A recent comprehensive assessment on the poisoning of raptors across Europe does not yield good news. This is according to the new paper “Poisoning in Europe Between 1996 and 2016: A Continental Assessment of the Most Affected Species and the Most Used Poisons,” published in the Journal of Raptor Research. A large team of raptor researchers amassed retrospective data on poisoning events across 22 European countries between 1996 and 2016. Carbofuran and aldicarb were the most common toxins reported and disproportionately affected scavenging raptors, especially in Northern Europe. As high-level participants in trophic interactions and providers of ecosystem services, raptors are crucial agents of Europe’s ecological health. These poisonings are, therefore, troubling. They are also illegal.

A new multicenter study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute-funded Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) and colleagues around the world, has discovered that the genes we are born with—known as germline genetic variants—play a powerful, underappreciated role in how cancer develops and behaves. Published in the April 14 online issue of Cell [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.026], the study is the first to detail how millions of inherited genetic differences influence the activity of thousands of proteins within tumors. Drawing on data from more than 1,000 patients across 10 different cancer types, the research illustrates how a person’s unique genetic makeup can shape the biology of their cancer.