Marine biologists from Germany, Indonesia, and Wales have discovered two new species of wart sea slugs in North Sulawesi, Indonesia: Phyllidia ovata and Phyllidia fontjei. Both of these sea slugs have a distinct appearance and are much rarer than many others in the area. Their discovery adds to the rich biodiversity of the Indo-Pacific region. The study was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

A scientific breakthrough at Tel Aviv University: A world-first study shows an acoustic interaction between plants and insects. In this study, the team focused on female moths and found that they make a critical decision—where to lay their eggs—based on sounds emitted by nearby plants. When plants emitted distress sounds, the female moths preferred healthy plants that were not emitting such sounds. These sounds are ultrasonic, beyond the hearing range of the human ear, but moths can hear them.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team has developed a protein aggregation inhibitor that shows improved treatment results for mice with acute strokes. 

Scientists at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute and the University of Delaware have discovered a surprisingly simple explanation for how our bodies stay so well-organized, even as billions of cells are replaced daily. In a new study, they identified just five basic rules—like when and how cells divide and die—that seem to guide how tissues like the colon maintain their structure over time. Using computer simulations, the team showed how these rules work together like choreography to keep tissues healthy and functioning. This breakthrough, which researchers call a potential “tissue code,” could help explain how our bodies heal, how diseases like cancer form, and even support global efforts like the Human Cell Atlas. It’s a powerful example of how math and medicine can come together to reveal the hidden instructions that keep us alive and well.

A new federally funded study led by Brown University biologists and scientists at Yellowstone National Park revealed that different circumstances lead herbivores to eat a much wider variety of plants than previously believed.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new research suggests that the traditional classification schemes that distinguish herbivores by their percent of grass consumption are oversimplifications that can fail to reflect dietary variation within and across species, said study co-author Tyler Kartzinel, an associate professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Brown.