A series of hide-and-seek experiments with a bonobo named Kanzi shows for the first time that apes can mentally keep track of multiple familiar humans at once, even when they are out of sight. Kanzi could also recognize caregivers from their voices alone, an ability never before tested on bonobos.

By analyzing millions of messenger RNA molecules (mRNA) during the course of ALS, researchers at Stockholm University, in collaboration with scientists at the Paris Brain Institute and Örebro University, have identified why certain nerve cells are resistant to the disease and what happens in the sensitive nerve cells when they are affected. The study, published in the scientific journal Genome Research, focuses on a hereditary form of ALS caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene. 

BUFFALO, NY – August 19, 2025 – A new research paper was published in Volume 16 of Oncotarget on August 19, 2025, titled “The SCD1 inhibitor aramchol interacts with regorafenib to kill GI tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.”

Sour taste is detected by type III cells in taste buds, which transmit information to the brain via vesicle-based synaptic signaling. However, the mechanism behind this process was unclear. Now, researchers at Okayama University have shown that the synaptic protein SNAP25 is essential for both sour signal transmission and long-term survival of type III cells. Mice lacking SNAP25 had fewer type III cells and reduced sour sensation, revealing SNAP25’s dual role in sour taste perception.

How does the collective interaction of many individual cells create a perfectly formed organism? This question is the focus of a new study.

As bones weaken with age, the culprits may be the aging cells within. A new review uncovers how cellular changes—like senescence, inflammation, and loss of regenerative capacity—disrupt the delicate balance of bone formation and breakdown. By mapping these age-related mechanisms across multiple skeletal diseases, the study offers a clearer picture of how bones decline over time, and where potential therapies might intervene to slow or even reverse the process.

New research from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa (Wits University), has shown that heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury accumulate in the scales of Black Mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis).

The study, conducted on snakes captured in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and published in Environmental Pollution, was the first of its kind to examine heavy metal accumulation in an African snake species. The results mean that researchers can use scale clippings from these snakes to accurately measure spatial patterns of environmental pollution levels, without harming the snakes.