Scientific research at Spanish universities continues to be driven primarily by the public sector, which accounts for over 95% of total scientific output, 92% of officially recognized research periods ("sexenios"), and nearly all predoctoral and postdoctoral contracts. These findings are presented in the latest edition of the IUNE Observatory, which analyzes research activity trends in the Spanish University System (SUE) between 2014 and 2023. The observatory is promoted by the A4U Alliance, comprising Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF).

While automatized vocabulary knowledge has been shown to strongly predict general listening ability, its role in speech production remains unknown. Now, researchers have compared conscious recognition of simple word meanings (declarative knowledge) with instant, automatic access to contextualized word meanings (automatized knowledge) in Japanese students learning English as a second language. The findings revealed that automatized vocabulary knowledge better predicts fluency, and practicing vocabulary in real-life contexts may help learners speak more smoothly and confidently.

Short teaching interventions on disinformation have no long-term effect on upper secondary school students’ ability to distinguish between credible and misleading news. Strengthening school students’ resilience to disinformation requires more than isolated interventions on source criticism. A new study of 459 Swedish upper secondary school students, is no published in PLOS One.

A behavioral neuroscientist and faculty member in Utah State University's Department of Biology, Sara Freeman is the Council on Undergraduate Research's 2025 Biology Mentor Early-Career Award recipient. The honor recognizes long-term commitment to, and excellence in, student research mentorship.