A new book by Dr. Robert Spengler tackles one of the biggest questions in biology and the social sciences: domestication – what it is, how it occurred, and the role that humans really played in developing the first crops and livestock.

Herpesviruses, which cause skin and genital infections, neonatal diseases, and meningitis, can successfully persist over a lifetime and transmit from one host to another. One key strategy that enables them to coexist within host cells is mimicry of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs)—proteins that regulate crucial cellular processes. A new study by researchers from Japan reveals novel insights into mechanisms underlying CDK mimicry by viral kinases, driven by phosphorylation of conserved amino acid residues.

Parasitoid wasps sometimes lay eggs in unsuitable host insects, a behavior that has traditionally been considered accidental. However, researchers at University of Tsukuba have discovered that parasitism can still be successful in these cases—if another species of wasp lays eggs in the same host simultaneously. They have named this newly discovered parasitic strategy "pirate parasitism."

SIAT's researchers develop a miniaturized, portable bio-battery, which enables the precise control over bioelectrical stimulation and physiological blood pressure signals.

A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, has unearthed the ancient evolutionary origins of genes critical to stem cell biology, dating back over 700 million years. Drawing on insights from evolutionary processes, this discovery reveals that tools borrowed from ancient single-celled organisms—and even recreated proteins from life’s earliest days—can transform mouse somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells capable of developing into any cell type in multicellular animals. This breakthrough challenges the longstanding belief that only animal genes possess this transformative ability, paving the way for new protein designs in novel therapies for regenerative medicine and disease studies to combat ageing and related health issues. The findings were recently published in Nature Communications.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) found that the fringe-lipped bat, known to eavesdrop on frog and toad mating calls to find its prey, learns to distinguish between palatable and unpalatable frogs and toads through experience. The findings, published April 29 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provide the first evidence that eavesdropping predators fine-tune their hunting cues over the course of their development. 

According to a new study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the change in calcium carbonate dynamics in the ocean appears to have influenced the evolutionary trajectory of tiny but mighty sea creatures: foraminifera.