Biological Sciences

Newly discovered weapons of bacterial self-defense take different approaches to achieving the same goal: preventing a virus from spreading through the bacterial population.

A new study reveals that heat-tolerant symbiotic algae may be essential to saving elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) -- a foundational species in Caribbean reef ecosystems -- from the devastating impacts of marine heatwaves and coral bleaching.

Researchers have shown in mice that brain cells known as astrocytes are required for a signaling chemical called norepinephrine to modify brain activity, changing the textbook understanding that norepinephrine acts directly on neurons.

A study has shown scientific knowledge on the conservation of endangered species is often overlooked when not presented in English.

Researchers have discovered how a parasite that causes malaria when transmitted through a mosquito bite can hide from the body's immune system, sometimes for years. It turns out that the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, can shut down a key set of genes, rendering itself 'immunologically invisible.'

Researchers have designed a high-performance, open-access continuous flow process to safely produce key antibacterial drugs from bio-based furfural.

Scientists have decoded the atomic structure of Photosystem I from a 3-billion-year-old cyanobacteria lineage, offering a unique look at early oxygen-producing photosynthesis. The ancient nanodevice, purified from Anthocerotibacter panamensis, shows a remarkably conserved three-leaf-clover architecture for light absorption despite billions of years of evolution. The findings suggest that the fundamental design for harnessing sunlight was established very early in the history of life on Earth, predating the evolution of more complex photosynthetic machinery.

In the natural world -- where predators pounce, prey flee, and group members feed and sleep in solidarity -- animal behavior is glorious in its variety. Now, new research suggests there may be an underlying architecture that orders the movements of animals as they go about their very different lives. And it's more widespread than previously imagined.

A decades-long scientific challenge in HIV vaccine development has been finding a way to train the immune system to produce antibodies that can target many variants of the virus. Traditional approaches haven't worked -- largely because HIV mutates rapidly and hides key parts of itself from the immune system. Now, a new study combining data from two separate phase 1 clinical trials shows that a targeted vaccine strategy can successfully activate early immune responses relevant to HIV, and, in one trial, further advance them -- a key step toward a long-sought goal in vaccine development.

Until now, most research has used either generalized cell samples or organoids made from just one type of tropical fruit bat, and only from a single organ. But a breakthrough has arrived: a research team has now created the world's most comprehensive bat organoid platform. These 'mini-organs' are grown from five common bat species found across Asia and Europe and represent four different organs -- airway, lungs, kidneys, and small intestine.

Thetis cells, a class of immune cells first described in 2022, play an essential and previously unknown role in suppressing inflammatory responses to food, a new study finds.

An international research team has discovered a critical protein that acts as a 'switch' regulating immune responses to viruses.

When trees and soil fungi form close associations with each other, both partners benefit. Many tree species have further enhanced this cooperation by forming a concurrent symbiosis with two different groups of mycorrhizal fungi. Those trees cope better with water and nutrient scarcity, which is an important trait for forestry in the face of climate warming.

Sterols are among the most abundant lipids in eukaryotic cells, yet are synthesized through notoriously long, complex metabolic pathways. Researchers have used a novel approach to show how they interact with other lipids that help cells self-organize.

Natural ecosystems comprise groups of species capable of living in the specific conditions of a biological system. However, if we visit a specific natural area, we will not find all the species capable of living in it. The proportion of species that could live in a specific location but do not do so is known as dark diversity, a concept coined in 2011. Research has now discovered that this dark diversity increases in regions with greater human activity.

Research improves upon a popular experimental model of mammal development and in doing so, reveals more of the inner workings of a critical period during the formation of an embryo.

Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, researchers have discovered the long-posited but elusive genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange -- and it appears to occur in no other mammal.

Researchers have discovered why some people with Celiac disease continue to suffer debilitating symptoms despite strictly avoiding gluten.

A new study found that over a quarter of the world's naturalized plant species are threatened in parts of their native range -- raising questions about the role non-native populations may play in global conservation efforts.

Researchers show how specific immune cells are activated by the vaccine -- an important starting point for the development of new vaccines.

Scientists are aiming to determine the composition and topology of physiological Ashwell-Morell receptor ligands. Their findings will help uncover the receptor's still-hidden secrets.

Researchers have revealed insight into why embryos erase a key epigenetic mark during early development, suggesting this may have evolved to help form a placenta.

Scientists are using artificial intelligence to determine which genes collectively govern nitrogen use efficiency in plants such as corn, with the goal of helping farmers improve their crop yields and minimize the cost of nitrogen fertilizers.

The origin of reptiles on Earth has been shown to be up to 40 million years earlier than previously thought -- thanks to evidence discovered at an Australian fossil site that represents a critical time period. Scientists have identified fossilized tracks of an amniote with clawed feet -- most probably a reptile -- from the Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago.

The northern white rhinoceros is one of the rarest animals on Earth, with just two females left and no natural way for the species to reproduce. Now, scientists have mapped the entire genome of a northern white rhino. This represents a crucial step toward bringing the critically endangered species back from the edge using advanced reproductive technologies. The complete genome can be used as a reference to analyze the health of previously developed northern white rhinoceros stem cells. Eventually, those stem cells may be able to generate sperm and eggs to yield new rhinos.

An international team of researchers has discovered saarvienin A, a new type of glycopeptide antibiotic. Their findings introduce a compound with strong activity against highly resistant bacterial strains.

Using a new fluorescent mouse model with advanced imaging techniques, researchers have successfully visualized how musculoskeletal components are integrated into the functional locomotor system during embryonic development.

Scientists have now discovered the oldest ancestor for all the Australian tree frogs, with distant links to the tree frogs of South America.

With coral reefs in crisis due to climate change, scientists have engineered a bio-ink that could help promote coral larvae settlement and restore these underwater ecosystems before it's too late. Researchers demonstrate that the ink could boost coral settlement by more than 20 times, which they hope could contribute to rebuilding coral reefs around the world.

Palaeontologists have discovered a remarkable new 506-million-year-old predator from the Burgess Shale of Canada. Mosura fentoni was about the size of your index finger and had three eyes, spiny jointed claws, a circular mouth lined with teeth and a body with swimming flaps along its sides. These traits show it to be part of an extinct group known as the radiodonts.

A new study shows that an unassuming plant has some very unusual family dynamics.

Researchers developed a new machine learning method that, given a relevant amino acid sequence, can automatically predict the location of a protein in any human cell line down to the single-cell level. This advance could help clinicians identify certain diseases, streamline the process of drug discovery, and give biologists new insights into the effects of protein mutations.

Fungi are considered a promising source of biodegradable materials. Researchers have developed a new material based on a fungal mycelium and its own extracellular matrix. This gives the biomaterial particularly advantageous properties.

In order for trees to grow, they need to control their water balance meticulously. A study shows how trees react to drought -- and revises previous perceptions.

Researchers have identified the origin of cardiac cells using 3D images of a heart forming in real-time, inside a living mouse embryo.

Researchers have identified a never-before-seen mechanism that enables HIV-1 to evade the body's natural defenses and use it to support its survival and replication. The 'loophole' is a biological process that involves circular RNAs and marks the first experimental evidence of HIV-1 generating them from an integrated retroviral genome. Findings point to a novel strategy the virus uses to survive, providing a new target in the fight against one of the world's most resilient pathogens.

Research shows microbial communities in echidna pseudo-pouches undergo dramatic changes while the animal is lactating, which could help in creating an environment for their young, known as puggles, to thrive.

A team of researchers has identified distinct mother-offspring attachment types in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Drawing parallels with human psychology, the study provides compelling evidence that wild chimpanzee infants, like human children, develop critical secure and insecure-avoidant attachment patterns to their mothers. However, unlike humans and some captive chimpanzees, wild chimpanzees did not exhibit disorganized attachment characterized by high rates of aggression. This raises new questions about how this type of attachment may be shaped by survival and modern environmental pressures.

Researchers have discovered how to block cells dying, in a finding that could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The team has identified a small molecule that can selectively block cell death.

Scientists have found that juvenile European green crabs can do as much damage as adults to shellfish and native sea plants, calling into question current methods to eradicate the invasive crustaceans.

Wild chimpanzees alter the meaning of single calls when embedding them into diverse call combinations, mirroring linguistic operations in human language. Human language, however, allows an infinite generation of meaning by combining phonemes into words and words into sentences. This contrasts with the very few meaningful combinations reported in animals, leaving the mystery of human language evolution unresolved.

Scientists have discovered fossil evidence of an endangered, living tropical tree species. The unprecedented find was made in Brunei, a country on the large island of Borneo, and reveals a critical piece of the ancient history of Asia's rainforests, highlighting the urgent need for conservation in the region, according to researchers.

By creating a more true-to-life representation of DNA's environment, researchers have discovered that strand separation may take more mechanical force than the field previously believed.

Modern HIV medicine is based on a common genetic mutation. Now, researchers have traced where and when the mutation arose -- and how it protected our ancestors from ancient diseases.

The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis feeds on oil, multiplying rapidly in the wake of oil spills, and thereby accelerating the elimination of the pollution, in many cases. It does this by producing an 'organic dishwashing liquid' which it uses to attach itself to oil droplets. Researchers have now discovered the mechanism by which this 'organic dishwashing liquid' is synthesized.

A scientist decided to find out why a bacterial infection makes fruit flies promiscuous. What he discovered could help curb mosquito-borne diseases and manage crop pests.

New research shows that the gum disease bacterium P. gingivalis can slip into the bloodstream and infiltrate the heart. There, it quietly drives scar tissue buildup -- distorting the heart's architecture, disrupting electrical signals, and raising the risk of atrial fibrillation.

Wasp mothers have stunning brainpower when it comes to feeding their young, new research shows.

New report shows drastic decline in endangered primates and calls for conservation measures.

Analysing the gene activity of every single bacterial cell in a colony? A new technique of single-cell transcriptomics developed in W rzburg can do this much more efficiently than other methods: It reliably detects 300 to 600 genes per bacterial cell with a high success rate of 95%, thereby surpassing the efficiency of established procedures.

Why do cats generally live longer than dogs? New research suggests that longer lifespans of mammals like cats could be linked to their bigger brains and more complex immune systems.

Fishing pots fitted with LED lights catch significantly more shrimp and fish, new research shows.

Scientists have launched an interactive global map to show the migratory patterns of more than 100 marine species in an effort to protect at-risk wildlife.

The efforts of a research team give hope for new treatment approaches for dangerous tropical diseases. The researchers have compiled a high-precision inventory of the membrane proteins of cell organelles of the African sleeping sickness pathogen.

Researchers have discovered a type of molecule that can kill chlamydia bacteria but spare bacteria that are important for health. The discovery opens the door for further research towards developing new antibiotics against chlamydia.

Scientists have found that a mere 30 species of trees in the Cerrado -- the world's largest and most floristically diverse savanna -- account for nearly half of all its trees. The 'hyperdominance' by a few species could help researchers understand how this vast ecosystem functions.

The recent global monkeypox (mpox) outbreak, with a new and aggressive variant, has underscored the dire need for safe, broadly effective, and accessible vaccines. The LC16m8 vaccine, an attenuated vaccinia virus strain originally developed for smallpox, is a promising option for countering the mpox virus. Exploring this potential further, researchers employed a cross-species immunological analysis to provide new insights into LC16m8's immunogenicity and safety against mpox. The recent global monkeypox (mpox) outbreak, with a new and aggressive variant, has underscored the dire need for safe, broadly effective, and accessible vaccines. The LC16m8 vaccine, an attenuated vaccinia virus strain originally developed for smallpox, is a promising option for countering the mpox virus. Exploring this potential further, researchers employed a cross-species immunological analysis to provide new insights into LC16m8's immunogenicity and safety against mpox.

Scientists have engineered a monoclonal antibody that can protect mice from a lethal dose of influenza A, a new study shows. The new molecule combines the specificity of a mature flu fighter with the broad binding capacity of a more general immune system defender.

A recent study marks the first reported instance of generative AI designing synthetic molecules that can successfully control gene expression in healthy mammalian cells. As a proof-of-concept, the authors of the study asked the AI to design synthetic fragments which activate a gene coding for a fluorescent protein in some cells while leaving gene expression patterns unaltered. They created the fragments from scratch and dropped them into mouse blood cells, where the sequence fused with the genome at random locations. The experiments worked exactly as predicted and pave the way for new strategies to give instructions to a cell and guide how they develop and behave with unprecedented accuracy.

AI model EVE-Vax provides clues about how a virus may evolve and the immune response it could provoke.