New research from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, has revealed that puff adders (Bitis arietans) can be highly efficient at controlling rodent populations that threaten agricultural production on the continent. 

Scientists at The Jackson Laboratory have finally pinpointed why patients with mitochodrial disease get so sick. 

This study introduces ​​gPRINT​​ (generalized approach for cell subtype Identification with single cell's voicePRINT), a novel algorithm designed to unify the annotation of disease-specific cell subtypes (DSCSs) across heterogeneous single-cell datasets(scRNA-seq). By integrating gene expression levels and chromosomal positional information into unique "gene prints," gPRINT overcomes the limitations of conventional annotation methods, enabling high-precision identification of cell subtypes in complex diseases such as fibrosis and tendinopathy.Validated across multiple platforms and tissues, gPRINT achieved an external validation accuracy of ​​98.37%​​, surpassing existing tools and offering transformative potential for precision medicine.

Researchers from the lab led by Prof. Joris De Wit (VIB-KU Leuven) have discovered an important clue to how connections between brain cells, known as synapses, mature. These new findings, published in Developmental Cell, demonstrated how two different proteins, GPR158 and PLCXD2, interact to form a specific component in developing synapses – the spine apparatus.

Some humpback whale babies are born on the move. We used to think that humpback whales lived in cold waters for half of the year, eating lots of krill to develop reserves for migration and reproduction, and then travelled to tropical waters because they need the warmth and safety to give birth and nurse new calves. But new research reveals that humpback whales around Australia and New Zealand can give birth much further south than we expected. These results question much of our understanding of humpback whales’ lives, and they could also mean we need to protect more areas to safeguard vulnerable calves. 

Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean’s most bizzare animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a truly extraordinary way. Living hidden in tropical waters, this worm grows multiple body branches within a host sponge, each tail capable of producing separate living reproductive units called “stolons”. But how does a single animal coordinate sexual reproduction across so many branches? To find out, researchers led by the University of Göttingen analysed gene expression across different body regions and between male, female and juvenile specimens. This provides the first complete “genetic activity map” – or transcriptome – of any branching worm, revealing how this creature manages to control reproduction across its branching body. Their findings were published in BMC Genomics.