Researchers at UCSF tested how switching mice between high-fat and low-fat diets at different points around an imiquimod-induced skin inflammation challenge affected disease outcomes. They found that the diet composition specifically during the onset of inflammation—not before or after—had a lasting effect on how tissue responded to subsequent inflammatory episodes, a phenomenon they describe as inflammatory memory.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
A new study by Sicorello and colleagues, published in Nature, re-examines a long-standing assumption in emotion-regulation research: that commonly used tasks measuring cognitive reappraisal accurately capture how good someone is at this strategy. Cognitive reappraisal involves reframing one's thinking about an event to change its emotional impact, such as finding a 'silver lining', and has long been linked to social, occupational and health outcomes.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
A collaboration among the UK universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York, the White Rose Established Researchers project, interviewed academics who have achieved research independence about their career experiences. The researchers found that progression after this point is rarely linear, with established academics describing ongoing pressure to balance leadership duties, competing demands and uncertainty rather than feeling they had reached a stable stage.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
The European Research Council received 7,710 Starting Grant proposals for 2027 funding by its October 14 deadline, up from 4,807 the previous year, while the number of available grants fell to 373 from 421 due to funding constraints. ERC president Maria Leptin said the surge is straining staff and reviewers, and the resulting success rate is expected to drop below 5%, down from 8.8% in the 2026 round.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
The European Commission will launch an expanded version of its Open Research Europe platform by early November, adding funders from 11 countries including Germany's DFG and the Swiss National Science Foundation, plus research organizations such as France's CNRS. The platform, which publishes preprints alongside open peer reviews before flagging them as reviewed, will now offer free editorial services to more than 2.5 million researchers and has published around 1,500 articles since its 2021 launch.
nature.com
· 2026-10-28
Counterpoint Research found iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max sales fell 4% in the US and 27% in Japan during their first three weeks on shelves compared with the iPhone 17 Pro series last year. China sales rose 29% over the same period, pushing global growth to 3.1%, while the Pro Max's share of Pro-series sales slipped slightly to 56% from 57%.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-10-27
Researchers have published findings identifying new safety vulnerabilities in DeepSeek's AI models, which are released under an open-weight licensing approach. The study adds to a growing body of research examining risks in open-weight systems that can be freely downloaded and modified by users.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-27
OpenAI announced new AI-generated results in mathematics, computer science and physics, including a claimed resolution of the Kakeya conjecture in all dimensions. The company said it consulted external expert 'shepherds' to decide how to release each finding, publishing the math output directly, planning to assemble researchers to explain the computer science result, and deferring entirely on releasing the physics work. A mathematician who reviewed the Kakeya claim called it 'well supported' but said he had not fully verified it.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-27
Researchers at UC San Diego report identifying a compound that can neutralize Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba responsible for a rare but often fatal brain infection, faster than existing treatments. The compound reportedly showed lower toxicity in lab testing compared with current drugs used against the pathogen.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-27
Oxford University's 2025 World Happiness Report, drawing on data from 147 countries, identifies three questions tied to social connection that correlate more strongly with self-reported life satisfaction than income or career success. The report frames happiness as rooted in relationships and trust rather than material achievement.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-27
Wiz Research is monitoring activity related to two PHP vulnerabilities disclosed on October 21, 2026, dubbed PHP2Shell. The firm says it has seen only limited exploitation attempts in its telemetry and no public proof-of-concept for complete end-to-end attacks, though some partners have privately shared working exploits. Wiz reports internet-exposed vulnerable machines dropped about 67% in days following disclosure, and affected organizations fell roughly 47.9%.
wiz.io
· 2026-10-27
Market research firm Ipsos conducted a study testing American marketers on fundamental industry concepts and found most could not pass. The research showed 40% did not know the meaning of 'positioning,' 54% were unfamiliar with 'above the line,' and half could not define 'penetration.' The findings suggest many professionals lack grasp of foundational marketing vocabulary.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-27
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