Current crystalline thin-film production techniques typically require specific growth substrates, posing significant challenges for their use in flexible electronics and integrated optoelectronics. To address this, Scientist in China have developed a novel “induced fit growth” method inspired by molecular biology, enabling universal growth of Ga-based semiconductor films on arbitrary substrates. This approach facilitates applications in large-scale transistor arrays, synaptic transistors, omnidirectional and flexible photodetectors, paving the way for next-generation wearable electronics and neuromorphic computing systems.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba and affiliated institutes have developed a publicly accessible single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) atlas that captures developmental and neurogenic processes in sea urchin embryos and larvae at unprecedented resolution. Because of the relatively small number of neurons in the embryos and larvae of the sea urchin , it has been difficult to trace neuronal differentiation and its underlying molecular regulation in detail. To address this challenge, the researchers constructed a comprehensive scRNA-seq atlas spanning multiple developmental stages of Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, enabling the intuitive exploration of gene expression at single-cell resolution.

New research reveals a surprising link between immunity and our gut bacteria. Researchers studied the Seychelles warbler, a small songbird found on Cousin Island in the Seychelles. They collected the birds’ poo to analyse their gut bacteria – and found that their immune genes influence which gut microbes thrive. They say their work sheds light on how animal immune systems and communities of beneficial gut bacteria evolve together - including in humans.

The news media is shaping reproductive narratives and stigma around childlessness, presenting it as a threat to national interests, a deviation from moral or cultural norms, as a risk and, sometimes, as a legitimate life path. In an article published March 11^th in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health, Julia Schröders of Umeå University, Sweden, and colleagues, conclude that understanding these narratives will allow the development of media literacy initiatives to destigmatize and support more equitable health communication.

3D-printed robotic rattlesnake triggers an avoidance response in zoo animals, especially species which share their distribution with rattlers in nature

Humans perceive emotional expressions displayed by non-human primates and spontaneously mimic these expressions, according to a study published March 11, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Ursula Hess from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, and colleagues.

A study by researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso shows that rattling serves as a potent deterrent for a wide range of animals and is especially effective among species that naturally coexist with rattlesnakes.

Chimpanzees have a reputation for being aggressive, while bonobos are often seen as their peaceful counterparts. This contrast has frequently been used to explain different sides of human nature. However, a new study by Utrecht University behavioural biologists Emile Bryon, Edwin van Leeuwen, Tom Roth and international colleagues shows that, in zoos, chimpanzees are not more aggressive than bonobos.