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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 09:17 ET (20-Oct-2026 13:17 GMT/UTC)

Menopause: more than a slow change, it’s a sudden shift across the body

Weizmann Institute of Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Menopause is commonly viewed as a gradual process that takes years, but a new study by Weizmann Institute of Science researchers, published today in Nature Medicine, reveals that the female body also undergoes a sharp transition around the time of the last menstrual period.

Journal: Nature Medicine

Human stem-cell model reveals a shared origin for tissue-resident macrophages

Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie
Peer-Reviewed Publication

VIB researchers have developed a new human stem-cell-based model that recreates an early stage of immune-cell development and shows how a single progenitor population can give rise to specialized macrophages across different organs. The model provides a platform to study how these processes change in disease, and how they might eventually be harnessed therapeutically.

Journal: Developmental Cell
Funder: ERC, Research Foundation Flanders - FWO, The Alzheimer's Association USA, UKRI-MRC, Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek

Study finds pregnancy stress may change placenta signals linked to fetal brain development

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Research at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds stress during pregnancy may change how the placenta sends messages to the fetus. These changes may help explain how pregnancy stress can affect early brain development. Researchers hope to eventually identify a therapy to stop the transmission of stress.

Journal: Molecular Psychiatry

Placental protein may offer clues to early brain development

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have identified a protein not previously found in the placenta that plays a role in infant vascular development and potentially affects maternal health. Their discovery is described in a new article published in Angiogenesis.

Journal: Angiogenesis
Funder: Seale Innovation Fund, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute

Reinforced vertebrae allow plunge-diving seabirds to survive high-speed impact

University of Washington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new University of Washington study shows that plunge-diving birds such as gannets and boobies have unique morphological adaptations that allow them to survive high speed, headfirst impact.

Journal: The Anatomical Record

Elephants continue to shape the savanna even after death

University of California - Santa Barbara
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Elephants shape the African savanna. They consume huge amounts of forage, dig for water, topple trees and undoubtedly affect all the animals around them. So, what happens to their outsized presence after these iconic animals pass away?

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Ouch! The stinger of a honey bee is revealed as a tiny autonomous double-piston venom pump

Macquarie University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Australian scientists have used high speed video to uncover the unique mechanism that allows a honey bee’s stinger to continue to pump venom into its target even after it has separated from the bee’s body.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Australian Research Council, Office of Naval Research Global

Genomic and fossil evidence sheds new light on the early evolution of winged insects

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by Professor CAI Chenyang's team from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor ZHOU Changfa's team from Nanjing Normal University combining genomic analyses and fossil evidence sheds light on the century-old "Palaeoptera Problem," a longstanding debate over the evolutionary relationships among major groups of winged insects.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Scientists uncover an ancient link between viral defense and chromosome protection

Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new antiviral defense system discovered by Columbia scientists offers clues to telomerase’s origins and could inspire new approaches to studying aging and improving cell therapies.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, Spain Ministry of Science, Villem Fonden, NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program, Pew Charitable Trusts, Columbia University

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