Replicating the unconscious working memory effect: a multisite Registered Report

Although in recent years some studies have found evidence suggesting that working memory (WM) may operate on unconscious perceptual contents, decisive demonstrations of the existence of unconscious WM are lacking. In the present Registered Report, we replicate the first study on this topic by Soto et al. (Working memory without consciousness. Curr Biol 2011;21:R912–3.): a visual discrimination task asking participants to report the direction in which a subliminal Gabor grating was rotated after a 2-s delay. We acquired a multisite sample from 19 laboratories, with a larger number of participants (N = 531) and trials (720 in two sessions) than those typically used in previous studies. As a result, a large-sample, international, and open-access dataset is now available for researchers and future analyses. Furthermore, some minimal baseline requirements were guaranteed for the experimental task (i.e. number of valid trials, motivation, and consistent labels for the Perceptual Awareness Scale). The results showed (1) above-chance WM performance in cue-present trials reported as unseen (.55 accuracy), (2) a significant positive correlation between WM performance and cue detection sensitivity (r = .228), and (3) a significant above-chance intercept in the regression of performance on sensitivity (β0 = .521). These findings suggest that WM can operate on unconscious representations, although it remains positively associated with perceptual sensitivity. Crucially, because measurement error could compromise the interpretation of these three results, we provide evidence for our measures’ excellent reliability and, more fundamentally, for their validity.This Registered Report was funded by the ‘Funding Consciousness Research with Registered Reports’ initiative from the Center for Open Science. A.F.M. was supported by grant PRE2021-097654 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. R.R.S. and M.A.V. were supported by grant CNS2022-135346 from Agencia Estatal de Investigación/FEDER UE. D.R.S. was supported by grant ES/S014616/1 from the UK Economic and Social Research Council. D.S. acknowledges support from the Basque Government through the BERC 2022–2025 programme, from Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2020-001010-S), and also from project grant PID2019-105494GB-I00. M.A.V. and A.F.M. were supported by grant PID2020-118583GB-I00 from Agencia Estatal de Investigación/FEDER UE. External collaborators were also supported by the following funders: P.A. was supported by an F.R.S.-FNRS Research Project T003821F (40003221) to A.C. F.B. was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (CEECIND/03661/2017). A.C. is a Research Director with the F.R.S.-FNRS (Belgium) and a fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (Brain, Mind and Consciousness programme), funded by European Research Council Advanced Grant #101055060 ‘EXPERIENCE’. F.G.F. was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU20/00826). J.A.H., A.P., P.R.M., and M.J. were supported by grant PID2021-125842NB-I00 from Agencia Estatal de Investigación. S.M.H. was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI ‘Early-Career Scientists’ (24K16877). A.I. was supported by the HSS Seed Fund from the National University of Singapore (#A-8001370-00-00). A.I. would like to thank Shiyang Wu and Mingyuan Yang for help with data collection. P.S. was supported by FPU grant FPU20/01946 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

A chemical bonding based descriptor for predicting the role of anharmonicity induced by quantum nuclear effects in hydride superconductors

Quantum nuclear effects (QNEs) can significantly alter a material’s crystal structure and phonon spectra, impacting properties such as thermal conductivity and superconductivity. However, predicting a priori whether these effects will enhance or suppress superconductivity, or destabilize a structure, remains a grand challenge. Herein, we address this unresolved problem by introducing two possible descriptors, based upon the integrated crystal orbital bonding index (iCOBI) or the bond valence function, to predict the influence of QNEs on a crystal lattice’s dynamic stability, phonon spectra and superconducting properties. We find that structures with atoms in symmetric chemical bonding environments exhibit greater resilience to structural perturbations induced by QNEs, while those with atoms in asymmetric bonding environments are more susceptible to structural alterations, resulting in enhanced superconducting critical temperatures.Funding for this research is provided by the National Science Foundation, under awardDMR-2136038 and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 802533). Partial funding for this research is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences funding the award entitled High Energy Density Quantum Matter, under Award No. DE-SC0020340. I.E. also acknowledges financial support from the Department of Education, Universities and Research of the Eusko Jaurlaritza, and the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (Grant No. IT1527-22); and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grant No. PID2022-142861NA-I00)

Vulnerability of marine megafauna to global at-sea anthropogenic threats

Marine megafauna species are affected by a wide range of anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the risk of such threats, species’ vulnerability to each threat must first be determined. We build on the existing threats classification scheme and ranking system of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species by assessing the vulnerability of 256 marine megafauna species to 23 at-sea threats. The threats we considered included individual fishing gear types, climate-change-related subthreats not previously assessed, and threats associated with coastal impacts and maritime disturbances. Our ratings resulted in 70 species having high vulnerability (v > 0.778 out of 1) to at least 1 threat, primarily drifting longlines, temperature extremes, or fixed gear. These 3 threats were also considered to have the most severe effects (i.e., steepest population declines). Overall, temperature extremes and plastics and other solid waste were rated as affecting the largest proportion of populations. Penguins, pinnipeds, and polar bears had the highest vulnerability to temperature extremes. Bony fishes had the highest vulnerability to drifting longlines and plastics and other solid waste; pelagic cetaceans to 4 maritime disturbance threats; elasmobranchs to 5 fishing threats; and flying birds to drifting longlines and 2 maritime disturbance threats. Sirenians and turtles had the highest vulnerability to at least one threat from all 4 categories. Despite not necessarily having severe effects for most taxonomic groups, temperature extremes were rated among the top threats for all taxa except bony fishes. The vulnerability scores we provide are an important first step in estimating the risk of threats to marine megafauna. Importantly, they help differentiate scope from severity, which is key to identifying threats that should be prioritized for mitigation.We thank D. Fernando, S. Williams (bony fishes), J. Barlow, J. Manuel Arcos, and M. Biuw for their contributions to scores. We are thankful for support from the Jock Clough Marine Foundation (to M.V.C. and A.M.M.S.). M.V.C. was supported by the C.F. & E.A. Jenkins postgraduate scholarship at UWA. A.M.M.S. was supported by a 2020 Fellowship in Marine Conservation by the Pew Charitable Trusts and an ARC DP210103091

Number maintenance in subject-verb agreement: evidence from Basque

Published on 12th February, 2026.In this paper, we investigate whether number is actively maintained as part of matrix subject-verb dependency establishment, and whether it is active enough to be used to resolve temporary number ambiguity of an interpolated noun. In a visual world paradigm, we tested whether number-ambiguous Basque nouns within embedded relative clauses can be disambiguated by the number of the matrix subject-verb dependency actively maintained over them. We manipulated the number of the matrix subject (singular/plural), and measured the proportion of looks toward singular/plural images in the moment when the number-ambiguous noun is heard (and still not disambiguated). The analysis showed that the proportion of looks followed the matrix subject number, as the plural bias increases significantly in the plural matrix subject condition, implying active maintenance of the number feature. These findings add to the literature on the content of the maintained representation in subject-verb dependency establishment, showing that number information is actively maintained, and they don't align with cue-based sentence comprehension models that presume matrix verb maintenance in an inactive, out-of-focus state. We also demonstrate that the parser uses available morphosyntactic information of items kept active in working memory in order to resolve temporary ambiguity.The author(s) declared that financial support was received for this work and/or its publication. This research was supported by the Basque government through the PRE_2018_2_0074 grant and the BERC 2022-2025 program, by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University, (grants PID2022-136991NB-I00; PCI2022-135031-2; PDC2022-133917-I00; RTI2018-096311-B-I0), as well as by the Spanish State Research Agency through BCBL Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation CEX2020-001010/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Israel and US attacks against Iran (2025): Legal positions of States and international organizations on the conformity of military actions with jus ad bellum

This report presents the legal positions of States, groups of States, and international organizations on the conformity with jus ad bellum of the attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025.Basque Government's Postdoctoral Programme for the Improvement of Doctoral Research Personne

Implementing Temporal Sampling Theory Through Rhythmic-Melodic Activities in Preschool: A Motor-Rhythm Based Intervention to Enhance Language Skills

Published on 8th January, 2026.The sensory-neural temporal sampling (TS) theory of language acquisition emphasizes the role of individual differences in speech rhythm processing. According to this theory, neural oscillations track loudness or amplitude modulation (AM) patterns—rhythmic fluctuations in speech intensity or energy—across multiple timescales. These nested AM rhythms, which occur universally across languages, support the parsing of stress patterns, syllables, and onset-rime units. Accurate tracking of these rhythms facilitates linguistic comprehension. Although rhythm-based language interventions that align motor and oral rhythms have shown benefits, existing approaches have not systematically targeted the full hierarchy of nested AM rhythms. The present intervention, developed in Spanish, is structured around musical meter, which organizes smaller nested units across multiple timescales. A series of motor activities that should indirectly engage multiple AM timescales are proposed, aimed at enhancing language development. The intervention is highly engaging and is explained in detail, along with predicted music-language enhancements within the framework of TS theory.Research carried out with the Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators 2023 from the BBVA Foundation (awarded to M.L.; LEO23-2-10134). The BBVA Foundation is not responsible for the opinions, comments, and contents included in the project and/or the results derived from it, which are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the authors

Legal Positions of States and International Organizations on the item ‘Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries’ (1983-2025)

This paper presents the legal positions of States and International Organizations on the item “Legal Positions of States and International Organizations on the item ‘Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries’ (1983-2025)”, in order to clarify both the state practice and opinio iuris on the possible creation or existence of a rule on the prohibition of unilateral coercive measures, as well as its hypothetical content.Basque Government's Postdoctoral Programme for the Improvement of Doctoral Research Personnel

Comparison between cylinder and ellipse at 0 degrees angle of attack for low Reynolds numbers

This study investigates the vortex shedding dynamics, aerodynamic forces, and wake characteristics of a cylinder across a Reynolds number range of 550 to 5500 using the novel Shake-the-Box (STB) method, a high- accuracy Lagrangian particle tracking technique that reconstructs 3D trajectories from multi-camera recordings and improved time-resolved measurements. The analysis focuses on the Strouhal number, pressure lift and drag coefficients, vortex formation distances, and wake evolution. Results show a progressive increase in Strouhal number with Reynolds number, indicating higher shedding frequencies as the wake becomes more periodic.The distance between the main vortex and the cylinder surface decreases with increasing Reynolds number, while the distance between vortex pairs initially decreases and later stabilizes, reflecting wake reorganization. At higher Reynolds numbers, the wake exhibits three-dimensional instabilities, leading to deviations from theoretical Strouhal values. Finally, a comparison with an ellipse at 0 degrees highlights how geometry influences vortex shedding, with the ellipse exhibiting a more compact wake, higher shedding frequency, and lower drag. By benchmarking STB results against the well-documented wakes of a circular cylinder and an ellipse at 0 deg, the technique’s ability to reproduce classical three-dimensional turbulent structures is validated. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of shedding mechanisms in bluff bodies and provide insights into how shape affects wake development and aerodynamic performance and establishes STB as a robust novel methodology.This research was support by the Government of the Basque Country: Elkartek KK-2024/00069 and KK-2024/00117; and CIEMAT: Energía eólica offshore para el ensayo el desarrollo energético de energías renovables e hidrógeno verde; The work of U. F.G. was partially supported by Government of the Basque Country: ITSAS-REM (IT1514-22)

What Can Typing Tell Us About Language Production?

First published as a Review in Advance on October 15,2025.Although research on typing has not exactly been sparse, studying typing within a psycholinguistic framework has not been a common approach. This article argues in favor of this practice. By reviewing findings on patterns of typing errors and statistical learning in typed production, as well as influences of various factors on typing, including the similarity between the target word and its context, we show that typing has much in common with other modalities of language production and should be viewed as reflecting the general architecture of the language production system. We then discuss some of the contributions of typing research to the action-monitoring literature due to the unique position that typing occupies at the intersection of phonological, orthographic, visual, and motor processes. We end by encouraging greater integration of typing research into psycholinguistic frameworks, not simply to confirm the predictions of such theories but to break new frontiers and push for new domains of inquiry.S.P. is supported by the Basque Government through the Basque Excellence Research Centres 2022–2025 program and the Spanish State Research Agency through Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation CEX2020-001010/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. M.M. is supported by a grant from the Ghent University Special Research Fund

Linkages between Caribbean hydroclimate, atmospheric CO2, and methane production on orbital to millennial timescales

We present the oldest speleothem isotope record from Central America and the Caribbean, a high-resolution stalagmite (“Katún”) spanning discontinuously ∼198–322 ka BP, that documents hydroclimate variability across glacial–interglacial and millennial timescales. Katún δ18O covaries significantly with atmospheric CO2 and CH4, and multivariate analyses show that CO2 + CH4 together explain more variance in δ18O than either gas alone. Consistent with a CO2-mediated SST mechanism, Katún δ18O correlates with tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific SST reconstructions, indicating that radiative forcing influenced Caribbean precipitation primarily through tropical surface warming. At millennial scales, Katún δ18O tracks North Atlantic variability: it aligns with CH4 peaks associated with Greenland D–O cycles and with detrital proxies of Heinrich-type ice-rafting, implicating AMOC-paced ITCZ shifts and SST-driven convection as key controls. A weak Katún–Cariaco Mo relationship highlights proxy sensitivities and argues against ITCZ migration as the sole driver. In contrast to Asian monsoon archives, Katún shows little precessional insolation imprint, emphasizing the dominance of internal ocean–atmosphere dynamics (AMOC, SSTs) in regulating Caribbean hydroclimate and modulating tropical wetland methane emissions during MIS 7–9.This project was supported by M. Medina-Elizalde and S. Burns P2C2 NSF Grant # 2102983. U-Th dating was partially supported by grants from the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (111-2116-M-002-022-MY3), the National Taiwan University, Taiwan (112L894202), and the Higher Education Sprout Project of the Ministry of Education, Taiwan (110L901001 and 110L8907)