Hello Nature Readers, would you like to receive this report in your inbox for free every day? Register here.

Orcas (Orcinus orca) have been seen charging at sharptail sunfish (Masturus lanceolatus) with so much force that they explode. The bloody display involved a female orca holding a dead sunfish in place for a male to reach at full speed. A juvenile killer whale later ate some of the meaty pieces of the fish, while the adult pair ate the carcass. “We think this may help younger orcas feed more easily,” says marine ecologist and study co-author Kathryn Ayres. “Or it could also just be for fun. Orcas are known for playing with their food.”

The Guardian | 3 min reading or Nature | 2 minute video

Reference: Frontiers in ethology paper

Scientists have begun to unravel the inner workings of the heart’s “mini brain,” a network of neurons embedded in the fatty layer surrounding the heart. In mice, the researchers identified two subtypes of these neurons. a guy, npy⁺It slows down a racing heart, but it is necessary to keep it beating. The other, Ddah1⁺appears to help the mice’s hearts cope with stress. The findings demonstrate that these neurons do more than just passively transmit signals from the brain, says chemical physiologist Beth Habecker.

Nature | 5 minutes of reading

Reference: Cell paper

The 2026 Fields Medal, one of the most coveted mathematics prizes, has been awarded to mathematicians Yu Deng, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman and Hong Wang. The group represents a variety of subfields of mathematics, from number theory to mathematical physics, and all were rumored to be favorites to win the prize. Deng and Wang are only the second and third Chinese citizens to have earned a Fields Medal, and Wang is only the third woman to win it in the award’s 90-year history.

Nature | 6 minutes of reading

Air conditioners are one option for keeping people cool during increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, but the technology has too many drawbacks to be the only solution, scientists say. Instead, they suggest that materials designed to passively cool buildings could be the way forward. Layered materials, containing bubbles and air pockets or combining radiative cooling with evaporation, could achieve the same effect as air conditioning without using energy, says architectural researcher Matthaios Santamouris. But many of these materials are still in prototype stages and would require policies to encourage their use.

Nature | 5 minutes of reading

Reference: Nature Reviews Clean Technology paper

Researchers have shown how easy it is for scammers to “poison” online data sets and thus confuse the work of artificial intelligence agents, which are increasingly used to analyze such data. “Attacks of this type are almost inevitable, because they allow false information to be laundered through a filter that appears authoritarian,” says computer scientist Vitaly Shmatikov. The team recommends ways to prevent AI agents from basing their conclusions on manipulated data, such as including a SKILL.md file (an example of which they posted online for free reuse) that prompts AI agents to perform detailed provenance checks.

Nature | 6 minutes of reading

Reference: arXiv preprint 1 and preprint 2 (not peer-reviewed)

Features and opinion

Five artists explain what it takes to create an accurate, engaging image that conveys a scientific concept and their vision for the future of scientific illustration in the age of artificial intelligence. “Good design requires mastery, not only of tools and techniques, but also of judgment,” says illustrator Shehryar Saharan. “Sometimes that process means confronting questions that research has not yet resolved. In those moments, illustration can become a way to generate knowledge rather than simply communicate it.”

Nature | Scroll full of images

The Artemis II flight in April captured the world’s attention when four astronauts flew over the far side of the Moon. Now, back on Earth, what will they do once the ‘joy of the moon’ wears off? While many astronauts are forging prosperous post-space careers, others are struggling to find their next goal, says former astronaut Susan Kilrain. “The ones who really succeed in a post-flight career are the ones where being an astronaut didn’t define them,” says Kilrain, one of the only women and the youngest person to fly a space shuttle.

Nature | 8 minutes of reading

Researchers are developing increasingly advanced quantum computers at a rapid pace. Some scientists predict that usable quantum devices capable of solving currently intractable problems will hit the market in the next decade. But how can quantum devices solve problems that conventional machines cannot? And what even is a quantum computer? Nature Reporter Davide Castelvecchi is available to answer these questions and more in this handy explainer video.

Nature | 5 minute video

Today I remember that you never know when mathematics will come in handy. Case in point: Screenwriter Ken Keeler painted himself into a corner while writing the script for a 2010 episode of the animated series. Futurama.

TOAfter some body-swapping shenanigans, the episode’s cast of nine characters (and Keeler) had to figure out how to get back into their original bodies, without the same pairs of people swapping more than once.

Fortunately, Keeler was able to draw on his trusty PhD in mathematics and formulate an original proof to solve it. Their solution involved the help of two additional characters, conveniently in-universe math geniuses who could explain the process to the other characters and, indeed, the audience.

What’s the biggest problem you’ve ever gotten out of? Please let us know, along with any comments about this newsletter, at briefing@nature.com.

Thanks for reading,

Jacob Smith, Associate Editor, Nature Briefing

With contributions from Flora Graham and Gemma Conroy

• Nature Briefing: Careers: ideas, advice and award-winning journalism to help you optimize your working life

• Nature Briefing: Microbiology (the most abundant living entities on our planet (microorganisms) and the role they play in health, the environment and food systems

• Nature Briefing: Anthropocene: climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and geoengineering

• Nature Briefing: AI and robotics: 100% human-written, of course

• Nature Briefing: Cancer: A weekly newsletter written with cancer researchers in mind.

• Nature Briefing: Translational Research: covers biotechnology, drug discovery and pharmaceuticals.