Experimental brain-computer interfaces are beginning to restore communication for people who have lost speech. Casey Harrell, who has ALS, uses an implanted system developed through a UC Davis clinical trial to turn neural signals into text, enabling him to communicate with family, work and send messages. The system has decoded nearly two million words, but remains bulky, slow and limited. Newer research aims to produce intelligible speech in real time, while Paradromics is testing a portable implant and other teams are decoding vocal qualities and gestures. Researchers see strong potential, but safety, reliability as disease progresses, cost, invasive surgery and limited clinical capacity remain substantial barriers.

Laura Sanders reviews neuroscientist Susana Carmona’s A Mother’s Brain, which focuses on matrescence—the substantial changes a woman experiences as she becomes a mother. The book discusses emerging research on brain circuits, social instincts, hormones and resilience, while connecting neuroscience with history, culture and the pressures of modern life. Carmona also challenges the “mommy brain” stereotype: perceived mental slips may reflect sleep loss, shifting attention or expectations rather than a measurable decline in neurological ability. The review praises the book for centering mothers and arguing that understanding motherhood matters both to women’s identities and to society.

A small case study explored personalized brain stimulation for three people with severe, chronic facial pain. Researchers mapped each participant’s pain-related brain activity using temporary electrodes, then tested precise electrical stimulation patterns. Two participants experienced relief; one has had permanent electrodes implanted and continued to feel better at six and 12 months, while another plans to receive an implant. The third did not benefit, but researchers say identifying who is unlikely to respond could help guide treatment decisions. The early findings suggest individualized brain mapping may improve treatment for chronic pain and potentially other conditions, though the study was small.

Advances in computing, artificial intelligence and sound analysis may eventually enable devices or apps that translate animal vocalizations into human language. Researchers note that species such as parrots, dolphins and whales possess some abilities needed for complex communication, while others, including vervet monkeys, may have cognitive skills but lack the vocal flexibility to produce intricate sounds. Studies of whale calls, statistical similarities between whale and human languages, and genetically modified mice with more complex vocalizations offer early evidence of progress. However, animals already communicate through sounds, movements, colors, objects and other signals, so future systems may decode animal messages without literally translating their thoughts into human speech.

A study suggests that the superior skill of a person’s dominant hand comes primarily from practice rather than an inherent advantage in one side of the brain. Participants who wrote with pen-equipped dominant or nondominant elbows initially performed poorly, but several hours of practice produced equal improvements in both groups. The findings highlight the brain’s flexibility in learning motor skills and could inform rehabilitation after stroke, although further research involving left-handed participants and other movements is needed.

Researchers in China have identified a new organelle, the hydrogenobody, within fuzzy ciliates living in cows’ rumens that generates hydrogen gas and drives methane production by associated archaea. Species with more hydrogenobodies, particularly Vestibuliferida, correlate with higher methane emissions. Reducing these microbes could lower methane output, though past attempts to remove ciliates also reduced milk and meat production. Scientists emphasize that further study is needed to balance environmental benefits with livestock productivity.

An event horizon is defined as the boundary around a black hole beyond which nothing can escape, as gravity would require speeds faster than light. Although the event horizon itself cannot be directly seen, the Event Horizon Telescope has captured images showing the surrounding bright disk of gas and the central dark region known as the black hole shadow, within which the event horizon lies. Light bending around the black hole makes this shadow appear larger than the true boundary.

Researchers discovered that Alston’s singing mice produce their complex whistling songs by inflating specialized air sacs inside their voice boxes. Experiments using excised larynges showed that blocking or cutting these sacs prevented sound production, indicating the sacs themselves generate the tones. Experts note the uniqueness of this mechanism among animals and suggest further study of rodent air sacs may clarify how these vocal abilities evolved.

New seismic and geological data reveal that the Turkana Rift Zone in East Africa is undergoing necking, a rarely observed stage of continental breakup in which Earth’s crust thins dramatically. Researchers found crust as thin as 13 kilometers, indicating significant stretching and suggesting that eastern Africa may be closer to splitting off into a new landmass than previously believed. Analysis of volcanic rock layers suggests the region has been in this stage for about 4 million years. Continued thinning could lead to oceanization, where mantle material rises, new oceanic crust forms and a new ocean eventually separates eastern Africa from the continent.

Cornfields release large amounts of water vapor through evapotranspiration, a combination of evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants. This process can increase local humidity, though it accounts for only a small share of overall moisture during heat waves. Cornfields may contribute up to thousands of liters of water per acre daily, and other crops such as soybeans also play a role.