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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2026 05:16 ET (18-Jun-2026 09:16 GMT/UTC)

Personalized predictions of probiotic and prebiotic therapy success by computer models

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study demonstrated that computer models of gut metabolism can predict which probiotics will successfully establish themselves in a person’s gut and how different prebiotics affect production of health-promoting short-chain fatty acids. The findings were published February 19^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Sean Gibbons of the Institute for Systems Biology, US, and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS Biology

Social pressure forces baby clownfish to lose their bars faster

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Growing up, you probably changed your style based on your social influences. It turns out, such pressures affect the appearance of young clownfish (anemonefish) too. A new study from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) has revealed the social influences and biological mechanisms controlling bar loss in tomato anemonefish, showing how the presence of older fish changes the speed at which young fish lose their additional white vertical stripe.

Journal: PLOS Biology

Household cat could hold the key to understanding breast cancer

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first large-scale genetic study of cancer in cats has highlighted the similarity between cancer driver genes in cats and humans, possibly helping find new ways to treat cancers in both.

Journal: Science
Funder: EveryCat Health Foundation, CVS Group, Wellcome Trust, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Swiss National Science Foundation

“Cyborg” pancreatic organoids can monitor the maturation of islet cells

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Qiang Li and colleagues have created “cyborg” pancreatic organoids that combine stretchy miniature electronics with stem cell-derived pancreatic islets, using the implanted electronics to monitor electrical activity related to glucose regulation in maturing α and β cells. Islet α and β cells secrete glucagon and insulin hormones, in response to electrical changes in the cell membrane. The researchers also used the electronics to stimulate the cells to enhance their glucose responsiveness and show how that responsiveness changes as the cells mature, how it is affected by different chemical compounds and circadian hormones, and how it is related to gene expression. Together, the cyborg organoids offer a path to study the biology and trace the maturation of α and β cells at the single-cell level, with an eye toward potentially treating or engineering new pancreatic islets in people with diabetes. In a related Perspective, Jochen Lang and Matthieu Raoux discuss how the cyborgs could be used to guide the growth of mature human pancreatic organoids for regenerative medicine and other applications.

Journal: Science

Crested Spinosaurus fossil was aquatic, but lived 1,000 kilometers from the Tethys Sea

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new Spinosaurus species uncovered in northern Niger by Paul Sereno and colleagues appears to have been a wading predator of fish like its close relatives, but it lived as many as 1,000 kilometers inland from the Tethys Sea. The fossil find may represent a third phase of evolution for this group of massive, fish-eating dinosaurs, according to Sereno et al. The new species Spinosaurus mirabilis, uncovered in the central Sahara near Sirig Taghat (“no water, no goat” in Tamasheq, the local Berber language), lived with long-necked dinosaurs in a riparian habitat 100-95 million years ago. Sereno et al. suggest there were three phases of spinosaur evolution: a first phase that began in the Jurassic Period when the reptiles developed their elongated skull for fish-catching; a second Early Cretaceous Period phase that saw the spread of spinosaurs as predators all along the coast of the Tethys Sea; and a third phase where spinosaurs like S. mirabilis specialized as shallow water predators in northern Africa and South America. S. mirabilis was similar in size and skeletal form to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, but was crowned with a unique scimitar-shaped bony crest that may have been used for visual display rather than locomotion or hunting.

Journal: Science

Uncovering evolution at the center of cell division

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Centromeres play virtually the same central role across the entire tree of life: They ensure the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Yet the striking diversity in centromere architecture – from large, repeat-rich DNA arrays to the minimalistic “point” centromeres in yeast – combined with their rapid evolution has puzzled scientists for decades. A research team led by Andrea Musacchio, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, and Jef Boeke from the NYU Grossmann School of Medicine have now solved the enduring mystery about the yeast centromere’s origin and evolution. They have identified a “proto-point” centromere that bridges the gap between the actual tiny “point” centromere and its more elaborate ancestor that incorporated fragments of parasitic DNA. This discovery reveals one of the most dramatic evolutionary transitions at DNA level

Journal: Nature

Brain cells drive endurance gains after exercise

Jackson Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory and the University of Pennsylvania found that endurance gains from exercise are driven not just by muscles, but by specific neurons in the brain’s hypothalamus. Reporting in Neuron, the team showed that mice lacking activity in these neurons failed to build endurance, even with intense training. Conversely, artificially activating the neurons after exercise enhanced endurance gains. The findings challenge the traditional view that muscle adaptation alone explains improved fitness, highlighting a critical brain–body connection in how exercise builds stamina.

Journal: Neuron

Social media images help fill “major gaps” in global biodiversity data

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study published in Conservation Biology shows that geotagged social media photos can significantly improve biodiversity datasets, especially in regions underrepresented in global monitoring efforts. Led by scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, and Monash University, the team integrated Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) occurrence records with public images of the tawny coster butterfly (Acraea terpsicore) from Flickr and Facebook, and saw a 35% increase in total observations.

Journal: Conservation Biology

Scientists map brain's blood pressure control center

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UVA Health researchers have identified a group of nerve cells in the brainstem that act as a stabilizing system for blood pressure. The findings could open the door for new treatments to overcome harmful effects of short-term blood pressure fluctuations in patients whose blood pressure otherwise appears normal.

Journal: Circulation Research