Electronic implants are commonly used to diagnose and treat various diseases and to restore lost motor and sensory functions. Conductive hydrogels increase an implant’s electrical conductivity and flexibility within the body, improving the overall effectiveness of electronic implants. However, traditional electrically conductive hydrogels contain toxic additives that may have negative impacts on patients after long-term use. In a recent study published in Science Advances, researchers led by Dr. Limei Tian reported on a sweet solution to this problem: replacing these toxic additives with D-sorbitol, a safe sugar alternative commonly found in chewing gum.

New research from USC Dornsife scientists reveals how cells fix dangerous DNA damage in hard-to-repair areas of the genome — a process that, when it goes wrong, can lead to cancer and other life-threating diseases. The researchers discovered that a protein called Nup98 helps coordinate DNA repair by moving broken genetic material out of densely packed regions where fixing it is more prone to errors. Nup98 forms liquid droplets around the damaged DNA, creating a protected space that keeps out the wrong repair tools and helps prevent harmful genetic mistakes. The findings offer new insight into how cells maintain genome stability and may help explain how certain mutations in Nup98 contribute to diseases like acute myeloid leukemia.

New research led by University of Wyoming scientists has found that the 8,000-10,000 sharp-tailed grouse found in the shrublands and high deserts of south-central Wyoming and northwest Colorado represent a distinct subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse that has been isolated from other populations of the bird for many years. The discovery could have major implications for wildlife managers in Wyoming and other states in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest.

Dehorning rhinos proactively removed the incentive for poachers and reduced poaching activity by 78% across 11 Greater Kruger African reserves from 2017 to 2023, a new study has found. Conversely, law enforcement interventions designed to punish poachers retroactively had no statistical effect on poaching. “Our results present a challenge to governments, funders, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to reassess their strategic approaches to wildlife crime in general,” Timothy Kuiper and colleagues write. “Although detecting and arresting poachers is essential, strategies that focus on reducing opportunities for and rewards from poaching may be more effective.” Born of international demand for horns, poaching not only harms rhinos – it also affects countries’ tourism revenue, hurts ecosystems, funds criminal syndicates, and spurs violence. One popular conservation strategy, based on the tenets of behavioral economics, suggests that increasing the probability of being caught and/or the severity of punishment once caught can deter poachers. Yet, these law enforcement measures are largely reactive and take place after poaching has already occurred. Now, Kuiper et al. have compared law enforcement (tracking dogs, camera surveillance, and rangers for judicial punishment) to dehorning. The latter proactively removes incentive, instead of reactively applying a disincentive. From 2017 to 2023, the team recorded poaching of 1,985 rhinos across 11 southern Greater Kruger African reserves. This activity took place even with the equivalent of 74 million US dollars spent on antipoaching law enforcement and despite more than 700 poacher arrests. Kuiper et al. used Bayesian regression models to establish causal pathways between reactive and proactive interventions and their outcomes. Reactive interventions had no statistically significant effect on poaching. However, dehorning – which happened to 2,284 rhinos in 8 of the reserves – yielded a 78% reduction in poaching. Notably, dehorning only cost 1.2% of the entire budget spent within the time period. The authors offer several reasons for why reactive antipoaching interventions were less useful. “Ongoing socioeconomic inequality incentivizes a large pool of vulnerable and motivated people to join, or poach for, criminal syndicates even when the risks are high,” they write, adding that corruption and ineffective justice systems can further thwart reactive approaches. They also warn that poachers will still sometimes target dehorned rhino stumps or regrown horns out of necessity, and caution that dehorning’s long-term impact on rhino biology remains poorly understood.

Mice can develop a sense of embodiment of an artificial limb, similar to humans who participate in the rubber-hand illusion experiment, according to a study published June 5^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Luc Estebanez from CNRS: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France, and colleagues.

An international study published today (5 June 2025) in the prestigious journal Science found that dehorning rhinos resulted in a drastic reduction in poaching of these endangered animals. This is based on the analysis of data across 11 reserves in the Greater Kruger region of South Africa between 2017 and 2023. Poaching for their horn is a major threat to the world’s five rhino species.