GoKawiilResearchers will have two minutes to gather data on the solar corona. Plus, people across cultures are all ticklish in the same way and how the El Niño could spell disaster for the Amazon rainforest.
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Solar prominences protruding from the Sun’s corona during a total solar eclipse in Dallas in 2024.Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
On 12 August, researchers will get roughly two minutes to study the Sun’s outermost layer — the solar corona — during a total solar eclipse. Scientists hope that data gathered during the eclipse will help them to answer questions such as why the corona is so much hotter than the Sun’s surface below it, and where the Sun’s magnetic energy comes from. A better understanding of the corona could help them to better predict space weather, which can affect satellites and power grids on Earth.
Nature | 6 min read
Path of the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026.Source: ESA
People from Greek, Dutch and Chinese backgrounds all have the same ‘tickle hotspots’, such as the armpits and soles of the feet, which suggests that how people experience ticklishness is consistent across cultures. Comparisons with maps of other sensations, such as pain or pleasure, suggested that the sensation is decidedly distinct and unique. The study is one of the first to systematically investigate gargalesis, the kind of tickling that is associated with play and involves using strong, repetitive pressure to elicit laughter.
Nature | 4 min read
Reference: Nature Human Behaviour paper
A start-up called QED Science has released a free artificial-intelligence tool that aims to judge whether life-sciences research is original and valid. The company recently used the tool to select the ‘top 1%’ of preprints posted on preprint server bioRxiv between May 2025 and April 2026. Its use has sparked debate among researchers, some of whom doubt the AI's ability to reliably and transparently judge the quality of scientific research. Researchers can use the platform to see “what information or explanation they should add,” says Niv Mastboim, chief executive of QED Science. “The goal is to produce good science.”
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