The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake triggered large sediment flows in Toyama Bay, carrying organic-rich material into the deep sea. The following decomposition was associated with lower oxygen and higher nutrient concentrations, while low-oxygen conditions persisted for at least 152 days.
A review of 18 randomized controlled trials found that school-based programs improved knowledge and attitudes about sexual violence, especially consent and awareness. Evidence of behavior change was less consistent, and short follow-up periods limited conclusions about lasting effects.
A study of 407 households in Hamakuya Village, South Africa, found that flooding damaged crops and transport links, disrupting food access. In 2023, 70.3% of households reported some level of food insecurity, while many responded by rationing meals and relying on social networks.
A study of 997 residents in Japan’s Kyushu Region found that perceiving more false flood warnings was linked to a lower likelihood of evacuation. The link was weaker among people who felt positive emotions, such as being pleased or at ease, after false alarms.
Intensive poultry farming has changed how Campylobacter jejuni moves among chickens and wild birds, according to an analysis of 2,747 genomes. The researchers estimate a roughly 100-fold rise in chicken-to-wild-bird transfers since 1900 and found that chicken-adapted strains often carry genes linked to antimicrobial resistance and survival in chickens.
Rainfall-triggered landslides may become more common in part of southern Italy even as climate projections show generally drier soils. Modeling suggests that changes in rainfall intensity and the moisture left by earlier rain could outweigh the drying trend.
In male mice, brief bursts of neuronal activity tracked which sensory cues predicted rewards and changed as those associations changed. Suppressing the bursts disrupted learning and task performance, providing causal evidence that they help drive associative learning.
A two-molecule layered coating helped organic solar cells maintain higher efficiency when scaled into a mini-module. The module reached 17.0% efficiency, compared with 12.2% for a single-molecule control.
A robot completed 91.67% of 240 real-world manipulation trials using an explicit, step-by-step reasoning process. The system did not rely on task-specific demonstrations or manipulation-policy training, but the study does not show how it compares with other systems or performs beyond the designed tests.
Researchers have isolated the first cultivated virus known to infect a chrysophyte, an aquatic protist that can both photosynthesize and consume prey. Its genome contains a proteorhodopsin-like gene, a type of gene not previously reported in a virus, although predictions suggest the protein may not function as a light-driven proton pump.
A review finds that current safety certification rules do not map cleanly onto the behavior of large language models. It argues that safety-critical systems should certify the surrounding control system, keeping the language model in a role whose outputs are independently checked.
Researchers systematically reviewed 23 human clinical reports covering 176 cases of acute organophosphate poisoning in Nigeria. Children accounted for 55.0% of reported cases, accidental ingestion for 60.3%, and the pooled case-fatality rate was 23.9%. Because many included reports were small and descriptive, the findings show patterns in reported cases rather than the risk for all people in Nigeria.
This human-health meta-analysis compared left atrial appendage closure alone with the same procedure combined with pulmonary vein isolation in people with atrial fibrillation. The combined approach was associated with fewer systemic thromboembolisms during follow-up, but more pericardial effusions requiring drainage around the procedure. Because the review drew largely on heterogeneous observational data, the findings show associations rather than confirmed effects caused by the combined procedure.
Illegal fishing can enter seafood markets through ship-to-ship transfers, weakly regulated ports and false documents. The article estimates that illicit marine wild-fish seafood trade totals 8.4 to 15.4 million metric tons a year and is worth $6.2 billion to $12.2 billion, while noting that proposed solutions still need more research.
A treatment containing phenylephrine hydrochloride and harmine pushed adult heart-muscle cells toward an embryonic-like state and increased their proliferation in laboratory and in vivo experiments. The findings come from experimental models, not human trials, and the abstract does not establish whether the approach restores heart function or is safe in people.
