Category Archives: Research

NATURE MAGAZINE – MAY 8, 2025 RESEARCH PREVIEW

Volume 641 Issue 8062

NATURE MAGAZINE (May 7, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Relative Gains’ – Complete genome sequences for six ape species offer insights into human evolution…

Storm of seizures in a baby’s brain calms after trial therapy

The treatment, which aimed to block production of a mutant protein, reduced the frequency of infant’s seizures, but did not improve neurological impairments.

Tattoo-making tools used by ancient Maya revealed

The stone fragments had been discovered inside ‘Handprint Cave’ in Belize alongside other artefacts suggestive of ritual use.

One of the world’s richest lithium deposits began inside a mega-volcano

Lithium that pooled in a volcanic caldera in the western United States had no way out, thanks to a lack of rivers.

For these bats, eavesdropping is a valuable learnt skill

Over time, young fringe-lipped bats learn how to distinguish the calls of palatable frogs from those of toxic ones.

Nature Magazine – May 1, 2025 Research Preview

Volume 641 Issue 8061

NATURE MAGAZINE (April 30, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Trait Expectations’ – Predicting the functional diversity of tropical forest canopies.

Why US police shootings are so deadly ― and why some police forces do better

Two studies show the extent of gunshot wounds inflicted by police and link certain police-department policies with a lower death toll.

A front-line antiviral drug disappoints against worrisome monkeypox strain

Tecovirimat, which has been approved to treat mpox, was no better than a placebo in a large trial.

Martian rock hints at ancient dense atmosphere

Carbonate mineral is long-sought evidence of conditions that supported liquid water.

‘Tatooine’-like planet orbits two stars ― but at a weird angle

Like the Star Wars planet, a distant world follows a path around two stars, both of them small, cool bodies called brown dwarfs.

Nature Magazine – April 24, 2025 Research Preview

Volume 640 Issue 8060

NATURE MAGAZINE (April 23, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Spatial Awareness’ – AI-powered profiling of immune-cell distribution reveals risk of liver cancer recurring…

Mystery of medieval manuscripts revealed by ancient DNA

Biomolecular analysis shows that unusual book coverings are made of sealskin, hinting at far-flung trade networks.

Print, melt, repeat: 3D-printing formula yields sturdy objects time after time

Complex shapes made of a specially formulated resin are easily recycled into other, equally durable objects.

Roses are red — but their ancestors were yellow

A genomic analysis of 84 species in the genus Rosa traces the evolutionary history of the beloved flower.

Liquids in a glass recover a graceful shape even after being shaken

Oil and water contained in a cylinder with magnetic nickel particles form the shape of a Grecian urn.

MIT Technology Review – May/June 2025 Preview

MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW (April 23, 2025): The Creativity Issue features Defining creativity in the Age of AI: Meet the artists, musicians, composers, and architects exploring productive ways to collaborate with the now ubiquitous technology. Plus: Debunking the myth of creativity, asteroid-deflecting nukes, bitcoin-powered hot tubs, and a new way to detect bird flu.

How AI can help supercharge creativity

Forget one-click creativity. These artists and musicians are finding new ways to make art using AI, by injecting friction, challenge, and serendipity into the process.

How creativity became the reigning value of our time

In “The Cult of Creativity,” Samuel Franklin excavates the surprisingly recent history of an idea, an ideal, and an ideology.

AI is coming for music, too

New diffusion AI models that make songs from scratch are complicating our definitions of authorship and human creativity.

Scientific American Magazine – May 2025

How Can We Know If an Asteroid Will Hit Earth? | Scientific American

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE (April 15, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Mind Stretching Shapes’ – The loops, knots and structures pushing the boundaries of math…

How Can We Know If an Asteroid Will Hit Earth?

Suddenly Miners Are Tearing Up the Seafloor for Critical Metals

Willem Marx

Mathematicians’ Favorite Shapes Hold the Key to Big Mathematical Mysteries

Rachel Crowell, Violet Frances

A Deadly Parasite Threatens Bees and 130 Crops They Help Grow

Hannah Nordhaus

Science Magazine – April 4, 2025 Research Preview

Science issue cover

SCIENCE MAGAZINE (April 3, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Sounds Like Imaging’ – Thin sound sheets visualize living opaque organs…

Stellarators, once fusion’s dark horse, hit their stride

Multiple companies aim to build pilot plants using twisted magnets

Ancient DNA illuminates ‘green Sahara’ dwellers

Skeletons from an ancient, lush interlude offer genetic peek at a lost population

‘Uniquely human’ language capacity found in bonobos

Study is the first to show an animal combining different calls to make new meanings

Science: Nature Magazine – March 20, 2025 Preview

Volume 639 Issue 8055

NATURE MAGAZINE (March 19, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Double Impact’ – Whole genome duplication drives multicellular adaptation over 5,000 generations in the lab…

Mega-storm dumps 11 billion tonnes of snow ― and builds up a melting ice sheet

A well-timed atmospheric river dropped enough snow on Greenland for its ice sheet to lose 8% less mass than expected.

Bad romance: male octopuses inject deadly venom into their mates

The paralysing toxin deployed by the male blue-lined octopus might help to protect him from being eaten.

How extreme lethargy can promote healthy ageing

The drop in body temperature that occurs during a torpid state is linked to molecular markers of longer life in mice.

Robotic fingers can tell objects apart by touch

Prosthetic appendage uses three layers of touch sensors to accurately differentiate between textures.

Science Magazine – March 14, 2025 Research Preview

SCIENCE MAGAZINE (March 13, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Interstellar Dust’ – Mapping dust properties in the Milky Way…

Studies seek signs of consciousness before birth

Fetal and infant brains offer clues to when human experience begins

In Ukraine, dam’s destruction sets off a ‘toxic time bomb’

Floods threaten to spread sediments laden with toxicants

Oceans’ trenches are home to ‘incredible’ diversity

In trio of studies, scientists explore life in the mysterious hadal zone

NIH kills existing grants on transgender issues

Some termination letters cite “biological realities” to dismiss usefulness of such research

Face to face with the first known Western European

At least 1.1 million years old, a fossil face suggests more than one type of early human inhabited Europe

Nature Magazine – March 13, 2025 Research Preview

Volume 639 Issue 8054

NATURE MAGAZINE (March 12, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Good Or Bad?’ – Simple two-point rating system curbs racial bias in the gig economy.

Who’s likely to wake up from a coma? Brainwaves provide a clue

The presence of a pattern called a sleep spindle helps to predict which people will recover from an unresponsive state.

A super-gel stays supple from −115 ºC to 143 ºC

A network of two polymers plus sulfuric acid allows a hydrogel to keep its elasticity and softness at extreme temperatures.

Ancient puppets that smile or scowl hint at shared rituals

Clay figurines found on top of the remnants of a pyramid in what is now El Salvador might have been used in public ceremonies.

The surprising culprit for the loss of huge swathes of tropical forest

Analysis of satellite imagery of the Brazilian Amazon, the Congo Basin and New Guinea helps to show that ‘secondary’ roads take an outsized toll.

The Scientist Magazine – March 2025 Issue

Issues | The Scientist Magazine® | The Scientist

THE SCIENTIST MAGAZINE (March 12, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Peto’s Paradox’ – How gigantic species evolved to beat cancer…

Peto’s Paradox: How Gigantic Species Evolved to Beat Cancer

Scientists dive into the genomes of whales, elephants, and other animal giants looking for new weapons in the fight against cancer.

DNA Profiling: Tracing Killers and Solving Mysteries Using Genetic Clues

Every DNA fragment tells a story. Forensic experts use these genetic breadcrumbs to solve old mysteries and modern crimes.

Generation X and Millennials Face a Steep Rise in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Cases

Younger individuals are developing colorectal cancer earlier in life compared to older generations, and scientists don’t know why.