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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Jun-2026 09:15 ET (17-Jun-2026 13:15 GMT/UTC)

MUJA and China University of Geosciences scientists document Europe’s first Jurassic lizard trackways in Asturias

Fundacion para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigacion Cientifica y la Tecnologia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The scientific team from the Jurassic Museum of Asturias (MUJA), composed of Laura Piñuela, Ángel García-Pérez and José Carlos García-Ramos, together with researcher Lida Xing from the China University of Geosciences, has documented in Asturias the first Jurassic lizard trackways found in Europe. Such traces are extremely rare in the fossil record after the Triassic.

Journal: Ichnos

When light boosts protein evolution

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Peer-Reviewed Publication

EPFL researchers have developed a light-based method that can produce proteins that switch states, respond to signals, and even compute, using light and the cell cycle.

Journal: Cell
Funder: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), EPFLglobaLeaders doctoral fellowship, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

How do GLP-1 agonists affect gene expression?

Salk Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

GLP-1 drugs have come to be thought of as “wonder drugs,” yet the mechanisms behind their many new health benefits have remained unclear. New research from the Salk Institute reveals the mechanism behind one of these benefits: promoting pancreatic beta cells’ health and stress tolerance, long-term. The findings show how GLP-1 drugs can trigger broad genomic responses.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

LOXL2 enzyme discovery offers new hope for jaw arthritis

Editorial Office of West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Osteoarthritis in the jaw joint, or TMJ osteoarthritis, affects millions worldwide, yet effective treatments are limited. Researchers from Boston University now report that a naturally occurring enzyme called LOXL2 could help protect joint cartilages from inflammation and cell death, which are the major drivers of arthritis. Findings suggest that boosting this enzyme could be a promising strategy in treating jaw arthritis—inspiring future therapies for preserving joint function.

Journal: International Journal of Oral Science

A new “molecular switch” for inborn immunity identified

University of Cologne
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have discovered a previously unknown signalling cascade that determines how powerful our innate immune system responds to virus infections. This discovery has broad implications for inflammatory diseases, cancer, and neurodegeneration / publication in ’Nature Cell Biology‘

Journal: Nature Cell Biology

Contraception without hormones: Goethe University researches alternatives to “the pill”

Goethe University Frankfurt
Grant and Award Announcement

The “pill” was once hailed as medical revolution, later it became the most widely used form of contraceptive. In recent years, however, hormonal contraceptives have increasingly come under critical scrutiny due to potential side effects and long-term health concerns. A research team at Goethe University and its collaboration partners at University Hospital Bonn and Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, has now launched the PREVENT research project. The initiative aims to develop innovative, non-hormonal contraceptives for both women and men. PREVENT is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research until 2029 with €3 million.

Simultaneous decoding of genetic maps inside cells. . . A game changer for understanding complex human diseases

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The origin of many diseases begins at the cellular level and involves multiple molecular interactions. However, previous methods have struggled to accurately observe changes in individual cells. Analyzing average values across thousands of cells made it challenging to detect the early signals of disease.

Journal: Nature Biotechnology
Funder: Suh Kyungbae Foundation, Samsung Science and Technology Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea

Wnt signaling drives stomach cancer spread by reshaping surrounding tissue

Nano Life Science Institute (NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Cancer Research Institute and the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, have uncovered a critical mechanism that enables gastric cancer to spread to distant organs. Their study shows that cancer cells stimulate Wnt signaling in surrounding stromal fibroblasts to produce hyaluronan, creating a supportive microenvironment that promotes metastasis.

These findings provide new insight into how metastatic tumors establish themselves and suggest promising strategies to prevent gastric cancer progression.

Journal: Nature Communications

Plant cell structure could hold key to cancer therapies and improved crops

University of California - Davis
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led by researchers at UC Davis has now mapped out the structure of a key player, augmin, in exhaustive detail.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation