Researchers tracked 17 migratory bird species with miniature multi-sensor devices across the Sahara and Mediterranean, finding that birds flew 2,500-4,000 meters over the desert but sometimes just dozens of meters above open water. Wing morphology and plumage darkness explain the split -- with implications for offshore wind farm collision risk planning.

A Norwegian study of 401 outdoor recreationists finds that 81% primarily use digital maps on mobile phones for navigation, mirroring the wayfinding strategies people apply in urban settings. Researchers warn that social media is drawing inexperienced hikers to demanding terrain with only phone navigation as backup, while paper maps and terrain-reading skills remain critical when technology fails.

A perspective published in ACS Central Science by researchers from Insilico Medicine and Eli Lilly describes a framework for fully autonomous AI-driven drug discovery, from target identification through clinical trial design, orchestrated by a central reasoning system. Insilico's own track record -- 20 preclinical candidates nominated in 12-18 months each, with only 60-200 molecules synthesized per program -- illustrates how far individual components have already progressed.

A cross-sectional analysis of ESC Atlas data from 21 European countries finds that higher rates of primary PCI -- the stenting procedure used to treat heart attacks -- are associated with higher age-standardized mortality after controlling for GDP and cardiovascular disease prevalence. Operator procedural volume, however, shows a weak inverse link to mortality rates.

Engineers at Shibaura Institute of Technology tested 35 model-scale configurations of a composite pile system that uses surplus construction soil as structural fill, finding uplift capacities matching or exceeding conventional steel piles when soil compaction is maintained. A 20% drop in soil density caused roughly 50% reduction in uplift capacity -- making compaction control the critical construction variable.

A research team in Japan has built a shipping cushion that folds itself into a honeycomb structure, absorbs impacts, and wirelessly reports damage and load weight -- all without batteries. The device uses a passive inductor-capacitor circuit embedded in the structure's hinges, with resonant frequency shifts detected by an external coil positioned near the package.

Analyzing nationwide registry data from 7,462 Japanese patients who received cord blood transplants, researchers at Fujita Health University identified a previously unknown HLA mismatch combination that carries a hazard ratio of 3.09 for severe graft-versus-host disease. The finding could reshape cord blood unit selection to avoid this specific pairing when alternatives exist.

Using data from 9,700 elderly heart failure patients across 96 Japanese hospitals, researchers from Juntendo University trained a machine learning model that places physical function metrics -- the Barthel Index and Short Physical Performance Battery -- among the strongest predictors of one-year mortality. The model outperformed two established European risk scores that consistently underestimate risk in older East Asian patients.

Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences have identified a dramatic and previously unknown structural reorganization of chromosomes in germ cells just before meiosis begins. Centromeres migrate to the nuclear periphery and chromosomes become less structured -- a state not seen in lab-grown equivalent cells, potentially explaining why in vitro gamete production consistently fails to complete meiosis.

A randomized Swedish trial enrolling more than 278,000 adults at age 60 found that both colonoscopy and fecal immunochemical testing detected colorectal cancer at earlier, more treatable stages compared to no screening. Colorectal cancer rates dropped to 0.61% in the FIT group versus 0.73% in unscreened controls, suggesting a preventive effect from precancerous lesion removal.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection causes heart attacks in young, otherwise healthy women -- yet it is often treated like any other blockage. A 123-patient registry study from 14 Serbian cardiology centers finds that stent implantation predicts worse outcomes, and that the condition resolves fully on its own within 30 days in 62% of cases.

When researchers compared 200 varieties of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana growing in nitrate-rich soil, one gene kept appearing in the data: MEKK14. A single amino acid difference in that protein determines whether a plant aggressively expands its lateral roots to harvest nitrogen -- findings with implications for more efficient fertilizer use in crops.

Models for the Antarctic Peninsula show that at very high emissions sea ice could fall 20% and ice shelves face collapse, while a low-emissions path limits winter sea ice loss and Peninsula sea level contributions to a few millimeters.

Japanese researchers found cleaner wrasse deliberately drop food near mirrors and track its reflected descent - contingency testing behavior previously documented only in dolphins and manta rays, suggesting self-awareness may be widespread in fish.

A new open-access book from AABNet, ILRI, and three partner organizations consolidates research on Africa's indigenous livestock genetics and outlines science-based breeding strategies that preserve adaptive traits while improving productivity.

KIST developed a single-atom iridium catalyst that handles both hydrogen and oxygen evolution on one binder-free electrode, cutting precious metal use to 1.5% of conventional loads with 300+ hour stability in AEM electrolysis.

A multicenter Japanese study using Holter ECG with accelerometers found shorter sleep correlated with higher atrial fibrillation risk in adults in their 50s, with each additional minute of sleep linked to measurable risk reduction.

Chinese chemists report a visible-light deracemization of alpha-aryl cyclic ketones using photocatalysis, hydrogen atom transfer, and chiral phosphoric acid - with high enantioselectivity and no transition metals, including on electron-deficient substrates.

The AI Agent Index - a Cambridge, MIT, and Stanford collaboration - found 26 of 30 leading AI agents lack agent-specific safety documents, with browser agents showing 64% of safety fields unreported.

A qualitative study of a Japanese competitive gaming Discord found members who joined to improve at Splatoon 3 stayed for social reasons, with the server functioning as a third place offering belonging outside work and school.

The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine received $314 million in NIH funding in the latest Blue Ridge rankings - its best position in 20 years - with nine clinical departments in the top 15 nationally.

Mayo Clinic has opened a representative office on Grand Cayman Island, its third in the Caribbean, to connect patients in the Cayman Islands with care at Mayo's campuses in Minnesota, Arizona, Florida, and London through free coordination services.

An international team reports an acoustic frequency comb with up to 6,000 evenly spaced tones tunable from 10 Hz to 100 kHz, produced by phonon lasing in a silicon nitride membrane - record tooth count and bandwidth for acoustic combs.

A UEA sleep lab study using EEG found 8-to-11-month-old infants with high sensory sensitivity showed shallower slow-wave deep sleep in both quiet and noisy conditions, including babies with an older autistic sibling.

Idaho National Laboratory's National Reactor Innovation Center has opened MSTEC, a shielded argon glove box designed to measure the physical and chemical properties of molten fuel salts - data required to design, license, and operate next-generation molten salt reactors.