A new model has made it possible to estimate how the backbones of some of the first animals on land could and could not move using sturgeon as a material analogue. These results disprove a long-standing hypothesis that changes in early tetrapod anatomy as they moved onto land gave them improved neck mobility. The study, led by a researcher at Uppsala University, formerly of Carleton University in Canada, has been published in the journal Nature.

A study published in Nature discusses the newly discovered species, Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis, which lived during the Late Jurassic period (150–148 million years ago). The research suggests that the evolution of the avian body plan was not a straightforward progression toward improved flight capabilities, but a complex process involving the exploration of different ecological niches, including some that did not require flight.

Scientists have developed a material that can grow and coordinate its own movement until the entire structure pulses in unison, paving the way for versatile robots that behave more like living systems.

Publishing their findings on Oct. 14 in Nature, engineers from the University of Birmingham working with the Universities of Amsterdam, Lyon, Delft, Leiden and Cambridge reveal that they have created a mechatronic metamaterial that behaves as a ‘time crystal.'

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has opened registration and abstract submissions for the ISSCR 2027 Annual Meeting, taking place 15-18 June 2027 at Moscone West in San Francisco, California, USA. Marking the 25th anniversary of the ISSCR Annual Meeting, this hallmark event will bring together the global stem cell community to share groundbreaking discoveries, explore transformative technologies, and advance the future of stem cell science and regenerative medicine. 

Scientists have identified and activated a small group of neurons responsible for the initiation of learned movements. The study used cutting-edge techniques to not only “read” brain activity down to the level of individual cells, but “write” patterns that allowed researchers to control movement.

Every organ and tissue progressively loses function as it ages, but aging tissues retain a latent capacity for rejuvenation. A new study, led by Wyss Institute Core Faculty member George Church, used gene expression data and machine learning to develop a novel “transcriptomic age predictor,” which pinpoints the “transcriptional age” of cells. Using this predictor as a readout in an over-expression screen, the team identified the RNA processing factor SRSF1and demonstrated that it can rejuvenate several “hallmarks of aging,” and significantly increase the healthspan and lifespan of aged mice. 

Scientists at the University of Bath (UK) have produced a new azulene-based fluorescent probe that is five times brighter than the original molecule. Their research has uncovered the tiny molecular changes needed to transform both the colour and brightness of the probes, paving the way for more powerful imaging tools for detecting diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and cancer.

In the 1970s, researchers began to observe drastic amphibian declines in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a global hotspot of frog biodiversity. For decades, these disappearances remained a mystery. Now, new research from scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and Pennsylvania State University, published today in the journal Molecular Ecology, points to amphibian chytridiomycosis, a devastating infectious disease, as the likely culprit.