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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-Oct-2026 17:15 ET (25-Oct-2026 21:15 GMT/UTC)

Sustainable protein supply: Turning solar power into protein

Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to United Nations projections, global food demand could increase by around 60 percent by 2050, while only about two percent additional agricultural land is expected to become available. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are therefore exploring new approaches to safeguard food security. A team at the TUM Campus Straubing has developed a process for producing crucial amino acids from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and renewable energy.

Journal: Nature Communications

Wistar scientists develop DNA-delivered immunotherapy that targets ovarian cancer more effectively

The Wistar Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wistar scientists have developed a new type of bispecific T cell engager, or BTE, that is effective against ovarian cancer in preclinical studies.

Journal: Molecular Therapy
Funder: W.W. Smith Charitable Trust, Jill and Mark Fishman Foundation

UT San Antonio researcher receives NSF CAREER Award to advance insect biology and strengthen South Texas agriculture

University of Texas at San Antonio
Grant and Award Announcement

Hormones regulate development and reproduction not only in humans, but in all animals, including pests that threaten livestock and crops. Invasive insect pests cost U.S. agriculture billions of dollars each year, threatening crops and challenging the farming industry. Some mimics of hormones are used to control insect pests, yet scientists still have much to learn about how they work or how insects develop resistance to them.

College of Pharmacy, Pusan National University study explores rare atom-containing natural products and their biomedical potential

Pusan National University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new review study explores natural products containing atypical atoms, including boron, fluorine, arsenic, selenium, iodine, vanadium, and molybdenum. These metabolites reveal how nature’s biosynthetic repertoire extends beyond conventional biological elements, enabling unusual biosynthetic pathways, redox activity, detoxification, signaling, defense, and catalysis. The review highlights their ecological roles and future potential for drug discovery, genome mining, and sustainable biocatalysis.

Journal: Natural Product Reports

Epigenetic dynamics of human spermatogenesis and their dysregulation in non-obstructive azoospermia

Higher Education Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Spermatogenesis is a highly coordinated developmental process governed by precise epigenetic regulation. However, the exact chromatin dynamics during human spermatogenesis and their systemic failure in non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA)—the most severe form of male infertility—remain largely elusive due to the complexity of the meiotic process and the fleeting nature of epigenetic remodeling.

Journal: Protein & Cell

Frailty tool in aging dogs digs up new data energizing the maternal cost of reproduction debate: Good news for mothers

Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Frailty threatens older individuals because it increases their vulnerability to detrimental health outcomes, such as falling, longer hospitalization, or even shortened life expectancy. New research in aging companion dogs exploring the linkage between reproduction and aging shows that production of live offspring did not increase late-life frailty; instead, females with live offspring exhibited elevated robustness later in life.

Journal: The Journals of Gerontology Series A
Funder: The IAMS Company, P&G Pet Care, Rottweiler Health Foundation, Brookdale National Fellowship to support leadership in gerontology [DJW], Glenn Award for research in biological mechanisms of aging [DJW]

New approach to the development of non-opioid painkillers

Medical University of Vienna
Peer-Reviewed Publication

(Vienna, 21 July 2026) – An international research team led by the Medical University of Vienna has investigated a new peptide derived from cone snail venom which significantly reduced inflammation-induced pain in an animal model. Crucially, its effect takes hold immediately after subcutaneous injection, whereas previously known cone snail peptides must be administered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid. The study results thus provide an important basis for the development of new non-opioid pain-relieving medicines that are significantly gentler to use, and have recently been published in the journal “Nature Structural and Molecular Biology”.

Journal: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

How sea anemone cells reform into an organism

University of Vienna
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Vienna have discovered a key mechanism that enables sea anemones to regenerate into a fully developed organism from disorganised clusters of cells. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that the so-called Notch signalling pathway controls tissue organisation and the formation of the body axis. The findings provide new insights into the fundamental rules of biological self-organisation and could help us better understand how tissues form, organise themselves and regenerate following disruption.

Journal: Nature Communications

Thymus-derived hormone may help suppress age-related inflammation

Keck School of Medicine of USC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a thymus‑derived hormone, thymulin, as a key regulator of “inflammaging,” the chronic, low‑grade inflammation that increases with age and fuels cancer and other diseases. In animal models and human blood samples, the team showed that thymulin helps keep inflammatory cytokines in check; as thymulin levels decline with age, cytokines rise, promoting tumor growth and weakening cancer immunity. Restoring thymulin in older mice reduced age‑related inflammation, improved survival, and enhanced response to anti‑PD‑1/PD‑L1 immunotherapy, pointing to a potential new strategy to boost cancer treatment in older patients. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that targeting the thymus and thymulin could open new avenues for treating cancer and other age‑related diseases and underscore the importance of studying older animals to better understand diseases of aging.