• ♡

A next-generation antibody–drug conjugate has transformed treatment for HER2-positive gastric cancer, yet many patients fail to benefit or relapse rapidly. Using single-cell analysis of patient tumor samples, researchers uncovered distinct mechanisms that drive both early and late resistance to trastuzumab deruxtecan. The study shows that tumors resistant from the outset are marked by a mucus-associated protein that limits drug binding, while cancers that relapse later suppress drug activation and reshape their immune environment. By linking cellular heterogeneity, metabolic reprogramming, and immune escape, the findings reveal why a highly potent therapy can lose effectiveness—and point to biomarkers and combination strategies that could help restore durable responses.

• ♡

Space weather can disrupt satellite navigation and communication systems by triggering rapid fluctuations in the ionosphere. A new study introduces a global probabilistic forecasting model that predicts when and where ionospheric disturbances—measured by the Rate of total electron content (TEC) Index (ROTI)—are likely to persist. Unlike previous machine learning approaches, the new method embraces the bursty, heavy-tailed nature of ionospheric activity using a Bayesian framework. It also takes into account the fact that the observations in the Pierce Points between the satellites and the GNSS stations are distributed in a non-uniform way, and change in time due to the movement of the satellite. By dividing the globe into fine geographic cells and modeling disturbance duration through long-tail statistics, the system delivers robust forecasts up to six hours ahead. The approach improves the reliability of early warnings for regions where Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) perfor

• ♡

Spinal cord injury triggers a cascade of oxidative stress and inflammation that severely limits the body’s ability to repair damaged neural tissue. A new study reveals that combining two naturally derived compounds—luteolin and astragaloside IV—can work together to overcome this barrier. Rather than acting through a single pathway, the paired therapy simultaneously reduces oxidative damage, dampens neuroinflammation, and promotes nerve fiber regrowth. In experimental models, this synergistic approach led to marked improvements in tissue repair and motor function recovery compared with individual treatments. The findings highlight how carefully designed combination therapies may offer a more effective route for addressing complex neurological injuries that resist conventional, single-target interventions.

• ♡

Fruit shape is a defining trait that influences both crop quality and consumer preference, yet its genetic control remains poorly understood in many fruit crops. In this study, researchers uncovered a key regulatory gene that acts as a molecular “brake” on fruit elongation in melon. By integrating large-scale genetic association analyses with functional experiments, the work reveals how variation in a single transcription factor can reshape fruit length without affecting width. The findings clarify an important layer of fruit development regulation and demonstrate how subtle genetic changes can lead to dramatic differences in agricultural traits. Together, the study offers new insight into how fruit form evolves and how it might be precisely tailored through modern breeding strategies.

• ♡

Accurately predicting how plants allocate dry matter to fruits remains a major challenge in crop modeling, especially under controlled greenhouse conditions. This study presents a new simulation framework that links photosynthetic performance to leaf position within the canopy, allowing dry matter partitioning to fruit to be predicted with greater precision. By integrating leaf-age–dependent gas exchange characteristics with plant growth dynamics, the model captures physiological differences that traditional canopy approaches often overlook. The results demonstrate that accounting for variation among upper, middle, and lower leaves substantially improves the accuracy and stability of fruit dry matter predictions. This approach offers a more realistic representation of plant carbon allocation and provides a stronger foundation for improving yield forecasting and crop management strategies.

• ♡

Plants constantly interact with soil microbes, shaping whether soils promote or suppress future plant growth. This study reveals that not all plant diseases are equally harmful: mild foliar infections can actually improve soil health and plant survival. The research shows that moderate leaf pathogen attack activates a plant defense signal that travels from leaves to roots, triggering the release of specific root metabolites. These compounds restructure the soil microbiome by enriching beneficial microbes that suppress soil-borne pathogens. In contrast, severe infections disrupt this signaling process and damage protective microbial communities. Together, the findings demonstrate that disease intensity determines whether plant–soil interactions become beneficial or harmful, reshaping our understanding of how plants, microbes, and pathogens jointly regulate ecosystem stability.

• ♡

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration …

• ♡

A new study by University of Notre Dame researchers shows that introducing a unique and low-cost cognitive behavioral therapy program for longer-term jail inmates teaches lifelong skills and reduces violent behavior — making the jail system safer in the long run.

• ♡

Prostrate growth habit is a highly desirable plant architecture trait that enhances lodging resistance, landscape coverage, and ornamental value. However, its genetic and molecular basis has remained poorly understood in chrysanthemum. This study dissects the genetic control of prostrate growth by integrating long-term phenotyping, high-density genetic mapping, and functional gene validation. Researchers identified stable genomic regions controlling multiple architecture-related traits and pinpointed a key regulatory gene that promotes creeping growth. Functional analyses further demonstrated how this gene reshapes stem development and plant form. Together, the findings provide a mechanistic explanation for prostrate growth habit and deliver molecular tools that can accelerate the breeding of low-maintenance, ground-cover chrysanthemum varieties.

• ♡

When couples attend relationship counseling, it benefits not only their partnership but also their individual well-being. But which aspects of the training are most influential in this respect? A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines how a popular intervention program affected individual outcomes.

• ♡

Exploring whether gedunin, a compound from the neem tree, can attack pancreatic cancer with fewer toxic side effects than current chemotherapy.

• ♡

For people living with Parkinson’s disease, there has been a gap between laboratory research and real-world behavior that has limited efforts to improve gait symptoms. Now, researchers from UCSF have taken an important step toward closing that gap by using a deep brain stimulation (DBS) device to identify individualized patterns of brain activity associated with walking during natural, at-home activities.

• ♡

UC Davis researchers are using virtual reality to make eye exams easier for seniors and to investigate whether it can detect early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

• ♡

Exposure to medical misinformation online is concentrated among older adults, according to study by University of Utah communication researchers. Overall, the research concludes few Americans encounter low-credibility health websites.

• ♡

Adult survivors of childhood cancers are at higher risk for another cancer – such as breast, colorectal, sarcomas and thyroid cancer – that is not a relapse of their original illness.

• ♡

"All the Science That’s Fit to Promote" is the topic for the February Research to Practice Webinar

• ♡

An international team of astronomers has discovered a distant planetary system that challenges long-standing theories of how planets form.

• ♡

Off-putting smells can make even the healthiest of foods unpalatable.

• ♡

Improving fruit quality without compromising plant growth remains a major challenge in crop improvement. This study reveals that enhancing the activity of a conserved “housekeeping” gene can significantly elevate fruit nutritional and sensory traits. By increasing the expression of a tRNA-associated gene, researchers achieved higher accumulation of anthocyanins and terpenoids—two classes of health-promoting secondary metabolites responsible for fruit color, aroma, and antioxidant capacity. Remarkably, these metabolic gains occurred without detectable effects on plant development, fruit size, or sugar content. The findings demonstrate that genes traditionally viewed as basic cellular maintenance factors can unexpectedly regulate valuable metabolic pathways, opening new possibilities for improving fruit quality through subtle genetic strategies.

• ♡

Crop pests cause substantial yield losses worldwide and pose persistent challenges to sustainable agriculture. A new study demonstrates how deep learning and genomic analysis can be combined to accelerate the breeding of pest-resistant crops. By using artificial intelligence to precisely quantify pest damage on plant leaves and linking these phenotypes to genome-wide genetic variation, the research identifies key genes and genetic regions associated with insect resistance. The approach enables accurate prediction of pest resistance at both qualitative and quantitative levels, offering a scalable alternative to traditional visual assessments. Overall, the study shows that integrating deep learning with genomics can transform how complex resistance traits are measured, understood, and applied in crop improvement programs.

• ♡

Combining fieldwork, manual sorting, and machine learning, researchers found certain warble duets have language-like properties, including syntax, collocates, and an impressive lexicon.

• ♡

Grey wolves adapt their diets as a result of climate change, eating harder foods such as bones to extract nutrition during warmer climates, new research has found.

• ♡

The fragility and laws of quantum physics generally make the characterisation of quantum systems time-consuming. Furthermore, when a quantum system is measured, it is destroyed in the process. A recent breakthrough by researchers at the University of Vienna demonstrates a novel method for quantum state certification that efficiently verifies entangled quantum states in real time without destroying all available states - a decisive step forward in the development of robust quantum computers and quantum networks. The work was carried out in Philip Walther's laboratories at the Faculty of Physics and the Vienna Centre for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) and published in the journal Science Advances.

• ♡

The research team overcame these issues by designing a trap-based microfluidic device that confines a small volume of extractant droplet inside a microchamber while allowing the sample solution to flow continuously through an adjacent microchannel.

• ♡

Plutonium (Pu) exhibits one of the most diverse and complex chemistries of any element in the periodic table. Since its discovery in 1940…

• ♡

Using the Frontier supercomputer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have performed the largest direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulence in three dimensions, attaining a record resolution of 35 trillion grid points.

• ♡

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched a novel robotic platform to rapidly analyze plant root systems as they grow, yielding AI-ready data to accelerate the development of stress-tolerant crops for new fuels, chemicals and materials.The new platform adds belowground imaging to ORNL’s Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory (APPL), an automated facility that already uses high-resolution cameras to quickly assess aboveground plant traits.

• ♡

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to analyze medical images, materials data and scientific measurements, but many systems struggle when real-world data do not match ideal conditions. Measurements collected from different instruments, experiments or simulations often vary widely in resolution, noise and reliability. Traditional machine-learning models typically assume those differences are negligible — an assumption that can limit accuracy and trustworthiness.

• ♡

Scientists found that removing an enzyme from neurons in the brain substantially reduces amyloid plaques — a hallmark characteristic of the disease — and may provide further resilience against disease progression.

• ♡

Bud dormancy is essential for the seasonal growth rhythm of perennial plants, yet its regulation in tropical evergreen species remains poorly understood. New research reveals that the onset of dormancy in litchi terminal buds is tightly linked to changes in internal water status controlled by specific aquaporin proteins. The study shows that two plasma membrane aquaporins act cooperatively to regulate water loss from buds, thereby promoting dormancy initiation. By integrating physiological measurements with molecular and genetic analyses, the research uncovers a regulatory pathway in which water transport dynamics, hormone signaling, and transcriptional control converge to determine when buds cease growth. These findings provide new insight into dormancy regulation beyond temperate species.

• ♡

Stuck in traffic? ORNL researchers are advancing connected and automated vehicle systems that smooth merging, reduce idle time and improve traffic flow. By linking real vehicles with immersive simulations, the team is shaping the future of intelligent transportation systems.

• ♡

NASA announced on Thursday last week that both the University of Washington STRIVE team and the UW-affiliated EDGE team were selected to lead satellite missions to better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.

• ♡

A University of Washington study shows that existing models underestimate methane loss in the stratosphere and generate uncertainty in the global methane budget — a key metric for tracking climate change.

• ♡

A team of data scientists and accelerator experts at Jefferson Lab, working in collaboration with university and DOE national laboratory partners, have developed novel machine learning (ML) techniques to transparently model the physics of CEBAF. Their goal is to provide operators with a reliable tool to anticipate how each cavity will behave during accelerator operation and tuning, helping them stay steps ahead of potential faults and minimizing disruptions to experiments.

• ♡

Researchers from Mayo Clinic Florida, Florida State University and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are collaborating to develop innovative treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Yan Li, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is leading research into this neurodegenerative disease.

• ♡

Rutgers-led research finds increased energy after a single low-dose infusion.

• ♡

A specific pattern of brain activity in a frontal brain region is linked to compulsive behaviors like excessive hand washing, chronic hair-pulling, and skin-picking in people with obsessive compulsive disorder.

• ♡

Plant architecture plays a decisive role in crop yield and fruit quality, yet the molecular mechanisms governing branching remain incompletely understood. A new study reveals how a key hormonal signaling pathway fine-tunes branching patterns in woodland strawberry by regulating hormone metabolism rather than hormone synthesis. The research shows that disruption of a strigolactone receptor gene leads to excessive branch crown formation by reducing abscisic acid levels in shoot tips. By uncovering a previously unknown regulatory cascade linking hormone perception, transcriptional control, and hormone catabolism, the study provides fresh insight into how plants balance vegetative growth and reproductive productivity.

• ♡

A new study highlights that most adults experience little to no dissociation, though it is frequently reported in clinical populations, particularly people with dissociative disorders, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder.

• ♡

Mount Sinai experts to present new analysis on AI models that could predict congenital heart defects and placenta accreta spectrum at the 2026 SMFM Annual Pregnancy Meeting