Journalists

The claim that one type of tree—Picea abies—can anticipate a solar eclipse through electrical signals is based ‘on speculative interpretations and unsupported evolutionary assumptions,’ according to an opinion piece published in the journal Trends in Plant Science. The paper refutes another from 2025 that claimed these trees synchronised their bioelectrical behaviour hours before a solar eclipse in Italy's Dolomite region. According to the authors of the new article, this electrical activity can be explained by temperature changes and atmospheric electrical discharges.

Statins are a group of drugs widely used to lower cholesterol levels and reduce cardiovascular risk. Although they have been associated with various adverse effects, a meta-analysis of 19 clinical trials with more than 120,000 participants in total concludes that only four of the 66 side effects listed in the package inserts are caused by statins themselves and the risks are very low. The authors, who published their findings in The Lancet, recommend revising the current list of side effects on statin labels to better reflect the evidence so that patients and doctors can make clearer and more informed decisions about treatment.

A study published in Science shows a global increase in the toxicity and ecological harm caused by pesticides, contrary to the United Nations’ goal of halving pesticide-related risks by 2030. The authors analysed Total Applied Toxicity (TAT), which accounts for both pesticide use and toxicity, at a global scale between 2013 and 2019. The data covered the risks of 625 pesticides across eight species groups and 65 countries, representing 79.4% of global cropland. TAT increased in six of the eight species groups, including all invertebrate groups and terrestrial plants, and only Chile would meet the target of reducing pesticide risk by 50% by 2030.

Device-independent quantum key distribution (DI-QKD) is a key step toward the quantum internet, as it provides the highest level of cryptographic security allowed by quantum mechanics. For it to have practical applications in a communication network, it must be achieved between nodes that are sufficiently far apart. An article published in Science demonstrates DI-QKD for the first time between two single-atom nodes connected by 100-kilometer-long fibers. This distance would be sufficient to achieve cryptographic security at a metropolitan scale.

Two researchers from Johns Hopkins University (United States) have shown for the first time, through three experiments, that apes can use their imagination and play pretend, a skill previously thought to be unique to humans. During the study, Kanzi, a 43-year-old bonobo, tasted imaginary glasses of juice and bowls of imaginary grapes. According to the researchers, ‘imagination has long been considered a crucial element of the human condition, but the idea that it is not unique to our species is truly transformative.’ The results are published in Science.

A study published in The BMJ suggests that the incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is comparable between boys and girls. The study included a sample of more than 2.7 million people born in Sweden between 1985 and 2020 who were followed from birth to a maximum age of 37. More than 78,000 were diagnosed with ASD. It was observed that boys are usually diagnosed between the ages of 10 and 14, five years earlier than girls. By the age of 20, the proportion of diagnoses is almost equal between the sexes. Before the age of 10, the ratio is 3:1 in favour of boys.

A team in China has studied the ability of a test to detect the human papillomavirus (HPV)—responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers—in menstrual blood from more than 3,000 women. The results indicate that the test is comparable to current screening performed in medical offices. According to the researchers, “Using menstrual blood for HPV testing is practical and non-invasive, allowing women to collect samples at home and thus potentially offering a practical way to expand access to screening.” The study is published in The BMJ. 

A study published in Nature suggests that a brain network that controls the execution of actions (SCAN), which was described in 2023, plays an important role in Parkinson's disease. Focusing treatments—such as transcranial stimulation—on the SCAN rather than other brain regions associated with movement could improve their effectiveness, according to the research.

The inclusion of transgender women in women's sports categories is a controversial decision. To compare body composition and physical fitness between transgender and cisgender women, a team from Brazil has conducted a meta-analysis encompassing 52 studies and 6,485 individuals, analysing these values before and after gender-affirming hormone therapy. Although trans women showed greater lean mass—an indicator of muscle mass—there were no significant differences in upper or lower body strength, nor in maximum oxygen consumption, compared to cis women one to three years after hormone therapy. ‘The current evidence is, for the most part, of low certainty and heterogeneous quality, but it does not support theories about the inherent athletic advantages of trans women over cis women,’ say the authors of the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

In 2022, approximately four out of every 10 new cancer cases worldwide were due to modifiable risk factors, primarily tobacco or alcohol consumption and infections, including those caused by the human papillomavirus or H. pylori bacteria. These are some of the conclusions of a global study led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), published in Nature Medicine. In Spain, 41.8% of cancer cases in men are attributed to modifiable external factors, compared to 26.1% in women, with smoking remaining the main factor (28.5% and 9.9%, respectively). The analysis is based on data from 185 countries.