Bone repair depends on skeletal progenitor cells (SPCs) moving to injured areas and developing into bone-forming cells, but how these cells respond to their surroundings remains unclear. A study published in the International Journal of Oral Science shows that two collagen receptors, β1 integrin and DDR2, work together to regulate SPC migration, proliferation, and differentiation during cranial bone regeneration. The findings reveal a cooperative mechanism that could guide strategies to enhance bone repair.

8 September 2026/Kiel/Taliarte. A seven-week experiment led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is starting today on Gran Canaria. In collaboration with international partner institutions, twelve mesocosms are being deployed in the sea. These will be used to investigate whether ground concrete rubble can be used to increase the alkalinity of seawater and what effects this has on marine life. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is a promising method for increasing the ocean’s CO₂ uptake whilst simultaneously buffering acidification.

The smell of Japanese Igusa (rush grass), the core component of tatami mats, has long been associated with comfort and relaxation. However, there was little scientific evidence behind such claims. To test this, researchers measured the brain activity of volunteers while they sat on Igusa mats and completed simple tasks. The researchers found that when using the Igusa mats the participants’ brain activity suggested they had better focus, cognitive engagement, and stress resilience.

The textbook view often describes euchromatin, the active part of the genome, as open and accessible. A research team led by Kazuhiro Maeshima has now shown that euchromatin in living human cells forms condensed domains whose local mixing is constrained by cohesin. When cohesin is lost, these domains become more fluid and locally mix without global decompaction, weakening transcriptional insulation.

A Stanford-led study of a marine worm’s metamorphosis found surprising signs that the original larval cells didn’t just die or assume the same role in the adult organism—most of them changed to serve another purpose.

Our immune system is a highly sophisticated defense network designed to protect us from pathogens. Yet a research team from the Universities of Würzburg and Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) has now shown that certain components of this defense can actually help the yeast Candida albicans evade immune attack. Published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, the study reveals an unexpected downside of the immune response to this fungal pathogen.