Biologists have discovered that bombesin, a neurohormone controlling appetite in humans, also regulates feeding in starfish, revealing its ancient evolutionary origin dating back over 500 million years. 

The study not only sheds light on the deep evolutionary roots of appetite regulation but also suggests potential applications for managing starfish invasions in shellfish farms impacted by climate change. 

Alongside weight-loss inducing drugs such as Ozempic, compounds that mimic the action of bombesin are in development for treatment of obesity. 

In the first study to consider the long-term evolution of the rivers that flow beneath glaciers, researchers have new insights into the future of Antarctica’s melting ice that may change the way climate scientists predict the effects of a warming planet.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment led the project that studied Aurora Subglacial Basin and modelled its subglacial hydrology —the flow of water at the base of the ice. They compared drainage systems at various times ranging from 34 million years ago to 75 years from now.

A forest with high tree-species diversity is better at buffering heat peaks in summer and cold peaks in winter than a forest with fewer tree species. This is the result of a study led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The study was carried out in a large-scale planted forest experiment in China, and has been published in the journal Ecology Letters. It provides yet another argument for diversifying tree species in forests, especially under ongoing climate change.