EurekAlert! News by Subject: Biology - News by Subject: Biology

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-May-2025 11:08 ET (1-May-2025 15:08 GMT/UTC)

24-Mar-2025

New research reveals secrets about locust swarm movement

Texas A&M AgriLife Communications
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research published in Science is reshaping our understanding of one of nature’s most stunning yet destructive phenomena — massive locust swarms moving together.

Journal: Science

24-Mar-2025

Traditional breeding falls short in boosting soybean photosynthesis

Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A RIPE team from the University of Illinois has determined that improving a crucial component of soybean photosynthesis is unlikely to come from traditional breeding methods, and that gene editing is likely the key to unlocking soybean potential.

Journal: The Plant Journal
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

24-Mar-2025

GTF3C2 promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells through the USP21/MEK2/ERK1/2 pathway

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

General transcription factor IIIC subunit 2 (GTF3C2) is one of the polymerase III transcription-related factors. Previous studies have revealed that GTF3C2 is involved in regulating cell proliferation. However, the role of GTF3C2 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. This study aimed to determine its expression, biological function, and mechanism in HCC.

Journal: Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology

24-Mar-2025

Biophysics: Shaping cells with light

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers use light stimuli to shape cells and develop a model that explains the mechanisms – with implications for synthetic biology.

Journal: Nature Physics

24-Mar-2025

Embrace change with dynamic conservation models

American Institute of Biological Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent article in the journal BioScience (https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf023), the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, challenges conventional conservation wisdom, suggesting that protected areas such national parks and designated wilderness areas must embrace natural landscape dynamics rather than trying to preserve static conditions and landscape features.

Journal: BioScience

24-Mar-2025

New S$130 million national research initiative to enhance Singapore’s strategic research capabilities in RNA biology and its applications

National University of Singapore
Business Announcement

A new national programme that aims to position Singapore at the forefront of advancements in RNA science and applications was officially launched today. This new initiative – named National Initiative for RNA Biology and Its Applications (NIRBA) – is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) with total funding of S$130 million (US$97 million) over seven years. NIRBA will engage scientists and clinicians from leading institutions like the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Duke-NUS Medical School.

24-Mar-2025

MIT scientists engineer starfish cells to shape-shift in response to light

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT scientists used light to control how a starfish egg cell jiggles and moves during its earliest stage of development. Their optical system could guide the design of synthetic, light-activated cells for wound healing or drug delivery.

Journal: Nature Physics
Funder: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation