Peer-reviewed studyPNAS
Urban vegetation is more resilient than rural vegetation in 78% of large cities
A peer-reviewed study used satellite observations from 2001 to 2022 across 751 large cities in 109 countries. It found that vegetation in cities recovered from climate stress better than the surrounding rural vegetation in 78% of them. The gap widened over time as rural vegetation recovered more slowly, especially in arid regions. Urban irrigation was the factor most closely linked to the city advantage, and the authors suggest that well-managed urban green spaces may act as refuges for vegetation under climate change.
- Published
- Oct 5, 2026
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2606997123
Peer-reviewed studyPNAS
Great apes keep their brain weight into old age, unlike humans
A peer-reviewed study of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans found that brain weight did not change significantly through adulthood and into advanced age. Losing brain weight with age is a hallmark of human aging. The authors conclude that marked brain weight loss appears largely specific to humans, which may help explain human susceptibility to brain disease late in life.
- Published
- Oct 5, 2026
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2609260123
Peer-reviewed studyPNAS
Automated AI scientist systems hide research flaws that peer review misses
A peer-reviewed study tested two open-source artificial intelligence (AI) scientist systems, which automate the research process. It found systematic weaknesses: poor choice of benchmarks, data leakage, misuse of metrics and selective reporting of results after the fact. These flaws were largely invisible in the final manuscript, so the authors argue that journals, conferences and researchers should audit the full workflow, including log traces and code, rather than the manuscript alone.
- Published
- Oct 5, 2026
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2610214123
Peer-reviewed studyPNAS
Tree rings trace 2,623 years of temperature in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
A peer-reviewed study used tree rings of Pinus aristata to reconstruct summer minimum temperatures in the southern Colorado Rocky Mountains, from 600 before the Common Era (BCE) to 2022. It found that warming in the late 20th and early 21st centuries is unprecedented in that record. It also found that the most severe and persistent drought, in the 2nd century of the Common Era, happened during a cool period. Over the last two millennia, warm droughts were more common than cool ones (56% vs. 44%), but both caused similar shortfalls in Colorado River flow.
- Published
- Oct 5, 2026
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2612779123
AnnouncementMax Planck Society
Max Planck Society congratulates two former researchers on the 2026 Nobel Prize
The Max Planck Society says two of its former researchers have received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. According to the announcement, they were honoured for their discovery of light-sensitive ion channels.
- Published
- Oct 5, 2026
Peer-reviewed studyPLOS Biology
Poorly checked antibodies put thousands of research tissue samples at risk of waste
A peer-reviewed study used focus groups, surveys and an analysis of 785 publications. It found that researchers often choose antibodies, a common laboratory reagent, based on past lab use and recommendations from colleagues rather than systematic testing. Of 760 papers that used antibodies later shown to perform poorly, only 120 (15.8%) presented any validation evidence. The remaining 640 papers used at least 8,064 animal samples and 4,424 human tissue samples. Researchers named time, cost and lack of supervisor support as the main barriers.
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003984
Preprint, not peer-reviewedChemRxiv
Preprint reports a way to make pure iron from a water-based solution at room temperature
A preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, describes a chemical approach to depositing iron from a water-based solution at 25 degrees Celsius and mild acidity. The authors present it as a possible lower-temperature alternative to blast furnaces. They report that glycolate, a molecule that binds iron, produced dense deposits about 99% pure, with more than 90% of the electric current going into making iron. They say the design principles could apply to other electrochemical ways of producing metals.
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
DOI 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010003/v1
Peer-reviewed studyNature
Blocking an immune circuit before lung tumours form reduced tumour incidence, study finds
A peer-reviewed study identified a circuit of regulatory T cells, a type of immune cell, that can be tracked in blood samples as lung cancer develops. Blocking this immune network before the cancer became invasive reduced how often tumours formed and how large they grew. The published summary does not say whether this was tested in animals or people.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-11066-6
Peer-reviewed studyNature
Lake sediment record links wildfire risk in Australia to colonial land-use change
A peer-reviewed study of a 1,000-year lake-sediment record from southeastern Australia found that colonial disruption of Indigenous cultural burning turned open woodland into dense, flammable forest. The authors say this primed the landscape for today's climate-driven wildfires.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-11097-z
Peer-reviewed studyNature
Gut microbes vanishing from industrialized populations spread worldwide with humans
A peer-reviewed study found that microbial species now disappearing from industrialized populations evolved alongside humans over millennia and migrated around the world with them in prehistoric times. The authors say this loss may have consequences for human health.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-11106-1
Peer-reviewed studyNature
Gut bacterium eases artery disease in mice through a fatty acid
A peer-reviewed study in mice found that giving the gut bacterium Bacteroides uniformis reduced atherosclerosis, a disease of the arteries. The effect came through pentadecanoic acid, an odd-chain fatty acid that blocked an enzyme and helped the liver clear cholesterol.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-11142-x
Peer-reviewed studyPNAS
Plant diversity helps grasslands keep carbon under climate change, global model finds
A peer-reviewed study used a global computer model of managed grasslands to test how the variety of plant strategies, called functional diversity, affects plant growth and soil carbon under moderate and strong climate change. In the model, losing functional diversity stopped plant communities from adapting, which reduced productivity and soil carbon. The authors say this supports ways of managing grasslands that maintain functional diversity.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2528067123
Preprint, not peer-reviewedChemRxiv
Trucks cause about half of traffic pollution burden in the United States, preprint estimates
A preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, maps emissions of nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter from road traffic for every census block in the United States. It estimates that medium- and heavy-duty trucks make up less than 11% of vehicle kilometers traveled, but 46% of the nitrogen oxide burden and 50% of the fine particle burden. People of color face burdens averaging 40% above the national mean, and lower-income people face burdens 20 to 25% higher. These disparities appear in 85 to 89% of counties, both urban and rural.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-lmx3n/v5
Preprint, not peer-reviewedChemRxiv
Preprint reports using waste heat to cut the electricity needed to make hydrogen
A preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, describes a water-splitting process that uses low-grade waste heat to reduce the electricity needed to make hydrogen. The researchers report electricity savings of 7.9% compared with conventional alkaline electrolysis, and near-97% Faradaic efficiency, a measure of how much current goes into the reaction. They estimate that, combined with cheaper off-peak electricity, it would cut overall hydrogen production costs by 33.1%.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010068/v1
Preprint, not peer-reviewedbioRxiv
New DNA-based test detects proteins at near single-molecule levels, preprint reports
A preprint, not yet reviewed by other scientists, describes Successive Proximity Extension Amplification Reaction (SPEAR). The laboratory method uses engineered DNA nanodevices to detect tiny amounts of protein without washing steps, and is read out with a standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Across 11 biomarkers, the authors report detecting fewer than 100 molecules. Where compared, it outperformed existing ultrasensitive methods, including for Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and antibodies measured from finger-prick dried blood spots.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026
DOI 10.64898/2026.10.05.756571
AnnouncementPew Research Center
Pew Research Center says most Americans discuss news privately online
The Pew Research Center reports that most Americans chat privately about news online, but only about a quarter post publicly.
- Published
- Oct 7, 2026