Researchers have used genome-wide DNA data to identify a new insect species on the Ogasawara Islands, a remote Japanese archipelago roughly 900 to 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo. The findings suggest that evolution among island insects is more intricate than appearances imply. The study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins function as key mediators of cytokine signaling and are critically involved in stem cell regulation, tissue regeneration, and immune responses in vertebrates. However, their roles in invertebrate regeneration, particularly in adult pluripotent stem cell systems like those of planarians, remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the function of Djstat5, a STAT5 homolog in the planarian Dugesia japonica, and demonstrated that it is dynamically upregulated during the early regenerative phases. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of Djstat5 resulted in severe defects in tissue regeneration, including blastema hypoplasia, reduced mitotic activity, and diminished apoptosis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that Djstat5 knockdown led to upregulation of Djnlrc3, a putative negative regulator of regeneration. Functional interaction between Djstat5 and Djnlrc3 was further supported by double RNAi experiments, which showed that co-knockdown of Djnlrc3 significantly rescued the regeneration defects induced by Djstat5 loss. Together, our findings establish Djstat5 as an essential regulator of planarian regeneration and provide new insights into conserved STAT-mediated signaling pathways in adult stem cell-based tissue regeneration.

A research team has developed a virus-based tool that lets scientists temporarily reduce gene activity in cowpea and investigate what those genes do. The system produced long-lasting gene silencing across seven genetically diverse varieties and helped reveal how four related genes influence defense hormone accumulation after insect attack. 

A bioinspired bead-on-string Ag/AgCl heterostructure for stable ion-electron transduction in stretchable dry electrodes is developed, opening a route to long-term, high-fidelity wearable electrophysiological monitoring and personalized hands-free human-machine interaction.

Roger Portell, collections director of invertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, has retired this month after 42 years on the job.

CSU researchers use Colorado's tarantula 'mate-gration' to examine how to break the the illegal wildlife trade's supply chain.

KAIST, Caltech, and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore develop “BeetleBot,” a soft robot based on artificial muscles. The robot combines walking and object gripping with visual and tactile sensing, so users can steer it while checking camera images and contact information. In demonstrations, the robot avoided obstacles and picked up and carried a target object, which lays the groundwork for soft robots used in remote tasks.