Proanthocyanidins, also known as condensed tannins, are a class of flavonoid polymers with multiple health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-tumor, and eye-protective effects. Now, researchers have discovered that the TaMYB10 gene controls the presence or absence of condensed tannins in wheat grains. Their findings reveal that TaMYB10 directly activates the expression of core flavonoid pathway genes CHS and DFR, initiating condensed tannin synthesis.

Recently, the research team led by Prof. Hanyang Li at Harbin Engineering University has integrated functionalized liquid crystal (LC) microcavities with whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) laser technology to establish a novel real-time biosensing platform, enabling highly sensitive detection of ALT.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan have discovered how animals sense the pleasantness or unpleasantness or odors, one of the abilities that allow us to appreciate the flavor of foods. The study shows that these different sensations are computed by separate circuits of neurons in the brain but are not in fact opposites of each other. The findings were published in the scientific journal Cell.

Researchers at UBC Okanagan have uncovered how plants produce mitraphylline, a rare natural compound that may help fight cancer. 

The Kennesaw State University assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology recently earned a $720,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to seek clues about the hormonal control of cancer.

On islands, many plants rely on animals such as birds, bats and reptiles to disperse their seeds and help them grow in new places. When native animals go extinct, this naturally reduces seed dispersal. However, a new global study, published October 7 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has discovered that the impact of introduced, invasive animal species on how plant seeds are dispersed across island ecosystems is even greater than the impact of native animal extinctions.

Vitamins are ubiquitous in medicine cabinets everywhere, with more than half of all U.S. adults regularly taking vitamins or other dietary supplements to boost their health. But the science of vitamins and how they interact with the body—a field known as “vitamin biology”—is far behind the times. Isha Jain, PhD, an investigator at Gladstone Institutes, is on the path to change that. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has just announced Jain as a 2025 recipient of its prestigious Transformative Research Award, which comes with a $6.6 million grant to fuel her work reviving the field of vitamin biology with modern science.