Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 9 July 2026 · From issue 04

One nerve connection in a worm uses three different channel proteins working together.

Atal Vats, Muraleedharan Sudhanand et al., The combinatorial innexin code of heterochannel electrical synapses governs synaptic function and is maintained by distinct cellular mechanisms, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Also in issue 04 10 papers

A new statistical test can show if custom treatments beat one-size-fits-all options.
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Roots can detect and steer away from rotting plant matter using acid signals in soil.
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A new cell transplant for Parkinson's disease looked safe in a small early trial.
Nature Medicine
A giant 8 million dalton machine in methane making microbes forms one continuous electron loop.
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Two hunger related brain signals control whether ants care for baby ants or go find food instead.
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A computer-designed metal recipe resists cracking better than any past version, while staying strong in extreme heat.
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Random, unsynced nucleus division plus crowding-based branching keeps nuclei evenly spaced in this fungus.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A double-acting HIV antibody was safe and well tolerated in its first human trial.
Nature Medicine
Most US lakes switched from trapping phosphorus to trapping nitrogen over ten years.
Nature Communications

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