Drastic declines in biodiversity due to human activities present risks to understanding animal behaviors such as tool use, according to researchers from the University of Victoria and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Shrinking animal populations make the study of these behaviors increasingly difficult, underscoring the urgency of targeted conservation efforts and inclusive conservation strategies. Action is needed not only for research, but also to respect our shared cultural heritage with animal species.

A powerful new software platform called the Playbook Workflow Builder is set to transform biomedical research by allowing scientists to conduct complex and customized data analyses without advanced programming skills. An article that describes the new platform was published in the April 3 online issue of the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Developed by a multi-institutional team that was led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigators as part of the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) program, researchers from across the United States developed the web-based platform that enables scientists to analyze and visualize their own data independently through an intuitive, interactive interface.

A new study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Biology by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, conducted by researchers from MARE, reveals new insights into the reproductive biology of the sheatfish, also known as the European catfish, in the Tagus River. Carried out as part of the LIFE-PREDATOR project (https://lifepredator.eu/), this study is the first to analyze the reproductive biology of the catfish populations in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the few conducted within its invasion area.

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, has opened Keck Medicine of USC – Newport Beach Radiation Oncology and Imaging, a state-of-the-art radiation oncology and imaging center, at 4590 MacArthur Blvd. in Newport Beach. 

BUFFALO, NY — April 3, 2025 — Aging (Aging-US) is pleased to announce a special Call for Papers for a commemorative collection honoring the legacy of Dr. Mikhail (Misha) Blagosklonny, the founding editor of the journal and a pioneer in aging biology. His groundbreaking work shaped fundamental concepts in the field, particularly regarding the role of mTOR in aging and cancer, the use of rapamycin, bypassing senescence during the process of transformation, personalized medicine, and theories on why we age.

Knocking out a single gene reprograms part of the large intestine to function like the nutrient-absorbing small intestine. In a preclinical study, Weill Cornell Medicine investigators showed that the technique reversed the malnutrition that results when most of the small intestine is removed. The successful demonstration suggests that a similar strategy could be used to treat short bowel syndrome, a life-threatening disorder that can occur when very little of the small intestine remains after surgery to address chronic inflammation, cancer, trauma or congenital conditions.

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York (CZ Biohub NY) today announced nine new investigators to its growing roster of talented researchers. Joining from Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University, the eight projects will focus on the Biohub’s mission to harness and bioengineer immune cells for the early detection, prevention, and treatment of a broad spectrum of age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and aggressive cancers. The funded projects support a variety of innovative strategies, including leveraging synthetic biology to address the limitations of current immune cell therapies and using models to enable insights into cellular networks and tissue adaptations in health and disease.