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Researchers report findings on biological markers that correlate with improved patient outcomes when immune-based therapies are used before and after surgery for lung cancer. The publication, appearing on Nature's platform, outlines how certain biomarkers may help predict which patients respond best to this perioperative treatment approach.
Researchers led by Kenny et al. published in Nature a system called Concept-Wrapper Network (CW-Net) that opens up the 'black box' of autonomous vehicle decision-making. Instead of opaque outputs, CW-Net translates a car's reasoning into human-understandable concepts, such as recognizing a pedestrian or obstacle, so passengers can better anticipate its next move. Testing showed this approach improved people's ability to predict vehicle behavior even in cases where the car made errors.
NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on 30 August aboard a SpaceX rocket, sending it roughly 1.5 million kilometres from Earth to begin observing the Universe. The telescope's 2.4-metre mirror, originally built for surveillance purposes and handed to NASA in 2012, was re-engineered for astronomy and paired with a 300-megapixel infrared camera capable of imaging patches of sky about 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope can capture in one shot.
Scientists analyzed ice cores extracted from a glacier in Peru, finding trapped air bubbles that preserve a historical record of atmospheric methane concentrations. The ice-locked data allows researchers to track methane trends across an extended timeline, offering a rare Southern Hemisphere perspective on the greenhouse gas's history.
Scientists are accelerating efforts to understand why some infections trigger lasting illnesses such as long COVID and ME/CFS. A 2024 estimate put the global number of long COVID cases at 400 million, costing roughly $1 trillion annually, spurring governments including the US and Germany to commit over $1.7 billion combined toward research into post-infection diseases.
Researchers report that shellfish, insects and other aquatic invertebrates supply a significant share of essential nutrients like omega-3s, iron and vitamin B12 to human diets worldwide. The findings draw on global data comparing nutrient contributions from invertebrates against fish and other food sources.
Researchers testing a GLP-1 receptor agonist, the class of drug behind popular weight-loss treatments, observed that female mice given the compound showed slower markers of biological ageing compared to untreated mice. The effect was notably more pronounced in females than in males in the study.
A survey of recent research consolidates evidence on how electrical double layers at charged interfaces behave when driven away from equilibrium, drawing on decades of double-layer theory alongside newer studies of cation effects in CO2 reduction and fuel-cell electrocatalysis. The compiled literature spans classic Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Grahame models through modern spectroscopic and computational probes of interfacial water and ion behavior under applied current.
Researchers analyzed post-mortem retinal and brain tissue from multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and other molecular techniques. They identified an intracellular form of complement factor H within neurons that appears to protect these cells from damage during central nervous system inflammation, a mechanism distinct from the protein's known extracellular immune role.
Researchers combined 2019 reconstructed marine fisheries landings from Sea Around Us with FAO inland fisheries and aquaculture data to measure how much invertebrates such as mollusks, crustaceans, sea cucumbers and jellyfish contribute to global seafood production. They standardized species names using the ASFIS taxonomic system and checked their findings across multiple years from 2014 to 2019 to confirm consistency. The analysis treated marine and inland fisheries separately due to gaps in reconstruction data for freshwater systems.
Researchers modified the tethered Ribo-T ribosome system in E. coli by appending open reading frames for GFP, DFR and HiBiT directly onto the 3′ end of 16S rRNA, creating 'Ribo-TM' constructs. Gel electrophoresis and RT-PCR confirmed the fused mRNA-rRNA molecules were intact and correctly assembled inside functioning ribosomes, and growth assays with mutant ribosomal subunits helped verify that translation activity depended on a functional ribosome.
A new comparative analysis shows that pine trees planted in the Southern Hemisphere grow faster and cope with drought stress more effectively than pines in their native Northern Hemisphere ranges. Researchers attribute this to differences in growth-lifespan trade-offs and the absence of co-evolved pests and competitors that constrain growth in native habitats. The findings draw on decades of research into tree mortality, carbon storage, and invasive species dynamics across hemispheres.