‘I’m Really Terrified’: A Mathematician Grapples With AI’s Recent Breakthroughs
Steven Strogatz coauthored a book about how math is moving beyond human understanding. He spoke with WIRED about the seismic impact artificial intelligence has had on his life’s work.
[PERSPECTIVES] ECOLOGY: A Head Start for Some Redstarts
Most ornithologists working in Europe, Canada, and North America arduously study breeding patterns of migratory birds, while ignoring molting, migration, and the time migratory birds spend in their southern wintering grounds. In his Perspective, Hill comments that the introduction of new techniques that measure, for example, isotope ratios in bird feathers is enabling ornithologists to analyze these long-ignored aspects of the annual life cycle of migratory birds (Norris et al.).
Author: Geoffrey E. Hill
[PERSPECTIVES] MICROBIOLOGY: Peptide Signals Sense and Destroy Target Cells
It is well established that bacteria secrete signals enabling them to communicate with other members of the same species and also with other bacterial populations. In an illuminating Perspective, Garsin discusses a cytolysin signal produced by a human pathogen, Enterococcus faecalis, that enables the bacterium to sense host target cells from afar and to ramp up production of cytolysin such that target cells are efficiently lysed (Coburn et al.).
Author: Danielle A. Garsin
[REVIEW] Toward a Systems Approach to Understanding Plant Cell Walls
Authors: Chris Somerville, Stefan Bauer, Ginger Brininstool, Michelle Facette, Thorsten Hamann, Jennifer Milne, Erin Osborne, Alex Paredez, Staffan Persson, Ted Raab, Sonja Vorwerk, Heather Youngs
People trust scientists seen to be ‘on their side’, UK study find
Nature, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02883-w Politics and personal values influence people’s confidence in scientists, […]
El Niño goes viral — and scientists learn what makes people care about the climate
Nature, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02763-3 Evoking emotions is more likely to prompt people to […]
Successful early-career scientists rely on network of mentors
Nature, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02827-4 Large networks are particularly beneficial to researchers in under-represented […]