An international team of researchers have identified three new species of enchanting, pustular, tree-dwelling toads from Africa. Their solution for having offspring away from water? Skipping the tadpole phase altogether, and giving birth to live toadlets. The study is published today in the open access scientific journal Vertebrate Zoology.

Researchers from the University of Tokyo and Juntendo University have identified a previously unknown structural domain in the motor protein kinesin-2 that enables precise cargo recognition in neurons. This study reveals the “HAC” domain (Hook-like Adaptor and Cargo-binding region) using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy. This breakthrough sheds light on how motor proteins sort and deliver cargo, with implications for understanding neurodegenerative diseases and cellular transport disorders.

RODIN - Cell-mediated Sculptable Living Platforms-, is set to revolutionize the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering by shifting the focus from designing materials for cells to empowering cells to design their own environments. The team composed by Professor João Mano at the Associate Laboratory CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials from University of Aveiro (Portugal) - The Biomaterials Engineer, Professor Tom Ellis at Imperial College London (UK)- The Synthetic Biologist and Professor Nuno Araújo at Faculty of Sciences, from the University of Lisbon (Portugal)- The Physicist, will combine expertise to rethink how living systems interact with materials.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa published today in Nature Communications is the first of its kind to show that waste discharged from deep-sea mining operations in the Pacific’s biodiverse Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) could disrupt marine life in the midwater “twilight zone” — a vital region 200-1,500 meters below sea level that supports vast communities of zooplankton, tiny animals that serve as the ocean’s basic food building blocks. Specifically, it finds that 53% of all zooplankton and 60% of micronekton, which feed on zooplankton, would be impacted by the discharge, which could ultimately impact predators higher up on the food web.  

These insects, including pollinators, predators, and crop pests, play a vital role in moving nutrients, energy, and genetic material across ecosystems. Studying them has proven notoriously difficult, as they spend much of their lives high in the atmosphere.

We elucidated that DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1), an epigenetic regulator, properly controls bone elongation by modulating energy metabolism in growth plate chondrocytes. Epigenetic regulation is influenced by lifestyle factors and affects development and disease. Our study reveals that Dnmt1 determines long bone length through energy metabolic regulation, suggesting that nutritional cues may shape chondrocyte function and providing insights for preventing or treating growth disorders and osteoarthritis.

Metastasis remains the deadliest cancer complication, driven by circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that evade immune defenses in the bloodstream. A new review by scientists of China explores how CTCs interact with platelets, immune cells, and molecular pathways to survive, highlighting emerging therapeutic strategies and the evolving role of CTCs in liquid biopsy and metastasis prevention. The findings offer promising directions for advancing cancer diagnostics and anti-metastatic treatments.