Open-access research from the University of Kansas appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Ichthyology & Herpetology is giving new detail to the evolutionary history of anglerfishes’ lures, studying more than 100 species to see how the lures evolved.

A 289-million-year-old mummified reptile is providing scientists with a window into how bodies have evolved when it comes to breathing and movement. Published in Nature on April 8, 2026, the study introduces the oldest known mummified remains of a terrestrial vertebrate — a small early Permian reptile called Captorhinus — preserved with its skin, native proteins, and the cartilage framework of its entire respiratory system still intact. The finding predates previous evidence of preserved biological proteins in fossils by nearly 100 million years.

Each winter, thousands of blacktip sharks crowd South Florida’s clear, shallow shoreline—just as beach nourishment projects churn the water into murky plumes. In one of the most detailed studies to date, FAU researchers used aerial surveys and underwater cameras to track sediment clouds and shark activity. They found sharks cluster close to shore, where turbidity can stretch for miles, clouding visibility, disrupting feeding, and potentially shifting behavior—raising new concerns for marine ecosystems and human safety.

A recent study investigates the intermuscular bones (IBs) of a novel hybrid fish (BTB), derived from female Megalobrama amblycephala (BSB) and male Culter alburnus (TC), and its parents. The research reveals that BTB exhibits a reduced number of IBs per sarcomere compared to its parents, showcasing the potential of distant hybridization in developing fish varieties with fewer IBs, which is advantageous for both consumer preference and industrial processing.

Prenatal oxycodone exposure changes how the placenta sends signals to the fetus. A new study revealed how alterations in the protein composition of placental small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) impact fetal heart development. These changes suggest that maternal opioid use may raise the baby’s risk for future heart problems.

A study led by Qun-Ying Lei shows that PGG inhibits the MAT2A enzyme activity while simultaneously promoting its degradation. This unique dual-action induces pyroptosis and enhances antitumor immunity, presenting a promising new strategy for cancer immunotherapy.

Stockholm University and SciLifeLab research uncovers how glucose transporters achieve specificity, bridging a long-standing gap between structure and function in membrane biology. The study is published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Latent HIV-1 reservoirs are a major barrier to curing HIV because the virus can hide silently inside cells for years. In a laboratory model of HIV latency and in patient-derived cells, researchers found that exosomes released from Astragalus polysaccharide (APS)-treated reservoir cells can trigger HIV-1 reactivation. Multi-omics analyses and pathway validation point to a PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling mechanism, suggesting APS-associated exosome signaling as a bio-derived lead for “shock-and-kill” research.