A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.

Sesame dynamically rewires lignan metabolism during germination

Newly identified enzyme networks drive large-scale conversion of sesamin-derived compounds

Researchers at the Suntory Foundation for Life Sciences (SUNBOR) have uncovered a previously unknown metabolic system that enables sesame seeds to extensively remodel lignan metabolism during germination (Figure 1).

This study presents a new evolutionary experiment in which RNA molecules were frequently mixed. The results show that RNA evolved toward reduced diversity, rendering the population increasingly susceptible to extinction. This outcome is attributed to the combined effects of a reduced RNA population caused by frequent mixing, the emergence of competitive parasitic RNAs, and the accumulation of deleterious mutations, likely through genetic drift.

Researchers found that, although antibody evolution is highly chaotic at the level of individual cells, germinal centers reliably produce stronger antibodies through repeated rounds of mutation and selection that are only slightly biased toward success. The findings provide a new quantitative framework for understanding immune evolution, with potential implications for vaccine design. This work also lays the groundwork for how germinal centers could serve as an experimentally tractable system for studying evolution more broadly and in real time.

BUFFALO, NY — June 5, 2026 — A new review was published in Volume 18 of Aging on May 15, 2026, titled “Blue period – features of senescence 30 years after beta-galactosidase.”

A new review in the Journal of Pancreatology explores TIGIT as a pivotal immune checkpoint for cancer immunotherapy. It details TIGIT’s immunosuppressive mechanisms, its correlation with poor prognosis, and the superior efficacy of anti-TIGIT/PD-1 combination therapy in overcoming resistance to conventional immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Researchers at Yokohama City University, Japan, have uncovered evidence that the Y chromosome gene UTY still retains regulatory activity in human embryonic stem cells, offering a rare glimpse into what may represent an evolutionary transitional state of the human Y chromosome.