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Ancient rocks reveal Earth’s past warm periods were cooler than thought

Earth’s temperature has been much cooler in the past than previously thought, meaning it could be moving toward the warmest it’s ever been.

Research at the University of Leeds used a new method to understand how warm Earth’s temperature has been over the Phanerozoic period—from around 540 million years ago to the present day.

Studies previously estimated that the planet’s temperature could have reached up to 20 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels during some geological periods, and maybe even up to 30 degrees above preindustrial in earlier times when the first animals evolved.

The silent hormone: How adrenal tumors quietly raise cardiovascular risk over time

A major new study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, has shown that cortisol levels in patients with adrenal tumors are far less stable than previously assumed. The study also found that those in whom cortisol remains persistently elevated carry a significantly greater risk of worsening high blood pressure and a heavier overall cardiometabolic burden.

Cortisol, often referred to as the “stress hormone,” is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands that acts as a master regulator of metabolism, blood pressure and immune function. When benign tumors form on the adrenal glands (found incidentally in 3%–7% of adults), they can cause the body to produce cortisol independently of normal regulatory controls, a condition known as mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS).

Until now, it was unclear how cortisol levels in these patients change over time, and what that means for their long-term health.

Safety, Tolerability, and Metabolic Effects of Long-Acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine in HIV Care: A Comprehensive Review

The use of long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine (LA CAB/RPV) is a novel approach to manage human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This injectable regimen offers benefits such as an improved quality of life, reduced stigma and enhanced treatment satisfaction by minimising the need for daily medication adherence. This review summarises the findings of clinical trials and real-world studies on the safety, tolerability and metabolic effects of LA CAB/RPV, which are areas that have received less extensive coverage in previous reviews. Clinical trial data suggest that LA CAB/RPV is generally safe and well tolerated. The most common side effects were injection site reactions, affecting 70–97% of participants. However, these were typically mild and short lived, rarely leading to treatment discontinuation in fewer than 2–3% of cases.

Small aquatic robots that assemble into reconfigurable structures on the water

Most people think of the waterfront as the edge of the city. A team of MIT researchers sees it as a dynamic, Lego-like construction site. Their new system, called “FloatForm,” is a swarm of small square robotic boats that assemble themselves into larger structures on the water, break apart and reassemble into something new, all with minimal human direction.

Each robot, about the size of a dinner plate at 21 centimeters square (8.3 inches square), is a self-contained vessel with its own thrusters, sensors and magnetic latches. Together, they hint at a future in which floating infrastructure could become more adaptive: a temporary platform after an emergency, a market on a canal or a stage that appears for a festival and dissolves when the crowd goes home.

“Our FloatForm project envisions a future where the waterfront becomes a programmable extension of the city, where autonomous boats can self-organize into bridges, platforms, and other useful structures on demand,” says Daniela Rus, the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). “This kind of distributed robotics opens new possibilities for mobility, emergency response, public space, and infrastructure on water.”

Transparent nanosheets could shrink phone cameras while preserving high-resolution color images

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) nanosheets that may enhance camera resolution in compact devices, including smartphones and medical endoscopes.

These nanosheets enable a single pixel to detect the intensity of red, green and blue (RGB) light while remaining nearly transparent, unlike conventional sensors. They are ultrathin, lightweight and can withstand temperatures up to 400°C (752°F), making them suitable for extreme environments such as space hardware and automotive systems.

The findings were published in the journal ACS Nano.

Human-safe drug repairs DNA in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s

While most current Alzheimer’s treatments focus on beta-amyloid plaques, new research targets early-stage DNA damage and chronic neuroinflammation as critical drivers of the disease. In preclinical mouse models, the drug KCL-286 — a compound already proven safe in human spinal cord injury trials — successfully activated DNA repair genes, healed double-strand DNA breaks in neurons, and significantly reduced neuroinflammation. By addressing these foundational pathological processes, KCL-286 has the potential to slow Alzheimer’s progression rather than merely managing symptoms, offering a promising candidate for early or even asymptomatic intervention. Additionally, the article highlights a separate breakthrough in late-stage care, noting that psilocybin successfully restored speech and motor control in a patient after a decade of battling the disease.

A drug, that has previously been shown to be safe and tolerated by humans, reduces multiple disease-linked features of Alzheimer’s in a mouse model of the disease.

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