Topics and articles attracting the most attention over the past week.
An analysis of 54 climate models found 73 unusually large changes in ocean, sea-ice and atmospheric variables. The events, including winter Arctic sea-ice disappearance and a possible weakening of Atlantic overturning, were projected to occur earlier and at lower global warming than previous reviews assessed.
A programmable DNA device punctured artificial membranes, delivered attached molecular cargo and then retracted to promote resealing. Researchers also used it to control biochemical reactions in cell-sized environments, but the study does not report tests in living organisms.
Neural networks running on low-power microcontrollers decoded surface muscle signals in real time, a requirement for wearable devices and prosthetic control. On a large-scale benchmark, the models matched or exceeded earlier accuracy with up to 5,000 times lower computational cost in resource-constrained settings.
In a mouse study, lead exposure from pregnancy through adulthood was linked to depression-like behavior, increased oxidative stress in the brain, and altered stress-hormone responses. Male and female mice showed different corticosterone patterns after stress.
A solar still fitted with rotating aluminum discs produced 24% more desalinated water than a drum-based still and 310% more than a standard passive still in experiments. Estimated water costs ranged from 8.2 to 10.3 cents per liter, with projected payback periods under seven months.
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.
This systematic review examined eight randomized trials involving 1,437 people living with cancer. Although some studies reported lower alcohol use in the intervention groups, the studies varied considerably and had important risk-of-bias concerns. The researchers concluded that there is insufficient evidence to establish that these programs reduce alcohol consumption.
A new tool called plsMD reconstructs antibiotic-resistance plasmids from short-read bacterial genome data. It outperformed existing tools on two datasets, although its performance was lower on a newly sequenced-isolate dataset than on an established benchmark.
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 climate-model study finds that permafrost can continue thawing and releasing carbon for decades after warming begins to decline. The delay in recovery was larger when peak global warming exceeded 2 °C, although the results come from idealized experiments with one Earth system model.
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 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.
