Extreme environments — on Earth and beyond — limit human habitation due to high levels of contaminants in the soil, making it difficult for food production. With instrumental funding from the WoodNext Foundation, researchers from Texas A&M University hope to rehabilitate extreme environments by integrating entomology, robotics, artificial intelligence and sensor technology. 

Brain “waves” are rhythms of electrical activity generated by large groups of neurons working together. Clinicians use it to look for patterns linked to sleep, seizures and other changes in brain function. These rhythms change as the brain develops, and disruptions to that process have been linked to conditions ranging from epilepsy to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

To learn what controls the advent of these rhythmic patterns in humans, scientists need more tools. In a study published on January 24, 2026, in Neurobiology of Disease, researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, with collaborators at the University of California San Diego and BioMarin Pharmaceutical, developed a simplified, scalable human cell model to study how coordinated rhythms of brain activity emerge. This platform provides a foundation for future efforts to model brain wave development, study its dysregulation in disease and test candidate treatments.

Made from human stem cells, neural organoids are sophisticated models of brain development and diseas. But scientists could only record activity from a small fraction of the organoid’s neurons. Soft, 3D device contains hundreds of miniaturized electrodes and envelopes 91% of the organoid. Device moves organoid research from localized probing to whole-network monitoring and control of neural activity.

What distinguishes a doting dad from a neglectful one? Princeton researchers have identified a molecular “off switch” for paternal care in African striped mice, one of the few mammalian species were some dads display paternal behavior. The study reveals that the gene Agouti — driven by social environment — suppresses activity in the brain’s parenting hub. High levels of Agouti caused males to attack pups, while low levels fostered caregiving, offering new clues into the biology of fatherhood.

According to a new study in Nature, some Asgard archaea use, or at least tolerate oxygen.

The University of Delaware's Juan Perilla is part of an international team that discovered a previously unknown role for the viral protein integrase, which helps HIV insert itself into human DNA. Reported in Nature, the discovery provides a new frontier for drug development to combat the virus.

By probing the cellular and molecular processes that drive sleep, HHMI Investigator Amita Sehgal and her team are uncovering how snoozing helps ensure there’s a source of clean energy to power brain cells.

There was a total of 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, slightly less than the most recent 10-year average of 72. Nine of last year’s bites resulted in fatalities, compared to the ten-year average of six.