27 September 2026

The human noncoding RNA gene BC200 was found inserted twice in the genome of molluscum contagiosum poxvirus, most likely through LINE-1 retrotransposition in recent human history. BC200 has kept its ability to move for about 40 million years and has produced hundreds of lineage-specific insertions in primates, some still polymorphic in humans.

Science · doi:10.1126/science.aeh3441

A stickleback population formed after the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, when freshwater and marine species hybridized, was tracked for 9 years. Within a few generations the marine species' alleles were removed at reproductive-isolation loci, including the sex chromosomes, and then across almost the whole genome.

Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-026-03184-1

Mammals start hindlimb development later than forelimbs, birds start both together. The difference traces to oxygen levels around the embryo before limb initiation, acting through the transcription factors cRel and Hif1a on T-box gene expression, not through changes in the genes' regulatory DNA.

Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.051

A single-cell atlas of human brain blood vessels shows that in APOE4 carriers pericytes decline and a myofibroblast-like cell type appears. In human and mouse brains, APOE4 pericytes turn into these fibrosis-promoting cells, linking the strongest Alzheimer's risk gene to vascular degeneration.

Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.058

Cryo-electron tomography of Mycoplasma pneumoniae cells produced 140 structural maps of translation in progress. They show transcription-translation complexes and structural evidence for a long-proposed supercomplex that links transcription, translation and membrane attachment.

Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.08.054

Human airway epithelium clears rhinovirus within 24 hours without immune cells by pushing infected cells out of the layer, in two waves. The expelled cells still carry virus and can infect fresh tissue.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aef2562

Nearly 7,000 records across wild orangutans' 8-year dependency period show social learning is five times more frequent than individual learning. Young orangutans that learned more in both ways had broader diets at independence.

Science · doi:10.1126/science.adz6415

Genomes of the purple-throated carib hummingbird and its two Heliconia food plants on Dominica show population sizes rising and falling together over millions of years, consistent with long-term dependence between the partners.

Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.004

A modular framework splits spike sorting of neural recordings into separate steps that can be benchmarked and swapped individually, instead of comparing whole software packages as black boxes.

eLife · doi:10.7554/eLife.110588

A methanogen grew in simulated Enceladus ocean chemistry up to pH 11, beyond its known limit, living only on hydrogen from simulated water-rock reactions. It coped with scarce CO2 by overexpressing its CO2-fixation pathway.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aei0167

A Nature investigation describes a network of organizations presenting themselves as scientific societies that recruit prominent researchers through deceptive practices.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02980-w

AI agents are increasingly contacting researchers to ask for collaborations, money and time.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03005-2

Cropland maps for 2000-2020 matched with 460,000 conflict events in 155 countries show armed conflict caused about a 3% decline in nearby cropland, with the largest losses in West and East Africa and Southeast Asia. The lost cropland could have fed about 255 million people a year.

Nature Food · doi:10.1038/s43016-026-01436-8

The Arabidopsis immune receptor FLS2 pairs up briefly when it detects bacteria. Engineering it to form dimers made plant immune responses markedly stronger.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aeg6872

A new lawsuit argues that White House political screening of NIH grants violates researchers' freedom of speech.

Science · doi:10.1126/science.aem6547

Anthropic's AI biolab used about 950 AI agents, searching DNA sequence databases for more than 21 hours, to find CRISPR-like DNA in viruses.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03039-6

Preserved wheels of Raclette du Valais made in one Alpine dairy from 1875 to 2017 were sequenced. Microbial communities shifted with production practices, antibiotic-resistance genes tracked historical antibiotic use, and phage genera from 1875 already resembled modern ones.

Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.023

The 79 CE Vesuvius eruption described by Pliny the Younger was dated by argon-argon to 1,938 ± 13 years before 2025, 0.7% precision, a record for so young a sample. The data also refine the potassium-40 decay constant.

Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aeg2624

Bumblebees build plastic fragments into the wax vessels they use to store honey.

Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02988-2

A toxic algal bloom off Australia has almost wiped out the mating aggregation of the giant cuttlefish, a meter-long cephalopod.

Science · doi:10.1126/science.aem6546