Science Magazine

The Venus flytrap is renowned for its ultrafast snap traps, which can capture insects in a fraction of a second. New research reveals that trap closure is triggered by a rapid softening of the epidermal cell walls, uncovering the physical mechanism behind this remarkable movement. Learn more this week in Science: scim.ag/4fG2Bg3

Remotely tracking animals in their natural habitats has become a central pillar of wildlife research. But on land, the process often involves fitting a collar around an animal’s neck that contains a GPS tracker and various sensors. This requires capturing the animal, which isn’t just expensive—it’s also stressful and dangerous for everyone involved. But a biologist sees a better way forward for this field of study, known as wildlife telemetry. He’s now building and experimenting with devices, described in a recent preprint, that would allow researchers to apply collars on animals without needing to capture them. Rethinking how we put collars on animals, he argues, could bring many benefits to wildlife research, such as improving animal welfare and the quantity and quality of data collected at the same time. Learn more: scim.ag/3SC3cWq @NewsfromScience

A laser phase plate improves structure determination of small proteins by cryo-EM, according to a new study in Science. Learn more: scim.ag/4vKcUEw

A whole genome sequencing assay named HPV-DeepSeek sniffs out signs of residual disease after surgery in patients with #HPV+ head and neck cancer, and detects recurrence earlier than digital PCR and standard clinical criteria. @ScienceTM scim.ag/4ooONJb

"[My mother] chose bravery over caution in order to achieve her goals. The lesson was not to guard against every risk, but to press forward anyway, even when it meant being vulnerable." #ScienceWorkingLife scim.ag/4vOIgtV

The Japanese lunar lander SLIM successfully deployed a compact spherical robot that transformed into a wheeled rover and explored the lunar surface, highlighting the promise of small-scale robots for space exploration. Learn more in @SciRobotics: scim.ag/49WO7ER

"The [research project grant] embodies a distinctively American policy instinct: decentralization, competition, bottom-up initiative. Its virtues are structural; its vices are accretions of practice," writes Pierre Azoulay in a new #ScienceEditorial. scim.ag/446lku8

A new @SciImmunology study highlights an approach called Effero-seq, which shows that efferocytosis of tumor cells in mouse models of melanoma can induce protumoral functions in macrophages. scim.ag/4oivO2T

"The goal is not just more capable AI, but AI that is more intelligible, accountable, and aligned with human aims. The window for achieving that future is narrowing," argue Eric Horvitz and Robert West in a new #ScienceEditorial. scim.ag/4ukSMYo

In a new @ScienceAdvances study, researchers present soft, magnetic hair flow sensors that allow autonomous underwater robots to measure their speed and detect upstream objects, demonstrating a potential tool for underwater exploration. scim.ag/4v0lGi0

Key human defenses against pathogens were forged billions of years ago in microbial battles with viruses. Learn more: scim.ag/49pOrM8 @NewsfromScience

A massive effort to sequence the DNA of Vikings across Europe was published in 2020. The study revealed family histories of Vikings who set forth—and died—far from home. Learn more: scim.ag/4eEBSzu #ScienceMagArchives

Cinematic geologists are usually good guys—sometimes gals—but they have a one in three fatality rate, a film analysis shows. Learn more: scim.ag/4tWvqIv @NewsfromScience

Brown bears can be terrifying meat eaters, tearing into salmon, elk, and other prey. But an extinct subspecies from Africa was a strict vegetarian, researchers report. In fact, the diet of this “Atlas bear” was remarkably similar to the elk its modern relatives hunt. The animal’s unusual eating habits may have helped it avoid competition with hypercarnivores such as lions and leopards. Learn more: scim.ag/4eGPp8L @NewsfromScience

A landmark @ScienceTM study shows that latent #HIV can convert CD4+ T cells to CD8+ T cells and identifies the latter as a previously overlooked component of the viral reservoir—a surprising finding with critical implications for HIV cure efforts. 📄: scim.ag/4482ouU

Hundreds of scientists who study cancer and aging have made an easily avoidable but significant mistake, deploying the wrong antibody to test for a key protein, according to a researcher who exposes errors in the biomedical literature. Learn more: scim.ag/4akPaP4 @NewsfromScience

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) form local immune hubs inside tumors, but they are diverse and not all are equally functional. In a new Science study, researchers built a pan-cancer atlas and developed an #AI–based framework to detect and characterize TLSs in human tumors. The study provides insights into TLS biology and may offer a path toward integrating TLS features into future clinical trials. Learn more: scim.ag/4uA1sdQ

How do T cells restrain their activation? A new imaging analysis identifies how the protein PTPN22 controls how #TCells remodel their cytoskeletons to form synapses with their targets—and suggests that defects in this constraint mechanism may contribute to #autoimmunity. @SciSignal scim.ag/4g91zcv

A new Science study shows that bumble bees can position a ball underneath a fake “flower” to reach a reward, suggesting they can exhibit spontaneous problem-solving and challenging the notion that such advanced cognitive abilities are exclusive to large-brained vertebrates. Learn more: scim.ag/4vvcNwr

For one of the biggest and most ferocious predators to ever live, Tyrannosaurus rex sure had puny arms, not much longer than our own. Several other members of its lineage—the diverse group of two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods—had similarly wimpy appendages, and new analyses of the beasts now suggest why. Learn more: scim.ag/3Q1wFbH @NewsfromScience

Works of fiction with strong science themes—some far-fetched, others eerily familiar—once again populate Science’s summer reading list, offering readers carefully refracted views of reality and creative glimpses into possible futures. Learn more about the roundup’s 10 featured titles: scim.ag/4uC5TF1