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

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Jan-2026 16:11 ET (13-Jan-2026 21:11 GMT/UTC)

13-Jan-2026

Aboard the International Space Station, viruses and bacteria show atypical interplay

In a new study, terrestrial bacteria-infecting viruses were still able to infect their E. coli hosts in near-weightless “microgravity” conditions aboard the International Space Station, but the dynamics of virus-bacteria interactions differed from those observed on Earth. Phil Huss of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A., and colleagues present these findings January 13^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Journal: PLOS Biology

13-Jan-2026

Fruit fly pigmentation guides discovery of genes that control brain dopamine and sleep

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By studying genes that affect cuticle pigmentation in the laboratory fruit fly, researchers were able to identify new genes, mask and clu, that are involved in regulating dopamine levels in the brain. The findings offer new possibilities to restore in people disruptions in dopamine that have been associated with neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction, depression, sleep disorders and schizophrenia.

Journal: iScience

13-Jan-2026

Scientists create a system for tracking underwater blackouts

University of California - Santa Barbara
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Clouds, smoke and fog may darken the skies, but sediment, algae blooms and organic matter can turn day into night on the seafloor. That’s why an international team of scientists have created the first framework to identify and compare these marine blackouts. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, introduces the concept of a marine darkwave: a short-term but intense episode of underwater darkness that can severely impact kelp forests, seagrass beds and other light-dependent marine life.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment

13-Jan-2026

Wyss Institute-led collaboration awarded by ARPA-H PRINT program to engineer off-the-shelf, universal, transplant-ready graft for liver failure

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard
Grant and Award Announcement

In a highly collaborative, cross-institutional ImPLANT project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Personalized Regenerative Immunocompetent Nanotechnology Tissue (PRINT) program under a new contract of up to $25M over 5 years, world-leading researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, MIT, University of Colorado Boulder, and Columbia University join their expertise to create the multidisciplinary technological framework for building the first off-the-shelf engineered product that could address liver failure in many of the over 500M patients who suffer from the disease worldwide.

13-Jan-2026

Fat surrounding the colon interacts with the immune system

Karolinska Institutet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Abdominal fat is not a uniform tissue. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, and Helmholtz Munich reveals that fat located close to the large intestine contains an unusually high number of inflammatory fat cells and immune cells. The findings suggest that this tissue is specially adapted to communicate with the immune system in the gut region. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Journal: Cell Metabolism

13-Jan-2026

Fish farming least harmful in northern Norway

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Environmental conditions on the seabed around fish farms generally improve the farther north you go in Norway.

Journal: Aquaculture Environment Interactions

13-Jan-2026

The Great Bear Rainforest nature writing retreat

Nature Writing in the Great Bear Rainforest
Business Announcement

Great Bear Rainforest, BC. The Great Bear Lodge on the Central Coast of British Columbia is collaborating with internationally acclaimed science journalist Lesley Evans Ogden to host a nature writing retreat from May 31 - June 4, 2026. Small group size will ensure each participant benefits from individual focus and support, allowing instruction and skill development to be tailored to a range of abilities, from aspiring to experienced writers.