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

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Nov-2025 04:11 ET (19-Nov-2025 09:11 GMT/UTC)

How do winter-active spiders survive the cold?

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research in The FEBS Journal reveals the characteristics of antifreeze proteins that spiders of the Clubiona genus produce that bind to ice crystals and prevent their growth at sub-zero temperatures, which helps the animals avoid freezing.

Journal: FEBS Journal

Parental monitoring is linked to fewer teen conduct problems despite genetic risk

Rutgers University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Parents may have more influence than they realize when it comes to shaping their children’s behavior, especially for those at higher genetic risk for conduct problems, according to Rutgers Health-led research.

The study, published in Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found that consistent parental monitoring – meaning knowing where children are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing – can help offset genetic risk for developing behavior problems during adolescence.

Journal: Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, European Research Council Consolidator Grant

Significant interest in vegan pet diets revealed by largest surveys to date

Griffith University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Studies explore how dog and cat guardians perceive more sustainable pet food options.

Ape ancestors and Neanderthals likely kissed, new analysis finds

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by the University of Oxford has found evidence that kissing evolved in the common ancestor of humans and other large apes around 21 million years ago, and that Neanderthals likely engaged in kissing too. The findings have been published today (19 November) in Evolution and Human Behavior.

Journal: Evolution and Human Behavior

New pika research finds troubling signs for the iconic Rocky Mountain animal

University of Colorado at Boulder
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Pikas, small mammals that are closely related to rabbits, often greet hikers in the Rocky Mountains with loud squeaks. A new study finds hints that warming temperatures may already be taking a toll on pikas living in one habitat in Colorado.

Journal: Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research

Almost half of Oregon elk population carries advantageous genetic variant against CWD, study shows

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Chronic Wasting Disease, a prion protein disease that is fatal in elk, deer, and other cervids, has now reached Idaho near the Oregon border, causing concern for the Columbian white-tailed deer, a rare subspecies found only in two regions in Oregon. The deer have little genetic protection against CWD, but a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows that about half of Oregon elk carry a gene that makes them less susceptible to the disease. That could help slow down CWD’s progress into the state, but it is still important to monitor and manage cervid populations

Journal: Journal of Heredity
Funder: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Uncovering how cells build tissues and organs

University of Rochester
Grant and Award Announcement

Researchers from the University of Rochester’s Department of Biomedical Engineering will shed new light on tissue and organ development by studying how cells interact mechanically with the extracellular matrix, a biological polymer produced by cells that acts like scaffolding for building more complicated structures.

Funder: NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

1
2
3