Breeding programs could alter heritable dog characteristics to reduce the rates of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), a breathing disorder common in dogs such as Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs—according to a new study led by Dr. Joanna Jadwiga Ilska of the Royal Kennel Club, published May 13, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One.

Tile drainage is common in U.S. Midwest agricultural fields, helping to remove excess water and aerate the soil. While the practice enhances crop productivity, it can cause phosphorus to leak into nearby waterways, where it contributes to harmful algal blooms. Directing tile-drain runoff through a structure filled with biochar—a form of charcoal produced from organic waste—provides a potential remedy for phosphorus pollution, but the method is novel and not fully explored.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed ApexGO, a novel, AI-powered method for turning promising but imperfect antibiotic candidates into more potent ones. Unlike many existing AI approaches to antibiotic discovery, which screen large databases for molecules that might work, ApexGO starts with a small number of imperfect candidates and improves them step by step, using a predictive algorithm to evaluate each modification and guide the next.

Microalgae have attracted growing attention as a promising platform for sustainable biofuel production because they can use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich compounds without competing with food crops. However, practical use of algal biofuels has long faced major obstacles.

My husband Peer Bork, who has died unexpectedly aged 62, was a bioinformatician with a remarkable ability to identify new directions in science and carry out world-class research to push them forward.During his career, he progressed from the statistical analysis of the sequences of individual protein molecules, via the analysis of the human genome, to the bioinformatics analysis of whole microbial communities. Continue reading...

As married research professors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray often discuss their work once they get home each night. Their fields of study rarely crossover. That changed six years ago, however, and it was insects that sparked the intersection.

Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world's fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that, you'd think there would be an answer to basic questions in fisheries: how many fish species are being caught, and what are they?

Alaska's Cook Inlet was home to nearly 1,300 beluga whales in the late 1970s, but today the population hovers around 300. Despite almost two decades of recovery work, the whales aren't bouncing back. The Cook Inlet belugas are likely struggling under multiple pressures, including increasing human noise. Researchers are working on deciphering whale-whale communication to better account for the impact of noise on this vulnerable population.

How do fish survive relentless sunlight in the open waters without getting burned? They make their own natural sunscreen—and now, humans could be one step closer to using it too.

It's a tough world for microbes. When resources grow limited and environments worsen, microbes have figured out ways to hunker down and go dormant until conditions improve.

Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have uncovered new information suggesting a potential connection between Homo erectus and modern humans, while also developing new, less invasive paleoproteomics methods of fossil research.

Many drug and antibody discovery pathways focus on intricately folded cell membrane proteins. When molecules of a drug candidate bind to these proteins, like a key going into a lock, they trigger chemical cascades that alter cellular behavior. Understanding how proteins fold and move is therefore essential for developing drugs that interact well with their targets.

In many primate species, males are much larger than their female counterparts, which is generally attributed to male competition for mates (sexual selection). But bigger bodies may not just be about alpha males defeating rivals. They could also come about because of competition between neighboring social groups, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters.

Researchers at the Technion have discovered how changes in genetic regulatory sequences can lead to alterations in the form and structure of animals—even when genetic regulatory systems are stable and resistant to change. The study, published in Science Advances, was led by Dr. Ella Preger-Ben Noon and Ph.D. candidate Areej Said-Ahmad from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine.

When third-year veterinary students at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University step into the operating room to undertake their inaugural surgery, the energy in the room is palpable: there's excitement, but also nerves.

Describing new species can take decades. But scientists are working to identify new ways to speed up our understanding of this hidden biodiversity. By looking at the genetic data of thousands of beetle species, our researchers are able to reveal the true breadth of tropical ground beetles in a move that could help save their rainforest homes.

More than 500 million years ago, during what is known as the Cambrian period, the seas and oceans on Earth were filled with a myriad of marine animals, many of which have now become extinct. This evolutionary burst in new forms of life, referred to as the Cambrian explosion, paved the way for the evolution of many major animal groups that still populate our planet today.

Micheline Nzonzi cradled a small and sleepy bonobo, an orphan whose life she will try to save over the next three years or so.

Cacti may look like slow, stubborn desert survivors, but they’re actually evolving at lightning speed. Scientists studying more than 750 cactus species discovered that what really drives the explosion of new cactus species isn’t flower size or specialized pollinators, but how quickly cactus flowers change shape over time. The finding overturns a long-standing idea dating back to Darwin and reveals deserts as surprisingly dynamic ecosystems where evolution is happening fast.

More than a decade after the Nagoya Protocol, which aims to fairly share the benefits of utilizing genetic resources, became law, microbiologists and other scientists still face practical challenges and confusion. A new guide published by a team of European microbiologists provides universally applicable frameworks for anyone working with biological resources.

Scientists at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound with promising anti cancer potential. The team identified two enzymes that work together to build the molecule’s unusual twisted structure, solving a mystery that had puzzled researchers for years. Because mitraphylline appears only in tiny amounts in tropical plants like kratom and cat’s claw, the discovery could make it far easier to produce sustainably in the future.