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Why small, climate-vulnerable island states punch well above their weight in UN climate talks

Few diplomatic organizations punch above their weight quite like the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis). With no fixed budget, no permanent secretariat and no formal charter, it has still managed to shape some of the most important climate agreements of the past few decades—including the 1.5°C target that underpins the Paris agreement.

Why top firms paradoxically fire good workers

Why do the world's most prestigious firms—such as McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and other elite consulting giants, investment banks, and law practices—hire the brightest talents, train them intensively, and then, after a few years, send many of them packing? A recent study in the American Economic Review concludes that so-called adverse selection is not a flaw but rather a sign that the system is working precisely as intended.

New theory promises faster, more accurate predictions of chemical reaction energetics

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new theoretical framework that could dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of predicting chemical reaction energetics without sacrificing accuracy. Led by chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Alexander V. Mironenko, the team introduces a method that may one day replace the current computational models used in quantum chemistry.

Algorithm finds smallest dataset that guarantees optimal solutions to complex problems

Determining the least expensive path for a new subway line underneath a metropolis like New York City is a colossal planning challenge—involving thousands of potential routes through hundreds of city blocks, each with uncertain construction costs. Conventional wisdom suggests extensive field studies across many locations would be needed to determine the costs associated with digging below certain city blocks.

Seal mothers care for deceased pups, exhibiting unique mammalian behavior in Antarctic predator species

A new paper by University of Rhode Island post-doctoral researchers Emily Sperou and Renato Borras-Chavez published in the journal Polar Biology discusses a unique phenomenon observed in a reclusive Antarctic animal: postmortem attentive behavior, or PAB, in the solitary leopard seal. The two are members of URI's CEAL Lab in the Department of Natural Resources Science.

Humans are evolved for nature, not cities, say anthropologists

A new paper by evolutionary anthropologists Colin Shaw (University of Zurich) and Daniel Longman (Loughborough University) argues that modern life has outpaced human evolution. The study suggests that chronic stress and many modern health issues are the result of an evolutionary mismatch between our primarily nature-adapted biology and the industrialized environments we now inhabit.

A 'problem' leads to potential solutions for injured reptiles

We know—and love—the Turtle Rescue Team here at The Abstract. But their work isn't just limited to our shelled friends: snakes are sometimes visitors to the TRT as well. In a recent study published in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Greg Lewbart, professor of aquatic, wildlife and zoological medicine and Savannah Dunn, 2024 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, compiled 25 years' worth of case studies on their slithery patients.

Nanoparticles promise swift Vibrio control for safer seafood and healthier fish

Vibrio bacteria are major pathogens in the aquaculture industry, triggering vibriosis—a disease that can cause mortality rates of up to 90% within two days. This not only results in billions of dollars in economic losses globally but also poses a threat to food safety through contaminated aquatic products. Conventional detection methods for Vibrio require three to five days to yield results, and they often involve additional sterilization steps, making it nearly impossible to promptly control the spread of Vibrio infections.

How a genetic circuit may have helped the evolution of insect wings

In most developing tissues, signals called morphogens act like lighthouses, guiding nearby cells toward their fate and telling them what to become. Each cell relies on such signals for organized structures like organs and limbs to form. But as Jean-Paul Vincent explains, "for life to evolve large structures, those signals need to reach particularly far."

Black families pay more to keep their houses warm than average American families

Rising energy costs consume a bigger and bigger chunk of family budgets in the United States. Our research has found that for many African American families, those costs take an extra big bite out of their incomes. This bite, the percentage of a household's income used to pay energy bills, is called a household's "energy burden."

Many displaced girls in Uganda trapped in cycles of sexual, physical violence

Nearly 36% of forcibly displaced adolescent girls and young women living in urban informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda, reported that their first sexual experience was nonconsensual—which, for many, marked the beginning of a cycle of sexual and physical violence perpetrated by their intimate partners or other people, according to a recent study.

Wine grape still carries molecular memory of its ancestry after 400 years, study finds

About 400 years ago, a cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc gave birth to cabernet sauvignon. Today, cabernet sauvignon is the world's most-planted wine grape, dominating vineyards from Napa to Bordeaux. New research from the University of California, Davis, reveals that the grape still carries a kind of gene memory of its parents.

Quantum teleportation between photons from two distant light sources achieved

Everyday life on the internet is insecure. Hackers can break into bank accounts or steal digital identities. Driven by AI, attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Quantum cryptography promises more effective protection. It makes communication secure against eavesdropping by relying on the laws of quantum physics. However, the path toward a quantum internet is still fraught with technical hurdles.

Intra-Arterial Thrombolysis After Thrombectomy

Neurological disorders are the leading cause of disease burden worldwide. Stroke is the single largest contributor to that burden, and the second leading cause of global mortality. Approximately two-thirds of strokes are ischemic. Although 20% of ischemic strokes are large vessel occlusions, this subtype of stroke accounts for 60% to 90% of poststroke dependence or death, contributing disproportionately to societal burden. Acute stroke therapy is guided by the reperfusion hypothesis: when a cerebral artery is occluded, all downstream tissue is at risk of infarction and irreversible neuronal death. Recovery depends on rapid restoration of blood flow to the at-risk tissue (the ischemic penumbra); hence the term time is brain.

FOXQ1 Regulates Brain Endothelial Mitochondrial Function by Orchestrating Calcium Signaling and Cristae Morphology

FOXQ1 emerges as a master transcriptional regulator of brain endothelial metabolism, orchestrating mitochondrial function through dual control of calcium signaling and cristae organization. This study reveals that brain endothelial cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis alone, challenging the current metabolic paradigm and providing new mechanistic insights into cerebrovascular specialization with important implications for neurological diseases. Abstract The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) maintains brain homeostasis through specialized functions including tight junction formation and selective transport of brain endothelial cells (ECs). While ECs are generally thought to rely primarily on glycolysis for energy production, the transcriptional mechanisms underlying their metabolic specialization in the brain endothelium remain poorly understood, especially considering the brain's extraordinary energy demands. Through comparative transcriptomic analysis, it is demonstrated that brain endothelial cells are enriched for mitochondrial function genes, with forkhead box protein 1 (FOXQ1) being selectively expressed in cerebral vasculature. Conditional knockout of Foxq1 in endothelial cells results in severe mitochondrial dysfunction, including disrupted cristae morphology, reduced oxygen consumption, and impaired adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Mechanistically, FOXQ1 directly regulates two key pathways: calcium signaling through huntingtin‐associated protein (HAP1)‐mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER)‐mitochondrial calcium transfer, and mitochondrial structural integrity via AarF domain‐containing protein kinase 1 (ADCK1)‐dependent cristae organization. These findings reveal that brain endothelial cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis alone, challenging the prevailing metabolic paradigm for endothelial cells. This work establishes FOXQ1 as an important regulator of brain endothelial metabolism and provides new insights into the molecular basis of cerebrovascular specialization, with implications for understanding vascular dysfunction in neurological diseases. FOXQ1 emerges as a master transcriptional regulator of brain endothelial metabolism, orchestrating mitochondrial function through dual control of calcium signaling and cristae organization. This study reveals that brain endothelial cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis alone, challenging the current metabolic paradigm and providing new mechanistic insights into cerebrovascular specialization with important implications for neurological diseases. Abstract The blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintains brain homeostasis through specialized functions including tight junction formation and selective transport of brain endothelial cells (ECs). While ECs are generally thought to rely primarily on glycolysis for energy production, the transcriptional mechanisms underlying their metabolic specialization in the brain endothelium remain poorly understood, especially considering the brain's extraordinary energy demands. Through comparative transcriptomic analysis, it is demonstrated that brain endothelial cells are enriched for mitochondrial function genes, with forkhead box protein 1 (FOXQ1) being selectively expressed in cerebral vasculature. Conditional knockout of Foxq1 in endothelial cells results in severe mitochondrial dysfunction, including disrupted cristae morphology, reduced oxygen consumption, and impaired adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Mechanistically, FOXQ1 directly regulates two key pathways: calcium signaling through huntingtin-associated protein (HAP1)-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondrial calcium transfer, and mitochondrial structural integrity via AarF domain-containing protein kinase 1 (ADCK1)-dependent cristae organization. These findings reveal that brain endothelial cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis alone, challenging the prevailing metabolic paradigm for endothelial cells. This work establishes FOXQ1 as an important regulator of brain endothelial metabolism and provides new insights into the molecular basis of cerebrovascular specialization, with implications for understanding vascular dysfunction in neurological diseases. Advanced Science, Volume 12, Issue 42, November 13, 2025.