Nature’s latest news lineup spotlights a broad sweep of scientific developments and debates. A leading investigation reports that the National Institutes of Health continues to screen grant applications using a process a judge ruled illegal, while legal and compliance risks at the United States border are underscored by arrests of scientists over smuggled biological samples. Other policy-shaping stories include immediate open-access requirements for NIH-funded publications, an explainer on what that means for researchers, and a deep dive into the high-stakes clash between Harvard and the Trump administration. Public-health governance also features, with RFK Jr’s vaccine advisers rejecting a flu-shot ingredient while backing some immunizations.
Artificial Intelligence takes center stage in multiple pieces. One feature asks whether researchers can build a virtual cell, profiling efforts to create Artificial Intelligence models that predict cellular behavior. A Nature Podcast examines the hidden links between research and surveillance, noting that most computer-vision studies involve imaging humans, and the issue’s editorial warns against sleepwalking from computer-vision research into surveillance uses. A comment argues that medical Artificial Intelligence can transform care only if the data it touches are carefully tracked, and a careers column reflects on Artificial Intelligence, peer review and the human activity of science.
Fresh research and analysis run the gamut from geoscience to neuroscience. A first independent survey in Gaza reports more than 80,000 deaths amid the ongoing conflict, while new data revive a contested claim about the world’s oldest rocks. Brain-science coverage explores the neural burst and memory boost that accompany insight, and chemistry-biology crossover work shows E. coli producing paracetamol from plastic. Broader health analysis interrogates why the United States lags peers on life expectancy, highlighting chronic disease alongside the roles of guns, drugs and cars. Shorter research items include killer whales using kelp as exfoliating “loofahs,” a modern recreation of a pioneering 1938 fusion experiment, a hormone that keeps male mice lean with age, and compounds that suppress locust swarming. Automated news highlights track nanoscale heat transport at semiconductor interfaces, a molecule that mimics exercise benefits in mice, and a solar-powered sea slug that stores chloroplasts for emergencies.
Careers and culture round out the package. A profile follows an astronomer’s path via scholarship programs in Africa, while career news visualizes the economic effects of federal cuts to US science. “Where I work” visits a researcher hunting for life in extreme icy environments, and technologists outline efforts to turn tardigrades into neuroscience models. Books and culture pieces range from an interview on why natural history museums are vital for conservation and climate challenges to fiction and reviews, and the Nature Podcast and latest videos offer additional entry points to the week’s science.
