A completely new order of marine sponges has been found by researchers at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University. The sponge order, named Vilesida, produces substances that could be used in drug development. The same substances support the hypothesis that sponges – and therefore animals – emerged 100 million years earlier than previously thought. 

This review systematically examines the integration of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) in nanomedicine for cancer drug delivery. It demonstrates how ML algorithms—including support vector machines, neural networks, and deep learning models—are revolutionizing nanoparticle design, drug release prediction, and personalized therapy planning. The article outlines the complete ML workflow from data acquisition to model interpretation, compares key algorithms, and presents real-world case studies spanning multidrug carrier optimization and cancer diagnostics. While highlighting substantial preclinical advances, the authors identify critical barriers to clinical translation such as data heterogeneity, model opacity, and regulatory challenges. The review concludes with a forward-looking roadmap emphasizing data standardization, explainable AI, and clinical validation to bridge the gap between computational innovation and patient-ready nanomedicine.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba identified a brain-like cluster of neurons in sea urchin larvae, traditionally considered lacking a brain, that regulates light-responsive behavior. These neurons possess a subset of gene expression profiles similar to those found in vertebrate brains, offering new insights into the evolutionary origins of brain functions that may trace back to a common ancestor in the bilaterian lineage of animals.

Scientists have reconstructed ancient anacondas from 12-million-year-old fossils discovered in Venezuela to find these tropical snakes were a whopping 5.2 meters long. Global changes have since driven many other giant animals to extinction, but anacondas grow just as big today.

A CU Boulder-led study finds that Earth’s early atmosphere could have produced key sulfur biomolecules essential for life, challenging long-held assumptions.