The p97 protein plays a central role in cellular quality control by preparing defective or no-longer-needed proteins for degradation and recycling. Researchers at the University of Münster, in collaboration with the University of Duisburg-Essen, have investigated how p97 and its auxiliary proteins interact in this process. The study has now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Light pollution is one of the fastest-growing and least-regulated environmental changes worldwide. It disrupts biological processes at all levels—from genes to entire ecosystems—and contributes significantly to global biodiversity loss. A recent review article, in which the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) participated, addresses the ecological consequences of artificial nighttime lighting. Based on a comprehensive assessment of the impacts on organisms on land and in water, the authors identify priorities for research and management. The Review Article was published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity.

The genital structures of male hawkmoths are lifesavers. By rubbing specialized scales on their genitals against parts of their abdomen, the nocturnal insects emit ultrasonic sounds that can potentially scramble the acoustic signals that bats use to hunt.

Mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining in tropical regions is finding its way into wildlife. A team from the University of Vienna and the Veterinary University of Vienna shows that mercury exposure impairs the glucocorticoid response that helps animals cope with acute stress. This weakened stress response could reduce the caimans' chances of survival and reproduction. The findings, recently published in the journal Communications Biology, point to a previously overlooked endocrine threat to crocodylians.

Scientists have uncovered surprising evidence that many of Britain's overlooked insects and spiders are becoming more abundant and emerging earlier in the year, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, have developed a new approach using the artificial intelligence platform AlphaFold 3 to predict whether a T cell receptor will recognize a specific antigen based solely on its genetic sequence. The advancement could help scientists more rapidly decode immune responses to infectious diseases, tumors and other health threats.

Some cats display a complex mixture of fear and curiosity, which is similar to shyness observed in human infants, according to a study published Nov. 4, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Madoka Hattori at Kyoto University, Japan, and colleagues.

For Belding's ground squirrels, adult females are more likely to survive from year to year if they live near more adult female kin—but neither males nor young females get the same boost from nearby family. Jill Mateo and colleagues at the University of Chicago, U.S., report these findings on Nov. 4, 2026, in the journal PLOS One.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. A study published Nov. 4, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth at Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Germany, and colleagues found that with training, volunteer dog-handler teams could locate invasive species in the wild with 75% accuracy.

A new study published in the journal Ecography finds that there are more than 60,000 different species of insects in California—and scientists have only described about two-thirds of them.

Researchers at Kanazawa University and the National Institute of Genetics in Japan have used high-speed atomic force microscopy to observe how a group of proteins known as Smc5/6 interacts with DNA. The images reveal how this structure opens and closes, captures DNA and brings separate sections together. The researchers also observed Smc5/6 holding twisted sections of DNA in place, producing more tightly packed arrangements. The findings, published in Nature Communications, provide new insights into the molecular processes that contribute to the maintenance and repair of genetic material.

The Ebola virus can cause severe, often life-threatening disease in humans. To replicate, it must enter human cells and exploit their cellular processes. In doing so, it encounters natural defense mechanisms that can make infection more difficult.

Imagine a crowded dance floor where bodies move to the beat beneath a glittering disco ball. Some of the dancers pair up, drawn together by the heady atmosphere. For flies, as for humans, the right atmosphere can serve as a potent aphrodisiac.

When we think about nature in our cities, what often comes to mind are parks and reserves—planned, managed and clearly marked spaces that support animal and plant life in our urban environment.

Researchers have described a new species of fish from the northern Red Sea, found at the entrance to a cave on a steep reef slope. Charon's pygmygoby (Trimma charon) is a small, translucent fish with a broad orange-red stripe, golden spots on its tail and an unusual four-part eye. The two known specimens measure just 12 and 17 millimeters (0.47 and 0.67 inches).

Scientists at Nottingham Trent University, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Ethiopia and Ethiopia's Jimma University wanted to explore the benefits of growing oats and alfalfa together, as opposed to separately, and without irrigation or fertilizer. The research is published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Comprehensive genetic analysis has shed new light on the spread of an invasive, bloodsucking fly, which poses a devastating threat to the iconic Darwin's finches of the Galápagos Islands.

Human feet are much stiffer than those of other primates, which means they limit midfoot bending during walking. The evolutionary reasons for this are not entirely clear. One idea is that the features that stiffen the foot evolved to make upright walking less effortful.

A team led by Vojtěch Brlík from Charles University in Czechia and the University of Guelph in Canada analyzed data from more than 2,300 birds tracked using miniature devices to find out how closely linked individual stages of the migratory birds' annual cycle are. The scientists were also interested in whether these linkages break down at a certain stage and whether late-departing individuals can make up for their delay.

For six decades, wildlife researchers have faced a persistent challenge: to attach a tracking device to study a wild animal, they first have to catch it. Now, a new approach developed at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) allows GPS collars to be deployed autonomously on free-roaming terrestrial wildlife. Published in BioScience, the proof-of-concept study demonstrates Capture-Free Telemetry (CFT), a technique that places tracking devices on wild animals as they interact with baited deployment units in their natural habitat.

In recent weeks, people across Australia have found fluttering bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) in their homes, cars and even bedrooms. These insects have embarked on their annual migration from breeding grounds across southern Australia to the cool caves of the Australian Alps.

The mangroves of Biscayne Bay have been getting help from an unlikely neighbor—the seagrass meadows just offshore. Dead seagrass blades and seaweed drift loose until the tide carries them into the mangroves, where they pile up, rot slowly and then become part of the ground.

Research out of South Dakota State University has highlighted a potential connection between limited exposure to cold stress during pregnancy and birth weight. The work showed that shearing ewes at day 50 of gestation, rather than after 100 days, resulted in larger and heavier lambs at birth.

Scientists propose that the brain’s mysterious cross-wiring, which connects each hemisphere to the opposite side of the body, may have originated more than 500 million years ago in the visual systems of ancient fish. Rather than evolving for a specific advantage, this unusual arrangement may simply be a legacy of evolution building new brain circuits on an ancient foundation.

In some lakes around the world, including some in China, cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly managed through large-scale mechanical harvesting to improve water quality and ensure a continued supply of drinking water.