Biology

RESEARCH BRIEFINGS 17 December 2025 Video-call glitches might seem harmless, but they can reduce people’s chances of getting hired, closing a business deal or following a doctor’s recommendation. Human brains expect video calls to feel like in-person conversations. When glitches break that illusion, it feels unsettling and strange, harming judgements of trustworthiness, likeability and credibility.

“Another one, Boss,” Spooky haphazardly signed with his tentacles. “Mate, that’s your fifth shot. You sure you’re up for it?” The bartender spoke in a low voice, locking eyes with two of Spooky’s. Such a typical human habit — this compulsive need to make eye contact. It would have been far more practical to focus … Read more

Dekker, J. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09890-3 (2025). Article  Google Scholar  Simonis, M. et al. Nature Genet. 38, 1348–1354 (2006). Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  da Costa-Nunes, J. A. & Noordermeer, D. Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 81, 102622 (2023). Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  Davidson, I. F. & Peters, J.-M. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 22, 445–464 (2021). … Read more

Every summer, Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, spends about a month in Managua, Nicaragua, when the rainy season is in full swing. But Gordon is interested in a different kind of season. “June or July can be peak influenza time in Nicaragua,” Gordon says. Since 2011, she and … Read more