New, miniscule fossils of the earliest-known relative of all primates, including humans, Purgatorius, have been unearthed in a more southern region of North America than ever before – and the breakthrough is providing paleontologists fresh clues about evolution.

The imaging resolution has long been constrained by the Abbe-Rayleigh diffraction limit. While the 2014 Nobel Prize recognized fluorescence microscopy, achieving single-shot, label-free far-field superresolution remains challenging. Scientists in China propose “k-space (momentum space) superoscillation.” By designing a metalens with topology-optimized responses in real- and k-space, this method breaks the spatial shift-invariance assumption to surpass the diffraction limit. Microwave experiments verified a twofold resolution enhancement without post-processing, opening avenues for biology, astronomy, and materials science.

Researchers at the University of Arizona say there may be at least twice as many vertebrate species as previously recognized. The findings suggest that global vertebrate biodiversity has been significantly underestimated, which could have consequences for conservation efforts.

A new study examining fossil evidence shows large land predators were already hunting big plant-eating animals more than 280 million years ago. University of Toronto Mississauga researchers Jordan M. Young, Tea Maho, and Robert Reisz studied bite marks on the skeletons of three young herbivores from the early Permian of Texas revealing feeding patterns from multiple predators and a glimpse into how animals hunted and interacted with each other.

Members of the arachnid class—think spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs)—are often the targets of revulsion, disgust and fear. Yet, they are crucial for ecosystems to thrive. Given the crash in worldwide biodiversity, including what some call the “insect apocalypse,” a pair of ecologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst decided to check in on the general state of insects and arachnids in the U.S.—only to discover massive gaps in the data. Their research, published recently in PNAS, points to an urgent need to assess, protect and value insects and arachnids, a key pillar of planetary health.

The newest issue of The Journal of Raptor Research is a special issue focused on movement ecology — how and why raptors move. This can include classic movements like migration, as well as nomadism. Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) fall into the latter category — they have a penchant for small mammals that breed in “boom and bust” cycles approximately every four years. Therefore, these owls must travel great distances to find prey in sufficient numbers. This requires a high degree of nuanced perception, yet we know very little about the actual mechanisms that allow an owl to accurately locate these peaks in prey cycles. Changing climate regimes can severely impact where and when small mammals show up on the landscape, especially in the tundra, where many predators rely up on their presence. There is an increased need for conservation leaders to understand the decision-making of species whose survival is linked to these ephemeral pulses in prey, and owls are a strong choice for future investigation.

A new internationally peer-reviewed scientific article introduces a science-based operational framework developed with the Danish Biodiversity Council. The framework can help countries assess their genuine national contributions to protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. When applied to Denmark, the framework shows that the official Danish reporting substantially overestimates the country’s progress towards meeting the international targets.