Qian Di talks about what it was like doing public health research as a Chinese scientist in the USA during the first Trump administration. His experiences foreshadow challenges that lie ahead this time around.

Neuropathic pain often occurs alongside cognitive impairment, but the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear. A study in Behavioral Brain Research investigates the microglial activation in brain regions involved in emotion, memory and pain processing in male mice of a partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) model. Two weeks post-injury, Iba1 and P2RY12 immunoreactivity—two markers of microglial

To cope with the seasonal changes in the environment, many animal species exhibit seasonal variations in their physiology and behavior. Humans also show seasonal differences in various physiological processes, including those related to hormone secretion, metabolism, immune function and reproduction. To better understand the mechanisms underlying these seasonal changes, Chen and colleagues analyzed

Sequencing deficits are considered a core feature of schizophrenia. A study in Behavioral Brain Research used the maternal immune activation (MIA) rat model—a model of increased neurodevelopmental disorder risk linked to prenatal infection—to investigate alterations in ultrasonic vocalization (USV) sequencing. While basic USV features remained intact, MIA rats exhibited significant disruptions in call

Muscle injuries are common in sports and daily life, involving inflammation, regeneration and remodeling of muscle tissue. A study in Scientific Reports evaluated the effects of two subtypes of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), the leukocyte-poor PRP (LP-PRP) and the leukocyte-rich PRP (LR-PRP), and the peptide antagonist of the domains 1 and 2 of the IL-1β receptor (DAP1-2) on inflammation following muscle

Many individuals experience cognitive impairment after cancer and cancer treatment. Patients have reported cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) after traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, but also after immunotherapy. However, to date, the mechanisms driving CRCI in patients after immunotherapy are unclear. A new study shows that chimeric antigen receptor

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most commonly used assisted reproductive technology to treat infertility. While most children conceived through IVF are healthy, some studies have observed potential long-term health effects, including a slightly higher risk of metabolic disorders. Previous studies in mice have also shown that IVF is associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndromes in offspring

The gut microbiota influences both gastrointestinal and neurobehavioral health. A study in Scientific Reports investigated fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as a treatment for acetic acid-induced colitis and associated anxiety-like behaviors in rats. Colitis was induced via rectal acetic acid administration, leading to macroscopic colon damage, increased disease index, and elevated expression

While adult mammals have an extremely limited capacity to repair lost or damaged heart tissue, many adult fish, including zebrafish, can successfully regenerate their hearts after injury. Uncovering the mechanisms of zebrafish heart regeneration could open new avenues to regenerate human hearts and prevent heart failure. In a new study, researchers combined the use of spatial transcriptomics (Stereo-seq)

The Trump administration has launched an extraordinary and dangerous attack on US science. Climate and water scientist Peter Gleick calls on scientists who are able and willing to do so to speak out publicly, and argues that although dissent carries risks, it is riskier to stay silent.

Psychology’s definition and scope have shifted over the discipline’s short history, yet it has largely remained ahistorical and geographically narrow. Here we call for psychology to become a historical and geographical science, a transformation we term the chronospatial revolution. We list four barriers to this shift in psychology: problems in scope, data, synergy and theory. We discuss the need for

We commend Chludil et al. (2025) for exploring novel ways to help forest trees adapt to new climates. We also recognize the many challenges involved in implementing assisted migration in forestry, especially when there is societal resistance or policy barriers to moving genetic materials across geopolitical boundaries. However, pollen-based assisted migration (AM) faces several major hurdles, and the

Our recent publication on pollen‐based assisted migration has prompted concerns about its feasibility and effectiveness. In this response article, we address those concerns by presenting large‐scale examples of supplemental and controlled pollination from Sweden and the United States, demonstrating its practical application. We also highlight the existence of an extensive global network of seed orchards

Tagliabue, A., Twining, B. S., Barrier, N., Maury, O., Berger, M., & Bopp, L. (2023). Ocean iron fertilization may amplify climate change pressures on marine animal biomass for limited climate benefit. Global Change Biology, 29, 5250–5260. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16854 In the version of this article originally published, two figures have minor labelling errors on the x-axis. The time axis for Figure 2

Maximum Likelihood (ML) based phylogenetic inference constitutes a challenging optimization problem. Given a set of aligned input sequences, phylogenetic inference tools strive to determine the tree topology, the branch-lengths, and the evolutionary model parameters that maximize the phylogenetic likelihood function. However, there exist compelling reasons to not push optimization to its limits, by

Degrowth is a socioeconomic paradigm that prioritizes planetary health and human wellbeing through a democratically planned reduction of unnecessary production and consumption. We urge psychological and behavioural scientists to study this important topic and suggest ways to develop an integrated research agenda for degrowth.

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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, imposing substantial epidemiological and economic burdens worldwide. Among the multifaceted mechanisms implicated in CVDs, autophagy and ferroptosis, two intimately linked cellular processes, emerge as pivotal pathophysiological contributors. Autophagy, as an evolutionary conserved process that mediates the degradation

Studying rates of species diversification is one of the key themes in macroevolution. In particular, we are interested in if some clades in a phylogeny diversify more rapidly/slowly than others due to branch-specific diversification rates. A common approach in neontological studies is to use a phylogenetic birth-death process to model species diversification. Specifically, the birth-death-shift process

Recent research provides evidence of potential altruistic social behavior in mice. Laboratory mice appear to attempt to rescue an unconscious cage mate by investigating its mouth and pulling out its tongue. The finding indicates the difficulty of anthropomorphic interpretation of such impressive prosocial ability in mice.

Our previous study revealed that mice exposed to 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) develop pulmonary fibrosis and senescent alveolar cells. However, the impacts of chronic 1-NP on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the underlying mechanism are unclear. Our research suggested that chronic 1-NP evoked alveolar structure damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and pulmonary function decline in mice.

The photic zones of the oceans—where sunlight and moonlight drive ecological interactions—are one of the most productive habitats on the planet and fundamental to the maintenance of healthy global biogeochemical cycles. Ocean darkening occurs when changes in the optical properties of the oceans reduce the depth to which sufficient light penetrates to facilitate biological processes guided by sunlight

The need for increasing the environmental friendliness of food systems is driving regulatory initiatives aimed at reducing the use of pesticides and supporting organic farming. This scenario is casting a shadow over the suitability of modern cultivars that—shaped by the Green Revolution—have lost competitiveness against weeds. In this context, reducing the use of herbicides could rapidly become a critical

We have committed to ambitious targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework, but projected climate change makes the achievement of many of these targets extremely difficult and will effectively require a significant rethinking in how to achieve multiple targets. In this Opinion, we have chosen to focus on selected targets, considering how their achievement is likely to be compromised by climate

Plants and animals/humans have evolved sophisticated innate immune systems to cope with microbial attack. Innate immunity implies the presence of membrane-located and intracellular receptors to recognize compounds released by damage or by invading pathogens. After detection the receptor molecules initiate intracellular defense signaling, resulting in cell death and/or production of defense molecules

Analysis of genomic data in the past two decades has highlighted the prevalence of introgression as an important evolutionary force in both plants and animals. The genus Drosophila has received much attention recently, with an analysis of genomic sequence data revealing widespread introgression across the species phylogeny for the genus. However, the methods used in the study are based on data summaries

Physiological Reviews, Ahead of Print.