MNK1 and MNK2 look nearly identical and belong to the same enzyme family, yet mice missing one behave very differently from mice missing the other. The distinction narrows to synapses - the contact points between neurons - where the molecular differences between the two kinases are far more pronounced than in whole-brain samples.

Scientists at Southwest Research Institute and NSF's National Center for Atmospheric Research have built PINNBARDS, an AI-driven tool that reconstructs subsurface solar magnetic states from surface data. The approach could extend space weather forecasting from hours to weeks, protecting GPS systems, power grids, and astronauts.

A UC Santa Barbara team developed a two-step gold-catalysis method that produces non-natural amino acids already primed for solid-phase peptide synthesis. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the approach is stereoselective, works from cheap starting materials, and can integrate into existing peptide production pipelines with minimal adaptation.

Jackson Laboratory and University of Pennsylvania researchers identified a set of hypothalamus neurons expressing steroidogenic factor-1 (SF1) that activate for about an hour after exercise. Without them, mice showed zero endurance improvement after three weeks of training. Artificially activating the neurons post-exercise produced gains beyond normal. The study was published in Neuron.

A retrospective analysis of 790 TAVI procedures at James Cook University Hospital found that 160 of 279 eligible patients (57.3%) were successfully discharged the same day. Among all TAVI patients, about one in five left the same day. Thirty-day mortality (1.8% vs 0.8%) and readmission rates (4.4% vs 9.2%) did not differ significantly from those who stayed overnight.

When PET/CT scans couldn't account for 70% of improved glucose clearance in hypoxic mice, Gladstone Institutes researchers traced the missing sugar to an unexpected source: red blood cells programmed in hypoxic bone marrow to carry more glucose transporters and burn glucose faster to produce an oxygen-releasing molecule.

Gladstone Institutes researchers identified red blood cells as a major hidden sink for blood glucose during low-oxygen conditions, explaining why high-altitude populations have lower diabetes rates. In mouse models, a drug called HypoxyStat that mimics tissue hypoxia completely reversed high blood sugar - working through a mechanism distinct from existing diabetes medications.

Columbia Engineering researchers developed a gel polymer electrolyte with a salt-phobic polymer network that reorganizes lithium ion solvation at the nanoscale. Anode-free pouch cells using the material retained over 80% capacity after hundreds of demanding cycles and survived aggressive drilling without thermal runaway - a failure mode that destroys conventional liquid electrolyte cells.

A lidar station in northern Germany detected a lithium plume at 94-97 km altitude in February 2025 that was 10 times the baseline concentration. Atmospheric modeling traced the source to a Falcon 9 upper stage re-entering over the Atlantic, marking the first direct detection of upper-atmospheric pollution from space debris re-entry, published in Communications Earth and Environment.

A Mass General Brigham Phase 3 randomized trial of 196 patients with 5-20 brain metastases found stereotactic radiation improved symptoms and preserved cognitive function better than hippocampal-avoidance whole brain radiation, with comparable survival. New tumors were more common in the stereotactic group but were mostly manageable.

A nationwide Swedish study published in JAMA Oncology found that adolescents and young adults with prior cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) faced significantly elevated cardiovascular disease risk and mortality compared to matched controls without the diagnosis, suggesting an unexpected intersection between cervical disease and heart health.

A JAMA Network Open cohort study of 3,230 kidney transplant recipients found that the declining employment income trend typical in the pre-transplant period reversed after transplantation, suggesting kidney transplant has measurable economic value beyond health outcomes alone.

A UC Santa Cruz team trained brain organoids - millimeter-scale pieces of mouse neural tissue grown in a lab dish - to improve at the cart-pole balancing task using targeted electrical feedback. Win rates climbed from 4.5% under random training to 46% with adaptive reinforcement learning, though the gains disappeared after 45 minutes of rest.

A Linkoping University study comparing 474 extremely premature babies treated with hydrocortisone from day one against 632 untreated controls found higher survival rates free of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, with no increase in serious side effects during the newborn period. Results published in JAMA Network Open.

Roberto Morandotti of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique has received the Max Born Award from Optica - the first researcher based in Canada to do so. He is recognized for four decades of work connecting quantum theory to experimental photonics, including the first chip-based generation of complex quantum light states.

A UVA study published in Circulation Research identified a small cluster of brainstem neurons that stabilize blood pressure moment to moment. Losing just a few hundred of these cells produces dangerous blood pressure swings even while average readings stay normal - a pattern seen in multiple system atrophy.

Preliminary data from Italy's first multicentre women-specific acute coronary syndrome registry shows that 86% of enrolled women had no prior cardiovascular diagnosis, over a third had heart attacks with clear coronary arteries (MINOCA), and nearly half reported anxiety or depression.

Researchers from Bar-Ilan University and NVIDIA developed Learn-to-Steer, a lightweight method that guides existing image-generation models in real time. In Stable Diffusion SD2.1, spatial accuracy rose from 7% to 54%; in Flux.1, from 20% to 61%, with no loss in overall image quality.

Researchers at the Buck Institute and UC Southern California developed Tictock, a single-cell clock that measures aging within specific T-cell types rather than mixed cell populations. Applied to COVID-19 and HIV patients, it revealed that both infections accelerate aging inside naive CD8 T cells even as overall cell proportions diverge.

A global synthesis of nearly 15,000 marine and freshwater fish communities found consistent declines in large top predators and a shift toward smaller-bodied generalist species over recent decades. Species richness remained largely stable, masking deep structural changes in how fish ecosystems function.

Only 29.9% of pregnant women in Norway received an influenza vaccine and 12.1% received a COVID-19 vaccine during the 2023/24 season, according to registry data from 53,161 births. Both figures sit well below the WHO's recommended 75% target for at-risk groups.

A rat study from Ohio State University found that every type of refined diet - regardless of fat or sugar content - impaired emotional memory linked to the amygdala after just three days. The common thread: a lack of dietary fiber and the gut-derived molecule butyrate.

A new study published in the COPD Foundation's journal found that neighborhood-level factors including poverty rates, proportion of uninsured residents, and low educational attainment independently predict higher rates of COPD-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations, pointing to structural barriers beyond the individual patient.

A study published by the American Psychological Association found that food insecurity among employed workers - not just unemployed individuals - significantly increases anxiety and reduces job performance metrics including focus, energy, and engagement. Workplace food assistance programs were associated with improved outcomes for affected employees.

Washington State University researchers found in an animal model that prenatal immune activation - simulating maternal infection during pregnancy - increased alcohol consumption and preference in adult offspring. Treating pregnant animals with vitamin C reduced but did not eliminate this increased risk, suggesting a possible preventive strategy worth investigating in human studies.