In their new study an international team led by the University of Vienna reports the discovery and extraction of ancient DNA from a tiny 5 cm long Neanderthal bone found in the Crimean peninsula, shedding light on long-distance migrations during the Late Pleistocene period 40,000 - 50,000 years ago. The Neanderthal bone, called "Star 1", after the site from which it was excavated – Starosele Cave – was found using a biomolecular method that uses ancient proteins to determine if a bone belongs to humans or animals. Ancient DNA extracted from the bone showed that it was genetically closest related to Neanderthals from the Altai region of Siberia, over 3,000 kilometers away. Climate modelling suggests that Neanderthal groups probably migrated across the vast Eurasian steppes during a time of favourable climate. The study was published in PNAS.

Protein designers have now created new calcium channels, built bottom-up from scratch. Naturally occurring ion channels, present in the membrane of excitable cells, generate electrical impulses. These electrophysiological signals help direct muscle contraction, the heartbeat and the release of neurotransmitters. Synthetic ion channels could serve as tools for biomedical research, from neuroscience experiments to heart biology models and synthetic cell signaling circuits. 

A joint research team from POSTECH, Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies has developed a 3D-bioprinted retina-on-a-chip and retinal vein occlusion model.

Russell B Connelly is a postgraduate researcher and marine biologist at the School of Life Sciences of the University of Essex. After completing a BSc and MRes at the University of Essex, he began a PhD at the same university, focusing on new monitoring techniques for populations of UK seahorse species.

Together with colleagues, he recently published a study in Frontiers in Marine Science describing remarkable, never-before-seen geometric clusters of nests of cryonotothenioid fish, also known as icefish. These were first filmed 2019 by the remotely operated vehicle ‘Lassie’  operating from the ship SA Agulhas II in the Western Weddell near the Sea Larsen C Ice Shelf. In this editorial, he summarizes their discovery and its importance.

QUT researchers have uncovered critical biological processes that allow corals attach to a reef in a finding that could significantly improve coral restoration efforts worldwide.

The distinctive coloured fur of two of Australia's rarest marsupials could be caused by 'broken' pigment genes, new research from La Trobe University has found.