Primates are an order (Primates) of eutherian mammals characterized by a suite of derived traits associated with arboreal locomotion and enhanced sensory and cognitive capacities. Defining features include grasping extremities with opposable thumbs and, in many taxa, opposable great toes; nails instead of claws on most digits; a postorbital bar or plate; forward-facing orbits enabling stereoscopic vision; and a relatively enlarged brain, especially in regions mediating vision and complex behavior. The order encompasses strepsirrhines (lemurs, lorises), tarsiers, and haplorhine simians (monkeys and apes, including humans), and is a core model group in evolutionary biology, comparative anatomy, neurobiology, and behavioral ecology.
In human cells, DNA carries chemical or "epigenetic" marks that decide how genes will be used in different tissues. Yet in a group of specialized cells, known as "germ cells," which will later form sperm and eggs, these inherited ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 20, 2026
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Dozens of fans flocked to a Japanese zoo on Friday to catch a glimpse of a baby macaque who shot to social media stardom months after being abandoned by his mother.
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2026
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50
In a 2023 paper on hypoxia and glucose metabolism, our lab showed how organisms rewire their metabolism to adapt to low oxygen levels—such as those found at high altitudes. One of the most striking observations from that ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 19, 2026
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A new study from the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics reveals a surprising insight into the operation of the ancestral brain: the visual cortex of turtles is capable of detecting unexpected visual stimuli ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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Male caregiving is rare. Of the nearly 6,000 mammalian species, fewer than 5% of fathers stick around to raise their own young. Most are even instinctively hostile. Even among the mammals that pitch in with caregiving duties, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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How does our DNA store the massive amount of information needed to build a human being? And what happens when it's stored incorrectly? Jesse Dixon, MD, Ph.D., has spent years studying the way this genome is folded in 3D space—knowing ...
Biotechnology
Feb 18, 2026
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Frank Cuozzo and Michelle Sauther first traveled to South Africa in 2012 to search for some of the most unusual primates on Earth—bushbabies. These animals are nocturnal and small, often around the size of a housecat. Bushbabies ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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An international research team, including VUB data scientist Yannick Jadoul, has shed new light on the rhythmic nature of sexual behavior in bonobos. By precisely analyzing the tempo of movements during sex, researchers aim ...
Evolution
Feb 17, 2026
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94
Industrial yeasts are a powerhouse of protein production, used to manufacture vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, and other useful compounds. In a new study, MIT chemical engineers have harnessed artificial intelligence to optimize ...
Biotechnology
Feb 17, 2026
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Haoyu Cheng, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical informatics and data science at Yale School of Medicine, has developed a new algorithm capable of building complete human genomes using standard laboratory technology. ...
Biotechnology
Feb 16, 2026
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