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Many disease-driving proteins sit outside cells, where they have been difficult to remove with conventional medicines. A new study shows how they can be linked to the cell’s own waste-disposal system and sent for degradation. That opens a new way to treat diseases in which the problem is not only what a protein does, but that it keeps being there.

Changing when you eat may not rewire how the heart fuels itself – but it may rapidly restore how well blood can reach it. Volunteers followed alternate-day fasting, and researchers found striking improvement in arterial function – a key predictor of heart disease outcomes, essentially how well the heart can increase blood flow when it needs more oxygen. Such changes are usually achieved only with…

Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse 20 years of climate and yield data from European wheat fields to identify which factors – and, crucially, when in the year – shape yields and how this may influence future harvests. Farmers need to pay attention to very specific moments in the year, says a researcher.

Mass loss from the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is already accelerating – and new simulations suggest that it could be shedding 180–200 billion tonnes of ice per year within 50 years. But the study points to something more consequential: the most severe future may depend not only on what the glacier does but on whether scientists train their models in ways that enable them to see it.

For decades, obesity was framed as a question of willpower. Through rare patients, missing hormones and bold clinical experiments, Sadaf Farooqi helped to prove that biology regulates appetite. Her work has transformed obesity science, enabled new treatments and challenged the stigma faced by people living with obesity. That shift is what the EASO–Novo Nordisk Foundation Obesity Prize for Excelle…

Excess weight among fathers can leave biological traces in sperm – tiny molecular signals that are carried into the fertilised egg – and may impair the child’s ability to regulate blood glucose and burn energy, especially for boys. The link has been demonstrated in mice and is supported by findings in sperm from overweight men.

Attempts to develop grain crops such as wheat or maize that can be harvested year after year have repeatedly failed. What remains are cereal varieties that are neither truly annual nor perennial, but something in between – and that do not fulfil their intended purpose. Yet these failed experiments may end up solving a completely different major problem in agriculture.

Eating disorders surged during the COVID-19 pandemic – and in Denmark, the rise has not fully reversed. New registry data reveal a sharp and persistent increase, particularly among girls aged 10–14 years, raising concern that the crisis may leave lasting marks on a generation.

A thin, white film on the leaves can be the first sign – but the consequences are lower yields, higher costs and a growing reliance on fungicides. Now researchers show that a powdery mildew fungus from eastern North America has spread to several other parts of the world. By combining new and historical samples, they have mapped its global path.

When pregnant women develop heart failure, the immune system itself may drive the disease. A new study identifies two proteins as key actors and offers a rare mechanistic explanation for an otherwise poorly understood condition.

A new algorithm can predict type 2 diabetes years before it is normally detected by analysing younger patients’ health data. If the tool is put into use, doctors could use already collected health data to identify disease risk several years earlier in patients under the age of 40. The study illustrates a growing field of research in which artificial intelligence (AI) analyses health records for e…

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help blind and visually impaired people make sense of the world around them – while also exposing where it falls short. The AI systems solve many tasks correctly, but they lack a built-in stop button when the evidence is too thin. In other words, they cannot reliably distinguish between knowledge and qualified guesswork – and often respond without signalling uncer…

Some of nature’s toughest materials – such as woody biomass, other plant fibres and crustacean shells – are built to resist degradation. Vincent Eijsink helped uncover how nature gets around that barrier, opening new possibilities for turning biological resources into fuels, chemicals and materials – work that earned him the 2026 Novonesis Biotechnology Prize.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by mutations in the largest gene in the human genome. Instead of trying to replace it, Francesco Muntoni helped to pioneer a strategy that makes cells skip the faulty segment when reading the gene. The approach – known as exon skipping – can restore production of dystrophin, the missing muscle protein. It has opened a new path in genetic medicine and earned M…

A new antivenom works against the venoms of 17 out of 18 African elapid snake species, including cobras, mambas and rinkhals, in animal studies – pointing towards a future in which knowing exactly which type of snake delivered the bite may no longer be essential. This could prove crucial in regions where thousands of people die each year because the correct antivenom is not available. But a resea…

A large study using wearable data from nearly 100,000 people suggests that lower activity levels do not cause Parkinson’s but are an early sign of the disease – raising the possibility of detecting it years earlier and intervening sooner.

A team of researchers has found that the gut bacteria of people with bowel cancer are more often infected with viruses. This suggests that not only the bacteria themselves but also what lives inside them may decide how the disease develops.

A large meta-analysis – combining results from 110 studies and more than 2.4 million observations – finds that interventions aimed at changing consumer food behaviour have much smaller effects than many had hoped. Nevertheless, some interventions stand out: policies that change the choice environment – such as defaults and availability – consistently outperform information campaigns and labels.

Persistent dental problems in childhood are linked to a higher risk of atherosclerosis later in life. Children with many cavities and inflamed gums are more likely to end up with heart disease. School dental care may therefore be a previously overlooked place to identify signs of disease risk long before illness appears.

If each country in the European Union is required to reach net zero individually, total system costs rise by just 1.4%. In return, investment in renewables and direct air capture increases – and a continent-wide CO₂ transport network becomes central to Europe’s future energy system.