https://phys.org/biology-news/ en-us Read the latest science news from Phys.org on biology, evolution, microbiology, biotechnology Parasites are a major global health problem, underlying many human diseases worldwide. For example, Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria, plays a well-established role; however, its complex life cycle is not yet fully understood. This includes how parasites exit the infected host cells, known as "egress." https://phys.org/news/2026-04-parasites-host-cells-mic11-exposing.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news695385781 Whether it is the climate, beaches, or simply being away from the hustle and bustle, island cultures around the world often do things differently to the mainland. It turns out this phenomenon isn't unique to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-island-songbirds-music-culture.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:40:02 EDT news695385543 In a surprising new study, Australia's most famous plant-eating dinosaur has been described as a "picky eater with a nose for good food" when it roamed across the continent around 96 million years ago. After examining different parts of the skull from new bones of the large-bodied ornithopod Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, fossil experts from across Australia and the US have released several new insights in a journal article published in PeerJ. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-toothy-snout-recasts-australia-famed.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news695385012 A genetic master map of ancient grasses could be the key to future-proofing global food supplies, according to a new study revealing why some crops are naturally better at surviving climate change than others. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-genetic-discovery-reveals-born-survive.html Evolution Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news695386802 Weasels are small carnivores with a long body and short legs. They also have a stout skull and sharp teeth. These creatures, along with ferrets and minks, make up the Mustelinae subfamily. Until now, researchers believed that the oldest fossils from this family were from Poland and Germany, dating back to about 3.5 million years ago in the Pliocene epoch. But a fossil discovered in Teruel, Spain, has doubled that estimate, dating back to the late Miocene, around 6.5 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-predator-ancient-spain-weasel.html Evolution Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:05 EDT news695383441 Modern broiler chicken strains have been selectively bred for rapid growth, increased meat yield and feed efficiency, making poultry meat affordable and widely available. But this has led to reduced movement and natural behaviors, such as foraging, and increased susceptibility to conditions linked to inactivity such as poor leg health and skin lesions. These welfare issues can in turn cause significant economic losses in the broiler industry. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-insects-boost-poultry-welfare.html Veterinary medicine Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:04 EDT news695384823 A team of researchers from institutions across South America have expanded scholarly knowledge of the Pikelinia spider genus, with their recent discovery of a new crevice weaver species: Pikelinia floydmuraria. The new species name is a creative tribute to the legendary rock band Pink Floyd, while simultaneously referencing the spider's specific habitat. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-wall-spider-pink-floyd.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:20:03 EDT news695377322 Bonobos are often described as gentle apes, generally calm primates that are seen as peacemakers in the animal kingdom. But this reputation may be coming under attack as a new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that wild bonobos may engage in group aggression that is more dangerous than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bonobos-peaceful-reputation-rival-group.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:50:02 EDT news695381629 Life moves in mysterious ways—and perhaps especially so for organisms that undergo dramatic shifts in levels of self-organization, such as Myxococcus xanthus. A custom-built artificial intelligence system developed by Rice University researchers helped uncover how bacterial communities organize themselves, showing that the earliest moments of a biological transition carry far more information than previously considered. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-hidden-behavior-patterns-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:20:09 EDT news695376302 UK researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind bespoke AI system designed to assess coral health and detect early stress, helping to prevent restoration projects from failing. Led by PhD research student at the University of Derby, Nicole Yeomans, and marine scientist Professor Michael Sweet at the University of Derby, the system, named BlueBiome, is reimagining coral reef care by applying the same principles of preventive, precision health commonly used in human gut health. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-unveil-ai-driven-coral-reef.html Ecology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:20:06 EDT news695378942 What do bats do at night when they're not hunting? Using tiny GPS trackers, Leiden researchers discovered that pond bats spend a substantial portion of the night resting—often outdoors. This surprising insight could change the way we protect them. "To rest or to roam: Functional habitat use of an insectivorous bat species during active and resting behavior" is published in Biological Conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tracking-secret-life-pond.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:20:04 EDT news695374561 A new study has shown that whale calls are reduced by as much as 50% in response to seismic surveys, which are commonly used to find oil and gas reserves. Researchers are worried that such surveys could impact vulnerable marine species, which rely on sound for communication, navigation, and foraging. The paper, published in Scientific Reports, reveals how fin whale calls dropped dramatically along a key migratory corridor off northwestern Spain during seismic surveying. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-whales-quiet-noisy-underwater-surveys.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:40:01 EDT news695374441 Like a naughty pet Labrador, the Australian lungfish has little restraint when it comes to food. "We had 360 sqm of aquatic plants growing inside enclosures; but, once the fences were removed, lungfish and other aquatic animals feasted on the plants, and most of the vegetation was gone within 21 days." https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ungrateful-lungfish-focuses-sustainable-food.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:00:02 EDT news695363402 Lipid research investigates the structure, function and metabolism of fats, covering their roles in industrial processes, the environment and health. Emerging research areas include nutrient regulation, cardiovascular health, lipidomics and biomarker discovery to understand, prevent or treat malfunction in diverse settings. An initiative led by Flinders University is building links between researchers, clinicians and industry professionals working across the diverse and rapidly evolving field of lipid science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-free-online-lipid-network-aims.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 22:40:01 EDT news695289482 An unusually mild winter followed by a wet spring made last year one of the worst in a decade for Pennsylvania soybean growers. It wasn't the soybeans that were the problem; it was the slugs. The pests survived the warm winter to lay a second round of eggs, and twice as many slugs hatched in the spring of 2024 as the year before. The slugs ate so many seedlings that some growers had to replant three times. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-unpredictable-resilient-crops-world.html Agriculture Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:40:03 EDT news695293131 A research team has discovered an enhanced CRISPR gene-editing system that could enable targeted delivery inside the human body—a key step toward broader clinical use. Researchers identified a naturally occurring enzyme, Al3Cas12f, that is small enough to fit into adeno-associated virus vectors, a leading targeted delivery method for gene therapies. They then engineered an enhanced version that dramatically improved gene-editing performance in human cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-compact-crispr-body-gene-efficiency.html Biotechnology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:20:02 EDT news695313181 Cells can be thought of as cities, with factories, a transport system, and lots of building activity. An international team led by scientists at the University of Groningen studied cells growing under different conditions and measured the speed of molecule transport. They found that some conditions led to changes in the mobility inside the cells, caused by the clustering of proteins that produce the building materials for growth. It could be that clustering enables the proteins to produce those building blocks more efficiently. The research is published in the journal Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-clusters-reshape-cell-movement.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:10:01 EDT news695318641 Scientists at the VIB–VUB Center for Structural Biology have uncovered a counterintuitive principle that could reshape how membrane proteins are designed from scratch: Sometimes, making a protein less stable helps it fold correctly. In their study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers demonstrate that introducing carefully placed "imperfections," a strategy known as negative design, enables synthetic membrane proteins to fold and assemble efficiently in artificial membranes. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-membrane-proteins-embracing-imperfection.html Biotechnology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news695312581 Light has long been known to regulate plant growth. New research from Osaka Metropolitan University has discovered a new mechanism behind this regulation. A team led by Professor Kouichi Soga of the Graduate School of Science used a unique method to measure adhesion between the epidermal (the outermost layer) and inner tissues in young pea stems. They found that those grown in light exhibit enhanced adhesion. The research is published in Physiologia Plantarum. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tightens-young-pea-stems-revealing.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:20:05 EDT news695296033 Two unrelated groups of nectar eaters, hummingbirds and sunbirds, have evolved different techniques to slurp the sweet liquid from flowers. The tongue suctioning employed by sunbirds is unique among vertebrates, according to recent research appearing in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-video-sunbirds-hummingbirds-dont.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:10:01 EDT news695317621 At least six gray whales have died in San Francisco Bay from mid-March to early April 2026. These deaths follow a pattern over the past few years, and they are raising concerns among marine biologists like us that 2026 is becoming another dangerous year for a struggling population. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-gray-whales-dying-san-francisco.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:40:05 EDT news695307302 A specific cellular mechanism regulates the protein balance of plants, thereby influencing how they respond to environmental stress. An international research team led by Dr. Markus Wirtz at the Center for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University has identified a particular protein complex that plays a key role in that process by dynamically controlling the degradation and recycling of proteins. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-tagging-complex-stress-survival.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:30:01 EDT news695316782 Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have found that temporarily disabling a protein complex that organizes DNA into loops inside the cell's nucleus drastically disrupted the three-dimensional structure of the genome, but surprisingly, most genes continued to function as usual. However, they also discovered a small group of affected genes that play a critical role in guiding cells to become specific types, for example, heart, brain, or liver cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-disrupting-genome-architecture-impairs-developmental.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:10:01 EDT news695316301 It has long been known that environmental conditions can shape how traits are inherited, a phenomenon known as transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. However, the molecular signals responsible for encoding this biological "memory" have remained largely unknown. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-vitamin-b12-inherited-behavioral-generations.html Evolution Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:50:02 EDT news695315761 Isolating the first spark of life on Earth is a matter of biology, geology, and chemistry—but it's also an amazing math problem. At least, that's how Varun Varanasi viewed it when he was a Yale undergraduate. The question, in a nutshell, is this: How did the primordial soup of interacting molecules on the Earth's surface billions of years ago transform itself from complete chaos to an organized system of self-sustaining, reproducing chemicals? Did this occur gradually over millions of years, or was it abrupt? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-math-reveals-life-earth-primordial.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:06 EDT news695314729 To save money, Rachel Fordyce parked her car for free at Ithaca's East Hill Plaza and walked through East Lawn Cemetery to her job as a technician in an entomology lab on Cornell's campus. One spring day in 2022, she walked in to work with a jar full of bees. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-beneath-cemetery-million-wild-bees.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:03 EDT news695305361 Plankton are tiny, microscopic marine organisms that represent the very bottom of the food chain. Some are photosynthetic and others graze on bacteria and other plankton, but no plankton species can move against ocean currents. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-longer-term-plankton-species-diversity.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:01 EDT news695305152 Paleontologists have used an Ice Age fossil found 120 years ago in an underground cave to reveal that extinct giant echidnas roamed southeastern Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch, filling a major knowledge gap in the continent's prehistoric fauna. New research by Museums Victoria Research Institute scientists Tim Ziegler and Jeremy Lockett appearing in Alcheringa has identified the extinct Owen's giant echidna, Megalibgwilia owenii, among fossils collected at Foul Air Cave, Buchan, Victoria. The fragmentary skull—thought to have been among the first megafauna fossils retrieved from the renowned Buchan Caves—fills a gap of over 1,000 kilometers between previous finds. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-museum-fossil-reveals-extinct-giant.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:00:09 EDT news695310121 Over the past 20 years, nearly half of commercially important Mediterranean fish species have shifted their distribution due to climate change, causing marine species to move away from their historical locations. These significant changes in fish habits are expected to have a major impact on biodiversity, ecosystems and fishing opportunities. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-fish-redistribution-mediterranean-species-climate.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:40:03 EDT news695303822 The wave-shaped chart Ratul Chowdhury pulls up on a computer monitor in his office captures the evolutionary cat-and-mouse game his research lab is up against. The undulating curves track variants of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, which causes a swine disease that annually costs the global pork industry more than $1 billion—damage attributable in part to how quickly it adapts to escape from immune defenses. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-future-proofing-livestock-vaccines-viruses.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:20:06 EDT news695300942