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Articles by T. J. Wright
Heritability of intrinsic human life span is about 50% when confounding factors are addressed
Editor’s summary Many researchers have tried to understand longevity in humans and what could be done to improve it. However, this is a difficult topic to study because it takes a long time to collect data on human life spans, and many different factors can contribute to mortality. One key distinction is between extrinsic mortality (violence, accidents, infections, etc.) and intrinsic mortality due to genetic mutations and/or aging-related diseases. Shenhar et al.
In Other Journals
Cell Biology Sensing forces to control growth L. Bryan Ray How cells precisely respond to external cues to regulate growth during processes such as wound healing is not fully understood. Mukherjee et al. identified a central role of changes in membrane potential to allow such regulation. They found that in various mammalian cell lines, cellular biomass density, often assumed to be constant for a given cell type, was in fact variable.
In Science Journals
Tectonics A map of how Tibet flows Angela Hessler The Tibetan Plateau, pictured here, is an important region for understanding continent-scale faulting and crustal deformation. PHOTO: ZHANG MENGYANG/GETTY IMAGES The Tibetan Plateau is the roof of the world, but it also cracks and bends more than any other place. Wright et al. compiled thousands of satellite radar images of the plateau to make the highest-resolution view available of its deforming surface.
High-precision tracking of human foragers reveals adaptive social information use in the wild
Editor’s summary Like other animals, humans use environmental cues to determine where and how to find food. Foraging is also generally a social activity, yet the role of social information in humans’ foraging decisions is poorly understood. Schakowski et al. used ice-fishing competitions in eastern Finland to observe the roles of environmental and social information in decisions about where to fish and when to move on to another spot (see the Perspective by Todd and Hills).
Fossil energy minimum viable scale
Policy Forum Energy Transition Unseen infrastructural threats to safety and decarbonization may arise as fossil energy systems are phased out Joshua Lappen and Emily GrubertAuthors Info & Affiliations Abstract The nascent global energy transition involves two parallel, mirrored processes: the retirement of existing fossil fuel–based infrastructure, and the widespread deployment of alternatives in its stead.
Planning policy undermines UK’s nature goals
Joshua Elves-Powell, Jan C. Axmacher, and Joan EdwardsAuthors Info & Affiliations Access the full article View all access options to continue reading this article. References and Notes 1 Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, “Environmental improvement plan 2023” (Defra, 2023). 2 R. Cooke et al., Biologic. Conserv. 278, 109884 (2023). 3 T. Starnes et al., Glob. Ecol. Conserv. 30, e01745 (2021). 4 K. Chapman, M. Tait, S.
Controlling plastic behavior with light
Abstract Biological materials such as bones and cartilage are often composed of materials with widely different mechanical properties for active adaptation in dynamic environments (1). For example, hard calcium phosphate minerals are embedded in soft protein matrices (collagen) to constitute bones (2). The spatial gradient of hard and soft domains provides superior mechanical toughness, which is essential for resisting fracture under stress.
Soils drive convergence in the regulation of vascular tension in land plants
Editor’s summary Plants transport columns of water through the vasculature to leaves under tension. Looking across diverse species inhabiting varying environments, Carminati et al. established that there is a narrow range of leaf vascular tension thresholds at which transpiration starts to decline. Using a theoretical model, the authors found that this convergence in leaf vascular tension threshold can be explained by the physical constraints of soil properties on water extraction by roots.
High-resolution geodetic velocities reveal role of weak faults in deformation of Tibetan Plateau
Editor’s summary The Tibetan Plateau is the roof of the world, but it also cracks and bends more than any other place. Wright et al. compiled thousands of satellite radar images of the plateau to make the highest-resolution view available of its deforming surface. Together with ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, the authors observed velocity patterns that tell the story of a continental collision and its northward pile-up and east-west collapse.
DNA-protein cross-links promote cGAS-STING-driven premature aging and embryonic lethality
Editor’s summary DNA can become trapped in harmful knots with proteins. These DNA-protein cross-links interfere with normal cell functions and, if not repaired, cause errors when cells divide. Tomaskovic et al. found that the enzyme SPRTN protects against these problems by removing cross-links. When SPRTN is missing, damaged DNA leaks into the cell’s interior, where it mistakenly triggers immune defenses.
Wafer-scale ultrathin and uniform van der Waals ferroelectric oxide
Editor’s summary The ferroelectric oxide Bi2SeO5 has a high-dielectric constant that enables high-performance ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs). Wu et al. oxidized Bi2O2Se films grown on 10-centimeter sapphire substrates to form Bi2SeO5 films at temperatures compatible with chip fabrication (see the Perspective by Behera and Cheema). These films exhibited robust ferroelectricity at monolayer thickness.
The evolution of gene regulation in mammalian cerebellum development
Editor’s summary The mechanisms underlying brain development during evolution remain to be fully elucidated. Sarropulos et al.
Aging drives a program of DNA methylation decay in plant organs
Editor’s summary DNA methylation typically represses the expression of transposable elements. Studying this process in a short-lived plant, Dai et al. found that epigenetic silencing of transposable elements declined as organs aged. However, this epigenetic aging did not occur in the self-renewing stem cell pools of shoot apical meristems, thereby resetting the aging clock in newly formed organs.
Solving the ferroelectric scaling trilemma
Perspective Electronic Materials A robust oxide ferroelectric-semiconductor interface realizes an energy-efficient memory for computing Piush Behera and Suraj S. CheemaAuthors Info & Affiliations Abstract Artificial intelligence requires enormous energy to power extensive computation, process complex algorithms, and train models on vast datasets.
Muscle stem cells trade functionality for survival
Abstract Aging affects nearly all cells of an organism. However, not all cells and tissues are affected equally and individuals do not age similarly, which highlights the disparity between chronological and biological aging (1). Proposed hallmarks of aging include the reduction of stem cell numbers, induction of cellular senescence (cessation of cell division), and altered intercellular communication (1).
China turns the tables in biotech
For at least a century, major scientific research initiatives have reliably occurred in the United States, usually in response to geopolitical competition. This helped establish the country’s status as a global scientific power, enabling the US to set the standards for new technologies and pave the way forward. That edge began to erode around 20 years ago with the success of Chinese universities in engineering and materials science.
Public access’s next frontier
In the past two decades, the scientific world has waged an extraordinary campaign for openness. As paywalls fell and repositories surged, what had once been locked away could now be read by most anyone with an internet connection. If open was the goal, this must have felt like victory.
The essential nature of creative endeavors
Skip to main content Main content starts here Access the full article View all access options to continue reading this article. Books 1 Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives Daisy Fancourt Celadon Books, 2026. 320 pp. Information & Authors Information Published In Science Volume 391 | Issue 6784 29 January 2026 Copyright Copyright © 2026 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
Omori-like decay of postseismic velocities following continental earthquakes
Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the transient, enhanced surface deformation rates following earthquakes. Unfortunately, these different mechanisms can produce very similar surface deformation patterns leading to difficulty in distinguishing between them. Here, we return to the observations themselves and compile near-field postseismic velocity measurements following moderate to large continental earthquakes.
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