Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is marked by insulin resistance together with the progressive failure of pancreatic β-cells. Increasing evidence suggests that this failure is shaped not only by β-cells themselves, but also by the local islet immune microenvironment, where resident and recruited macrophages can influence inflammation, islet architecture, and insulin secretion. Exercise is a cornerstone of diabetes management, yet how it acts within this islet microenvironment has remained unclear.

A new fluorescent reporter capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution has been developed, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using this new tool, they revealed striking differences in the distribution of iron and oxygen across organs and even between neighboring cells of the same type. This innovation could serve as a platform for studying cancer, liver diseases, neurodegeneration, and aging.

A new study published in Nature Conservation reveals that threatened amphibian species are being sold under incorrect names in online marketplaces. Using DNA barcoding, researchers discovered that frogs advertised as the commonly farmed species Chinese edible frogs (Hoplobatrachus chinensis) were actually Chinese spiny frogs (Quasipaa spinosa), species classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Because these frogs look visually similar, this misidentification allows protected wild populations to be inadvertently or illegally exploited without being recorded.

An investigational drug called davunetide, sprayed into the nose, reaches the brain in different amounts depending on biological sex and, in females, on the phase of the reproductive cycle. Working in mice and then in a small group of healthy adults, researchers at Tel Aviv University found that female mice took up more drug into the head region when estrogen was highest, during proestrus and estrus. In people, women trended toward higher peak plasma concentrations while men held the drug longer. The authors argue that averaging across sexes can hide a real drug effect, and that timing and hormones belong at the center of how brain therapies are designed and dosed.

A newly established alliance, comprising leading researchers and conservation experts, has mobilised to safeguard the Atlantic Ocean's leatherback turtle populations.