A pesky fish may be the culprit behind bleached tropical coral off the coast of the Florida Keys, according to research from the University of Georgia.

Paclitaxel (PTX), a valuable diterpenoid natural product derived from *Taxus* species, is one of the most potent and commercially successful natural-product-derived anticancer agents. This review by Haizheng Yu, Fen Lan, Yuan Zhuang, and colleagues, published in *Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines* (2025, 23(7): 769–789), comprehensively examines the challenges and advancements in PTX sourcing, production, physicochemical properties, anti-cancer mechanisms, clinical applications, trials, and chemo-immunotherapy. Since PTX was initially extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew (*Taxus brevifolia*) in 1963, multiple production strategies have been developed — including semi-synthesis from 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB), *Taxus* cell culture, and, following the recent complete elucidation of its biosynthetic pathway, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology in heterologous hosts. Despite FDA approval in 1992 and its broad-spectrum clinical success, PTX’s clinical utility is constrained by its extremely low water solubility (5.56 × 10⁻³ g·L⁻¹) and associated formulation toxicities, driving the development of nanocarrier-based delivery systems such as albumin-bound PTX (nab-PTX), liposomes, and polymeric micelles. The review also details PTX’s anti-cancer mechanisms — spanning microtubule stabilization, ROS-mediated apoptosis, pyroptosis, and immunomodulation — and highlights its expanding role in chemo-immunotherapy combinations. It aims to provide a comprehensive reference for the rational development and effective utilization of PTX.

Researchers have developed an improved vacuum-infiltration system that overcomes long-standing barriers in tomato genetic engineering. 

Objective: To describe the case of V. ​vulnificus infection and to review the literature, emphasizing the importance of laboratory pathogen biology examination in clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: A retrospective review and analyzed a case of a patient infected with septic shock secondary to V. ​vulnificus due to trauma in Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University on August 9, 2023. This includes an examination of the symptoms, laboratory results, and treatment process. The BD Phoenix-M50 automatic bacterial identification analyzer was used to identify and test the susceptibility of cultured bacteria, the French Mérieux VITEK® MS IND MALDI TOF was used for identification by mass spectrometry. Results: Skin secretion culture and blood cultures are Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, according to select sensitive antimicrobial drug susceptibility results and surgical treatment after calcitonin original and CRP in patients with infective index returned to normal. Conclusions: Vibrio vulnificus can infect humans through damaged skin and cause wound infection and bloodstream infection. Early wound culture and blood culture are must. Early surgical operation combined with anti-infection therapy is the key to the treatment of Vibrio vulnificus infection to prevent secondary infection endangers the patient’s life. In addition, publicity and education such as preventive measures can also effectively reduce the infection rate of vibrio vulnificus.

Foundation models in molecular biology, leveraging their success in NLP and image generation, are revolutionizing the understanding of multi-level molecular correlations by training on vast datasets encompassing RNA/DNA/protein sequences, single-cell transcriptomics, and spatial transcriptomics. These models decode intricate relationships (e.g., gene regulatory networks, protein interaction hubs) to predict functions, design therapeutics, and infer spatial tissue dynamics. Current frameworks include ESM-2 (protein structure-function prediction), scGPT (single-cell data integration), and DNABERT (genomic variant interpretation). Future directions emphasize multimodal integration (combining sequences, structures, and omics), interpretable attention mechanisms for biological insights, and scalable architectures for high-resolution spatial-temporal data. Addressing data heterogeneity and model generalizability will unlock precision biomedicine applications.

This protocol establishes the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model in avian embryos to investigate migrasome-mediated angiogenesis mechanisms. Key methodologies include the CAM nylon mesh assay and ex vivo sprouting assay for quantifying vascular growth, alongside migrasome isolation, labeling, and targeted delivery. CRISPR-generated T4-KO-mCherry-KI embryos enable functional analysis of migrasome dynamics in real-time angiogenesis. The CAM's high vascularity and accessibility allow parallel assessment of pro-/anti-angiogenic factors and migrasome-cell interaction mapping. By integrating genetic editing and migrasome manipulation, this platform bridges migrasome biology with developmental angiogenesis, offering a scalable tool for mechanistic and therapeutic exploration.

A scientific breakthrough at Tel Aviv University: A world-first study shows an acoustic interaction between plants and insects. In this study, the team focused on female moths and found that they make a critical decision—where to lay their eggs—based on sounds emitted by nearby plants. When plants emitted distress sounds, the female moths preferred healthy plants that were not emitting such sounds. These sounds are ultrasonic, beyond the hearing range of the human ear, but moths can hear them.