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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Jun-2026 08:15 ET (19-Jun-2026 12:15 GMT/UTC)

Stowers Institute appoints former Cerner legal chief as new general counsel

Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Business Announcement

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research has named Dan Devers as General Counsel, effective January 26, 2026. In this role, Devers will provide strategic and operational leadership on all legal matters across the Institute and its affiliates, including governance, compliance, intellectual property strategy, and partnerships that support the Institute’s mission to uncover new knowledge in foundational biology and develop innovative ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease.

Underwater photos show seabirds, seals and fish interacting with a tidal turbine in Washington State

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Underwater photos show seabirds, seals and fish interacting with a tidal turbine in Washington State

Journal: PLOS One

1 in 5 surveyed UK adults who have experienced the death of a pet report it as more distressing than experienced human deaths, with significant rates of prolonged grief disorder symptoms also being reported following pet loss

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

1 in 5 surveyed UK adults who have experienced the death of a pet report it as more distressing than experienced human deaths, with significant rates of prolonged grief disorder symptoms also being reported following pet loss

Journal: PLOS One

Pregnant women with IBD show heightened inflammation in vaginal mucosa

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Pregnant individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have higher levels of pro-inflammatory immune molecules, known as cytokines, in their vaginal mucosa than their healthy counterparts, according to a new study published January 14, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Ana Maldonado-Contreras of University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, U.S., and colleagues. However, the study also suggested that higher-quality diets, with more vegetables and fewer added sugars, are associated with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in pregnant women both with and without IBD.

Journal: PLOS One

Horses can smell fear: In experiments where horses smelled sweat from scared humans, they reacted to scary and sudden events with increased fear and reduced human interaction

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Horses can smell fear: In experiments where horses smelled sweat from scared humans, they reacted to scary and sudden events with increased fear and reduced human interaction

Journal: PLOS One

New synaptic formation in adolescence challenges conventional views of brain development

Kyushu University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from Kyushu University discovered a previously unrecognized synaptic “hotspot” that forms during adolescence, challenging the long-held view that adolescent brain development was dominated by synaptic pruning. This hotspot fails to form in mice carrying a schizophrenia-associated gene, pointing to a potential link between adolescent synaptic formation and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A), Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Uehara Memorial Foundation, Sumitomo Foundation, Ichiro Kanehara Foundation for the Promotion of Medical Sciences and Medical Care, Brain Science Foundation, Daiichi Sankyo Foundation of Life Science, Intramural grant from RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kagoshima University Megumikai Medical Research Promotion Fund

Woolly rhino genome recovered from Ice Age wolf stomach

Stockholm University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the Centre for Palaeogenetics have managed to analyse the genome from a 14,400-year-old woolly rhinoceros, recovered from a tissue sample found preserved inside the stomach of an ancient wolf. The study, published in Genome Biology and Evolution, shows that woolly rhinos remained genetically healthy until the end of the last Ice Age. The species therefore probably died out due to a rapid collapse of the population, rather than a slow demographic decline.

Journal: Genome Biology and Evolution
Funder: Vetenskapsrådet, European Research Council, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Science for Life Laboratory, National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden, Vetenskapsrådet

Scientists demonstrate first-time use of AI for genetic circuit design

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study reports first-time use of artificial intelligence for genetic circuit design.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Office of Naval Research, Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation, American Heart Association, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University, Rice Institute of Synthetic Biology at Rice University

How a unique class of neurons may set the table for brain development

Picower Institute at MIT
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new MIT study finds that somatostatin-expressing neurons follow a unique trajectory when forming connections in the brain’s visual cortex that may help establish the conditions needed for sensory experience to refine circuits.

Journal: JNeurosci
Funder: Office of Naval Research, Freedom Together Foundation