Life sciences: genetics, neuroscience, ecology and molecular biology.
Five studies found that consumers assigned less value to AI-generated paintings than to human-created works, largely because the AI works were seen as reflecting a less genuine creative process. NFT authentication narrowed this difference by providing verifiable information about a work’s origins.
Rice-growing areas in the Indus River Basin, especially Punjab, Pakistan, have changed with crop prices, yields and river water availability. A system-based model projects a 35–50% increase in rice area and a 45–60% rise in groundwater withdrawals by 2060.
Merino sheep that had grown slowly before weaning gained weight faster after receiving targeted feed and parasite control. They later remained heavier than comparison sheep, produced more wool and generated an estimated net return of A$6.24 per head across the flock.
A meta-analysis reviewed seven randomized trials of fecal microbiota transplantation, sometimes called a stool transplant, in people with Parkinson’s disease. The analysis found some short-term changes in overall symptoms, selected non-motor symptoms, and bowel function, but benefits were not consistently sustained and adverse events were more common.
A systematic review of 86 studies found that artificial intelligence systems using brain MRI can distinguish people with autism from comparison groups in research settings. But reported accuracy varies substantially with the data and testing design, and the evidence is not yet strong enough for routine clinical use.
A study comparing mitochondrial proteins across the tree of life reconstructed the mitochondrion of the last eukaryotic common ancestor. The analysis suggests this early complex mitochondrion could support both oxygen-based and anaerobic metabolism.
A study maps 1,122 proteins in the mitochondria of Acanthamoeba castellanii, a microbe that can cause infectious blindness. It also shows that oxygen changes the organelle’s energy machinery and that Acanthamoeba produces hydrogen gas in oxygen-free conditions using an oxygen-sensitive enzyme.
Researchers developed a portable, one-tube test for African swine fever virus that uses a smartphone-connected analyzer to read fluorescence. The assay detected a viral DNA standard at low concentrations and correctly classified simulated positive and negative serum samples.
A study of haddock from the Georges Bank–Gulf of Maine region used DNA methylation patterns in fin tissue to estimate age. The final model used 109 sites and had a reported mean absolute error of 0.17 years.
Two studies examined how ethicists and lay participants judged low-stakes traffic situations shown in text, video and immersive simulations. Drivers’ character had the most consistent influence, while the effects of following rules and avoiding collisions depended more on how the situation was presented.
A roughly 70-year pattern in Earth’s rotation appears in both measurements of the length of the day and estimates of motion in the fluid outer core. In the study’s fitted model, this cycle alone does not indicate sustained near-term shortening of the day that would require a negative leap second.
People with first-episode psychosis had glutamate levels that were correlated across several brain regions, unlike healthy comparison participants. The study did not find clear differences in glutamate concentration within any individual region, and the network-level findings were exploratory.
A new analysis combining chromosome-level genomes from 103 bat species with fossils revises relationships among bat families. It indicates that bats, and therefore powered flight, probably originated in Europe in the late Palaeocene, while laryngeal echolocation predates the diversification of modern bats.
Human-specific changes in gene regulation appear to have reduced the amount of glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs, in human joints compared with those of non-human apes. The researchers say this evolutionary shift may contribute to humans’ susceptibility to degenerative skeletal diseases.
Hybrid winter barley showed a lower risk of very low yields than pure-line barley in a field experiment covering wet, dry and near-normal seasons. The difference was clearest during drought and excess rain, although the results describe one defined production system rather than barley-growing conditions broadly.
