Inspired by the brain, researchers build smarter, more efficient computer hardware
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Jun-2026 09:16 ET (1-Jun-2026 13:16 GMT/UTC)
As the growing energy demands for artificial intelligence collide with the limits of traditional computer chips, University of Missouri researchers are developing brain-inspired hardware that merges memory and processing — like neural synapses — to dramatically improve efficiency and enable more sustainable, energy-efficient AI.
Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become the standard treatment for localized prostate cancer. However, postoperative urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction remain common complications. A new review published in UroPrecision systematically examines nerve-sparing techniques during RARP, including anatomical foundations, surgical planes, innovative approaches, and patient selection tools, providing a practical guide for balancing cancer control and functional preservation.
Adequate boron (B) supply is essential for optimal growth and yield formation in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). With boron-deficient soils affecting croplands worldwide, developing varieties with enhanced boron-use efficiency represents a sustainable strategy to safeguard productivity. Central to this effort is the identification of genes that regulate boron homeostasis.
Artificial intelligence can dramatically speed up the painstaking work of tracking wildlife with remote cameras, cutting analysis time from months or even a year to just days while producing nearly the same scientific conclusions as humans. That’s according to a new study led by researchers at Washington State University and Google, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The team tested whether a fully automated AI system could replace humans in processing hundreds of thousands to millions of camera trap images collected in Washington, Montana’s Glacier National Park, and Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve.
A new study showed that psilocybin – the chemical compound in magic mushrooms that influences behavior and emotions – dissolved in water could make fish less aggressive and lazier. Researchers found that in naturally aggressive fish, the substance could dampen frequency and intensity of energetically demanding behaviors such as aggressive swimming bursts compared with members of the same species that were not exposed to psilocybin. This is one of the few times an anti‑aggressive effect of psilocybin has been demonstrated in an animal model, the team said and pointed out that this knowledge could be used in the future to study how psilocybin alters neural signaling and yield results that eventually may be transferable to humans.
The loss of physical traits—such as limbs in snakes or eyes in cavefish—is a common feature of evolution, yet the genetic mechanisms enabling such changes remain incompletely understood. In a study published in Science Advances, researchers at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology reveal how organisms can undergo significant morphological changes despite possessing highly stable and redundant genetic regulatory systems.
Led by Dr. Ella Preger-Ben Noon and Ph.D. candidate Areej Said-Ahmad from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, the team investigated how gene expression evolves when controlled by multiple enhancers—DNA regulatory elements that ensure precise and robust activation of genes during development. These enhancers often function redundantly, buffering against mutations and maintaining stable gene activity.
Focusing on the fruit fly Drosophila sechellia, which has evolutionarily lost larval hair-like structures (trichomes), the researchers examined regulation of the shavenbaby gene, known to control this trait. Surprisingly, they found that four separate enhancers governing this gene independently lost their activity over time, each through a different molecular mechanism.
The study identified several distinct pathways leading to reduced enhancer function, including deletion of critical DNA segments, loss and gain of transcription factor binding sites, emergence of silencing elements, and activation of previously hidden repressive effects. Despite acting within the same regulatory system, these diverse changes all converged on the same evolutionary outcome: loss of gene expression and, consequently, loss of the physical trait.
These findings resolve the “stability paradox” by showing that regulatory redundancy, while promoting robustness, also creates multiple opportunities for evolutionary change. The work highlights how complex genetic systems can remain stable overall while still allowing flexibility in form and structure, offering new insights into the molecular basis of evolutionary diversity.