The evolution of the human species is marked by an increase in brain size and research suggests that could be partly dependent on increases in prenatal oestrogen. As individuals with high oestrogen relative to testosterone have long index fingers (2D) in relation to their ring fingers (4D), new research suggest this could be revealed by looking at the length of a person’s fingers.

To address the urgent need for advanced ocean health monitoring, a research team at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and MIT, led by Wyss Founding Core Faculty member James Collins, Ph.D. and Wyss Senior Scientist Peter Nguyen, Ph.D., has developed an inexpensive, laboratory-free and CRISPR-based approach to be used by many to rapidly quantify marine species and their physiological states on-site. Housed in highly portable, easy-to-handle device, the biosensing platform has potential to enable the prediction of outbreaks in marine communities, and routine monitoring of critically threatened species.

New research suggests the liver plays a previously unrecognized role in bone health, but only in males.

A McGill University-led study published in Matrix Biology found that a protein made in the liver helps regulate bone growth in male mice, but not in females. The findings may help explain why men with liver disease are more likely to experience bone loss.