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Discover research articles across all indexed journals

AI might jeopardize the uncertainty required in science

Nature Sarah Mikula May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-01605-6

Racial diversity in higher education is associated with higher student salaries

Nature Debanjan Mitra, Peter N. Golder, Mariya Topchy May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10425-7

A soft diet attenuates exercise-induced increases in cortical bone density and formation in long bones in growing mice

Scientific Reports Yasuhiro Shimizu, Fatma Rashed, Huan Cao et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52803-1

Why AI cannot do good science without humans

Nature May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-01551-3

Space- and time-agnostic imaging of subwavelength electromagnetic sources

Scientific Reports Elias Le Boudec, David Martínez, Hamidreza Karami et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53114-1

Abstract The imaging of electromagnetic interference sources in devices is an interesting tool for electromagnetic compatibility pre-compliance testing, but it poses three significant challenges: i) the sources size is often subwavelength, meaning that the diffraction limit hinders their imaging, and the ii) spatial and iii) temporal features of the sources are uncontrolled. Indeed, in space, their spurious propagation occurs in devices with arbitrary shapes and materials; and in time, they occur either because of unintended radiation from digital or analogue signals, or because of random pulsed events such as electrostatic discharges. To overcome these issues, we i) propose to use the time reversal technique in conjunction with a resonant metalens for subwavelength imaging of these interference sources. We report the first single-shot subwavelength image of an electrostatic discharge, enabling to distinguish radiation from two PCB traces spaced 8 mm apart. ii) To achieve device (space) agnosticism, the imaging method does not require simulation of the device or its environment thanks to a combination of frequency-domain data obtained through a scanner and time-domain data radiated from the device. iii) To ensure flexibility in the source frequency band, we present a novel design for a metalens that operates in a desired frequency band within the gigahertz range, thanks to effective medium theory.

The uncritical adoption of AI in science is alarming — we urgently need guard rails

Nature Lisa Messeri, M. J. Crockett May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-01557-x

Genetics reveal why people respond differently to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs

Nature Ruth J. F. Loos May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-00905-1

Sea ice dynamics structure narwhal presence and seasonal movements in a Northwest Greenland fjord system

Scientific Reports Julie Sofie K. Larsen, Michael Ladegaard, Peter T. Madsen et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53787-8

Abstract The Arctic is experiencing unprecedented environmental change, with diminishing sea ice reshaping marine ecosystems. The narwhal ( Monodon monoceros ) exhibits strong site fidelity during seasonal movements and continued sea-ice decline has the potential to alter important habitats. This study aimed to understand narwhal presence at different sea-ice stages by combining long-term passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) with satellite-derived sea ice data from Inglefield Bredning, Northwest Greenland (June 2022–September 2025). Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) revealed a highly significant effect of sea-ice stage on narwhal acoustic activity ( p  < 0.001). Activity peaked during partial ice cover (β = 1.73 ± 0.17, p  < 0.001) but declined sharply under open-water and freeze-up conditions (β = − 0.98 ± 0.19, p  < 0.001). These results demonstrate that narwhal presence is closely synchronized with sea-ice timing and extent, emphasizing the marginal ice zone as a key ecological feature that narwhals exploit, likely because it provides both feeding opportunities and refuge from predators. Continued loss of seasonal sea ice is therefore expected to alter narwhal movement patterns, potentially increasing fjord residency and reducing inter-fjord movements. Such behavioural shifts could have cascading ecological effects, altering prey dynamics and reducing genetic exchange among regional narwhal groups.

Alignment between physician and patient perceptions of antidepressant treatment outcomes in routine clinical practice

Scientific Reports Luis Caballero-Martínez, Francisco J. Campos-Lucas, Diana Monge-Martín et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53437-z

Internal desynchrony of the hepatic circadian system with dissociated systemic rhythms in middle-aged mice under social jet lag-like conditions

Scientific Reports Saki Fukushima, Dan Yang, Tatsumi Morita et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53698-8

A 2 to 16 GHz dual polarized end fire ETS array with corrugated edges for unified ECC evaluation framework

Scientific Reports Zihe Wang, Mengxin Li, Zi-Neng Ng et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53884-8

DNA-folding changes block production of self-directed antibodies

Nature Zeqian Gao, Joan Boyes May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-01329-7

Timing-induced illusory percepts of pitch

Scientific Reports Jesse K. Pazdera, Olive M. Rinaldi, Laurel J. Trainor May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53525-0

Abstract It has long been proposed that the brain integrates pitch and timing cues during auditory perception. If true, the pitch of a sound should influence its perceived timing, and its timing should influence its perceived pitch. Previous research has found that higher-pitched sounds tend to be perceived as faster than lower-pitched sounds, and in the present study we investigated whether sounds that arrive earlier or later than expected are similarly perceived as higher or lower in pitch. In Experiment 1, participants heard isochronous, repeating standard tones followed by a pitch-shifted probe, and indicated if the pitch increased or decreased. We observed a strong biasing effect of the probe’s timing on its perceived pitch, such that later probes were more likely to be perceived as lower than the standard. Correct, bias-conforming responses to mistimed probes were also significantly faster than responses to on-beat probes. In Experiment 2, we used an adaptive difficulty procedure to investigate whether this timing-induced bias strengthens under conditions of low discriminability. We did not find evidence that bias varies with the magnitude of pitch change or with individual differences in pitch sensitivity. In conjunction with past findings of pitch-induced illusory timing changes, our results support the hypothesis that pitch and time are perceptually integrated. We discuss this integration within a Bayesian predictive coding framework, as possibly learned from real-world correlations between pitch and timing that derive from latent properties of sound sources.

Asymmetric selection of a rice immune module and rebuild of disease resistance

Nature Hui Lin, Fudan Chen, Guanyun Cheng et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10361-6

Assessing and mitigating traffic crash risks using interpretable machine learning techniques

Scientific Reports Adnan Yousaf, Jianping Wu, Deqing Huang et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-52834-8

The Enhanced Games miss the point: science can clean up sport

Nature Kim Wolff May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-01574-w

In-situ fabrication of a soluble PVP/ snail mucus-based fibrous facial mask via handheld electrospinning

Scientific Reports Nazlı Ecem Tağrısever, Rumeysa Bilginer-Kartal, Burçin İzbudak et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-51633-5

Protein engineering fixes a major crop trade-off

Nature Jie Liu, Jianbing Yan May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-00293-6

Targeting the outer membrane porin OprF restores carbapenem efficacy during experimental sepsis caused by NDM-1-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Scientific Reports S. Herrera-Espejo, J. Findlay, J. M. Cisneros et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-53218-8

PFAS exposure induces hearing loss by targeting cochlear hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons

Scientific Reports Pankaj Bhatia, Katherine Roth, Zhao Yang et al. May 21, 2026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-51693-7