A new study led by Nebraska's John Benson and Kyle Dougherty shows young mountain lions in California struggle to disperse between populations because they avoid developed areas and busy roads, limiting the gene flow needed to keep populations healthy. The study shows that freeways and human development isolate vulnerable populations, while small habitat patches and potential wildlife crossings could help restore connectivity. 

USC researchers have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain’s most important areas for learning and memory. The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that the CA1 region of a mouse’s hippocampus, a structure vital for memory formation, spatial navigation, and emotions, has four distinct layers of specialized cell types. This discovery changes our understanding of how information is processed in the brain and could explain why certain cells are more vulnerable in diseases like Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. Using a powerful RNA labeling method called RNAscope with high-resolution microscopy imaging, the team captured clear snapshots of single-molecule gene expression to identify CA1 cell types inside mouse brain tissue. Within 58.065 CA1 pyramidal cells, they visualized more than 330,000 RNA molecules—the genetic messages that show when and where genes are turned on. By tracing these activity patterns, the researchers created a detailed map showing the borders between different types of nerve cells across the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The results showed that the CA1 region consists of four continuous layers of nerve cells, each marked by a distinct set of active genes. In 3D, these layers form sheets that vary slightly in thickness and structure along the length of the hippocampus. This clear, layered pattern helps make sense of earlier studies that saw the region as a more gradual mix or mosaic of cell types.

Rice bioengineers have designed an erasable serum marker that could enable clinicians to detect problems or measure any changes in how a patient responds to treatment with greater precision, using simple, minimally-invasive testing.

Purdue University researchers found that a subset of epidermal cells in plant leaves serves as early responders to chemical cues from bacterial pathogens and communicate this information to neighbors through a local traveling wave of calcium ions. The properties of this local wave differ from those generated when epidermal cells are wounded, suggesting that distinct mechanisms are used by plants to communicate specific types of pathogen attack, the team reported Dec. 2 in Science Signaling.

Microbiomes, the communities of microorganisms that live in and around us, play a vital role in everything from human health to soil fertility and climate regulation. But studying these tiny life forms, especially outside the human body, presents a major challenge: how do scientists share complex data across such a wide range of environments and disciplines? To help solve this problem, a team of nearly 250 researchers from 28 countries has developed a new set of guidelines called STREAMS.

MIT engineers developed artificial tendons that could connect robotic skeletons and biological muscle tissue. Made from tough and flexible hydrogel, the tendons could be used in various bio-hybrid robots.