23 September 2026

An amoeba isolated from a geothermal site, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, divides at 63 °C and moves up to 64 °C, above the roughly 60 °C limit previously seen for any eukaryote. Its proteins carry more positively charged surface residues, as in heat-loving bacteria and archaea.

Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.043

Mice lacking the transcription factor IRF2 develop skin inflammation because IRF1 takes over the same interferon-response gene sites. Toll-like receptor signalling tips the balance toward IRF1, which also recruits the ligase SPOP to degrade IRF2.

Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.049

Of 70 rare protein-altering variants of human interferon-β tested, a quarter were much less active, often because the protein stayed in the ER or bound its receptors poorly. Three variants bound the receptor more strongly than the common form.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aeh4755

Twenty genomes of the aphid symbiont Regiella insecticola show that new traits arise mainly through genes gained on mobile elements, including a plasmid with a type IV secretion system that has spread between distant strains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2607226123

Pregnant mice have damped daily and hour-scale rhythms in core body temperature, partly controlled by estrogen receptor alpha in neurons of the medial preoptic area.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2611415123

Live imaging of Drosophila pupae shows that almost half the epithelial cells near a wound fuse into large multinucleated cells. Knocking down the autophagy gene Atg1 reduces this fusion and slows wound closure.

eLife · doi:10.7554/eLife.92593

Twilight-active Drosophila species shift their daily activity window under courtship pressure, and the direction of the shift is predicted by whether a species courts mainly by smell or by sight.

Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-026-03175-2

A spatial proteomics atlas of the amoeba Paulinella chromatophora, which gained photosynthetic organelles independently of plants and algae, maps how proteins are targeted to those organelles and to its mitochondria.

Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.063

Data from 1,158 paired sites on six continents show that planting forests on previously unforested land and replanting cleared forest both raise soil microbial biomass and topsoil carbon over up to a century.

Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-026-03183-2

Kinetics-seq combines in vivo metabolic RNA labelling with single-cell RNA-seq to measure synthesis, degradation and turnover rates for every gene in single cells from tissue, applied here to tumours.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2534052123

Experiments simulating the solidification of Mars's early magma ocean produce a buoyant crust over 30 km thick dominated by plagioclase and quartz, matching remote-sensing signs of ancient low-density crust.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aed5787

A Nature careers piece gives advice for researchers preparing to give their first lecture.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02369-9

Modelling greenhouse-gas taxes on food shows small leakage between countries; a uniform carbon price gives the most mitigation but can harm health in some countries, and using revenue to subsidise fruit and vegetables offsets part of that.

Nature Food · doi:10.1038/s43016-026-01429-7

A county-level map of combined drought and heat-wave events in the US from 2000 to 2021 finds them concentrated in the South, Southeast and West, and in counties with higher poverty and agricultural dependence.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2607273123

Nature reports that hundreds of academic journals that used to publish free of charge have started charging authors fees.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02818-5

Floods in Nepal are the largest test so far of the UN fund for climate loss and damage.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03000-7

A Nature piece warns that an El Niño on track to be the strongest on record is developing and sets out how governments should prepare.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02939-x

Economic historians estimate the value of unpaid breastfeeding in England over five centuries: never below 0.1% of GDP and possibly 6.58% in the sixteenth century, more than spending on school and apprenticeships.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2600844123

Nature shows how researchers read carbonised ancient scrolls without unrolling them.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02920-8

Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) use 3D-printed artificial honeypots and finish partial ones into working honeypots.

Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.07.010