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Farmers will need to increase crop yields to feed the world's growing population efficiently. The authors here investigate the effects of growing corn in the presence or absence of ragweed, an invasive weed found in many fields and gardens. Surprisingly, the authors found that corn grown in the presence of weeds grew taller and were more productive than corn that had weeds removed. This may help gardeners rethink the necessity of weeding, and may point a way to improve farm yields in the future.

Plants in the wild compete with each other for nutrients and sunlight. Kudzu is a weed that is thought to secrete compounds that inhibit the growth of other plants. Here the authors find that certain parts of kudzu plants can block the germination of clover and dandelion seeds. These experiments may lead to a weed killer that is safe and naturally derived.

The authors test the effect of insecticide exposure on mouse neurodevelopment.

This study examines how environmental conditions influence the abundance and ecological role of the sea cucumber Opheodesoma spectabilis in Kāneʻohe Bay. Field observations and laboratory experiments showed that the species is more common in algae-dominated sandy habitats, where it improves water clarity and increases dissolved oxygen through bioturbation. However, exposure to very high temperatures caused rapid mortality, suggesting that marine heat waves could threaten this species and the ecological functions it provides.

Here the authors propose integrating magnetic iron (II) oxide nanoparticles into the high-density polyethylene linings of disposable paper cups to create a waterproof, magnetically responsive composite liner. Their findings demonstrate that these nanoparticles successfully bond with the plastic layer without disrupting its structural integrity, offering a viable method to improve plastic recovery through magnetic recycling and mitigate global microplastic pollution.

This study investigates the ability of Gymnema sylvestre tea to acutely suppress sweet taste perception across various food groups. Our findings demonstrate how this natural botanical can reduce sugar cravings, offering a potential complementary strategy for managing dietary intake in type 2 diabetes.

This study found that anxiety induced by a suspenseful story increased communication between the brain’s salience, default mode, and central executive networks, with the central executive network acting as a bridge during peak tension. These findings suggest that anxiety alters large-scale brain connectivity patterns and may help inform future diagnostic tools and personalized treatments for anxiety disorders.

The authors studied the effect of potassium bromate, a common food additive, to cell viability.

The authors looked at the ability of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to sort contaminated recycling, with varying levels of contamination. They found as contamination levels increased, the CNN faced more difficulty correctly classifying items.

The authors use computational methods to compare tau acetylation to the better studied tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease and then design and computationally test a new drug to prevent abnormal post-translational modifications of tau.