As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now ‘urgently practical,’ according to a new peer-reviewed study by an international multidisciplinary team of human reproduction, bioethics, and aerospace researchers.

Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) today announced a sequencing agreement with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA)’s Frozen Zoo®. The 50-year-old biobank is the world’s most comprehensive and diverse collection of living cells from threatened and endangered species across the animal kingdom. Illumina will sequence up to 4,000 samples representing 1,300 species in the Frozen Zoo®. Genomic insights will be applied to real-world conservation challenges and efforts to safeguard animal species worldwide. A subset of samples will be used for groundbreaking multiomic research, geared toward unlocking vital insights into wildlife medicine, evolutionary biology, and biodiversity preservation.

In recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and mentorship of early-career researchers in the field of collective behaviour, the Hector Foundation II has honoured Konstanz-based behavioural biologist Iain Couzin with the Hector Science Award.