EurekAlert! News by Subject: Biology - News by Subject: Biology

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 24-Dec-2025 09:11 ET (24-Dec-2025 14:11 GMT/UTC)

New evidence static electricity sense could be a factor in evolution of extreme body shapes of treehoppers

University of Bristol
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Could detecting static electricity be a factor in explaining why treehopper insects have evolved such bizarre body shapes?

That is the hypothesis put forward in a new research paper published in PNAS by Dr Sam England, who completed his PhD at Bristol in 2023, and Professor Daniel Robert, Professor of Bionanoscience at the University of Bristol.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

How the common fungus Candida albicans colonizes the gut

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About 80% of people have the fungus Candida albicans in their gut. Although most of the time it persists unnoticed for years causing no health problems, C. albicans can turn into a dangerous microbe that causes serious diseases in many organs, including the urinary tract, lungs and brain. Working with a mouse model, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and international collaborators have discovered unexpected factors that help C. albicans settle and persist in the gut. The findings expand our knowledge of the fungus-gut interactions and offer potential solutions to reduce colonization.

Journal: Microbiology Spectrum

Demographic data supporting FDA authorization of AI devices for Alzheimer disease and related dementias

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: Transparency of evidence supporting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization of artificial intelligence (AI)- and machine learning -based devices for Alzheimer disease and related dementias was limited, precluding effective evaluation of training and validation dataset representativeness. Disease status (i.e., dementia type and distribution), age, and sex were reported for fewer than half of devices, while race and ethnicity data were rarely disclosed, raising uncertainty about real-world generalizability and clinical accuracy in intended populations.

Journal: JAMA

Both humans, nature change where lions and hyenas move

University of Georgia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lions and hyenas may occasionally spend less time near roads crowded by humans, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

Journal: Global Ecology and Conservation

Too many male animals in zoos could hamper conservation of endangered species, warn scientists

University of Bath
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath have found that factors including mating systems and brood size could predict the ratio of males to females for animals bred in captivity.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: University of Debrecen

Great Tits show early signs of splitting up: Oxford researchers uncover social clues to bird 'divorce'

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a discovery that deepens our understanding of animal social bonds, a study led by University of Oxford researchers in collaboration with the University of Leeds has demonstrated that wild great tits exhibit clear behaviours signalling ‘divorce’ long before the breeding season. The findings, published today (30 /29 July) in Royal Society Proceedings B, provide valuable new insights into how animals navigate complex social decisions.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

Fulbright funds OU professor’s biodiversity research

University of Oklahoma
Grant and Award Announcement

University of Oklahoma biologist Hayley Lanier has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct biodiversity research in the Czech Republic during the 2025–2026 academic year. An associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and associate curator of mammalogy at the Sam Noble Museum, Lanier will use evolutionary genomics to study mammalian biodiversity and conservation. Her work aims to deepen understanding of species evolution while expanding international research collaboration.