Most people associate Hong Kong with skyscrapers and shopping malls, but a small population of feral water buffalo calls the marshlands of South Lantau Island home. And they’re sparking a mix of curiosity, concern, and connection among locals.

This study presents a novel method to produce genetically modified rats by generating functional rat sperm in germ cell-deficient mice via blastocyst complementation with rat ES cells. Fluorescent rat ES cell lines were established, validated for pluripotency, and used to generate rat sperm in chimeric mice. The sperm successfully fertilized rat oocytes, producing viable offspring. This technique bypasses traditional chimera generation and reduces cost, offering an efficient platform for complex rat genetic engineering using ES cells.

Australian scientists have successfully developed a research system that uses ‘biological artificial intelligence’ to design and evolve molecules with new or improved functions directly in mammal cells. The researchers said this system provides a powerful new tool that will help scientists develop more specific and effective research tools or gene therapies.

POSTECH and Linyi University develop ‘SLY,’ a Probe That Glows Yellow Only in Tumor Cells.

Cucumber fruit spines—once thought to be mere surface features—hold the key to understanding how plants control their outer architecture. 

We all know plants need water and sunlight to stay alive, but what if the key to thriving in extreme environments lies in the fungal networks at a plant's roots? In a brand new controlled experiment, NAU biologists are breaking new ground in fungal symbiosis research by demonstrating how dark septate endophytes—a type of fungus present in thousands of diverse plant species but rarely studied by scholars—can form fungal bridges between plant roots to transport nutrients and support growth.

Scientists have discovered a group of extraordinary microbial molecules found in exclusively cold environments, such as glaciers. The molecules, which they called ‘cryorhodopsins’, allow microbes to absorb energy from sunlight, similarly to chlorophyll, and can be engineered to act as a light-operated power switch for electrical activity in neurons. Some of them are blue – a rare light absorption property that can have wide applications in many scientific fields. Cryorhodopsins are the first observed prototypical switches that turn electrical signalling in cells both on and off depending on the colour of light they receive – a remarkable ability that offers new possibilities for science and medicine. The study was led by a scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg and involved scientists from Germany’s University Medical Center Göttingen and Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and others.