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

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-Dec-2025 02:11 ET (25-Dec-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)

New examination of fish considered a ‘living fossil’ changes our understanding of vertebrate skull evolution

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers reanalyzed the skull musculature of coelacanths, a group of fish that has existed for 400 million years, and concluded that many structures had been incorrectly described. The study was published in Science Advances by researchers from the University of São Paulo and the Smithsonian Institution.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

University of Houston optometry researcher provides new hope for injured corneas

University of Houston
Grant and Award Announcement

With a grant for $2.2 million from the National Institutes of Health, a University of Houston optometrist is developing a treatment for corneal scarring which can cause permanent vision loss.

Designer fungi: Genetic “dial” fine-tunes mycelium from leather-soft to steel-hard

Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts

A Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts study shows that natural variation in Schizophyllum commune, coupled with glycerol or PEG crosslinking, produces films with specific strengths from 0.03–3 MPa·(m³/kg) and elongations up to 98 %, offering a genetic roadmap for sustainable materials.

Journal: Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts

Deep-sea fish confirmed as a significant source of ocean carbonate

University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in the ocean.

Journal: Journal of Experimental Biology
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, University of Miami Rosenstiel School: Departments of Marine Biology and Ecology and Marine Geosciences

Injured once, triggered forever? How the brain rewrites stress responses

University of Toronto
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A wound can leave a lasting imprint — even after it has healed. A new study in Current Biology finds that past injuries can quietly prime the body to overreact and be more sensitive to stress, pain and fear long after the damage is gone. These findings may help explain how early injuries or trauma can set the stage for chronic pain conditions, where the nervous system remains hypersensitive long after the initial damage has healed. can set the stage for chronic pain conditions, where the nervous system remains hypersensitive long after the initial damage has healed.

Journal: Current Biology

New research simulates cancer cell behavior

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the same vein as weather forecast models that predict developing storms, researchers now have developed a method to predict the cell activity in tissues over time. The new software combines genomics technologies with computational modeling to predict cell changes in behavior, such as communication between cells that could cause cancer cells to flourish.

Journal: Cell
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute, National Foundation for Cancer Research, Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy, Lustgarten Foundation, State of Maryland

Surrogates more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness, study finds

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research finds that people who are gestational carriers (or "surrogates") appear more likely to be diagnosed with a new mental illness during and after pregnancy.

Journal: JAMA Network Open