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Plants don’t just grow, they build. From towering trees to delicate flowers, complex plant shapes are sculpted with remarkable precision. Now a study by biologists and biophysicists at Université de Montréal reveals how plants build their organs in three dimensions.

Anthers—the male reproductive organs of flowers—are crucial structures responsible for producing and releasing pollen and play a key role in fertilization, a process necessary for fruit and , the scientists say in their paper, published last week in Nature Plants.

It’s the first time that scientists have successfully reverse-engineered the physical properties of cells located deep within a plant organ based on experimental data.

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Researchers have discovered that the underside of the North American continent is dripping away in blobs of rock—and that the remnants of a tectonic plate sinking in Earth’s mantle may be the reason why.

A paper published in Nature Geoscience describes the phenomenon, which was discovered at The University of Texas at Austin. It’s the first time that “cratonic thinning” may be captured in action.

“We made the observation that there could be something beneath the ,” said the study’s lead author Junlin Hua, who conducted the research during a postdoctoral fellowship at UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences. “Luckily, we also got the new idea about what drives this thinning.”

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A new study reveals that how your brain reacts to food purchasing decisions can be used to determine your political affiliation with almost 80% accuracy.

Researchers from Iowa State University, the University of Kansas Medical Center, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Exeter in England used brain imaging techniques to examine adults purchasing eggs and milk with various prices and produced in different ways.

Interestingly, the purchases did not significantly differ by the adults’ political party. What differed by political affiliation, were the areas of the brain that were active during the purchases. The study is published in the journal Politics and the Life Sciences.

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Research led by Children’s Hospital of Fudan University in China has found that a gene called pancreatic progenitor cell differentiation and proliferation factor (PPDPF) helps protect kidney cells by supporting enzymes involved in maintaining cellular energy levels during chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 15% of the global population and is currently the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Treatments that can slow the progression of this condition remain limited.

Genome-wide association studies have identified nearly 800 genetic loci associated with kidney function, yet more than 90% of these variants are located in noncoding regions. Specific genes and involved in early-stage remain incompletely understood.

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Scientists at Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, and the Department of Neurosciences and Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the causes of spina bifida, a serious birth defect affecting thousands of newborns each year.

The new study, published in Nature, reveals critical insights into how this condition develops and opens the door for potential future treatments.

Spina bifida, or meningomyelocele, occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly during early pregnancy. Most often identified during prenatal ultrasound, the condition can lead to lifelong disabilities of the lower limbs and bladder. Newborn sequencing is not routinely used in this condition because causes remain unknown. While researchers have long understood certain environmental risk factors, the new study provides a deeper look into the molecular mechanisms underlying the condition.

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A new interdisciplinary study by researchers from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Technion reveals a surprising insight: local release of dopamine—a molecule best known for its role in the brain’s reward system—is a key factor in acquiring new motor skills

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Europe’s CERN laboratory said on Monday that a detailed analysis revealed no technical obstacles to building the world’s biggest particle collider, even as critics took issue with the “pharaonic” $17-billion project.

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) project is essential for ensuring that Europe maintains its global leadership in , CERN chief Fabiola Gianotti told AFP.

“There is real competition” from China in particular, she cautioned, hailing that the giant FCC “project is absolutely on the good track” and urging states to release the funding needed to move forward.

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With increased awareness about food sources and their environmental impacts, replacing animal-derived products in food and drugs is a significant research area. One common—but often overlooked—animal protein is gelatin, found everywhere from candy to plastic-free packaging.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers from the University of Ottawa present gum tragacanth as a plant-based alternative to for creating edible films.

“Gelatin has unique properties and its use is versatile,” said author Ezgi Pulatsu. “To fully replace gelatin, we must replicate its microstructure and understand its function in different applications.”

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Capturing precise 3D details with a single camera has long been a challenge. Traditional methods often require complex dual-camera setups or specialized lighting conditions that are impractical for real-world applications. However, a groundbreaking approach developed at Nanjing University is set to redefine 3D imaging.

In our latest research, published in Optica, we introduce a cutting-edge snapshot polarization stereo imaging system (SPSIM), as shown in Fig. 1. This innovative system integrates metasurface optics with to extract highly detailed 3D shape information in real time.

Unlike conventional methods that rely on multiple polarizers or sequential exposures, SPSIM utilizes a specially engineered metasurface lens to capture full-Stokes polarization data in a single shot. With an extinction ratio of 25 dB—comparable to commercial polarizers—and an unprecedented central wavelength efficiency of 65%, our system outperforms standard polarization cameras.

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Eye tracking plays a critical role in the latest virtual and augmented reality headsets and is an important technology in the entertainment industry, scientific research, medical and behavioral sciences, automotive driving assistance and industrial engineering. Tracking the movements of the human eye with high accuracy, however, is a daunting challenge.

Researchers at the University of Arizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences have now demonstrated an innovative approach that could revolutionize eye-tracking applications.

Their study, published in Nature Communications, finds that integrating a powerful 3D imaging technique known as deflectometry with advanced computation has the potential to significantly improve state-of-the-art eye tracking technology.

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