growing at their peak rates.

UFOs leave their fingerprints in X-ray spectra as absorption features. They create dips caused by highly ionized iron in the outflowing gas absorbing X-rays as they travel toward us. Because the gas is moving outward at a significant fraction of the speed of light, these features appear shifted to higher energies than expected—a blueshift that reveals both the presence and the speed of the wind.

Most previous detections at high redshift relied on gravitationally lensed quasars—objects whose light is magnified by a foreground galaxy, boosting the luminosity. While useful, lensing can introduce some uncertainties.
In this new study, the team combined XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations from October 2024 with an archival XMM-Newton observation from 2017 and produced a high-quality X-ray spectrum of WISSH13. It showed two clear absorption features. Modeling showed that these features arise from two different components of the same UFO, traveling at roughly 10% and 30% of the speed of light.
Part 1

The slower component was detected in both the 2017 and 2024 observations, suggesting it is a long-lived feature of the system. The faster component appeared only in the newer data, indicating it may be launched in short-lived episodes. "The detection of two distinct velocity components (∼0.1c and ∼0.3c) with different variability patterns suggests a complex, stratified outflow," the team writes.

The researchers explain that the observations are consistent with a layered wind structure predicted by theoretical models, in which a faster "spine" launched from the innermost regions of the accretion disk is surrounded by a slower "sheath" originating farther out.

Together, the two components eject around 21 and 24 solar masses of material per year, respectively. This ranks them among the most massive and powerful UFOs known. This is also the highest-redshift UFO detected from a non-lensed quasar to date.

Interestingly, despite their enormous power, the team found that the winds follow the same scaling relations observed in lower-redshift active galaxies. The team notes that future instruments, particularly the planned NewAthena X-ray observatory, will be able to identify such winds in distant quasars.

G. Lanzuisi et al, The WISSHFUL program: the highest redshift UFO discovered in a non-lensed QSO, arXiv (2026). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2606.05312

Part 2

Global surveys find carbon uptake in tropics overestimated

An international team of researchers has found plants in the tropics absorb much less carbon dioxide than previous modelling had suggested, which has implications for ecosystem management.
Global atmospheric CO₂ measurements combined with ocean and fossil-fuel flux estimates and aircraft data indicate tropical ecosystems absorb substantially less CO₂ than many models suggest and may be near carbon neutral. This reduces the estimated tropical land carbon sink and refines understanding of ecosystem contributions to the global carbon cycle.

Britton B. Stephens et al, Improved latitudinal carbon budgets from global airborne surveys, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2523984123

Dolphins know how to avoid troublesome males by listening for their 'names'

When female bottlenose dolphins want to avoid males known for pushy mating behaviours, they listen out for their unique signature whistles.

Male dolphins can be highly aggressive and coercive during courtship. If a female tries to escape, a male may bite, slam his body into hers or slap her with his tail. Much is already known about what males do during these encounters, but the scientists wanted to know whether and how females try to outsmart them.
The research team combined decades of data tracking the lives of Shark Bay dolphins with a field experiment using high-quality audio recordings of the signature whistles of 11 adult male dolphins. The aquatic mammals use these whistles to identify themselves, and other dolphins can recognize them, much like human names.

The scientists then tracked down 17 adult female dolphins in the wild. During each test, they played a recording of a specific male to a female, one at a time, through an underwater speaker. Most of the females heard two or three different male whistles, while others heard only one.

As the sounds played, the researchers flew a drone overhead to capture the exact moment a female heard a whistle and her reaction.

Females likely to be fertile or about to become fertile swam away immediately and stayed away longer when they heard the whistle of a male known for frequently herding females during mating attempts. In the Shark Bay population, males that herd females more often are also more likely to be coercive.

"Females who were reproductively available showed a significantly stronger aversive response to the identity signals of males who coerced females at higher rates," the study authors wrote in their paper.
Female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins use male-specific signature whistles to identify and avoid males with histories of frequent herding and coercive mating behaviour. Reproductively available females showed stronger avoidance responses to whistles of more coercive males, indicating individual recognition and behaviour adjustment based on males’ past conduct rather than only personal experience.

Alice Bouchard et al, Female dolphins use individual vocal labels to track coercive males, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2531602123

Digital tools reveal hidden extinctions as AI reshapes global conservation

Technology can be nature's ally, with digital tools exposing critical gaps in scientific knowledge and highlighting where action is most urgently needed to safeguard plants and fungi.
AI, digitization, and global data sharing are rapidly transforming plant and fungal conservation by exposing data gaps, revealing underestimated extinction risk, and enabling probability-based extinction assessments. Large-scale digitization of herbaria and fungaria improves taxonomy, climate-impact analyses, and equitable access, while genomic methods unlock historical fungal specimens. Climate-driven shifts in flowering phenology and persistent geographic data biases highlight the need for expanded, standardized, and globally coordinated biodiversity infrastructures.

Harnessing the benefits of specimen digitisation, New Phytologist (2026).

Your body's secret sugar code could predict disease years before it strikes

Scientists have found that hidden health signals coating your cells could change medicine forever. The new study has shown sugar molecules in your body may reveal disease long before it's detected. The research, published in Nature Chemical Biology, shines a spotlight on glycans—tiny, complex sugar chains that coat your cells and proteins.

For years, these sugar molecules were dismissed as little more than biological decoration. Now, researchers say, they're anything but.

"Glycans aren't just sitting there. They're actively controlling how our immune system works and how diseases develop.

Glycans, complex sugar chains on cells and proteins, dynamically reflect physiological state and are strongly influenced by lifestyle, environment, and disease. Specific blood glycan patterns can predict conditions such as type 2 diabetes up to a decade before clinical diagnosis, indicating potential for early risk stratification and personalized medicine, pending validation in large, standardized cohorts.
Unlike your DNA, which barely changes over time, glycans are constantly shifting, reacting to your lifestyle, environment and even hidden illness. That makes them a real-time snapshot of your health—and potentially a powerful early warning system. In fact, the study found glycan patterns in blood can predict diseases like type 2 diabetes up to 10 years before diagnosis.

This flips medicine on its head. Instead of waiting for people to get sick, we could spot the risk early and step in sooner.
Because glycan patterns are influenced by a complex mix of genetics, hormones and environmental factors, they're deeply individual, making them ideal for personalized health care. The glycome gives us a live window into how the body is changing. DNA can't do that.
In the future, a simple blood test could reveal your unique disease risks and guide tailored treatments. But researchers caution there is still work to do. Bigger long-term studies and global standards are needed before glycan testing becomes routine.

Maja Pučić-Baković et al, Large glycomics datasets as a tool to understand the function of glycans, Nature Chemical Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-026-02217-x

Many cancers originate from a single cancer cell and evolve through early bursts of chromosome changes
Tumors across multiple cancer types arise from a single ancestral cell that acquires early shared copy number alterations, followed by punctuated bursts of additional chromosomal changes generating diverse subclones. High aneuploidy, TP53 mutations, genome doubling, and elevated CNA burden correlate with greater intratumoral diversity, spatial heterogeneity, advanced stage, and poorer outcomes.

Hanghui Ye et al, A pan-cancer single-cell analysis of intratumoral copy number diversity and evolution, Cancer Discovery (2026). DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-25-0964

Seeking health information does not automatically improve health behavior, says researcher

People are increasingly seeking health information online , but the information they find is not leading to better health decisions. The concern is not a lack of information but people's digital literacy and ability to make sense of it.
Among people aged ≥50, online health information seeking is shaped by education, digital skills, and internet habits, and does not automatically translate into healthier behaviour. Physicians remain the primary trusted source, while many struggle to assess online information reliability. Unequal digital literacy can widen health inequalities, indicating a need to strengthen critical digital and health literacy rather than only expanding digital services.

Marianne Paimre, Patterns of Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviour and Related Factors Among Estonian Older Adults, Tallinn University (2026). DOI: 10.60518/etera/150

Psychologists say patients are turning to chatbots as mental health professionals

More than three-quarters of psychologists report their patients are discussing artificial intelligence in therapy, using the technology to seek additional support with their mental health, find a diagnosis, or for friendship and intimate relationships, according to a survey
Most psychologists report patients use AI chatbots to supplement therapy for self-diagnosis, coping support, and companionship, often feeling validated but sometimes developing dependency or distorted thinking. Clinicians express substantial concern about chatbots’ limited nuance, risk of reinforcing negative beliefs, and potential to encourage self-harm. AI is viewed as a possible adjunct when professionals are unavailable, not a replacement for human care.

AI should always be used carefully. Developed with guidance from an advisory panel of experts in digital mental health, clinical psychology, and youth and adolescent well-being, APA's recommendations for users include:

Verifying any mental health or medical information generated by AI with a health care practitioner.
Asking for strategies aligned with research-backed therapeutic approaches.
Prompting AI to challenge your thinking or provide alternative perspectives.
Limiting your use of AI so it does not interfere with sleep, hobbies, school, work or social interaction.

https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/chatbots-mental-health-2026

How many elementary particles are there?
Even if you know your fermions from your bosons, the actual number of fundamental particles — the electrons, quarks and other building blocks of physics — is still uncertain. From the 17 that feature on posters on classroom walls, “where you stop depends on your taste for complexity and mystery”, explains science writer Natalie Wolchover. “Plausible answers range from 17 to — in all seriousness — 995.5.”

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-many-elementary-particles-are-th...

Why just sharing a stick while walking can significantly improve balance
Could the secret to preventing dangerous falls be surprisingly simple? For older adults, these unexpected tumbles are a leading cause of injury, affecting roughly 1 in 4 people 65 and older each year. What if the key isn't complex technology or intensive therapy, but something as straightforward as a shared connection? Forget holding hands—new research reveals a surprising twist in how two people can become a dynamic duo against sudden loss of balance.
A rigid mechanical link between two side-by-side walkers improves post-perturbation stability and speeds balance recovery compared with no link or an elastic connection. Benefits are greatest when only one partner is perturbed, with the unperturbed individual acting as a stabilizing anchor. High-frequency (~15 Hz) tactile interactions mediate rapid corrective forces, suggesting a fast sensorimotor communication channel through touch.

A recent study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, demonstrates that when two individuals walk side by side, a rigid link between them dramatically accelerates balance recovery after unexpected slips.

Scientists put this to the test with 12 pairs of volunteers on a specialized treadmill, finding that a simple stick, unlike an elastic band or no connection at all, transforms walkers into a rapid-response team, significantly improving stability and speeding recovery from perturbations.
The results demonstrated an improvement in stability when an interaction was present, particularly in the case of a slip perturbation," the researchers note. The unperturbed walker essentially became an effective stabilizer.

Sandrine Gayrard et al, Instability analysis of perturbed gait in dyads: holding a stick together provides effective assistance and is accompanied by information exchanges, Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2026). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2026.0206

Evolution can make cells smaller without slowing down their growth

A new study shows that evolution can substantially reduce cell size without significantly compromising cells' ability to grow.
"Why are cells the size they are?" The question may seem simple, but cell size influences fundamental processes, including metabolism, growth and cell division. Despite the enormous diversity of shapes and sizes found in nature, each cell type tends to remain within a relatively narrow size range. When a cell becomes too large or too small, its function can be compromised.

Previous studies have shown that each cell type tends to have a characteristic size, and that this size is important for its function. When we make cells larger or smaller, they start to perform worse.
The question driving this study was how, over the course of evolution, cells of such different sizes could arise if even small changes to a cell's normal size can come with biological costs.

To address this question, the researchers used experimental evolution. Over approximately 1,500 generations, they selected the smallest yeast cells in each population every day. But these cells also had to compete for nutrients and multiply quickly before the next round of selection.

Experimental evolution in yeast over ~1,500 generations produced substantially smaller cells without major loss of growth rate by selecting simultaneously for reduced size and rapid proliferation. Genome sequencing revealed mutations in conserved growth and cell-cycle pathways that causally reduced size, indicating that evolution can partially uncouple cell miniaturization from growth capacity.
The results of this study suggest that evolution can gradually fine-tune fundamental cellular mechanisms to alter cell size, partially uncoupling two traits that appeared to be inevitably linked: miniaturization and growth capacity.

Ana Garoña et al, Experimental evolution of cellular miniaturization reveals a putative mechanism for cell size evolution, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2531280123

Genetic study finds urban rodents may be evolving against common poisons

For years, pest control professionals throughout the Northeast have reported a troubling pattern. In some neighbourhoods, rodents seemed increasingly difficult to eliminate, even when standard control methods were used. Now researchers think they may know one reason why.
A study found that 84% of house mice sampled from urban areas in the Northeast carried at least one genetic mutation linked to rodenticide resistance, suggesting many mouse populations may be evolving ways to survive the poisons commonly used to control them.

Urban house mice in northeastern U.S. cities show high frequencies of Vkorc1 mutations linked to anticoagulant rodenticide resistance, with 84% carrying at least one mutation and ~70% carrying known resistance alleles. About 35% of Norway rats carry Vkorc1 variants of uncertain functional impact. Findings indicate widespread, evolving resistance and support integrated, less chemical‑reliant rodent management.

Jin‐Jia Yu et al, Distribution and frequency of Vkorc1 polymorphisms in house mice and Norway rats in the northeastern United States, Pest Management Science (2026). DOI: 10.1002/ps.70833

Levels of 'forever chemicals' in dolphins and whales are rising globally
PFAS concentrations in cetaceans have increased globally since 2000, with highest levels in Pacific populations and coastal dolphins and porpoises. Contamination varies by species, region, sex, and age, with maternal transfer exposing calves early and males accumulating higher burdens. Data gaps remain for several regions. Findings support stricter PFAS controls and continued biomonitoring.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X26007368...

original article.

Everyday chemical exposures linked to preterm birth and lower birthweight
In one of the largest studies of chemical exposures during pregnancy to date, new research has found that pregnant women are exposed to dozens of everyday chemicals, many of which can affect how early a child is born or a child's weight at birth. These outcomes influence a child's health throughout life.

A cohort of >5,000 mother–child pairs showed maternal exposure to a mean of 45 everyday chemicals, including phthalates, replacement plasticizers, PAHs and halogenated phenols. Higher levels of several phthalates, alternative plasticizers and PAHs were associated with shorter gestation and lower birthweight, and newer replacement plasticizers exhibited similar adverse associations.
The research, published in JAMA Network Open, found that pregnant women in the study were exposed to an average of 45 different chemicals, including phthalates, replacement plasticizers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and halogenated phenols. These chemicals are found in food, water, air pollution, personal care products, fragrances and other household objects.

These chemicals are difficult to avoid because they're found in a wide range of products we use every day. It can be difficult to know whether products contain them, and even when we do know, we have limited control over exposures.
Although there are some practical steps people can take, reducing harmful chemicals at the source is the most effective way to protect children and families.

Phthalates and replacement plasticizers, in particular, are found in many baby care products, such as toys, diaper creams and shampoos. The new study found several additional phthalates, including those that replaced banned phthalates, and plasticizer chemicals in women's samples.
The study included more than 5,000 pairs of mothers and children born between 2000 and 2021 and collected data on chemicals found in maternal urine samples, pregnancy duration and birth weight. Researchers tested for 113 different chemicals commonly found in homes and in air, food and water and found that, on average, 45 were present in each sample (the maximum they observed in a sample was 64). The team then examined how differences in gestational age and birth weight were linked to these chemical exposures.

Several phthalates and alternative plasticizers showed a consistent association with earlier delivery. Phthalates, replacement plasticizers and PAHs were also linked to lower birth weight. Some less-studied chemicals that the researchers identified, including halogenated phenols, were also associated with lower birth weight. The researchers also identified plasticizers recently introduced to replace toxic chemicals like phthalates. However, these newer substances had similar health effects to the chemicals they replaced.

Gestational exposure to ten classes of priority chemicals and birth outcomes in the ECHO Cohort, JAMA Network Open (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.18883

Antisocial behaviour in young people linked to changes throughout the brain

Conduct problems—including persistent rule-breaking, aggression, irritability and difficulty following school rules—are associated with small but widespread differences in brain structure, according to a major international study of more than 14,000 children and adolescents.
Conduct problems in 14,000 youths aged 5–21 were associated with small but widespread reductions in cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volumes, scaling with symptom severity and present across the full spectrum, not only in diagnosed conduct disorder. Effects were modest, influenced by environmental factors, and support dimensional rather than categorical views of behavioural disorders.
Importantly, these brain changes were found not to be limited to young people with a formal diagnosis of conduct disorder—a mental health condition in children and adolescents characterized by persistent patterns of antisocial behavior. Instead, they were present across the full range of severity, including in youngsters with mild behavioral difficulties.

The study's authors say this research marks an important step forward in understanding the biological and developmental roots of conduct problems, with the potential to inform more effective, tailored interventions for young people worldwide.
According to the team's findings, the more serious a young person's conduct problems, the more pronounced the differences in brain structure. The researchers found this to be true for the thickness of the cortex (the outer layer of the brain), the surface area of the cortex, and the size of key subcortical regions—areas found deeper in the brain.

Marlene Staginnus et al, Dimensional Associations Between Conduct Problems and Brain Structure Across 18 International Cohorts in ENIGMA, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2026.03.002

Scientists uncover how physical activity may help protect older adults against cancer
Scientists have discovered that aging muscle may contribute to cancer growth by releasing fewer extracellular vesicles, tiny particles that cells use to communicate with one another. Their study also found that the composition of these particles changes with age, weakening protective signals that help suppress tumor development.
Encouragingly, exercise appears to restore this protective function. Published in Nature Communications, the findings offer fresh insights into healthy aging and cancer prevention, as well as potential biomarkers and therapies tailored to older adults.

Aging and sarcopenic muscle secrete fewer extracellular vesicles and show reduced levels of the tumor-suppressive microRNA miR-7a-5p, weakening muscle-to-tumor inhibitory signaling and favoring cancer growth. Exercise reactivates the declining pathway controlling vesicle release, restoring protective signaling. Extracellular vesicle miR-7a-5p is proposed as a potential biomarker of cancer risk in older adults.

Kah Yong Goh et al, Sarcopenia promotes tumorigenesis by disrupting NOTCH-SDC2-regulated biogenesis of muscle-derived extracellular vesicles, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72410-y

Pakistani genomes reveal 34,000 knockouts that could explain why mouse-based drugs fail in humans

A comprehensive analysis of 173,303 genomes from Pakistan, published today in Nature, is upending how scientists understand human genetics and drug development. By identifying 34,000 people who are "human knockouts," with complete loss of function of at least one gene, the study reveals variation in the human genome needed to shape new treatments for human diseases while also illuminating why drugs developed in mice often fail in humans.
Analysis of 173,303 Pakistani genomes identified ~34,000 individuals with complete loss-of-function in ≥1 gene, yielding knockouts in ~6,500 protein-coding genes. Many genes deemed essential from mouse models are variable in humans, clarifying failures of mouse-based drug targets (e.g., RXFP1) and highlighting protective knockouts (e.g., CIDEB) as therapeutic candidates. The resource improves prediction of drug efficacy and safety, including ancestry-translatable insights, and demonstrates the value of consanguineous South Asian populations for human genetics and drug development.
Crucially, the study reveals that genes considered "essential" to life and intolerant to changes, based on mouse models, are actually variable in humans—a finding with profound implications for pharmaceutical development.

The genomes also contain information needed to uncover the functions of two-thirds of human genes that remain a mystery even 25 years after the completion of the Human Genome Project.

Allan Gurtan, Analysis of 173,303 exomes and genomes in the Pakistan Genome Resource, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10667-5. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10667-5

**

How early life experiences shape schizophrenia risk

Researchers have found that childhood trauma, poverty, social isolation and other adverse life experiences are associated with brain changes linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders—findings that could help researchers identify people at risk earlier and develop interventions before severe symptoms emerge.
Early-life adversity, including trauma, poverty, social isolation, discrimination, and food insecurity, is associated with alterations in brain structure, function, and neurochemistry linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. These factors do not singly cause schizophrenia but increase risk in vulnerable individuals. Understanding these neurobiological pathways may enable earlier, more targeted, and potentially preventive interventions.
Overall, the researchers found evidence that greater exposure to adverse conditions early in life is associated with differences in brain structure, brain function and neurochemistry—all of which have been previously linked to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

Social Determinants of Health and Neurobiology Across the Schizophrenia Course: A Systematic Review, JAMA Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2026.1312

The kombucha paradox: Measurable effects, uncertain well-being benefits

Kombucha has become part of the wider boom in gut-friendly foods and drinks. But a major heart health charity is urging consumers to look more carefully at what these products actually contain.
The British Heart Foundation has warned that some popular gut-friendly products can come with drawbacks. Commercial kombucha may be a healthier alternative to some sugary fizzy drinks, but store-bought versions can contain added sugar. Other fermented foods, such as kimchi and sauerkraut, can be high in salt.

The warning points to a wider problem. Foods and drinks sold with a health halo are not always straightforwardly healthy. The fact that a product contains potentially active compounds does not prove it will produce a meaningful benefit.

Kombucha is often sold as more than a fizzy drink. Because it is fermented, it is commonly linked with gut health, well-being and even stress resilience.

But in a controlled human study, the results were more complicated. Drinking kombucha each day changed some metabolic markers in the body, but did not clearly change how healthy adults responded to acute laboratory stress.
But it tells us something important: Biological activity does not automatically mean a meaningful health benefit.
Daily consumption of a controlled kombucha drink for eight weeks altered metabolic biomarkers but did not meaningfully change acute stress responses, including cortisol, autonomic measures, or self-reported stress, compared with placebo in healthy adults. Kombucha’s measurable biological activity therefore does not translate into demonstrated well-being or stress-resilience benefits, and health claims remain unsupported.

original article.

'Timescapes' may explain why animal species perceive events so differently

There is evidence that nonhuman animals perceive the world, and how it unfolds in time, differently from humans and from each other. For example, certain beetles can see flickering in lights up to around 500 Hz, while in humans that flickering appears as a steady light after 60 Hz. Humans see flashed objects as lagging behind moving objects when they actually aren't. While other animals also seem to experience this illusion, the flash appears in a different location. Apparent motion—where stationary objects appear to be moving—also has been shown to differ in humans and mice.

In a new paper, published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, a group of researchers propose a strategy for understanding the temporal aspects of animal experiences through the characteristic way their perceptions are organized and updated over time, which they refer to as the animal's "timescape."

Most attempts to compare animal time perception have relied on a single metric and are too crude to capture real experiential differences. Thus far, most attempts have focused on the critical flicker fusion threshold (CFFT), which is the rate at which a flickering light is perceived as steady. While the CFFT may provide an interesting look at one aspect of the temporal discrimination of visual content, the authors of the new study say it falls short of providing an in-depth understanding of how animals perceive time and may even be misleading.
After noting the wide range of 4–500 Hz in CFFTs in different animals, they write: "Based on these vast differences in CFFTs, one might be tempted to conclude that streams of experience flow extremely slowly or extremely fast when compared with a human benchmark. However, this conclusion would be hasty. Even in humans, CFFTs are uninformative about the temporal regularities over which our perceptual mechanisms anticipate, organize, revise or attend to perceptual inputs. Moreover, CFFTs are fundamentally a measure of retinal sensitivity. As such, they offer little information about the timescapes of perceptual experiences in general."

The researchers propose that an animal's timescape can better be described using five experimentally testable temporal "windows," which give a richer, more biologically grounded picture of animal experience. These include synchronization of the binding of contents in a single perceptual moment (synchronization), how perceptual content is updated with subsequent input (revision), how long attention is sustained on something (attention), how long perceptual content is present after a stimulus offset (persistence), and how long it takes to perceive something before switching (stability).

Experiments across various studies have shown that different species show strikingly different durations for each window, suggesting genuinely different temporal organizations of experience. The researchers say temporal illusions are also powerful tools for probing these windows across species. They give multiple examples of how illusions provide insights into each window.
For example, one illusion, referred to as "motion dazzle," consists of a camouflage strategy using contrasting patterns that disrupt the accurate perception of motion and speed to confuse predators. This illusion can help researchers learn more about the synchronization window. They say the luminance contrasts of an image are scanned and then processed at different latencies. Dark-to-light transitions are processed before light-to-dark transitions and are then perceived as parts of the same image with different latencies. The effect differs across species.
Part 1

The authors also describe illusions related to the window of revision, where later perceptual inputs change the perceptual representations of something that occurred earlier. This is also called postdiction. These illusions are not limited to visual processes but also occur in auditory and tactile processes and have been observed in several animals.

"A key feature of these illusions is their time sensitivity, usually occurring only within a range of 100–450 ms in humans. A classic example is apparent motion. When two frames containing the same perceptual object but having a spatial offset are presented close together in time, it looks as though the object has moved from position A to B.

"Even though this motion percept is contingent on the second frame showing the object in position B, the object appears to be moving even in the first frame. This happens in humans when the two frames are separated by no more than 150 ms. This illusion is ubiquitous across both vertebrate and invertebrate animal species. Macaques, mice, pigeons, Drosophila, and fish perceive apparent motion. However, the temporal range over which apparent motion is best perceived may vary," the study authors write.
Ultimately, the authors say these windows could form the foundation for investigating principles of temporal phenomenology in animals by providing more informed speculations about phenomenological principles across species. Future work may develop theoretical models that predict how different windows should relate to each other and explore whether there are temporal dimensions of experience in other species that humans don't have at all.
The study authors conclude, "While this research program is of obvious interest to empirical, theoretical and philosophical inquiries in consciousness science, it can also contribute ecological insights. Understanding the dynamic constraints on perception and attention can further allow us to capture species-specific behavior (as in our example of the peacock courtship display) and coordination with the environment, conspecifics and/or predators (e.g., understanding motion dazzle as a predator-escape strategy).

"Similarly, the pace and rhythms of experience can inform real-world infrastructure designs. For instance, better understanding the temporal experience of birds may help reduce collisions with wind turbines, as motion blur may reduce the visibility of rapidly rotating blade edges for some species."

Ishan Singhal et al, Timescapes of non-human experience, Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2026.05.002

Part 2

World's highest-consuming 10% cause up to $5.7 trillion a year in environmental damage, study finds
The environmental damage caused by the world's highest-consuming 10% of people is worth $1.7 trillion to $5.7 trillion a year. At the central and upper estimates, this is several times more than the international community has committed to spend on climate action and biodiversity conservation combined, and is on the scale of the funding estimated to be needed globally to address these crises.
This finding, published in Communications Sustainability, puts a price on the harm this group inflicts across four planetary boundaries: climate change, biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution and freshwater use.

The average annual damage bill for a person in the global top 10% is $2,300 to $7,500. In the United States, where per-person impacts are highest, the figure rises to $19,000 to $63,000—equivalent to 6% to 20% of their income or 0.8% to 3% of their wealth. More than 60% of the global top 10% live in the U.S. and EU. In the EU, 40% to 45% of the population falls within this highest-consuming group, and in the U.S. it is more than half the population.

Biodiversity loss is the single largest contributor to the global damage bill, accounting for 47% to 56% of the total. Climate change accounts for 36% to 45%. The finding underlines recent calls to tackle biodiversity and climate crises together rather than treating them as separate policy challenges.
The figures are likely conservative. They cover only four of nine planetary boundaries and reflect direct consumption alone. For the highest-income individuals, roughly half of emissions come from investments rather than personal consumption—impacts not captured in this analysis.

The scale of the damage bill illustrates the potential revenue if polluter-pays principles were applied to high-consuming groups. The researchers note that environmental taxation focused on luxury consumption rather than basic goods tends to be more progressive and more effective at reducing emissions, though they stress that pricing is one tool among several and does not justify or compensate for the damage itself.

Inge Schrijver, Environmental damages of the top ten percent consumers exceed global climate and biodiversity funding gaps, Communications Sustainability (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44458-026-00079-x. www.nature.com/articles/s44458-026-00079-x

How do flocking birds and schools of fish move? New research offers crystal-clear answer
Flocking birds and schools of fish are a familiar sight. While previous research has uncovered the broad dynamics driving these movements, their underlying intricacies remain a mystery. Now a study by a team of  mathematicians offers new insights into these phenomena. It reveals that flocks and schools behave in ways similar to a soft crystalline material, with individual birds and fish serving as "atoms" that are evenly spaced in a lattice-like formation.
The findings, reported in the journal Physical Review Fluids, offer detailed insights into the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic interactions crucial in aerospace and automotive engineering, robotics and energy harvesting.
Lines of birds or fish behave like an elastic material with regularly spaced individuals held together by flexible, or spring-like, bonds—akin to soft crystalline substances in which atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating pattern.
The research team proposed a mathematical model to explain these movements—one akin to those of soft crystalline materials, or soft crystals. These ordered solid materials can change their properties in response to stimuli, such as temperature or physical force, which makes their atomic organization fragile. The researchers subsequently saw a connection between crystalline organization and how birds or fish move together while adjusting their movements and formation in response to air or water flows, predators or objects such as rocks or buildings.

Crystalline organization is inherently fragile, as positions are susceptible to deformations and instabilities. In similar ways, birds and fish must sense and respond quickly to other forces in order to maintain long columnar formations. So while soft crystals, flocks of birds, and schools of fish are fragile in their makeup, such fragility may also be advantageous as it can be responsive to its surroundings.

Christiana Mavroyiakoumou et al, Modeling flying formations as flow-mediated matter, Physical Review Fluids (2026). DOI: 10.1103/tp8s-76vr

Orangutans eat medicinal plants in patterns that suggest self-medication

Long-term observations of Bornean orangutans show they selectively consume plant species rich in antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing compounds, often in recurring combinations and sequences atypical of their usual diet. These patterns are consistent with self-medication rather than purely nutritional feeding and parallel medicinal plant use by local Indigenous communities.
Orangutans seek out plants with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, new research shows. Based on 20 years of observations of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, scientists assessed how often the animals ate plants with known medicinal benefits. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest orangutans eat combinations of plants in specific sequences—consistent with "self-medication" seen in other species.
It's not clear how they learn to do this, but the researchers think it may involve instinct and/or behaviour passed down over many generations.
What makes the findings interesting is that some plant species appeared together in the orangutan diet far more often than we would expect by chance. Several of these plants are known to contain compounds linked to antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory or wound-healing effects.

Importantly, many of these plants are not major parts of the orangutan diet overall, suggesting they may be eaten for specific benefits rather than as everyday food sources.
Chimpanzees are known to engage in "self-medication," for example by eating plants that reduce internal parasite infections. Similar behaviours have also been observed in bonobos, gibbons and gorillas.
Some of the plants eaten by the orangutans are also used by local Indigenous people for medicinal purposes.

G. Allen et al, Investigating medicinal resource combinations in the Bornean orangutan diet, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52614-4

Shell too snug? Hermit crabs have a fix

Hermit crabs depend on empty snail shells for protection, and the right size shell isn't always available.

For decades, biologists have known that hermit crabs forced to live in shells that are too small slow their growth. What wasn't clear was how they did it. New research suggests the answer isn't simply that the crabs eat less. Instead, they appear to regulate growth by changing how efficiently they use the food they consume.

Hermit crabs constrained to undersized shells slow growth not by reducing food intake but by lowering nutrient assimilation efficiency and increasing fecal output. This indicates structural constraints can modulate internal energy processing, showing growth depends on both nutrient intake and conversion to body mass rather than consumption alone.

Caitlin E. Ball et al, Small shells, slower growth: Experimental evidence consistent with nutrient elimination in Pagurus longicarpus, Invertebrate Biology (2025). DOI: 10.71161/ivb.144.4.2025.00022

Warming climate reduces milk quality and quantity

Heat stress on dairy cows affects more than just the quantity of milk produced—warming temperatures also reduce the fat and protein content of the milk, new research finds.
Heat stress in dairy cows reduces both milk yield and fat/protein content, with composition losses beginning at lower temperatures than yield declines. A 10-point increase in temperature-humidity index cuts yield by 1.2% but revenue by 2.8%, implying economic losses comparable to yield effects. Little evidence of biological heat adaptation was detected across cows or regions.

Jeisson Prieto et al, Milk composition responses amplify economic damages from heat stress, Environmental Research Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae74e6

Microplastics may worsen fatty liver disease, new study suggests

Microplastics—minuscule pieces of plastic broken down from larger plastic waste—are a growing concern for human health, especially for the liver. A new study published in Science Advances demonstrates that a common type of microplastic is particularly harmful to the liver under high-fat dietary conditions.
The study, conducted in mice, found that blood markers of liver injury were more than twice as high in animals exposed to microplastics while consuming a high-fat diet, compared with animals exposed to the same particles while consuming a standard diet. The study focused on the most common type of plastic, polyethylene, which is found in materials like plastic bags and milk jugs.
The study also identified a gene regulator known as PPAR-alpha as playing a key role in the liver's response to microplastic exposure. PPAR-alpha, a protein inside the cells that controls how the body breaks down and uses fat for energy, influences a gene called Anxa2, which plays a role in tissue repair.

These findings suggest that microplastics may affect some of the liver's natural defense and repair mechanisms.
Although the research was conducted in mice, and additional research is needed to determine whether the same effects occur in humans, the study establishes a framework for understanding how microplastics may contribute to liver disease.
In mice, polyethylene microplastics combined with a high-fat, MASH-inducing diet more than doubled blood markers of liver injury compared with microplastics plus standard diet. Spatial transcriptomics localized “hot spots” of liver damage and inflammation. PPAR-α–dependent regulation of Anxa2 was implicated, suggesting disruption of hepatic defense and repair pathways.

Woncheol Jung et al, Spatial transcriptome mapping identifies Ppara-Anxa2 cross-talk in microplastic-induced hepatotoxicity, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aec8681

**

One vaccine changed everything: England's youngest women stopped dying from this cancer

The HPV vaccine for cervical cancer has reduced the risk of dying from the disease before age 30 in England to almost zero, the first study of its kind showed this week.
Between 2020 and 2024, no women in the country ages 20 to 24 died from cervical cancer, according to the study published in The Lancet medical journal.

It is the first time not a single death has been recorded in the age group, with the vaccine estimated to have saved the lives of nearly 200 young women.

In addition to the complete absence of deaths for 2020–24, there was also an 80% reduction in the same age group in the four preceding years, between 2015 and 2019, the study, which examined nationwide mortality data, found.

Thanks to HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination and cervical screening, a future where almost nobody gets cervical cancer is now firmly in sight.

Nationwide mortality data from England show that cervical cancer deaths among women aged 20–24 fell to zero between 2020–2024, with an estimated ~200 deaths averted since HPV vaccination began. Vaccination at ages 12–13 was associated with near-zero risk of death from cervical cancer before age 30. However, current HPV vaccine uptake (76%–86% by age 15) remains below the 90% target.

Peter Sasieni et al, Cervical cancer mortality trends following HPV vaccination in England, 2001–24: an analysis of population-based mortality data, The Lancet (2026). DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(26)00918-9

How the brain builds a sentence

Researchers have tracked the electrical activity of individual brain cells during conversation in real time, capturing how sentences are built before a single word is spoken. By observing these neurons in a brain region called the frontotemporal cortex, scientists have discovered that individual neurons act as specialized linguistic building blocks. “We used to think language was this diffuse, whole-network phenomenon,” says neurosurgeon and study co-author Ziv Williams. “But it turns out you have specific neurons that only care if a word is a noun, or only care if a phrase is ending.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10691-5?utm_source=Live+...

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01922-w?utm_source=Live+...

Scientists discover 'hyperparasite' in Malaysia Borneo jungle

Scientists have discovered a new species of parasitic fungus in Borneo's jungles that preys on "zombie fungi" known to infect insects before subjecting them to a gruesome death.

It was dubbed a "hyperparasite" because it "effectively parasitizes the primary pathogen.

The fungus belongs to the genus Pleurocordyceps and acts as a specialized hyperparasite.

The new species targets ants already infected by Ophiocordyceps, or "zombie fungus," which manipulates the infected insect's nervous system and makes it behave erratically before killing it and bursting from its carcass.

Rather than manipulating the insect's nervous system itself, Pleurocordyceps infiltrates and feeds directly on the thriving Ophiocordyceps tissue inside the host.

Named after its unique, distinctly horn-shaped structure, Pleurocordyceps cornusynnemata was discovered after scientists studied a dead ant collected from the Danum Valley, a remote area in southern Sabah.

MUHAMMAD SHAHBAZ et al, Taxonomy and phylogeny of Pleurocordyceps (Polycephalomycetaceae, Hypocreales) associated with ants and cicadas from Malaysia, including a new species and new records, Phytotaxa (2026). DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.750.4.1

For babies hospitalized with bronchiolitis, lying on stomach shows no clear benefit over lying on back

Acute viral bronchiolitis ranks among the top reasons infants land in the hospital .
Placing a baby on their stomach in the prone position can help them breathe more comfortably. With the chest facing down and the back facing up, this position takes pressure off the lungs, allowing for better oxygen exchange and helping fluid drain more effectively. In a randomized clinical trial, named PROPOSITIS, researchers investigated whether the prone sleeping position could help very young babies with a lung infection called bronchiolitis, not to be confused with bronchitis.
They followed 451 infants ages 6 months or younger who were hospitalized in France with bronchiolitis and were struggling to breathe. Some babies were placed in the prone position, lying on their stomachs, while others remained in the supine position, lying on their backs, as we typically do when sleeping.

Babies who were placed on their stomachs did not do much better than those who remained on their backs. About 15% of those on their stomachs needed stronger breathing support, compared with about 21% of those on their backs. Prone positioning was better, but the improvement was not statistically significant.

There was another challenge, too. Many babies became fussy or uncomfortable when placed on their stomachs, making it difficult for them to stay in that position for long.

Florent Baudin et al, Prone Positioning in Infants With Acute Bronchiolitis, JAMA (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2026.11078

Hibernation-like cooling after stroke may reduce brain damage

Our body loves the state of homeostasis, where everything is in perfect equilibrium, from temperature to pH levels to fluid balance. As soon as the body's core temperature drops below 95°F (35°C) and stays there for a long time, the heart, nervous system and other organs start to function poorly, which makes hypothermia extremely dangerous when not dealt with immediately. It is a medical emergency that can result in loss of consciousness or death.

Researchers have now found a way to turn this emergency into a tool to protect the body from the devastating effects of another health emergency—a stroke. A recent study investigated whether drugs like chlorpromazine and promethazine (C+P) can be used to mimic the chilling effects of hypothermia to protect the brain from the aftereffects of stroke.

C+P treatment reduced brain damage and improved neurological function in a mouse stroke model. In rhesus monkeys, the drugs lowered body temperature, which suppressed the metabolic rate and protected the brain from stroke-related injury.

The researchers then moved to a small Phase I clinical trial with 32 stroke patients. The treatment was safe at a 100 mg dose and successfully lowered body temperature while slowing the body's energy use, an effect that the researchers suggest helps protect the brain after a stroke.

Shuaili Xu et al, The translational potential of drug-induced hypothermia in acute ischemic stroke, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ady7847

How a brainless sea blob still 'feels' touch and crawls away in seconds without nerves or muscles
For a flat sea creature just a few millimeters across, a gentle poke is instantly recognized as danger. Trichoplax adhaerens—a translucent blob with no head, brain or muscles—scuttles away in seconds when touched. Imagine a flattened multicellular amoeba moving as a single unit: Trichoplax is only ~20 microns thick and a few millimeters wide. It glides on surfaces by beating tens of thousands of cilia on its lower epithelium (the underside), like microscopic oars dragging against the water.
Yet unlike most animals, Trichoplax has no obvious front or back end, no nerves or muscles at all. How can such a simple "crawling carpet" steer or change direction without a brain?

A new study reveals the remarkable flexibility of this pinhead-sized animal. While in most creatures, the orientation of each cilium is fixed early in development and locked to the body's axes, Trichoplax achieves its swift escape by reorienting its thousands of hairlike cilia.

The whole animal's direction is determined by the tiny anchors (basal bodies) that set each cilium's beat, allowing it to behave as though it "feels" the touch and flips the direction of its ciliary oars in unison.
Deep video analysis revealed that the basal bodies under Trichoplax all line up with the animal's current heading. As it crawls, there's a smooth gradient of basal-body angles from one side of the disk to the other, effectively setting the front of the animal. When Trichoplax stretches or folds its body, these gradients shift—the pattern of ciliary beat changes in step with the shape.

The new study shows that even a tiny change in body shape or mechanical stress causes the basal bodies to rotate in synchrony. This means Trichoplax steers by reorienting its oars, not by any hidden neurons. As the authors summarize, "Together, our results uncover a rapid and coordinated mechanism of BB [basal body] reorientation that links subcellular organization to whole-animal behaviour."
It wasn't obvious that a brainless blob could even detect touch. The researchers gently poked Trichoplax individuals with a fine probe and even bisected some with a microscalpel. Almost immediately—within seconds—the basal bodies swung around together. The beating cilia literally flipped direction. Each half of a cut animal suddenly crawled away from the wound.

This negative mechanotactic response (moving away from a touch) relies on basal-body rotation: as one scientist put it, "This negative mechanotactic behavior is enabled by the reorientation of BBs, which takes place across the entire lower epithelium on a timescale of seconds." One of the authors even said the lab was "jaw-on-the-floor surprised" when they first saw how quickly the cilia all pivoted around.

part1

In a brained animal, sensing a poke might involve nerves; here, the entire epithelium seems to have that built in. It's as if a crawling baby, upon feeling a prick, instantly flips all four limbs to scuttle off. (In Trichoplax's case, the "limbs" are cilia on every ventral cell.)

To test the mechanism, the team filled the seawater with a calcium chelator and specific channel blockers—the result: no flip, no escape. Blocking voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels left Trichoplax insensitive; it kept crawling as if unperturbed.

These results show the trick is calcium-dependent. In short, a mechanical jolt triggers a wave of calcium in the lower cell layer, causing thousands of basal bodies to rotate almost instantaneously. The animal then resumes crawling—in the opposite direction.

Marvin Leria et al, Fast mechanosensitive and Ca²⁺-dependent reorientation of motile cilia basal bodies in the placozoan Trichoplax, Current Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.04.054

part 2

Palm oil, coconut and soybean drive more species extinction than previously thought

Oils from crops such as coconut, palm oil and soybean are used in a range of applications, from cosmetics and makeup to margarine and spreads, and from medicines to animal feed. These oil crops, as they are known, are increasingly consumed and cultivated. This has an impact on the environment. But what exactly is that impact?

Tropical regions are especially impacted, with agricultural land use causing significant biodiversity loss. This is due not only to the fact that oil crops such as oil palm and coconut are exclusive to these regions, but also because they support high biodiversity and typically yield less per unit of land. As a result, there is often a need for  agricultural expansion, which can lead to ecosystem destruction, such as deforestation.
Global analysis of 19 oil crops attributes about 75% of oil‑crop–driven biodiversity loss to oil palm, soybean, and coconut. Biodiversity loss from these crops increased ~80% between 1995 and 2020, concentrated in tropical regions and strongly driven by consumption in other countries, notably the EU, China, and the US. Mitigation requires reduced deforestation and more biodiversity‑friendly production.

Oil crop supply chains drive rising global biodiversity loss and outsource impacts to the tropics, Nature Food (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s43016-026-01375-4

The Sun may not engulf Earth after all, scientists say

The Earth may not be engulfed by the expanding fireball of the dying sun, which has long been assumed to be our home planet's ultimate fate, according to scientists.
New tidal-dissipation models and constraints on solar mass loss suggest the Sun’s future expansion will likely not engulf Earth or Mars, as reduced tidal dissipation and stronger mass loss allow their orbits to expand beyond the solar radius. Mercury and Venus remain destined for engulfment, and the Sun will ultimately evolve into a cooling white dwarf.
Don't worry: This is not expected to happen for another 5 billion years, long after all life on Earth has been wiped out.

When the sun burns through all of the hydrogen in its core, it will go through two immense expansion phases: first becoming a red giant, then, when its helium is spent, an "AGB" star.

This fiery death will bring about some significant changes back here on Earth.

As the sun grows, increasing gravitational forces will pull the Earth toward it.

For the Earth and the moon, this force creates the push and pull of the tides in our oceans. The energy from these tides, which dissipates at the bottom of the ocean, slows Earth's rotation and gradually pushes the moon away from us.

As the sun expands and its blistering surface approaches Earth, intense tidal waves will stir within the star. When they dissipate, they will pull Earth into its doomed embrace.

However, the growing sun will also lose a lot of its mass due to stellar wind, which pushes our planet farther away.

"Earth's fate depends on a delicate balance between these two effects," say the scientists.
If tidal interactions predominate, Earth is engulfed by the sun. If the sun's mass loss predominates, Earth escapes into an orbit larger than the radius of its star.

M. Esseldeurs et al, The fate of Earth during the Sun's giant phases, Astronomy & Astrophysics (2026). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202660576

Animals communicate to work together across species boundaries

An international team of researchers have published a new review in Animal Behaviour revealing how communication enables cooperation between different animal species. The review, titled "The ecology and evolution of cues and signals in animal interspecies cooperation," highlights how movements, visual displays, calls, and other behavioural cues and signals help partners coordinate interactions and align interests across species boundaries.

From birds guiding humans to bees' nests in return for access to beeswax, to cleaner fish removing ectoparasites from larger reef fishes in exchange for a meal, cooperation between species occurs across a remarkable range of ecological settings. By gathering examples from birds, fish, insects and mammals, the authors highlight the diverse ways that animals exchange information to organize their actions and sustain mutually beneficial partnerships.

Communication via visual, acoustic, chemical, tactile, and multimodal cues enables interspecies partners to coordinate actions, access shared or exchanged resources, and limit exploitation. Signals range from stable, stereotyped displays to context-dependent, learned behaviours and can evolve from noncommunicative cues or behaviours in other contexts, illuminating the coevolution and flexibility of cooperative interactions across taxa.

Cues and signals help animals identify cooperative partners, initiate interactions, and ensure they benefit from the partnership. Because interacting with members of another species can carry risks, communication is also important for avoiding individuals that might exploit them.
Many species rely on multiple senses to improve communication, and the review suggests that focusing only on obvious visual signals may overlook important ways animals exchange information across species.
The review also explores how communication systems between species may evolve. Some signals begin as simple cues, features or behaviors that influence how others respond, even though they did not originally evolve for communication.

Over time, these cues can develop into clear signals. Other signals originate as behaviours used in different contexts, such as settling conflicts or caring for young, before being adapted for communication in interspecies cooperation.

K. Dunkley et al, The ecology and evolution of cues and signals in animal interspecies cooperation, Animal Behaviour (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123611

Bending forward and walking a lot at work may raise miscarriage risk in early pregnancy

Bending forward and, to a lesser extent, walking a lot at work in early pregnancy may raise the risk of miscarriage, finds a large study of more than 470,000 Danish women, published online in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Each additional hour of bending forward, particularly at a 30-degree angle, was associated with a 36% higher risk, while each additional hour of walking was associated with an 18% higher risk, although the pattern was consistent only for bending forward, the findings show.

Miscarriage is relatively common, affecting around 15% of women. Risk factors include parental age, smoking, night shift work, and exposure to air pollution and various chemical compounds, note the researchers.

In >800,000 Danish pregnancies, occupational standing, walking, and especially forward bending in early pregnancy were associated with increased miscarriage risk. Each additional hour of bending ≥30° correlated with ~36% higher risk, walking with 18%, and standing with 3%, with a clear dose–response only for bending.

Occupational standing, walking and forward bending during pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage: a Danish nationwide, register-based, cohort study, Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2025-110712