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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 13:17 ET (26-Oct-2026 17:17 GMT/UTC)

More than 1.15 million fertility treatment cycles reported across Europe and the impact of frozen embryo transfer continues to grow

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Reports and Proceedings

More than 1.15 million assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles were reported across Europe in 2023, according to preliminary data presented by the European IVF Monitoring (EIM) Consortium at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Meeting: ESHRE 42nd Annual Meeting

Air pollution may alter how sperm genes function, major fertility study finds

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Reports and Proceedings

New research presented today at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) suggests that exposure to air pollution may impact genes associated with sperm development, raising new questions about male fertility, pregnancy outcomes and offspring health.

Meeting: ESHRE 42nd Annual Meeting

Halving fertility treatment costs could more than double births, major global study shows

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A landmark international study has found that halving patient out-of-pocket costs was associated with a 2.67-fold increase in births achieved through assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Meeting: ESHRE 42nd Annual Meeting

Men living in different regions show marked differences in sperm quality despite similar lifestyles, novel study finds

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Reports and Proceedings

A new nationwide study has found substantial regional differences in sperm quality, with men in the highest-performing region recording almost double the total motile sperm count of those in the lowest-performing region.

Meeting: ESHRE 42nd Annual Meeting

Darwin's Ark invites research collaboration on the world's largest community science initiative for cats and dogs

Darwin's Ark
Business Announcement

Community science nonprofit Darwin's Ark is inviting researchers to access its pet genetics data, research tools and community science resources to advance pet and human health. Built through the participation of more than 25,000 cats, 50,000 dogs, 6,000 DNA sequences and more than 6 million survey responses, Darwin's Ark has created one of the world's largest community-powered pet research initiatives and is expanding opportunities for scientific collaboration.

Study links birth control pills to more binge eating

Texas A&M University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study in JAMA Network Open followed 422 women who were already using combined oral contraceptives, tracking their eating patterns daily for 49 consecutive days. The goal: to examine whether binge-related eating changes depending on whether women are taking hormone-containing pills or hormone-free pills within the same cycle.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Study reveals the ‘inner life’ of bees

Macquarie University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research finds bumblebees show ‘liking’ and ‘disliking’ responses to taste, pointing to emotion-like processes underlying behaviour

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Templeton World Charity Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Center

Four new groups of indigenous cacao varieties discovered in Peru

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new genetic analysis of hundreds of cacao trees representing traditional Amazonian varieties grown on farms across Peru has revealed four previously unidentified, genetically distinct groups. Lambert Motilal with colleagues from the Cocoa Research Centre, The University of the West Indies, and Martha S. Calderon and Danilo E. Bustamante, with their colleagues from the Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, partnered to explore Peru's untapped cacao diversity. They present these findings in the open access journal PLOS One on July 6, 2026.

Journal: PLOS One

Cleveland researchers discover potential new treatment for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

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.

Journal: Redox Biology