News from Science

Forests across North America have seen a drop in the number of songbirds heralding the arrival of spring. To figure out why, biologists scour forests to capture birds and tag them with leg bands.

By going back to look for the tagged birds a year later, they can get a picture of how many survive from one year to the next. But the fieldwork takes untold hours, and capturing and banding can stress the birds.

A new paper lays out a quicker, gentler approach. It uses sound recorders and #AI to identify individual birds based on their song alone and track them over time.

Learn more: scim.ag/4zE48ui

Researchers have, for the first time, inserted receptors into the human brain that allow them to manipulate neuron activity with a drug.

The groundbreaking gene therapy was designed to help three people with drug-resistant epilepsy by dampening activity in the seizure-generating zones of their hippocampus.

The therapy did not produce major side effects, and appeared to reduce the incidence of seizures, the team conducting the clinical trial reported.

Learn more: scim.ag/3Wypb2F

Californians appear to have said yes to a plan authorizing up to $8.4 billion in state bonds to fund immunology and immunotherapy research.

But critics argue the proposal will end up funneling billions in taxpayer money to a single research institution—one founded by the same billionaire who funded the campaign to get Proposition 38 on the ballot. scim.ag/4eV78dg

In January 2027, microbiologist Jasmine Clark—who will be the first Black woman with a science Ph.D. to serve in Congress—hopes to gain a seat on the House science committee that Representative Zoe Lofgren is all but certain to chair after winning her 17th term.

Fresh from their victories, @RepZoeLofgren and @jasmineforga spoke to @ScienceInsider about their agendas. ⬇️ scim.ag/4k6lZFi

Scientists have long known that noise from human activities—from the roar of jet engines to the whir of ship propellers—can harm animals, stunting their growth and even scrambling their eggs. But it’s been unclear just how pervasive the problem is.

A massive analysis reveals the impacts are far more widespread than even researchers thought.

Data from 177 species that live on land and in the water reveal the vast majority are impacted by sound in some way, fundamentally altering their biology and behaviors, and causing many to die early.

Learn more: scim.ag/4A8miUG