New study from University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, and the Cleveland VA identifies a potential new treatment strategy for Parkinson's disease.

Scientists found that blocking the enzyme 15-PGDH protected brain cells and improved outcomes in multiple preclinical models of Parkinson's disease.

The findings suggest that drugs already being developed for other uses could potentially also be used to treat Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Biologists have long puzzled over how organs develop into their final shapes, and the nearly transparent bodies of young sea stars may offer a unique window into the organ development process.

An engineered triphasic biomaterial scaffold successfully recreated the cranial suture stem cell niche lost in craniosynostosis, a condition that causes premature fusion of skull bones. Using a pore-size-guided “bone-suture-bone” design, the scaffold maintained skeletal stem cells while supporting surrounding bone formation. In mouse models, the construct prevented re-fusion, restored craniofacial growth, and improved skull morphology. The findings may advance regenerative therapies that directly address the underlying causes of pediatric craniofacial disorders.

Some plants are thought to supplement their carbon needs by obtaining carbon through underground fungal networks connected to other plants. This symbiotic relationship is known as mycoheterotrophy. Researchers from Chiba University found evidence that Gentiana squarrosa, a Gentian family plant, can receive carbon through arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks in addition to photosynthesis. The findings support the existence of partial mycoheterotrophy and could improve understanding of underground plant–fungus interactions.

Scientists from HSE University, MSU, and Tallinn University of Technology have studied a fossil species of ancient brachiopods that lived in a warm sea in what is now northern Estonia more than 445 million years ago. These ancient brachiopods developed a cup-shaped shell with a protective 'cap' that shielded them from overgrowth by other marine organisms. The study has been published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Researchers are sharing lessons from the unprecedented Stanley Park coyote attacks from 2020 to 2021 to help people better coexist with urban wildlife. 

Coyotes are here to stay, say authors of a new study which examined contributing factors to nine months of aggressive coyote encounters that resulted in a cull of 11 coyotes in Vancouver’s largest urban park. 

Nathan Lewis, a UBC zoology doctoral candidate, and Dr. Sarah Benson-Amram, an associate professor in the UBC departments of zoology and forest and conservation sciences, discuss how people across North America can live in harmony with their four-legged neighbours.