Scientific American Science Quickly: Flu surge, Sleep FM health predictions, CES 2026 AI trends, and woodpecker biomechanics

This Science Quickly episode surveys the flu season with rising respiratory illness visits, highlights a Sleep FM foundation model trained on polysomnography data that can predict future health outcomes from sleep patterns, reports from the CES 2026 technology conference on AI becoming infrastructure and its real-world hardware manifestations, and wraps with animal biology insights into how woodpeckers hammer and protect their heads. The discussions weave together public health, artificial intelligence, consumer tech, and animal biomechanics into a single science roundup.

Overview

Science Quickly offers a weekly roundup of notable developments across health, sleep science, AI, technology, and animal biology. This episode foregrounds a flu season surge in the United States, introduces a Sleep Foundation Model (Sleep FM) trained on large-scale sleep data to predict long-term health outcomes, reports from the CES 2026 technology conference on AI's integration into the physical world, and ends with fascinating Woodpecker biology that explains their formidable pounding ability.

Flu Season Update and Vaccine Guidance

The episode cites CDC data showing that in the week ending December 27th, more than 8% of primary care visits were for respiratory illness, the highest level since 1997 when tracking began. The flu season has contributed to an estimated 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, including children. The commentary notes a shift in CDC vaccine guidance, moving from universal vaccination for children under 5 to a more consultative approach with healthcare providers. While a new H3N2 subclade K variant dominates the season, vaccination still reduces the risk of severe illness and death, and masks like N95s or KN95s can help cut transmission. A key takeaway is that vaccines are protective against severe outcomes, even if they are not a perfect match for the circulating variant.

Quote: “a brain that looks asleep, but a heart that looks awake, for example, seemed to spell trouble.” — Emmanuel Mignon, co-senior author

Sleep FM: A Foundation Model for Sleep and Health Risk

The centerpiece of the episode is Sleep FM, a foundation model trained on almost 600,000 hours of polysomnography data from 65,000 patients. Polysomnography is the gold standard for sleep assessment, recording eye movements, limb movements, brain activity, and more. After training, Sleep FM was evaluated on basic sleep staging and then tested for long-term health prediction. The model performed on par with or better than existing sleep models in basic tasks and demonstrated successful prediction of several health outcomes associated with poor sleep, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, hypertensive heart disease, heart attacks, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and death. Importantly, the researchers found the strongest predictive signals when integrating cross-modal data (for example, a brain showing signs of sleep alongside an awake heart) rather than relying on a single data stream alone. This points to the value of multi-sensor data fusion in health risk assessment and early intervention strategies.

Quote: “a brain that looks asleep, but a heart that looks awake, for example, seemed to spell trouble.” — Emmanuel Mignon, co-senior author

CES 2026: AI as Infrastructure in the Real World

From Las Vegas, Eric Sullivan reports that CES 2026 showcased AI moving from chat boxes to physical hardware, including humanoid robots and wearable devices. Sullivan argues that AI is becoming foundational infrastructure—driving chip design, platforms, and compute, and seen in devices that physically interact with people. A memorable moment was Stevie Wonder on the expo floor, emphasizing a human-centered view of technology. Wonder stated that he would not let AI programming reshape his music, underscoring the balance between innovation and human authorship. The takeaway is that the most impactful AI trends at CES bridged digital capabilities with tangible, assistive technologies that aim to improve living rather than imitate life wholly.

Quote: "I will not let my music be programmed. I'm not going to use it to do me and do the music I've done." — Stevie Wonder

Fun Animal News: Woodpecker Biomechanics

Brown University researchers examined how downy woodpeckers hammer through solid wood. Using electrodes implanted in eight birds, the team showed that pecking is a full-body action that tightens the tail, engages hip flexors, and stabilizes the head. The study highlights the biomechanical orchestration behind the beak-driven force that enables woodpeckers to deliver impressive impact while minimizing injury. Lead author Nicholas Anderson remarked that woodpeckers are nature’s hammer in a physical sense, illustrating how evolutionary solutions integrate musculature, skeletal mechanics, and neuromuscular control.

Quote: "Woodpeckers really are nature's hammer in a sense." — Nicholas Anderson, Brown University biologist and study lead author

Looking Ahead

The episode closes with a teaser for a deep dive into seed oils, signaling continued coverage of diverse topics—from public health to AI and animal biomechanics—across the scientific landscape.