The PKD Foundation has awarded a two-year grant totaling $240,000 to support research by USC Stem Cell faculty member Zhongwei Li, PhD. The goal of the project is to establish new lab models that will advance understanding of, and treatment for, a rare genetic condition called autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD).

Thousands of rapidly evolving aphid proteins initially resisted both conventional sequence comparisons and AlphaFold2. By sequencing closely related aphid species and supplying the missing evolutionary context, researchers uncovered a shared structural blueprint across approximately 2,400 proteins and established a method that may help scientists study other fast-evolving proteins involved in immunity, host-parasite interactions, and agriculture.

This is the first U.S.-based study to assess microplastic deposition before, during, and after a hurricane. The research — conducted by team from Virginia Tech, Western Carolina University, Highlands Biological Station, and the University of North Carolina — was published recently in Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management.

Two student-scientists have just described an early amphibian from 309 million years ago—and they named it after their mothers, who both happen to be named Jean.

The University of Vermont will coordinate a $19 million, five-year National Science Foundation project to design and test a national observatory for exploring life’s smallest structures in three dimensions. Working with UC San Diego, researchers will combine advanced electron microscopy, artificial intelligence and powerful computing to expand access to imaging capabilities currently concentrated in specialized laboratories. Pilot studies will investigate how learning changes brain wiring, how vision varies across species, how a parasite crosses the blood-brain barrier, and how single-celled organisms are organized. The project will lay the groundwork for a shared national resource serving researchers across biology and medicine.

Sharks can hear – and react to – underwater sounds from nearly 250 feet away, according to a new study that provides the first quantified evidence of long-distance sound detection in free-swimming sharks. Researchers found that blacktip sharks rapidly changed course when they detected low-frequency sounds, revealing that they not only hear distant sounds but also determine where they are coming from. The findings also show sharks are more sensitive to lower-frequency sounds, providing new insight into how these ancient predators sense their underwater world.